68k Accelerators, FPUs and other CPUs

Over the years I have been lucky enough to pick up some 68k systems that that had accelerators installed: two MacPlus machines with Novy Quik30 Plus accelerators and a SE FDHD with a Mobius 030 SE accelerator. As I dug around the internet looking for information I found a lot of of advertisements, reviews, and some manuals and drivers for various accelerators, I also found some contact names that I used to track down old employees through LinkedIn (with some success), so I decided to create this post to track what companies I’ve found information about. I plan to list all companies that made 68k accelerators and PowerPC accelerators for 68k machines, with the list linking to additional pages that provide details of the company and their products as I have time.

The first mention I found for an accelerators for 68k systems appear in MacWorld August 1986 with reviews of products by Novy, Quesse and LevCO, if you are aware of an earlier product please let me know.

I have found information on accelerators or logic board upgrades from the following companies: apple,

Accelerators

Manufactures

Name	Year	Supports	CPU	MHz	FPU	Memory	Comments (CW = ComputerWorld, IW = InfoWorld, MW = MacWorld, MU = MacUser)
Apple Classic II Upgrade		Classic	68030	16	No		New logic board and case
Apple LC II Upgrade		LC	68030	16	no		New logic board
Apple IIci Upgrade		IIcx	68030	25	Inc	–	New logic board
Apple IIfx Upgrade		II	68030	40	Inc	–	New logic board
Apple Quadra 700		IIcx, IIci	68040	25	No	–	New logic board/ports
Applied Engineering TransWarp		SE	68030	25, 40	Opt	16MB	Clip on, Optional Extended Video Ad: MW 1991.11 (photo), MW 1991.12 (photo)
Applied Engineering TransWarp		Classic
Applied Engineering TransWarp Cache-In		IIci	N/A	N/A	N/A	64K cache	Ad: MW 1991.11 (photo),
Applied Engineering TransWarp Cache-In 50		IIci	68030	50	Inc	64K cache	Ad: MW 1991.11 (photo),(advertisement)
Applied Engineering TransWarp LC		LC, LC II	68030	50	Opt	–	PDS slot
Applied Engineering TransWarp 030		II, IIcx, IIsi, IIci, IIfx	68040	33	Inc	–	NuBus slot
Applied Engineering TransWarp 040		II, IIcx, IIsi, IIci, IIfx	68040	25, 33	Inc	–	NuBus slot Ad: MW 1992-06 (photo)
Applied Engineering QuickSilver		IIsi	N/A	N/A	Opt	cache	IIsi slot extender allows you to use cards created for the SE/30 in your IIsi Ad: MW 1991.11 (photo),
Beck-Tech MacMegabytes		512k				1MB	Hyperdrive Compatible, requires modification to case/board Review: MW 1996-02
Brainstorm Accelerator Plus		Plus	68000	16	–	–	Motherboard modification
CSA Over 030		II	68030	25			Review: MW 1989-03
DayStar Novy Max20MX		512e, Plus, SE	68020	16, 25			Licenced technology from Novy Review: 1989-03 (photo) Ad: MU 1988-10, 12
DayStar Digital FastCache IIci		IIci					Ad: MW 1991.11 (photo),
DayStar Digital SE/30 PowerCache		SE/30	68030	40, 50	Opt	–	CPU socket Ad: MW 1991.11 (photo),
DayStar Universal PowerCache		SE/30, LC, LC II, II, IIcx, IIsi, IIci	68030	33, 40, 50	Opt	–	PDS slot
DayStar Accelerator II		II	68030	33			Review: MW 1989-03
Dove Marathon Racer 030 Plus		Plus, SE, Classic	68030	16	Opt	–	Clip on, Optional Extended Video
Dove Marathon 020		SE	68020	16			Review: MW 1989-03
Dove Marathon 030 Enhancement		II	68030	32	No	–	CPU Socket Review MW 1989-03 (photo) Ad: MW 1991.11 (photo)
Dove Marathon Racer 030 II		II	68030	32	Yes	–	CPU socket
Extreme Systems Vandal		SE	68030	33, 50	Yes		Clip on, Extended Video
Extreme Systems Impact		LC, LC II	68030	33	Opt		PDS slot
Fusion Data TokaMac SX			68040	25	Yes		PDS slot
Fusion Data TokaMac LC		LC	68040	25	Yes		PDS slot
