68000 Dash 30fx

And it's mine! All mine!

This monster is the first computer that I worked on professionally. It was purchased by my employer back in 1989 or 1990, reportedly for around $40,000 (though I never saw the purchase order.) It is essentially a modded IIfx in a giant steel case with oodles of space for disk drives and cooling gear. I haven't weighed it, but it must tip the scales at well over 50lbs.

The case is all steel; the front panel has a key lock, is hinged, & pops off quick as a wink. Behind the front door is a reset switch, a programmer's switch, and an ADB lock switch. With the front door open, remove a couple of screws & the top slides forward a smidge, then lifts off to reveal the I/O ports and a row of 6 NuBus slots. With the door open and the top removed, you loosen a row of screws down the left side and the side panel swings back to reveal the interior.

Inside the case, the first thing you notice is a huge cooling duct; it pulls air across the RAM modules. The RAM that's in the thing is unlike anything I've seen elsewhere; 64 pin SIMM's that are as tall as they are wide. Huge.

I snapped a few photos this afternoon, but the lighting was poor and a lot of them came out fuzzy. I'll take some more later (using a tripod!) and will post them later for your drooling pleasure!