Apple Macintosh series tech info
This is a brief breakdown of the major components in every 680x0 and PowerPC-based Macintosh computer. In most cases the information is sourced directly from Apple's own public hardware developer notes that they used to release with each new Macintosh. This corrects a number of errors in my now very old previous version of this listing, and continues with NewWorld machines to show the continuity in hardware design. (Last revised January 29, 2024)
Note: I don't 100% guarantee accuracy here, especially for G4/G5 machines. Also, some machines had a lot of codenames. I've tried to use the one that was most commonly used internal to Apple, but information on that is obviously hard to come by, especially for post-1993 machines. And it got worse for post-Steve Jobs 2.0 machines, which mostly had boring letter/number codenames.
Systems were originally listed in a simple sort order by name but I've been changing over to release date order (and I may add the release date as a field).
We're separating the old single-page design into multiple new ones, and adding a few.
68000 Desktops
| System |
Memory controller |
Video |
Sound |
I/O |
ADB |
SCSI/ATA |
Floppy
|
| Mac 128 ("Macintosh") /512 ("Fat Mac") |
Discrete logic |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
IWM
|
| Mac 512Ke/Plus ("Mr. T") |
Discrete logic |
N/A |
N/A |
NCR5380 |
IWM
|
| Mac SE ("Freeport") |
BBU |
N/A |
PIC1654S |
NCR5380 |
IWM
|
| Mac SE FDHD / Mac Classic ("XO") |
BBU |
N/A |
PIC1654S |
NCR5380 |
SWIM
|
68020 Desktops
| System |
Memory controller |
Video |
Sound |
I/O |
ADB |
SCSI/ATA |
Floppy
|
| Mac II ("Milwaukee") |
GLUE |
N/A |
ASC |
N/A |
PIC1654S |
NCR5380 |
IWM
|
| Mac II FDHD |
GLUE |
N/A |
ASC |
N/A |
PIC1654S |
NCR5380 |
SWIM
|
| Mac LC ("Elsie") |
V8 |
Egret (68HC05) |
NCR5380 |
SWIM
|
68030 Desktops
| System |
Memory controller |
Video |
Sound |
I/O |
ADB |
SCSI/ATA |
Floppy
|
| Mac IIx ("Stratos") / IIcx ("Atlantic") |
GLUE |
N/A |
ASC |
N/A |
PIC1654S |
53C80 |
SWIM
|
| Mac SE/30 ("Green Jade") |
GLUE |
On-board |
ASC |
N/A |
PIC1654S |
53C80 |
SWIM
|
| Mac IIci ("Pacific") |
MDU |
RBV |
ASC |
N/A |
PIC1654S |
53C80 |
SWIM
|
| Mac IIsi ("Oceanic") |
MDU |
RBV |
ASC |
N/A |
Egret |
85C80 |
SWIM
|
| Mac LC II/Performa 400/405/410/430 ("Foster Farms") |
V8 |
Egret |
85C80 |
SWIM
|
| Mac Classic II/Performa 200 ("Apollo") |
Eagle |
Egret |
85C80 |
SWIM
|
| Mac IIfx ("F-19") |
OSS |
N/A |
ASC |
IOP |
IOP |
SCSI DMA (modified 53C80) |
SWIM
|
| Mac IIvx/IIvi/Performa 600 ("Brazil") |
VASP |
PIC1654S |
Egret |
SWIM
|
| Mac LC III/LC III+/Performa 450/460/466/467 ("Vail") |
Sonora |
Egret |
85C80 |
SWIM II
|
| Mac Color Classic/Performa 200 ("Slice") |
Spice |
Cuda (68HC05) |
85C80 |
SWIM II
|
