I wanted to find out more information on the two Novy Quik 30 accelerator cards I found in a couple of Mac Plus computers I picked up in early 2020 (before the lock down), so I took the same approach I did for researching AGI release and started searching through scans on the internet archive to see what I could find, and I luckily found several articles listing and reviewing the various memory addon cards and accelerators that were released for 68k macintosh systems so I decided to aggregate what I found about upgrades that interest me in to a set of tables on what I found in books and magazines in the archive (follows tables). Note, this page is not intended to be an authoritative list, there was way, way to much released for that, this is what I happened to come across that I found interesting.
1. CPU and Memory upgrades
| Name (link to photo) | Supports | CPU | FPU | Memory | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Classic II Upgrade | Classic | 16 MHz 68030 | No | New logic board and case | |
| Apple LC II Upgrade | LC | 16 MHz 68030 | no | New logic board | |
| Apple IIci Upgrade | IIcx | 25 MHz 68030 | Inc | – | New logic board |
| Apple IIfx Upgrade | II | 40 MHz 68030 | Inc | – | New logic board |
| Apple Quadra 700 | IIcx, IIci | 25 MHz 68040 | No | – | New logic board/ports |
| Applied Engineering TransWarp | SE, Classic | 16, 40 MHz 68030 | Opt | – | Clip on, Optional Extended Video |
| Applied Engineering TransWarp CI | IIci | 50 MHz 68030 | (advertisement) | ||
| Applied Engineering TransWarp LC | LC, LC II | 50 MHz 68030 | Opt | – | PDS slot |
| Applied Engineering TransWarp 030 | II, IIcx, IIsi, IIci, IIfx | 33MHz 68040 | Inc | – | NuBus slot |
| Applied Engineering TransWarp 040 | II, IIcx, IIsi, IIci, IIfx | 25, 33 MHz 68040 | Inc | – | NuBus slot (advertisement) |
| Beck-Tech MacMegabytes | 512k | 1MB | Hyperdrive Compatible, requires modification to case/board (review) | ||
| Brainstorm Accelerator Plus | Plus | 16 MHz 68000 | – | – | Motherboard modification |
| Dayna Communcations MacCharlie | (review) | ||||
| DayStar SE/30 PowerCache | SE/30 | 50 MHz 68030 | Opt | – | CPU socket |
| DayStart Universal PowerCache | SE/30, LC, LC II, II, IIcx, IIsi, IIci | 33, 40, 50 MHz 68030 | Opt | – | PDS slot |
| Dove Marathon Racer 030 Plus | Plus, SE, Classic | 16 MHz 68030 | Opt | – | Clip on, Optional Extended Video |
| Dove Marathon 030 Enhancement | II | 32 MHz 68030 | No | – | CPU Socket |
| Dove Marathon Racer 030 II | II | 32 MHz 68030 | Yes | – | CPU socket |
| Extreme Systems Vandal | SE | 33, 50 MHz 68030 | Yes | Clip on, Extended Video | |
| Extreme Systems Impact | LC, LC II | 33 MHz 68030 | Opt | PDS slot | |
| Fusion Data TokaMac SX | 25 MHz 68040 | Yes | PDS slot | ||
| Fusion Data TokaMac LC | LC | 25 MHz 68040 | Yes | PDS slot | |
| General Computer Company Hyperdrive 2000 | 12 MHz 68000 | Opt | 1.4MB | No MMU (advertisement, review, review) | |
| General Computer Company HyperCharger 020 | SE | 12, 16 MHz 68020 | Opt | 4MB | No MMU, Connector for the Big Picture monitor from E-machines (review, review) |
| Harris Peformer2 | SE | 16 MHz 68000 | Yes | PDS slot, Extended Video | |
| Levco MonsterMac | 512k | 2MB | Includes Fan, requires modification to case/board(review) | ||
| Levco Prodigy 4 | 128k, 512k, 512KE, Plus | 16 MHz 68020 | Opt | 4MB | No MMU, Connector for MegaScreen Plus from Micrographics Images, SCSI port, RAM disk. Includes fan and power supply (review) |
| Levco Prodigy SE | SE | 16 MHz 68020 | 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. (review, review) |
