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Scored a Q950 today!
Posted by: Juror22 on 2026-01-19 21:30:52 I have always wanted a Quadra 950, but they were always out of reach, especially lately, with the elevated prices and potentially disastrous shipping. So today, I drove three hours to Alabama, to avoid the shipping issue, and paid an acceptably low price for one. It has fantastic plastic (it has no feet, yellowing of the front and the access panel, but otherwise everything is intact, relatively scuff-n-scratch-free and works as its supposed to including the latches). The guy that I bought it from, had it in storage and before that, it was originally his father's from an office. There was no battery installed, so it was removed before it went into storage. The RAM slots are all filled and it was relatively dust free on the inside, but written on the PSU is a notation of "68MRAM", which I'm hoping is the amount of memory... As soon as I check it out thoroughly (lube the floppy, etc), I will start it up and test it out.
Posted by: Callan on 2026-01-19 21:52:15 Awesome! Congrats on finding a nice one! I've found a couple, but the plastics have been pretty rough (especially the tray that holds the motherboard - lots of broken clips). They're are definitely a beast of a computer! The power supply is huge and like most p/s from that time usually has leaky caps. Fingers crosses on the ram! Have fun!
Posted by: volvo242gt on 2026-01-20 11:18:50 Nice. I've had two. Sold my last one about 14 months ago. Wanted to upgrade my photo gear.
Posted by: Unknown_K on 2026-01-20 19:12:34 I could never sell my 950's too cool and too many useful Nubus slots. The front panel is the only bare unpainted plastics on the machine so it will yellow sometimes. Did you get keys with it? 30 pin SIMMs are probably going to be harder to find then the good old days but even with 16 x 1MB SIMMs you should be good to go with anything 68K software related. The only things getting harder to find are the metal HD trays (hold CDROM or other 5.25" removable drives as well), the elusive CDROM/5.25" cutout bezels, and maybe VRAM upgrades (4 x 256K for 2MB total).
Posted by: akator70 on 2026-01-20 20:06:56 Congrats on getting one, especially in decent shape and at a good price. Those are very nice machines.
Posted by: Juror22 on 2026-01-20 20:19:20 Did you get keys with it? Yes, I got only one, but it turns to all the stops, which indicates that it matches the machine's barrel? I think it is number 064... I'm going to dig out the top bracket tonight (along with the HD and floppy) and also try to see if there are any VRAM sticks in it. Thanks all!
Posted by: Juror22 on 2026-01-21 21:44:03 I have the floppy drive cleaned/lubed (solid, flexible gear, so I get to keep the original!). There were SO many dust bunnies inside the plastic enclosure it was hard to see the drive in spots. 😉 I also removed and readied the yellowed panels (front pieces and side cover) to be retrobrited. There are no VRAM sticks and no NuBus cards, but it had a VGA adapter on the monitor-out. Quick question - would I see better (faster/higher depth) graphics using a video card or the onboard video after maxing out the VRAM?
Posted by: Unknown_K on 2026-01-21 23:17:52 Max is 2MB VRAM, the very high end NUBUS cards were 3-6MB I think. Built in video on a Quadra is plenty fast but color depth gets limited because of VRAM. https://everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_quadra/specs/mac_quadra_950.html "The onboard video can support 512x384 at 24-bit and 640x480, 832x624 and 1152x870 at 8-bit. With 2 MB of VRAM installed, it can support up to 832x624 at 24-bit and 1152x870 at 8-bit." https://lowendmac.com/video/thunder4gx.html The Radius Thunder IV 1600 (most high end you can get) "supports 1600x1200 in 24-bit color"
Posted by: volvo242gt on 2026-01-22 00:36:32 Which monitor do you plan to use with it? If it's a M1212 or a M0401, you'll be fine with stock onboard VRAM. If it's a M1298, like the one on my IIfx in my avatar, then max out the VRAM. That'll let you get 24-bit color. I'd post a pic of mine with 128MB RAM, but seems that the forum is inverting the photo whenever I try to add it from my phone... lol
Posted by: MacUp72 on 2026-01-22 01:02:08 nice machine..I can remember the RAM was incredibly expensive back then ( compared to today)
Posted by: Unknown_K on 2026-01-22 07:35:23 Which monitor do you plan to use with it? If it's a M1212 or a M0401, you'll be fine with stock onboard VRAM. If it's a M1298, like the one on my IIfx in my avatar, then max out the VRAM. That'll let you get 24-bit color. I'd post a pic of mine with 128MB RAM, but seems that the forum is inverting the photo whenever I try to add it from my phone... lol You can go crazy with RAM 16x 16MB SIMMs is 256MB, I even had a max out Daystar PPC card with another 128MB but generally 64MB is more than enough.