General Computer Company Hyperdrive 2000	1986	128k, 512k, 512KE, Plus	68000	12	Opt	1.5MB	No MMU. News: MW 1986.03, MW 1986.09, Review: MW 1986.08, Ad: MW 1987.04
General Computer Company HyperCharger 020		SE	68020	12, 16	Opt	4MB	No MMU, Connector for the Big Picture monitor from E-machines Review: MW 1987-09, MU 1988-03, MW 1989-03
Harris Peformer2		SE	68000	16	Yes		PDS slot, Extended Video
Harris Performer Classic		Classic		16	Opt	64k cache	Ad: MW 1991-11 (photo)
Irwin Magnetics Excelerator XL		SE	68020	20, 25	Inc		Review: MW 1989-03
Levco MonsterMac		512k				2MB	Includes Fan, requires modification to case/board. Review: MW 1986-02, News: MW 1987-11
Levco Prodigy 4	1986	128k, 512k, 512KE, Plus	68020	16	Opt	4MB	No MMU, Connector for MegaScreen Plus from Micrographics Images, SCSI port, RAM disk. Includes fan and power supply. Review: MW 1986.08, MU 1989-02 Ad: MW 1986.08 (photo), 1987-10 MU (photo) News: MW 1987-11
Levco Prodigy Prime	1987	Plus	68020	16	68881	1MB to 32MB	68851 MMU, Clip-on 1987-09 MU: Review, 1987-10 MU: Ad, 1987-11 MW: List, 1987-12 CW: List.
Levco Prodigy SE		SE	68020	16	Opt	4MB, 32MB	Optional MMU, Connector for MegaScreen II from Micrographics Images According to the review the accelerator may support up to 32MB if the 68851 Paged Memory Management Unit (PMMU) is installed. 1987-09 MW: Review, 1987-09 MU: Review, 1987-10 MU: Ad, 1987-11 MW: List, 1987-11 MU: Review (photo) and ad (photo), 1987-12 CW: List, 1988-03 MU: Review (photo), 1989-02 MU: Review (photo), 1989-03 benchmark
Logica LogiCache		IIsi, IIci	68030	50	Opt		Ad: MW 1991-11 (photo) Cache-card slot (April 1993)
Mac Advance MacGusto II		512KE	none		Opt	2.5MB	No MMU, Adds SCSI
MacMemory TheMax		128k, 512k				1.5MB	Requires modification to case/board (review)
MacMemory TheMax2		128k, 512k				2MB	(advertisement)
MacMemory TurboMax	1987	512KE, Plus	68000	16	Opt	4MB	No MMU, Connector for the Big Picture monitor from E-machines, SCSI port, RAM disk. Includes fan and power supply MW 1987.02, (review)
MacMemory Turbo SE		SE	68000	16	Opt	4MB	No MMU, Connector for the Big Picture monitor from E-machines (review)
MacPeak Systems Orion		SE	68020	16	Opt	8MB, 32MB	Optional MMU, Galaxy Adapter option According to the review the accelerator may support up to 32MB if the 68851 Paged Memory Management Unit (PMMU) is installed. (review), 1989-03 benchmark
MacPeak Systems Orion 25		SE	68020	25	Opt	8MB	Optional MMU, Galaxy Adapter option, 1989-03 benchmark
MacPeak Systems Orion SE		SE					(review),
MacProducts Railgun		Plus, SE	68030	33	Opt		Clip on
MacProducts Railgun Pro II		SE 30, LC LC II, Color Classic, SI, SI	68030	50	Inc	64MB	PDS slot. Created by Novy Technology Inc (as the Image Pro II), sold by MacProducts, I have a prototype of this board for the LC, LC II, CC, that I bought from a Novy Technology Inc employee in 2022, as far as he knows the board was never sold. I am wondering if Novy did a limited run of the boards before they closed down, and sold the boards to MacProducts. Ads: MW 1993.12, MU 1994.01, MW 1994.12 (picture).
MacProducts USA Magic 020		Plus	68020	12.5	Inc	none	No MMU, Cpu can be upgraded to a 68030
MassTech FastMac		512k				2MB	2MB requires a separate power supply, includes fan (review)
MicroCoversion 1 Meg Upgrade		512k				1MB	Includes Fan, requires modification to case/board (advertisement, review)
MicroMac MultiSpeed		Plus, SE	68030	25	Opt		Clip on, Optional Extended Video
MicroMac Performer
MicroMac PerformerPro
MicroMac
Mobius 030		SE, Classic	68030	25	Opt		Clip on, Extended Video
Network Specialties Jump 020		512KE, Plus	68020	12	Opt	4MB	No MMU, StretchScreen and StretchProjector, Can also run at 16 and 24 MHz
