Published / Modified
- 1970-01-01
- 2026-03-18
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This is a collection of ideas
It ain't fixed... but surely it's different.
Repairs
- CRT stopped working in 2026-02. Overhaul CRT (by professional).
- Take care of cosmetic damage
What could be next?
- Storage: A SD-based solution to replace hdd — EUR 0.
- CPU: A full Motorola 68040 — approx. EUR 50–80.
- Memory: Experiment with more Ram — approx. EUR 100.
- CPU: A PowerPC processor upgrade.
- Graphics: A dedicated video card – more research.
- Maintenance: Recap mainboard – determine state of caps first.
CPU
Upgrade with comparison (before and after): photos, benchmarks and impressions.
- 68040: Offers on Ebay etc.
- 68040: MC68040 Product Information | nxp.com
- 68040: M68040 User Manual – Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. | nxp.com
- 68040: Counterfeit 68040 (L88M) | 68kMLA
- 68040: Masken und Fakes | amigawiki.org
- 68040: MC68040 Processor | ppa.pl (Google Translate) a.k.a. "the Polish site"
- PowerPC: PowerPC Upgrades for 68040 Macs with LC PDS | lowendmac.com
- PowerPC: DayStar PowerCard 601 | lowendmac.com
Desirable CPUs
Newer is better. Here some information:
| Type | Socket | Mask | Year | Process | Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 68040 | PGA179 | 00E31F | 1989 | 0.8µm | XC68040RC33M |
| 68040 | PGA179 | 02E31F | 1989 | 0.8µm | XC68040RC40M |
| 68040 | PGA179 | 02E31F | 1994 | 0.8µm | XC68040HRC40M |
| 68040 | PGA179 | 02E42K | 1995 | 0.65µm | MC68040RC33 |
RC = Release Candidate, HRC = High Release Candidate (final testing)
Full 68040 processors
| Mask | Process | Year | X/M | Fab | Production Years | Observed Side Markings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D43B | 0.8µm | 1989 | XC | MOS8 | 1991/03–1991/15 | – |
| D50D | 0.8µm | 1989 | XC | MOS8 | 1991/50 | – |
| D98D | 0.8µm | 1989 | XC | MOS8 | 1992/09, 1992/03–50 | end with -010 |
| E31F | 0.65µm | 1989 | XC | MOS11 | 1993-1995-06-02 | end with -001 |
| E26A | 0.65µm | 1992–95 | XC | MOS8 (?) | 1992–1995 | – |
| E42K | 0.65µm | 1995 | MC | MOS11 | 1995-06-02–2000-08-13 | end with -101 |
| K63H | 0.57µm | 2000 | MC | TSC8 | 2000-08-13–2002-11-23 | end with -104 or -103 |
| L88M | 0.57µm | 2002 | MC | MOS11 | 2002-11-23-2004 (?) | end with -104 |
Notation: yyyy/ww represents a week, yyyy-mm a month and yyyy-mm-dd a complete date. Source information: amigawiki.org (Mask to X/M), www.ppa.pl (Fab & Production Years) and tinkerdifferent.com (Side Markings).
LC and EC Variants
| Mask | Process | Fab | Production years |
|---|---|---|---|
| D39H | 0.8µm | MOS8 | 1992 |
| E23G | 0.65µm | MOS11 | 1993/39 – 1995-06-02 |
| E71M | 0.65µm | MOS11 | 1995-06-02 – 2000-01-17 |
| J46X | 0.57µm | TSC8 | 2000-01-17 – 2002-09-07 |
| L89M | 0.57µm | MOS11 | 2002-09-07 onwards |
Nomenclature: LC lacks the Floating Point Unit (FPU), EC has neither a FPU nor a Memory Managment Unit (MMU). Notation: yyyy/ww represents a week, yyyy-mm a month and yyyy-mm-dd a complete date. Source information: www.ppa.pl
Further Reading
Graphics
From Radius or Daystar, for example. 24-bit color was mentioned online.
RAM
Up to 128 MB should be possible.
Storage
- BlueSCSI: done
- IDE-to-SD: adapter and SD cards are available
Maintenance
- Recap mainboard: Macintosh LC 630 – Recap-A-Mac
- Get CRT checked