Posted by: Juror22 on 2026-01-22 18:04:24 Which monitor do you plan to use with it? If it's a M1212 or a M0401, you'll be fine with stock onboard VRAM I have a M1212 to use (also a couple M0401s, but I prefer the stand on the 1212) with it, but I also have a Dell 2007FPb that I use as a general purpose monitor with my Macs. I can also see why they didn't add any VRAM to it back in the day.
Posted by: volvo242gt on 2026-01-22 23:25:34 I have a M1212 to use (also a couple M0401s, but I prefer the stand on the 1212) with it, but I also have a Dell 2007FPb that I use as a general purpose monitor with my Macs. I can also see why they didn't add any VRAM to it back in the day. A M1212 is a decent little monitor and should work fine with it. I'm using one with my IIfx these days, since I decided that the M1298 was better matched with my Quadras (now only one, the Q650). The Dell should be able to do 640x480 without issues. Just make sure that the adapter is set up for VGA mode. I had a 1908FP that worked fine with the LCIII I got from AppaloosaMac a few years back. The photo I tried to add earlier... The 1908FP, running at 640x480... Shown with the whole computer...
Posted by: Juror22 on 2026-01-23 22:28:34 The photo I tried to add earlier... I love those monitors - the rounded controls and the overall look of the monitor dressed up anything they were paired with! That is one of my favorite background patterns as well.
Posted by: CC_333 on 2026-02-17 22:44:38 I love those monitors - the rounded controls and the overall look of the monitor dressed up anything they were paired with! That is one of my favorite background patterns as well. They're also common as dirt. Or, at least, they used to be. Back about 10 years ago, I could find them for cheap practically everywhere I looked. For example, I picked one up for $5 at a flea market back about then, and then several years later, I found a similar one at the local refuse transfer station (the power button doesn't work too well (might've been one of the reasons why it was thrown out) and it has a bunch of scuffs and scrapes (plus it was filthy as h***), but it powers on and has a decent picture, so I don't care what it looks like). Nowadays, I'm not sure if they're still so common because I haven't been in the market for one for some time now, but on eBay, there's a variety of 1908FP's for anywhere between $40 and $80, and even the shipping is somewhat reasonable. It's nice to know there's actually something that's still relatively affordable in this suddenly stupid expensive hobby! c
Posted by: volvo242gt on 2026-02-17 22:58:49 They're also common as dirt. Or, at least, they used to be. Back about 10 years ago, I could find them for cheap practically everywhere I looked. For example, I picked one up for $5 at a flea market back about then, and then several years later, I found a similar one at the local refuse transfer station (the power button doesn't work too well (might've been one of the reasons why it was thrown out) and it has a bunch of scuffs and scrapes (plus it was filthy as h***), but it powers on and has a decent picture, so I don't care what it looks like). Nowadays, I'm not sure if they're still so common because I haven't been in the market for one for some time now, but on eBay, there's a variety of 1908FP's for anywhere between $40 and $80, and even the shipping is somewhat reasonable. It's nice to know there's actually something that's still relatively affordable in this suddenly stupid expensive hobby! c Think he's talking about the Apple M1298. The Dell monitors are dirt cheap. The 24" version I picked up for my Mac Pro was only $10, plus tax. Came with box, packing material, all cables, and the driver CD for Windows.
Posted by: CC_333 on 2026-02-18 00:59:46 Think he's talking about the Apple M1298. Ah, yeah, those are considerably less common! The 24" version I picked up for my Mac Pro was only $10, plus tax. Came with box, packing material, all cables, and the driver CD for Windows. Wow, that's a good deal! The Dell monitors are dirt cheap. Dell certainly knows how to make things cheap. Their reputation was tarnished badly by the Capacitor Plague, but they've recovered quite nicely in the years since, I think. c
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