| Mac LC 520/550 ("Hook"), Performa 275/550/560, Color Classic II |
Ardbeg |
Cuda |
85C80 |
SWIM II
|
| Mac TV ("Peter Pan") |
Tinker Bell |
Cuda |
85C80 |
SWIM II
|
68040 Desktops
| System |
Memory controller |
Video |
Sound |
I/O |
ADB |
SCSI/ATA |
Floppy
|
| Quadra 700 ("Spike") |
Orwell |
DAFB |
EASC |
N/A |
PIC1654S |
53C96 |
SWIM
|
| Quadra 900 ("Eclipse") / 950 ("Zydeco") |
Orwell |
DAFB |
EASC |
IOP |
IOP |
53C96 |
SWIM
|
| Quadra 610/650/800 & Centris 610/650 ("Wombat") |
djMEMC |
DAFB |
IOSB |
PIC1654S |
53C96 |
SWIM II
|
| Quadra 605 / LC 475 / LC 575 / Performa 475/476/575/577/578 ("Primus") |
MEMCjr |
DAFB |
PrimeTime |
Cuda |
53C96 |
SWIM II
|
| Quadra/Centris 660AV ("Tempest") / 840AV ("Typhoon") |
YMCA |
Civic |
Singer |
PSC |
Cuda |
Curio (53C94) |
SWIM II
|
| Quadra/LC/Performa 630 (“Show & Tell”) & LC580 (“Dragonkid") |
F108 |
Valkyrie |
PrimeTime II |
Cuda |
F108 (53C96 SCSI + ATA) |
SWIM II
|
PowerPC 601 Desktops
| System |
Memory controller |
PCI Bridge |
Video |
Sound |
I/O |
ADB |
SCSI/ATA |
Floppy
|
| Power Macintosh 6100 ("PDM") / 7100 ("Carl Sagan") / 8100 ("Cold Fusion") |
HMC |
N/A |
Sonora-compatible framebuffer built into AMIC, optional HPV (DAFB), optional Planaria (Civic) |
AWACS |
AMIC |
Cuda |
Curio (53C94) |
SWIM III
|
| Power Macintosh 7200/8200 ("Catalyst") |
Platinum+Iridium |
Bandit |
DAFB-compatible framebuffer plus blitter built into Platinum/Iridium |
AWACS |
Grand Central |
Cuda |
Curio (53C94) |
SWIM III
|
| Power Macintosh 7500 ("TNT") |
Hammerhead |
Bandit |
Control+Chaos |
AWACS |
Grand Central |
Cuda |
Curio (53C94)+MESH |
SWIM III
|
PowerPC 603 Desktops
| System |
Memory controller |
PCI Bridge |
Video |
Sound |
I/O |
ADB |
SCSI/ATA |
Floppy
|
| Power Macintosh 5200/6200 ("Transformer") |
F108 |
N/A |
Valkyrie |
PrimeTime II |
Cuda |
F108 (53C96 SCSI + ATA) |
SWIM II
|
| Power Macintosh 5400/6400 ("Alchemy") |
PSX |
Valkyrie-AR |
AWACS |
O'Hare |
Cuda |
O'Hare (MESH SCSI) |
SWIM III
|
| Power Macintosh/Performa 5500/6500 ("Gazelle") |
PSX+ (PSX rev. for faster bus) |
ATI 264GT (3D RAGE) |
AWACS |
O'Hare |
Cuda |
O'Hare (MESH SCSI) |
SWIM III
|
| Power Macintosh 4400 ("Tanzania") & Mac clones |
PSX+ |
ATI 264VT |
AWACS |
O'Hare |
Cuda Lite (ADB+PS/2) |
O'Hare (MESH SCSI) |
SWIM III
|
| Apple/Bandai Pippin @Mark/@World |
Aspen |
Taos |
AWACS |
Grand Central |
Cuda |
MESH |
SWIM III
|
PowerPC 604 Desktops
| System |
Memory controller |
PCI Bridge |
Video |
Sound |
I/O |
ADB |
SCSI/ATA |
Floppy
|
| Power Macintosh 7300/7600 ("Montana") / 8600/9600 ("Kansas") |
Hammerhead |
Bandit |
Control+Chaos |
AWACS |
Grand Central |
Cuda |
Curio (53C94)+MESH |
SWIM III
|
| Power Macintosh 9500 ("Tsunami") |
Hammerhead |
Bandit(x2) |
N/A |
AWACS |
Grand Central |
Cuda |
Curio (53C94)+MESH |
SWIM III
|
