of 5.

Apple Computer, $1149 US. ($1745 Cdn.) 
33MHz '040 with FPU, 4MB RAM, 250 MB 
Hard Drive. CD-ROM optional.

In August of 1994 Apple Computer Inc. 
released a new line of their popular Macin-
tosh computers. The models introduced are 
the Quadra 630, LC 630, Performa 630, 
Performa 630CD, Performa 635, Perfor-
ma 636, and the Performa 636CD. All the 
models are similar, such as case design, 
hard drive capacity, and ports, but there 
are some differences. The Quadra 630 is the only model to have a full MC68040 with the Floating Point Unit(FPU) for math intensive tasks and is geared towards busi- nesses. The LC and Performa models lack the FPU. The LC is for the educational market and the Performa models are for the consumer channels and come in many different configurations. This review will focus on the Quadra 630, but should also apply in part to the LC and Performa models.

The Specs:

The Quadra 630 is powered by a Motorola MC68040 with FPU running at 33Mhz, and according to Apple, it is a 33/66MHz chip. What this 33/66 marketing gimmick means is that the internal sync clock is running at 66MHz and the system bus is running at 33MHz. This new terminology has caused a lot of confusion–one salesman at a local computer superstore swore that it was a 66MHz machine and you could switch between the 2 speeds (really!!). Not so. 

Other particulars:
           4MB DRAM on the motherboard.
           1 72-pin DRAM SIMM socket (80ns or faster, up to 32MB).
           1MB ROM.
           1MB Video DRAM (not expandable).
           1 LC compatible  PDS slot.
           1 Communications Slot for modem or Ethernet card.
           1 Video slot with DVA for a video input card.
           1 internal port for a TV tuner card.
           1 internal 250MB IDE Hard Drive.
           Energy Star compliant.

The ports on the rear of the unit include an ADB port, two serial ports, monitor port, SCSI port, 8-bit mono sound input and 8-bit stereo output ports. The motherboard slides out the rear of the unit, making upgrades very easy. The front of the unit has the SuperDrive, space for an internal CD-ROM, and three new features. These features are up/down volume buttons, a headphone jack and an infrared sensor (for the Apple TV/Video card’s remote control). The case design is unique in that it is made up of five stylish plastic panels that snap on a solid metal frame.  

Setting Up

Setting up the Quadra 630 was straightforward, as with all Macs. Our Quadra 630 shipped with System 7.12P, though by the time you read this, is should be shipping with System 7.5. (When I installed System 7.5 on the Quadra 630, I found it to be much speedier than with the previous system software.) You’ll also find a copy of eWorld on the hard drive. 

The IDE Hard Drive

The Quadra 630 is the first desktop Macintosh to use IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) hard drive technology, although it has been used for years on DOS computers. The internal IDE drive is 250MB in size and has an access time of around 15ms (my old Quadra 660av’s internal drive had an 18ms access time). There are two hard drive formatters included on the Disk Tools floppy: Apple HD SC Setup for SCSI drives, and Internal HD Format for IDE drives. The IDE formatting software works much like its SCSI counterparts, though partitioning is not available. I have only run across two programs that do not work with the IDE drive-–one being SCSI evaluator (it still works with SCSI drives that are hooked up), and Mac Bench 1.1 (when it performs tests on the internal HD it freezes).  I have heard of some programs that format or test SCSI drives which will not work with the IDE HD, but this seems obvious. Those worried about seeing an IDE drive on a Macintosh need not worry, it works fine and you’ll not even notice that it’s IDE. 

Sound

Sound input through the sound-in jack is limited to mono 8-bit 22KHz samples. Sound output is 8-bit 22KHz stereo. If you have an internal CD-ROM or TV/Video System, the sound is ‘passed through’ delivering up to16-bit 44KHz stereo sound output. If you have the Apple TV/Video System and an internal CD300i Plus, you will actually have three different volumes levels in the sound control panel: one for the CD, another for the TV and one for system sounds. 

Video

The 1MB of internal Video DRAM is capable of supporting monitors up to 16 inches (832x624) at a depth of 8-bits (256 colors). At 640x480, the Quadra 630 can display up to a 16-bit depth (thousands of colors). The Video DRAM is not expandable, so if you require a larger monitor or a 24-bit (millions of colors) display, a PDS video card is required. In my tests, the speed of the video proved to be slightly faster than the Quadra 605 and Quadra 660av. 

The reason that the Quadra 630 can not display 16-bit color at 800x600 or 832x624  with 1MB of internal Video DRAM has to do with the new video circuit (valkrie), and the support of the TV/Video card. If the TV/Video card is installed the maximum display is 800x600 @ 60Hz or 72Hz at 256 colors (8-bit), but the video coming through the video card is still 16-bit color.  If no video card is installed then the maximum display size is 832x624, though this resolution is not fully supported by Apple. The Quadra 630 does NOT use traditional VRAM, as on other Macintoshes. In fact, it uses 1MB of 60ns Video DRAM . This whole issue has caused allot of confusion. 

The Quadra 630 uses a hardware-based pixel doubling scheme that is fast and has the ability to display graphics and video directly to the screen for faster performance. It also has the capability to display video through other windows (though not yet implemented in anything I have seen).  An upcoming game from Bungie Software titled ‘Marathon’ will support the Quadra 630’s the new video architecture for enhanced play. 