NewLife 1		128k, 512K, 512Ke	?			4MB	SCSI Port, MU 1991.05
NewLife 2		128k, 512K, 512Ke	?				MU 1991.05
NewLife 25Plus		128k, 512K, 512Ke, Plus	68030	25	Opt		MU 1991.05
NewLife 25SE		SE	68030	25	Opt		PDS Slot, Optional Extended Video MU 1991.05
NewLife 33SE		SE	68030	33	Opt		MU 1991.05
Novy Floating Point Accelerator	1986	128k, 512k, 512KE, Plus	N/A		Yes		Clip on, requires special software. MW 1986.08, 1986.09
Novy Systems ImagePro		Plus, SE	68030	16, 25, 33	Yes		Clip on, Extended Video
Novy Systems ImagePro II		SE 30, LC LC II, Color Classic, SI, SI	68030	50	Inc	64MB	PDS slot. Created by Novy Technology Inc, I have a prototype of this board for the LC, LC II, CC, that I bought from a Novy Technology Inc employee in 2022, as far as he knows the board was never sold. But it looks like MacProducts may have sold this board as the Railgun Pro II. Ads: MW 1993.12, MU 1994.01, MW 1994.12 (picture).
Novy Systems Mac20							(review)
Novy Systems Mac20Mx		512KE, Plus, SE	68020	12, 16, 20, 24	Opt	4MB	No MMU, Includes fan and power supply, SCSI port is optional (review)
Novy Systems Quik 30		Plus, SE
Radius Accelerator		512KE, Plus, SE	68020	16	Opt	32K cache	No MMU, Full Page Display (SE only) (review, review), 1989-03 benchmark (photo)
Radius Rocket		II, IIcx, IIci	68040	25, 33	Yes	–	NuBus slot
Ryad Mac Engine GT		128K, 512K, 512KE, Plus	68000	16	No	4MB	No MMU, Includes fan and power supply, and SCSI port
Ryad MacEngine Turbo		128K, 512K, 512KE, Plus	68020	16	Opt	4MB	No MMU, Includes fan and power supply, and SCSI port
Siclone si30		II, IIx	68030	33, 40, 50	Inc		brochure, MW 1988-01, IW 1988-11, MW 1988-01,
Siclone Intensifier ci		ci	68030	50	Opt		brochure
Siclone Turbo SE		SE	68000	16			MW 1988-10 ad, MW 1989-02 review (photo), MW 1989-03 benchmark
Siclone MacAdapt		512KE, Plus	68000	16			Adapter for the TurboSE MU 1988-09 ad, MW 1988-10 ad
Spectra Micro Development MacAccelerator		512KE, Plus, SE	68020	12	Inc	None	No MMU, Connector for the Big Picture monitor from E-machines
Sonnet Alegro		LC, LC II, Color Classic, SE, II, IIx	68030	33			MacAddict 006
Sonnet Presto
Sonnet Quad Doubler
SuperMac SpeedCard	1988	SE	68000	15.67	Opt	1MB	1988-02 IW: Note, 1988-08 MU: Note, 1988-12 MU: Note, MU 1989-02 Note, Review (photo), video
SuperMacTechnology Prodigy SE		SE	68020	16	Inc	8MB	No MMU, Connector for the Big Picture monitor from E-machines, uses ZIPs for memory
TechWorks LC		LC	68040	25	Inc	–	PDS slot
TechWorks NuBus 040		II, IIcx, IIsi, IIci	68040	33	Yes	–	NuBus slot
Total Systems Enterprise 030		LC, LC II	68030	16	Inc	–	PDS slot Ad: MW 1991.11 (photo),
Total Systems Gemini Classic		Classic		20,25,33, 40	Opt	16MB	Ad: MW 1991.11 (photo),
Total Systems Gemini Integra				50
Total Systems Gemini Ultra		128k, 512K, Plus, SE	68030	20,25,33, 40	Opt	16MB	Ad: MW 1991.11 (photo),
Total Systems Gemini Ultra Classic		Classic	68030	20, 33, 50	Opt		Clip-on, optional extended graphics
Total Systems Integration TSI-020		512KE, Plus, SE	68020	12	Opt	4MB	No MMU, Includes fan and power supply, and SCSI port
Total Systems Integration TSI-020		512KE, Plus, SE	68020	16	Opt	4MB	No MMU, Includes fan and power supply, SCSI port is optional
Total Systems Magellan		SE/30, IIsi, IIci, IIFX	68040	25	Yes	–	PDS slot Ad: MW 1991.11 (photo),
Total Systems Mercury 030		SE	68030	16	Opt		PDS slot, Optional Extended Video Ad: MW 1991.11 (photo),
Total Systems Voyager		II	68030	50	Opt	–	CPU socket
Quesse Maccelerator	1986	128k, 512k, 512KE, Plus	N/A		Yes	N/A	Clips on, includes QuickSANE that redirects SANE requests to the FPU. MW 1986.08, MW 1986.09

