Macintosh II (1987)
Macintosh II (1987): Macintosh with a 68020 at 16 MHz, six NuBus slots and no built-in video.
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Specs
| Release | 1987-03-02 |
| Chip | 68020 · 16 MHz · FPU 68881 |
| RAM | 1 or 4 MB stock; up to 8 MB with the original ROM and 128 MB with MODE32 (EveryMac) |
| Ports | 6 × NuBus · 2 × ADB · SCSI |
| System | ≤ Mac OS 7.5.5 |
| Weight | 10.9 kg |
| Dimensions | 140 × 475 × 366 mm |
| VRAM | 256 KB (expandable to 512 KB) on NuBus card |
| Storage (detail) | 40 or 80 MB SCSI hard drive · 1-2 800 KB floppy drives · the 1.44 MB FDHD came later as an upgrade kit (with IIx ROMs), not standard |
| Video (detail) | Up to 6 displays with multiple NuBus cards · 512×384 / 640×480 · 16.7 million colors (Color QuickDraw) |
| Audio | 8-bit mono output |
| Expansion slots | 6 × NuBus (hence the "Open Mac" nickname) |
Launch
Apple introduced it on March 2, 1987 at the AppleWorld conference in Los Angeles, alongside the Macintosh SE, and it remained on sale until January 15, 1990. It was the first modular Macintosh: a horizontal desktop case with six NuBus slots, nicknamed the "Open Mac". Dates and details: EveryMac and Wikipedia.
Marketing
It was the first color Macintosh: Color QuickDraw in ROM enabled 16.7 million colors and multiple displays at once, and the press called the color "spectacular" (Los Angeles Times, 1987-03-02). With monitor and hard drive, a complete system cost around $7,145, in workstation territory alongside SGI or Sun. (Wikipedia and EveryMac.)
Flaws and fixes
Apple documents no model-specific defects in the sources consulted. Limits that do appear in its spec sheet: no built-in video (a video card is required); 24-bit addressing; 4 MB and 16 MB SIMMs cannot go in bank A unless the Macintosh II SuperDrive Upgrade is installed.
Indicative price
New (launch, US): from $3,769 (base model) · $5,369 with 40 MB hard drive · Wikipedia; EveryMac lists $5,500 for its reference configuration
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Updated: October 29, 2026 · Sources: Apple Soporte · Apple Tech Info Library · EveryMac · Compare this product