RAM Doubler 1.51 seems to degrade the video performance by up to 34% depending on what bit depth is selected. I have hesitantly concluded that this is because the Quadra 630 uses Video DRAM and not VRAM. Even though RAM Doubler shouldn’t actually access the Video DRAM (which is similar to conventional RAM), it seems to affect video performance dramatically. I disable RAM Doubler when I need optimum video performance (i.e.: Prince of Persia 2, Sensory Overload, Wolfenstien 3D). I initially noticed the slowdown in video display with such games, and then confirmed my suspicions by running MacBench and Speedometer.

Miscellaneous Features

Energy Star compliance is a feature that I have longed for. Using the CPU Energy Saver control panel, the idle time before the machine shuts itself off can be set anywhere from 15 minutes to twelve hours. Specific times and dates can also be set for shut down, and the control panel can be set so that it will not shut down if the modem is going, the busy cursor is on or a sound is playing . Another control panel, Auto Power On/Off, can be used to turn the computer on at specific times and dates. It can also restart the machine after a power failure–a plus if you are running a BBS on your Quadra 630. 
   
An infrared remote can be used to turn the Mac on/off and adjust the volume. Any Sony-compatible TV remote should work. If you have the TV/Video system, the remote can be used to control the CD, change channels, adjust the volume, mute sound and start-up or quit the video software.  

The video slot has a provision for a DVA connector, which can be found on the Apple Video System card. DVA (Digital Video Analog Audio) is similar to the DAV slot on the AV Macs, with the basic difference being in sound quality. Nothing at the moment is available for the DVA connector, but I am confident cards will come out offering features such as MPEG playback, and full-screen full-motion video recording and output at broadcast levels. 

Upgrade Options:

Apple Express Modem Card - $199 US. ($295 Cdn.)
     This fax/modem card is based on Apple’s Express modem and supports speeds up 
     to 14.4bps and fits in the communication slot.

Apple Video System - $149 US. ($250 Cdn.)
     The Video System card plugs into the video slot and provides composite video-in,
     S-VHS video-in, and stereo sound-in. It can be used to capture still images or 
     QuickTime movies. Also included is Avid’s Videoshop 2.03 software on CD-ROM. 

Apple TV/Video System  - $249 US. ($375 Cdn.)
     This is a two card package and includes the Video System card as well as a cable/TV
     tuner card and an infrared remote control. The tuner card plugs into a special 
     ribbon connector near the top of the Quadra 630’s case. Also included is Avid’s 
     Videoshop 2.03 software on CD-ROM. 

Apple Presentation System - $299 US. ($445 Cdn.)
     The presentation system is a small box that plugs into the monitor port, allowing
     output to a TV or VCR. Other features include video mirroring, PAL & NTSC output, 
     composite and S-VHS output connectors.

Apple Ethernet card - $99 US. ($135 Cdn.)
      There are two types of Ethernet cards available. 10BASE T (twisted pair) and 
     10BASE 2 (thin coaxial). Either of these two cards go into the communications 
      slot.

Apple PowerPC upgrade daughter board - not yet priced
     This card will supposedly offer a 66Mhz PowerPC 601 processor in a daughter
     card which plugs into the 68040 socket. The 68040 plugs into the PowerPC card,
     and you can switch between the two processors (though not on the fly).  It will
     require System 7.5 . No price has been set ($599 US. is the estimate), or release
     date (November?).

MPEG Card - not yet officially anounced or priced
     This autumn an MPEG playback card is slated to come out for the Quadra 630. It
     will supposedly offer 24-bit video, CD-I compatibility, as well as MPEG support. 
     It will plug into the PDS slot and Video/DVA slot( if you have the Video System,
     there is a DVA pass through connector on the card). Price will likely be in the 
    $300 US. range, with a software bundle. 

Shortcomings and Problems

The Quadra 630 has a few shortcomings; most noticeably the RAM Doubler/video incompatibility. I would have liked to see two DRAM SIMM sockets on the motherboard, (there is defiantly room for two). 

On any other modern Macintosh, 1MB of VRAM would be sufficient to display 16-bit color at an 832x624 resolution. It is unfortunate that the Quadra 630’s new video circuitry limits output to 8-bit at such a resolution. Video-editing requires near-photorealistic color and a large display; in such respects, the Quadra 630 fails. You must purchase an expensive PDS Video card to get the same depth of color video output as an LC 475 with 1MB or VRAM.

The 8-bit mono sound input really perturbs me. Granted, I can get 8-bit stereo sound-in but only with the addition of the TV/Video card, but I would have paid an extra $50-$100 for 16-bit sound. 

Conclusion

Despite its shortcomings, I am pleased with the Quadra 630. All software I had been using on my old system works perfectly, and I have not had any compatibility problems aside from RAM Doubler. The Quadra 630 easily out-performs the Quadra 660 I used before this, and its AV features are slightly faster and of higher quality. Overall, the Quadra 630 is a stable performer and will find many good homes both in the office and the family room.

Andrew Sinclair-Day is an avid Mac user and a guest columnist for MacSense. If you have comments or questions, please feel free to contact him at AndrewSD@eWorld.com