Centris And Quadra Macintosh Models

These pages hold photos of, and notes about, the 68040 Mac models (Centris and Quadra).

This model uses the 4.5 volt alkaline battery. If you look at this photo of the board you can see the battery.

By the way, the Q630 is easily accelerated from 33 MHz to 40 MHz, by changing two (very tiny) resistors.

Here are some details about how to disassemble one:

To access the logic board - look at the back of the CPU. Unsnap two tabs that stick out from the back (just push them down), and a plastic panel will snap off. Here you can see what the back looks like with the panel off.

Now find the two screws that were covered by the panel, and unscrew them. Find a small metal handle that is folded up against the body of the Mac (you can see it clearly here), and fold it out. You can grasp that handle and gently pull out - the logic board slides out like a drawer. Here you can see the logic board about half way out of the Mac.

This is very similar to the way the MacTV and the PowerMac 62xx come apart.

To access the hard drive, look at the front of the CPU.

There are two tabs underneath the curved part of the faceplate, they are hooks that go back and hook on the case behind the faceplate.

Just stick a flat blade screwdriver in there (parallel to the ground) and push up. You may have to pull the faceplate out while pushing the tab up.

The faceplate will now come off and you can see a metal screw in the middle of the case, it holds a metal shield.

Remove this screw and take the shield off. The hard drive is on the right side of the case - as you look towards it, just below the floppy drive. You can unplug it, lift a plastic tab under it, and slide it forwards, out of the case. Here is the photo:

The CD drive is on the top of the case to the left, and slides out like the hard drive does. This photo will make it more clear.

Make sure, when you put the system back together, that the shield goes over the lip of the floppy's bracket - otherwise the faceplate will not want to go back on. You also need to put the shield back on before putting in the CD drive.

Centris/Quadra 650

This model uses the 3.6 volt lithium battery. If you look at this photo of the board you can see the battery. It is the green and white cylinder on the edge of the logic board.

These are more difficult than most Macs to disassemble - you have to remove some stuff and then rotate a large bracket. I will try to get some photos - this process is hard to describe in words. Both the Centris and Quadra 650 have a screw in the center of the logic board that is normally under a wire bundle - if you are taking one of them apart, look for it.

They also both accelerate quite well - you have to desolder the main oscillator and replace it; and you get a nice speedup for your efforts.

Thanks to Don Knull for this photo.

Centris/Quadra 660AV

Here are some photos of this model, the first shows the battery as it will look when you take off the cover of the Mac.

Here you see the battery after you have taken the cage off.

The battery is the familiar lithium battery.

As an added bonus, here is a photo of the 660AV after I added a KS Labs clock chipper. You can see the blue socket and the shiny metal oscillator that is plugged into it. This lets the Mac run faster than the normal 25 MHz.

If you are disassembling this Mac - take off the top cover, remove the metal EMI shield in the front, and the drives, etc all slide out to the front of the Mac. You have to lift tabs that lock the slides into the case.

Thanks to Mike Rine for allowing me to take the photos.

Quadra 700

Here is a photo of the battery in this model:

The battery is the blue object, and it was in a cage like the lithium batteries in other models, but the cage has been removed so we could see the battery better. To get the cage off you just wedge it away from one end, like the cages on the other models.

You can see the RAM chips standing up just beside the battery. This Mac is quite easy to accelerate, just pull out the 50 MHz oscillator (in the middle of the logic board) and put in a socket. Pop a faster oscillator in the socket and enjoy the extra speed - this Mac ran at 25 MHz and is now running at 33 MHz.

To get to this battery you have to pull out the power supply and the bracket that holds the floppy and hard drive. The bracket has a tab that goes into the power supply - here is a photo of the bracket

If you look closely at the bottom, right of the photo you can see the tab. Reach under the power supply and push the tab away from the power supply, this will release the tab. There is also a screw that holds the bracket to the logic board - it is in the bottom of the cylindrical "well" that you see on the bracket. For more information see the 2ci page that is referred to above since the Q700 comes apart just like the 2cx and ci.

Quadra 950

What a machine this was when it came out!!!! It was quite a powerhouse and was built for easy maintenance and upgrading.

To access the interior of this Mac, look at the front. With your right hand, reach around to the back edge and locate three tabs and press them in. Now swing the right side cover open. This photo shows the back coming open, and one tab silhouetted against the interior. You can see the back of the computer - the fan is up in the front but air is able to flow out that large screen in the back.

Thanks to Lloyd Irwin for letting me take his Q950 apart and take some photos of it.

Once you have the side panel off you can see the battery just behind the front panel of the computer.

Just behind the battery is a big honking fan! The whole power supply module comes out when you take off a screw on the front panel and a screw on the back panel.

To get the front panels off you have to first take off the side panel. Release two catches on the bottom of the front and then release two catches about mid-way up on the back of the front panel. This will release a large bezel that carries the speaker - unplug the speaker from the logic board and you will have something that looks like this photo:

Click here to go back to the main page.

Errors are entirely the fault of the author, email me with comments. The author has no connection to Apple, Radio Shack, any battery company, or anyone else listed here.

Charles D Phillips
If you want to, you can send me mail.

This page is copyrighted by Charles Phillips as of 2003. You may refer to this page and information on it - with proper attribution.

This page has been accessed times since