PowerPC G3 Desktops
| System |
Memory controller |
PCI Bridge |
Video |
Sound |
I/O |
ADB/Power Manager |
SCSI/ATA |
Floppy
|
| Power Macintosh G3 & G3 All-In-One ("Gossamer") |
Grackle (MPC106) |
ATI 264GT-B (3D Rage II) or Rage Pro or Rage Pro Turbo |
Screamer |
Heathrow |
Cuda |
Heathrow MESH + ATA |
SWIM III
|
| iMac (Bondi blue "Columbus" + 5 Colors "Life Savers") |
Grackle (MPC106) |
ATI Rage IIc or Rage Pro Turbo |
Burgundy |
Paddington |
Cuda |
Paddington ATA |
N/A
|
| Power Macintosh G3 Blue & White ("Yosemite") |
Grackle (MPC106), DEC 21154 |
N/A |
Burgundy |
Paddington |
Cuda |
Silicon Image PCI0646 + Paddington ATA |
N/A
|
| iMac (Slot loading) |
UniNorth |
ATI Rage 128 VR |
Screamer |
KeyLargo |
PMU99 (M16C architecture) |
KeyLargo ATA |
N/A
|
| iMac (Summer 2000) |
UniNorth |
ATI Rage 128 Pro 4XL |
Screamer |
KeyLargo |
PMU99 (M16C architecture) |
KeyLargo ATA |
N/A
|
| iMac (Early 2001) ("Kihei") |
Pangea (UniNorth + KeyLargo) |
ATI Rage 128 Ultra |
Screamer |
Pangea |
PMU99 (M16C architecture) |
KeyLargo ATA |
N/A
|
PowerPC G4 Desktops
| System |
Memory controller |
PCI Bridge |
Video |
Sound |
I/O |
ATA |
Power Manager
|
| PowerMac G4 ("Yikes", "Sawtooth", and "Mystic") |
UniNorth |
N/A |
Screamer |
KeyLargo |
KeyLargo ATA |
PMU99
|
| PowerMac G4 ("Digital Audio" and "Quicksilver", early 2001) |
UniNorth |
N/A |
Tumbler |
KeyLargo |
KeyLargo ATA |
PMU99
|
| PowerMac G4 ("Quicksilver 2002 ED", late 2002) |
U2 |
N/A |
Snapper |
KeyLargo |
KeyLargo ATA |
PMU99
|
| iMac G4 (Early 2002) |
Pangea (UniNorth + KeyLargo) |
Nvidia GeForce 2MX |
Tumbler |
Pangea |
KeyLargo ATA |
PMU99
|
| iMac G4 (Late 2003/USB 2.0) |
Intrepid (U2 + KeyLargo) |
Nvidia GeForce 4MX or 5200 Ultra |
Intrepid |
KeyLargo ATA |
PMU99
|
PowerPC G5 Desktops
| System |
Memory controller |
PCI Bridge |
Video |
Sound |
I/O |
ATA |
Power Manager
|
| PowerMac G5 (Mid 2003) |
U3 Heavy |
N/A |
Screamer |
K2 |
K2 ATA |
PMU99
|
| PowerMac G5 (Late 2004 single-processor) |
U3 Lite |
N/A |
Shasta |
Shasta ATA + Serial ATA |
PMU99
|
| iMac G5 (Mid 2004) |
U3 Lite |
Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 Ultra |
Shasta |
Shasta ATA + Serial ATA |
PMU99
|
| iMac G5 ("Ambient Light Sensor" Early 2005) |
U3 Lite |
ATI Radeon 9600 |
Shasta |
Shasta ATA + Serial ATA |
PMU99
|
| iMac G5 ("iSight" Late 2005) |
U3 Lite |
ATI Radeon X600 Pro or X600 XT |
Shasta |
Shasta ATA + Serial ATA |
PMU99
|
68000 Portables
| System |
Memory controller |
Video |
Sound |
I/O |
ADB |
SCSI/ATA |
Floppy
|
| Mac Portable ("Esprit") / PowerBook 100 ("Asahi") |
GLU |
DDC |
ASC |
N/A |
PMU (M50753) |
85C80 |
SWIM
|
68030 Portables
| System |
Memory controller |
Video |
Sound |
I/O |
ADB |
SCSI/ATA |
Floppy
|
| PowerBook 140 ("Tim Lite") / 145 ("Colt 45") / 145B / 170 ("Tim") |