| Logica LogiCache | IIsi, IIci | 50 MHz 68030 | Opt | 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 | 512KE, Plus | 16 MHz 68000 | Opt | 4MB | No MMU, Connector for the Big Picture monitor from E-machines, SCSI port, RAM disk. Includes fan and power supply (review) |
| MacMemory Turbo SE | SE | 16 MHz 68000 | Opt | 4MB | No MMU, Connector for the Big Picture monitor from E-machines (review) |
| MacPeak Systems Orion | SE | 16 MHz 68020 | 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) |
| MacPeak Systems Orion 25 | SE | 25 MHz 68020 | Opt | 8MB | Optional MMU, Galaxy Adapter option |
| MacPeak Systems Orion SE | SE | (review) | |||
| MacProducts Railgun | Plus, SE | 33 MHz 68030 | Opt | Clip on | |
| MacProducts USA Magic 020 | Plus | 12.5 MHz 68020 | 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 | 25 MHz 68030 | Opt | Clip on, Optional Extended Video | |
| Mobius 030 | SE, Classic | 25 MHz 68030 | Opt | Clip on, Extended Video | |
| Network Specialties Jump 020 | 512KE, Plus | 12 MHz 68020 | Opt | 4MB | No MMU, StretchScreen and StretchProjector, Can also run at 16 and 24 MHz |
| NewLife Accelerator! | SE | 16, 25 MHz 68030 | Opt | PDS Slot, Optional Extended Video | |
| NewLife Accelerator! | SE | 33 MHz 68030 | Yes | PSD Slot | |
| Novy Systems ImagePro | Plus, SE | 16, 25, 33 MHz 68030 | Yes | Clip on, Extended Video | |
| Novy Systems Mac20 | (review) | ||||
| Novy Systems Mac20Mx | 512KE, Plus, SE | 12, 16, 20 and 24 MHz 68020 | Opt | 4MB | No MMU, Includes fan and power supply, SCSI port is optional (review) |
| Radius Accelerator | 512KE, Plus, SE | 16 MHz 68020 | Opt | 32K cache | No MMU, Full Page Display (SE only) (review, review) |
| Radius Rocket | II, IIcx, IIci | 25, 33 MHz 68040 | Yes | – | NuBus slot |
| Ryad Mac Engine GT | 128K, 512K, 512KE, Plus | 16 MHz 68000 | No | 4MB | No MMU, Includes fan and power supply, and SCSI port |
| Ryad MacEngine Turbo | 128K, 512K, 512KE, Plus | 16 MHz 68020 | Opt | 4MB | No MMU, Includes fan and power supply, and SCSI port |
| Spectra Micro Development MacAccelerator | 512KE, Plus, SE | 12 MHz 68020 | Inc | None | No MMU, Connector for the Big Picture monitor from E-machines |
| SuperMacTechnology Prodigy SE | SE | 16 MHz 68020 | Inc | 8MB | No MMU, Connector for the Big Picture monitor from E-machines, uses ZIPs for memory |
| TechWorks LC | LC | 25 MHz 68040 | Inc | – | PDS slot |
| TechWorks NuBus 040 | II, IIcx, IIsi, IIci | 33 MHz 68040 | Yes | – | NuBus slot |
| Total Systems Enterprise 030 | LC, LC II | 32 MHz 68030 | Inc | – | PDS slot |
| Total Systems Gemini Integra | 50 MHz | ||||
| Total Systems Gemini Ultra | 33, 50 MHz | ||||
| Total Systems Gemini Ultra Classic | Classic | 20, 33, 50 MHz 68030 | Opt | Clip-on, optional extended graphics | |
| Total Systems Integration TSI-020 | 512KE, Plus, SE | 12 MHz 68020 | Opt | 4MB | No MMU, Includes fan and power supply, and SCSI port |
| Total Systems Integration TSI-020 | 512KE, Plus, SE | 16 MHz 68020 | Opt | 4MB | No MMU, Includes fan and power supply, SCSI port is optional |
| Total Systems Magellan | SE/30, IIsi, IIci | 25 MHz 68040 | Yes | – | PDS slot |
| Total Systems Mercury 030 | SE | 16 MHz 68030 | Opt | PDS slot, Optional Extended Video | |
| Total Systems Voyager | II | 50 MHz 68030 | Opt | – | CPU socket |
| Quesse Maccelerator | (review) |
2. Pre-SCSI hard drives and removable drives
These drives were release for use with the Macintosh 128k and 512k before Apple standardized on SCSI for it’s 68k Macintosh systems.