Apple

Apple mainly offered upgrades in the form of new logic boards for their systems, e.g. when the 512 was released you could swap out the 128’s logic board with the 512’s, etc. For now I’ve limited the list to an upgrade in the CPU.

Applied Engineering

In fall of 1991 Siclone Sales and Engineering when bankrupt and Applied Engineering took over their product line (MacWorld 1991.08) and in early

Siclone Sales and Engineering Corp. (1988 to 1991)

Located at 1169 Borregas Ave. Sunnyvale, CA 94089 (MW 1989.03). In fall of 1991 Siclone Sales and Engineering went bankrupt and Applied Engineering took over their product line (MacWorld 1991.08)

MacProducts USA

Became DGR Technologies Inc. in 1994, there are two domains cached by the internet archive, both point to the same site, or sites with similar info, one for Bottom Line Distribution called Bottom Line Online (blol.com), and one for DGR (drg.com) that links to pages on blol.com…

References and Timeline

• MacWorld April 1984, A new world, reviews the 128k Macintosh, and Polishing the Mac, and interview with Bill Gates.
• MacWorld May/June 1984, Fat Mac, the wait for 256k chips to upgrade 128k macs to 512k macs
• MacWorld July/August 1984, The Mac Lines Up with Mainframes, and the Mac Connects, Macintosh terminal server
• MacWorld November 1984, The Macintosh Deluxe, reviews the 512k Macintosh and
• MacWorld December 1984, Shifting in to Overdrive, reviews the very first hard drives for the Macintosh. Non-SCSI, they connect to the printer or modem port instead.
• Book 1985 by Arthur Naiman: MacBook : the indispensable guide to Macintosh hardware and software
• MacWorld August 1985, In search of a better mouse
• MacUser October 1985, File Servers: The Macintosh office’s missing link
• MacUser November 1985, Between a Rock and a Hard Disk. and Delivering a Fat Mac (how to modify a 128k mac into a 512k mac)
• Book 1986 by Gene William: Chilton’s guide to Macintosh repair and maintenance
• MacWorld February 1986, Megabytes and Beyond, reviews the Beck-Teck MacMegabytes, Levco MonsterMac, MacMemory TheMax, MassTech FastMac, MicroCoversion 1 Meg Upgrade
• MacWorld August 1986, New Ways to a Faster Mac, reviews the General Computer Company Hyperdrive 2000, Levco Prodigy 4, Novy Floating Point Accelerator, Quesse Maccelerator
• MacWorld September 1986, Enter the SCSI drives, reviews of some of the very first SCSI drives for the Mac
• Book 1987 by Arthur Naiman: The Macintosh Bible
• BYTE August 1987, The Macintosh SE, mentions the accelerators and questions why the SE doesn’t have 68020 CPU
• MacWorld September 1987, Beefing up the SE, reviews the General Computer Company HyperCharger 020, Leveco Prodigy SE, MacPeak Systems Orion, Radius Accelerator
• Book 1988 by Arthur Naiman: The Macintosh Bible (second edition)
• MacWorld Feb 1988, New Life for an Old Mac
• MacWorld March 1988, Pedal to the Metal, reviews the Mac Plus control, Mac SE control, Mac 20, Turbo Max, Turbo Se, Accelerator Plus, Mac II control, Hypercharger 020, Orion SE, Accelerator SE, Mac20MX Prodigy SE
• MacWorld August 1988: Staying Alive, an optical mouse for the Plus?
• BYTE December 1988, Mac Expansion, reviews of Aox inc DoubleTime, Dove’s MaraThon 020, E-Machines DoubleColor, Mecury Computer System’s MC3200NU, Network Specialties Inc Jump 020, Novy Systems MAC20MX, Radius Inc Accelerator 16 for the Mac Plus, and for the SE, and the Accelerator 25.
• MacWorld September 1988, Short Takes, review of the TSI-020MX (licensed from Novy Systems) and Radius Accelerator 25
• Book 1989 Sharon Zardetto Aker: The Macintosh Bible (second edition, first update)
• BYTE November 1989, Upward Mobility