Jaws |
DDC |
EASC |
N/A |
PMU |
85C80 |
SWIM
|
| PowerBook 160 ("Brooks") / 165 ("Dart LC") / 180 ("Dartanian") |
Niagara |
GSC |
EASC |
N/A |
PMU |
85C80 |
SWIM
|
| PowerBook 165c ("Monet") / 180c ("Hokusai") |
Niagara |
WD90C26+WD90C55 |
EASC |
N/A |
PMU |
85C80 |
SWIM
|
| PowerBook Duo 210/230 ("Best of Both Worlds") |
MSC |
GSC |
EASC |
N/A |
PG&E (68HC05) |
85C80 |
SWIM
|
| PowerBook 150 ("JeDI") |
MSC |
GSC |
EASC |
N/A |
PG&E (68HC05) |
85C80 + ATA |
SWIM
|
68040 Portables
| System |
Memory controller |
Video |
Sound |
I/O |
ADB |
SCSI/ATA |
Floppy
|
| PowerBook Duo 280 ("Yeager") |
MSC II |
GSC |
EASC |
N/A |
PG&E (68HC05) |
85C80 |
SWIM
|
| PowerBook Duo 280c ("Yeager") |
MSC II |
CSC |
EASC |
N/A |
PG&E (68HC05) |
85C80 |
SWIM
|
| PowerBook 500 series ("Blackbird") |
Pratt |
CSC |
EASC |
Whitney |
PG&E (68HC05) |
85C80 |
SWIM II
|
| PowerBook 190 ("Omega") |
Pratt |
CSC |
EASC |
Whitney |
PG&E (68HC05) |
85C80 |
SWIM II
|
PowerPC 603 Portables
| System |
Memory controller |
PCI Bridge |
Video |
Sound |
I/O |
ADB |
SCSI/ATA |
Floppy
|
| PowerBook Duo 2300c ("AJ") |
PBX |
N/A |
CSC |
Singer |
Whitney |
PG&E (68HC05) |
85C80 + Baboon ATA |
SWIM II
|
| PowerBook 5300 ("M2") |
PBX |
N/A |
ECSC (Chips & Technologies 62225) |
Singer |
Whitney |
PG&E (68HC05) |
85C80 + Baboon ATA |
SWIM II
|
| PowerBook 1400 ("Epic") |
PBX |
N/A |
ECSC + Keystone |
Singer |
Whitney |
PG&E (68HC05) |
85C80 + Baboon ATA |
SWIM II + i82078
|
| PowerBook 2400c ("Nautilus") / 3400 ("Hooper") |
PSX |
C&T 65550 |
AWACS |
O'Hare |
PG&E (68HC05) |
85C80 + O'Hare ATA |
SWIM III
|
PowerPC G3 Portables
| System |
Memory controller |
PCI Bridge |
Video |
Sound |
I/O |
ADB |
SCSI/ATA |
Floppy
|
| PowerBook G3 ("Kanga") |
PSX+ |
C&T 65554 |
AWACS |
O'Hare |
PG&E (68HC05) |
Heathrow MESH SCSI + ATA |
SWIM III
|
| PowerBook G3 ("Wall Street") |
Grackle |
ATI 3D Rage LT |
AWACS |
Heathrow |
PG&E (68HC05) |
Heathrow MESH SCSI + ATA |
SWIM III
|
| PowerBook G3 ("Wall Street II/PDQ") |
Grackle |
ATI 3D Rage LT |
AWACS |
Heathrow(x2) |
PG&E (68HC05) |
Heathrow MESH SCSI + ATA |
SWIM III
|
| PowerBook G3 ("Lombard", "Pismo") |
Grackle |
ATI 3D Rage LT Pro |
Screamer |
Paddington |
Cuda |
Paddington MESH SCSI + ATA |
SWIM III
|
| iBook |
UniNorth |
ATI Rage Mobility-L |
Micronas DAC3550A |
KeyLargo |
PMU99 |
KeyLargo ATA |
N/A
|
PowerPC G4 Portables
| System |
Memory controller |
PCI Bridge |
Video |
Sound |
I/O |
ATA |
Power Manager
|
| PowerBook G4 (Early 2001) |
UniNorth |
ATI Rage Mobility 128 |
KeyLargo |
KeyLargo ATA |
PMU99
|
| PowerBook G4 ("Onyx", Late 2001) |
UniNorth |
ATI Mobility Radeon or Radeon 7500 |
KeyLargo |
KeyLargo ATA |
PMU99
|
| PowerBook G4 (Early 2003) |
Intrepid |
Nvidia GeForce4 420 Go or 440 Go |
Intrepid |
Intrepid ATA |
PMU99
|
