Macintosh LC III

The Macintosh LC III, introduced in February 1993, was the third model in Apple Computer's low-cost Macintosh LC series. It housed a 25Mhz 68030 Motorola processor, with 4MB of built-in RAM (expandable up to 36MB), and originally came standard with an 80MB internal SCSI hard drive and a 1.4MB floppy disk drive. Its consumer equivalent was the Macintosh Performa 450.

History
Like the Macintosh LC and the LC II before it, the Macintosh LC III was one in a series of low-cost computers developed primarily for the education market. After several months, the LC III was joined by the slightly faster LC III+, sporting a 33MHz 68030 processor. Both the LC III and the LC III+ were discontinued in February 1994. They were superseded by the faster 68040-based LC 475, which had been introduced alongside the LC III+ in October 1993.

Features
Unlike the original Macintosh LC or the LC II, which were both hampered by a 16-bit data path, the Macintosh LC III finally introduced a full 32-bit data bus to match the 32-bit processor. Additionally, the 68030 processor was upgraded from the LC II's 16MHz to 25Mhz. The LC III introduced an FPU slot directly on the motherboard, allowing the processor direct slot to be utilized for other purposes. Additionally, the processor direct slot itself was also modified to allow for 32-bit expansion cards, while maintaining backwards compatibility for older 16-bit cards.

Included software

 * System 7.1 (with System Enabler 003)
 * Finder 7.1
 * LaserWriter 7.1.2
 * QuickTime 1.5
 * Sound Manager

Variants
The Macintosh LC III was originally fitted with an auto-injecting floppy disk drive, similar to previous models. During the LC III's run however, Apple phased out auto-inject drives in favor of manual inject models. This necessitated a change in case design, resulting in later units sporting a different case from earlier ones.