March 19, 1990: The ultra-fast Macintosh IIfx makes its debut, sporting a hefty price ticket acceptable for such a speedy machine.
The quickest Macintosh of its day, it boasts a CPU operating at a “depraved quick” 40 MHz. It good points a further velocity bump from a pair of Apple-designed, application-specific built-in circuits. Costs begin at $9,870 and run as much as $12,000 — the equal of $23,434 to $28,492 in 2024 cash!
Macintosh IIfx: A powerhouse Mac
The sixteenth Mac mannequin launched, the Macintosh IIfx revealed simply how drastically private computing energy had elevated within the few quick years because the authentic Mac’s launch in 1984.
A dear powerhouse, the Macintosh IIfx utilized Motorola’s 40 MHz 68030 microprocessor with a 68882 floating level co-processor. Apple claimed this gave consumers the efficiency of a Solar Microsystems Sparcstation 1, a pro-grade piece of equipment.
Along with the CPU, the IIfx obtained a velocity increase from its two devoted I/O processors, known as “peripheral interface controllers.” These had been a pair of 10 MHz 6502 CPUs, the identical CPU household used within the Apple II. They managed the low-level I/O duties on the Apple bus, floppy disk drive and serial ports that the 68030 microprocessor beforehand dealt with.
The IIfx’s excessive velocity made it the quickest Mac out there till Apple launched the Quadra 900 in October 1991.
With Macintosh IIfx, Apple says goodbye to Snow White design language
When it comes to design, the IIfx proved vital as effectively. It was the final laptop launched utilizing Apple’s influential “Snow White” industrial design language, launched in 1984.
Designer Hartmut Esslinger of Frog Design got here up with the Snow White look. He utilized design prospers equivalent to vertical and horizontal stripes to create the phantasm that the pc was smaller than it actually was.
Mac IIfx will not be sufficient to crack large enterprise
Regardless of its energy, the Macintosh IIfx didn’t break into the skilled workstation world the best way Apple hoped. Cupertino envisioned the pc discovering a spot within the engineering and medical imaging world. Apple even dreamed of successful over energy customers on Wall Avenue.
This didn’t precisely occur. A September 10, 1990, article in Computerworld noticed, “Mac IIfx: Not but to be feared.” It described how, months after the pc’s launch, the IIfx nonetheless struggled to change into a severe contender within the office.
The principle motive? Apple “underestimated the ferocity of the workstation market.”
Whereas undeniably highly effective, the IIfx lagged behind top-of-the-line workstations made by IBM and Digital Tools Corp. Nonetheless, it discovered favor with its core viewers of energy Macintosh customers. It notably appealed to folks working in artistic fields who required severe graphics firepower.
If you happen to used a Mac in 1990, it didn’t get significantly better than this! Apple bought the Macintosh IIfx by means of April 1992.
Extra on Mac historical past
For more information on the historical past of the Macintosh, learn our in-depth story: “Evolution of the Mac: 40 years of innovation.”