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TheMacintosh II is a family ofpersonal computers that was designed, manufactured and sold byApple Computer, Inc. from 1987 to 1993. TheMacintosh II was the initial model, representing the high-end of theMacintosh line for the time. Over the course of the next six years, seven more models were produced, culminating with the short-livedMacintosh IIvi andMacintosh IIvx models. Apple retired the Macintosh II name when it moved toMotorola 68040 processors; theCentris andQuadra names were used instead.

Unlike prior Macintosh models, which are "all-in-one" designs, the Macintosh II models are "modular" systems which do not include built-in monitors and areexpandable. Beginning with theMacintosh II and culminating in theMacintosh IIfx, the Macintosh II family was Apple's high-end line from 1987 until the introduction of theMotorola 68040-basedMacintosh Quadra computers in 1991.

Expansion was provided by way ofNuBus, which become the standardexpansion bus for the entire Macintosh line for almost a decade. The Macintosh II was the first to officially support color displays, and the first (apart from theMacintosh XL) to support a screen resolution larger than 512x384.

The Macintosh II is also the first to use aMotorola 68000 series processor other than theMotorola 68000. Except for the originalMacintosh II which launched the line with aMotorola 68020 clocked at 16 MHz, they exclusively used theMotorola 68030 microprocessor, even after theMotorola 68040 was introduced. Apple would eventually adopt the '040 with the introduction of theQuadra 700 and900, positioning these models as high-endworkstation-class machines for graphics and scientific computing, while positioning the Macintosh II family as a mainstream desktop computer.

During the Macintosh II series' lifespan, they rose to become among the most powerful personal computers available. While the Macintosh II series itself was replaced by theMacintosh Centris andQuadra, theMacintosh LC andPerforma families continued to use the II's68030 technology long after the68040 was introduced and thePowerBook continued to use the '030 into thePower Macintosh era.

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  Macintosh II, the first model introduced
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  Macintosh IIx, a Macintosh II with a68030 CPU
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  Macintosh IIcx, a compact model
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  Macintosh IIci, a popular and long-lived model
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  Macintosh IIfx, with its 40 MHz '030, was the fastest II-series Mac
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  Macintosh IIsi, one of the few Macs to use a unique case
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  Macintosh IIvi, the shortest-lived Macintosh model
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  Macintosh IIvx, the final II-series case design – also used for theCentris/Quadra 650

Timeline ofMacintosh II family models v t e

• List of Mac models grouped by CPU type

Wikimedia Commons has media related toMacintosh II.

• Mac II Series Index, Low End Mac

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