Photo: Dusza Artysty / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons · source
Macintosh Quadra 900
A full-tower 68040 powerhouse with five NuBus slots.
Overview
The Quadra 900 was the flagship of the first Quadra pair: a tall tower with space for five NuBus cards, a processor direct slot and four VRAM sockets. It could hold up to 256 MB of memory using sixteen SIMM sockets, a staggering amount for 1991.
A front-panel key lock offered three positions, including a Secure mode that disabled the floppy drive and the ADB port. Built-in Ethernet and fast SCSI made it popular as a workgroup server or a high-end production workstation.
It shipped for only about six months before being replaced by the Quadra 950, which fixed a few details. Upgrade kits and PowerPC cards later extended its life.
Why it mattered
It established the tower Mac for professionals and offered unprecedented expansion room.
At a glance
- Announced
- October 21, 1991
- Released
- October 21, 1991
- Discontinued
- May 18, 1992
- Launch price
- $7,200
- Chip / processor
- Motorola 68040, 25 MHz
- Storage
- 160 or 400 MB hard disk
- Status
- Vintage
Highlights
- First Mac in a full tower case
- 25 MHz 68040 with up to 256 MB RAM
- Five NuBus slots plus a direct slot
- Front-panel key lock
Tech specs
Specifications as published at launch. Some values (like battery life) are manufacturer estimates.
Chip
- Chip
- Motorola 68040, 25 MHz
Memory
- RAM
- 4 MB, expandable to 256 MB
- Storage options
- 160 or 400 MB SCSI hard disk; 1.4 MB floppy; one 5.25-inch bay
Expansion
- Slots
- Five NuBus slots, one Processor Direct Slot
Design
- Dimensions
- 47.2 x 22.6 x 52.3 cm (18.6 x 8.9 x 20.6 in)
- Weight
- 16.7 kg (36.8 lb)
Software
- Launch OS
- System 7.0.1
- Latest supported OS
- Mac OS 8.1
Video
- VRAM
- 1 MB, expandable to 2 MB (four VRAM slots)
Availability
- Announced
- October 21, 1991
- Released
- October 21, 1991
- Discontinued
- May 18, 1992
- Launch price
- $7,200
Colors
- Finishes
- Platinum