• Book 1989 Bob Vitus’s: Doctor Macintosh (and 1992), and other reference books for system software and applications.
• MacWorld February 1990, Is your mac obsolete?
• Book 1990 by Larry Pina: Macintosh Repair and Upgrade Secrets
• MacWorld August 1990, Full Speed Ahead
• MacUser August 1990, Chasing the IIfx Accelerators
• Book 1991 by Arthur Naiman and Sharon Zardetto Aker: The Macintosh Bible (third edition)
• Book 1991 by Larry Pina: Macintosh II Repair and Secrets
• Book 1991 by Bob Brant: Upgrade Your Macintosh and Save a Bundle
• MacUser June 1991, IIci Cache Cards
• MacWorld July 1991, the Accelerated Course, accelerator cards
• MacWorld November 1991, new life for old roms, info about the creation of Mode32 for system 7.
• Book 1991, MacWorld’s Complete Mac Handbook, list of accelerator manufacturers and their products
• Book 1992 by Arthur Naiman: The Macintosh Bible (forth edition)
• Book 1992 by Larry Pina: Dead Mac Scrolls
• BYTE February 1992, Accelerator, Coprocessor and Multiprocessor Boards
• MacWorld June 1992, The need for speed
• MacUser June 1992, Blasting Off: CPU Accelerators
• MacUser August 1992, MiniFinders, mentions limited SCSI throughput for Novy Accelerators.
• MacUser September 1992, New Life for Old Macs
• MacUser October 1992, Repairs and Upgrades for the Mac IIfx
• MacUser November 1992, Fast 68040 Accelerators, Upgrading the Mac SE
• MacUser December 1992, Upgrading the Mac IIci
• Book 1992 by Garry Howard: the Macintosh Do It Yourself Upgrade Book basic information on several accelerators, memory and other upgrades
• Book 1992 by Bob Brant: Build your own Macintosh and Save a Bundle, basic information on several accelerators, memory and other upgrades
• Book 1993 by Larry Pina: Mac classic & SE : repair and upgrade secrets
• MacUser January 1993, Maximum RAM, Upgrading the Mac SE/30 (253)
• MacUser March 1993, Upgrading the Mac LC
• MacUser April 1993, 100 Accelerated Systems
• MacWorld June 1993, Upgrading Your Mac
• Book 1995 by Todd Stauffer: Using your Mac
• MacWorld February 1995, Making the move to PowerMac, includes a comment that the 68k accelerator market has “dried up”
• MacWorld UK February 1995, Movin’ on up
• Book 1996 by Clifford Colby and Sharon Zardetto Aker: The Macintosh Bible (sixth edition, I intentionally skipped the fifth edition since it doesn’t seem to have info on accelerators)
• MacAddict 006 February 1997, This Old Mac: Mac Plus, Tates Dove, Mobius, NewLife, and Novy Systems are out of business, and provides the urls for MicroMac, Mobius (no mention of their accelerators), and Sonnet Technologies.
• MacAddict 007 March 1997, This Old Mac: SE/30
• MacAddict 008 April 1997, This Old Mac: Mac II
• MacAddict 009 May 1997, This Old Mac: Mac IIci, IIcx, and IIsi
• MacAddict 011 July 1997, This Old Mac: Mac LC, LC II, and LC III
• MacUser July 1997, Never Say Die
• MacAddict 012 August 1997, This Old Mac: LC 475, 500 Series, and 630
• MacAddict 014 October 1997, This Old Mac: Centris and Quadra 610 and 650
• Book 1998 Sharon Zardetto Aker: The Macintosh Bible (seventh edition), other than a mention of compatibility issues, no info on specific cards, this fits with the .
• MacAddict 019 March 1998, Nitro Burning Funny Macs, and This Old Mac: Power Mac 6100
• Book 1998 by Todd Stauffer: Mac Upgrade and Repair Bible
• MacAddict 021 May 1998, This Old Mac: Pumping Up a Powerbook 100
• MacAddict 024 August 1998, Pumping Up a PowerBook 520/540
• MacAddict 027 November 1998, This Old Mac: The All in Ones
• MacAddict 029 January 1999, Anti-Aging Upgrades,
• MacAddict May 1999, This Old Mac online articles (last entry for the page in the wayback machine)