Quadra630 Review

Date: Fri, 30 Sep 1994 08:09:54 -0400 (EDT) From: Andrew Sinclair-Day <sinclair@pcnet.com> Subject: Quadra 630 Review A review of the Macintosh Quadra 630 In August of 1994 Apple Computer Inc. released a new line of their popular Macintosh computer. The models introduced are the Quadra 630, LC630, Performa 630, Performa 630CD, Performa 635, Performa 636, and the Performa 636CD. All the models are similar, such as case design, hard drive capacity, and ports, but there are some differences. The Quadra 630 is the only model to have a full MC68040 with the floating Point Unit(FPU) for math intensive tasks and is geared towards businesses. The LC is for the educational market and the Performa models are for the consumer channels and come in many different configurations. This review will focus on the Quadra 630, but should also apply in part to the LC and Performa models. What you get for $1189 (street) 1 Quadra 630 with 4megs Ram, 250meg IDE Hard Drive, 1.44mb floppy 1 Apple Desktop Mouse II 2 Power Cables (why 2?) System 7.12P or System 7.5 (depending on when purchased) 2 Manuals (Getting Started, Macintosh Reference) 1 Apple Resource Guide 1 Warranty registration card System Disks EWorld software installed on the hard drive The Specs The Quadra 630 is powered by a Motorola MC68040 with FPU running at 33MHz (a tad slower than the Quadra 950), according to Apple it is a 33/66MHz chip. What this 33/66 marketing gimmick means is that the internal sync clock is running at 66MHz and the system bus is running at 33MHz. This new terminology has caused allot of confusion, one salesman at a local computer superstore swore that it was a 66MHz machine and you could switch between the 2 speeds (really!!) . Not so. 4MB DRAM on the motherboard. 1 72-pin DRAM SIMM socket (80ns or faster, up to 32MB). 1MB ROM. 1MB video memory (not expandable). 1 LC compatible PDS slot. 1 Communication slot for modem or Ethernet card. 1 Video slot with DVA for a video input card. 1 internal port for a TV tuner card. 1 internal 250MB IDE Hard Drive. Energy Star compliant The ports on the rear of the unit include an ADB port, two serial ports, monitor port, SCSI port, 8bit mono sound input and 8bit stereo output ports. The motherboard slides out the rear of the unit, making upgrades very easy. The front of the unit has the SuperDrive, space for an internal CD-ROM, and three new features. These features are Up/Down volume buttons, a Headphone jack and an infrared sensor (for Sony remotes). An internal Power Supply will take line voltages from 100-240 volts AC. Power consumption of the Quadra 630 is 45 watts. The case design is unique in that it is made up of 5 stylish plastic panels that snap on a solid metal frame, the Q630 weighs in at 17 lbs. (7.7 kg) and measures 12.6S x 16.5S x 4.3S. SET-UP Setting up the Quadra 630 was straightforward, take the computer …