| Drive | Release (ad) | Size | Connection1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corvus OmniDrive (review), (review) | Fall 1985 | 5 to 126MB | Apple Talk Network, MultiUser, Disk Server |
| Davong MacDisk System | Spring 1984 | 5 to 32MB | Network, MultiUser, Disk Server |
| General Computer Company Hyperdrive (review) | Fall 1985 | 10MB | Internal, Single User |
| General Computer Company Hyperdrive 20 | Fall 1985 | 20MB | Internal |
| Iomega Bernoulli Box (review) | January 1985 | 10MB | Serial Connection, Single User |
| Micro-Design SQ (review) | Summer 1984 | 5MB | Serial Connection, Single User, removable drive |
| Micro-Design Pro Series (review) | Summer 1984 | 10 to 20MB | Serial Connection, Single User |
| Micro-Design The Keeper (review) | Fall 1985 | 11 to 33MB | Apple Talk Network, MultiUser, File Server |
| Paradise Mac10 | Fall 1985 | Serial Connection | |
| Personal Computers Peripherals Corporations (PCPC) Mac Bottom (review) | Fall 1985 | Serial Connection, Single User | |
| Sunol System’s Universal Networking Mass Storage Server (SunMac) (review) (review) (ad) | October 1985 | 10 to 440MB | Apple Talk Network, MultiUser, Disk Server, random access tape backup |
| Tecmar MacDrive (review) (Ad) | Spring 1984 | 5 to 15MB | Serial Connection, Single User |
| Tecmar Massfile (ad) | December 1984 | 74MB | Tape drive (for Apple Lisa?) |
- Disk Server vs. File Server (MacUser definitions). File server is a device which supports multiple computers opening the same file at the same time over the network and supports features such as read-only file locking. Disk servers only allow one user per disk volume at a time.
3. External Monitor / Video upgrades for all in one macs
- MicroGraphic Images Corp CineMac (September/October 1984), adds a video port for an external colour screen
- Professional Data Systems Mach 1 (September/October 1984), a 23 inch white or green monochrome screen (ad)
- Professional Data Systems Mach 2 (September/October 1984), a video project system (ad)
4. Weird/Fun accessories
- ARTSCI MAGICphone (May/June 1984), place phonecalls, dialing with your Macintosh 128k or 512k (ad), (ad)
- Charles Colby MacColby case (November 1984), repackage your Macintosh 128k as a lug-able computer (review)
- Micron MicronEye (September/October 1984), take grey-tone digital photos with your Macintosh (review)
5. References
- 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.
- MacBook : The indispensable guide to Macintosh hardware and software (1985)
- 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)
- 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
- MacWorld September 1987, Beefing up the SE, reviews the General Computer Company HyperCharger 020, Leveco Prodigy SE, MacPeak Systems Orion, Radius Accelerator
- 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, Acelerator Plus, Mac II control, Hypercharger 020, Orion SE, Accelerator SE, Mac20MX Prodigy SE
- MacWorld August 1988 Staying Alive, an optical mouse for the Plus?
- MacWorld February 1990, Is your mac obsolete?
- MacWorld August 1990, Full Speed Ahead
- MacUser August 1990, Chasing the IIfx Accelerators
- MacUser June 1991, IIci Cache Cards
- MacWorld July 1991, the Accelerated Course, accelerator cards
- MacWorld November, 1991, new life for old roms
- MacWorld June 1992, The need for speed
- MacUser June 1992, Blasting Off: CPU 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
- 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
- The Macintosh Do It Yourself Upgrade Book 1992, basic information on several accelerators, memory and other upgrades
- Build Your Own Macintosh and Save a Bundle 1992, basic information on several accelerators, memory and other upgrades
- MacWorld February 1995, Making the move to PowerMac, includes a comment that the 68k accelerator market has “dried up”