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This is basically a repackaged Macintosh IIx. Same processor (16 MHz 68030), same specs (it even has a slot for a ROM chip on the motherboard, though it does not need one), but only three NuBUS slots, only one floppy drive, and a 3.5" hard drive in a smaller case. It was sold between March 1989 and October 1990 and cost $7000.
Below the logo on the case there are two small and rather elegant buttons: Reset and NMI, as I later found out. Reset does not work as on a PC, it does exactly the same as Restart in the Special menu. NMI stands for Non Maskable Interrupt, the button brings up an assembly debugger that was never properly documented.
Anyway, at first I thought this was the way I was supposed to power up this Mac (the buttons aren't labeled on the outside of the case, only the motherboard connectors are), so I was rather disappointed when I pushed them and nothing happened. Then I discovered the real power button at the back of the case, and lo and behold, the thing actually booted.
But though it was equipped with a hard drive, I got the floppy icon flashing a question mark, the Mac's way of saying "no system found." No problem, I had acquired some system disks along with this machine and the Performas, which turned out to be system 6.0.7, quite fitting for a Macintosh II.
If at first I had thought the hard drive might just be empty, I was mistaken; it was not recognized at all, so I replaced it with a 168MB Performa drive I happened to have. Unfortunately, this meant disabling the HD LED, the IIcx is one of the few Macs to have one, but it's hooked up directly to the hard drive, not to the motherboard, and Performa HDDs don't have a connector for it.
Anyway the IIcx is now up and running, it boots lightning fast into 6.0.7, maybe connected to the fact that the only extension loaded is AfterDark. Can't live without flying toasters, you know.
As yet, not all that much. I tested some games to find out if they would run on something slower than my Performa 630. I found that Wolfenstein 3D did play, though only at the lowest resolution, and with the music turned off. The following felt about right:
| This Ain't Othello | Othello | 86 |  |
More fun on a compact |
| Darwin's Dilemma | Puzzle | 90 | |
|
| Ishido | Puzzle | |
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| Glider 4.0 | Arcade | 91 | |
|
| Moonbase | strat | |
A bit slow? | |
| Oxyd | Puzzle | 92 |  |
|
| SimCity | strat | |
||
| The Incredible Machine | Puzzle | 93 | |
|
| Jotto ][ | Puzzle | |
||
| Transarctica | Adventure | 94 |  |
The list is fairly short simply because I fire up this machine far less often than the Performa. But it's my preferred system for games that require you to set your desktop to 16 colors.
