Mac · The Beige Era · 1993
Macintosh Quadra 840AV
The peak of the 68040 era: an onboard DSP enabled video capture, text-to-speech and early speech recognition — "AV" for audio-visual.
Macintosh Quadra 840AV: key facts
When was the Macintosh Quadra 840AV released?
The Macintosh Quadra 840AV was released in July 1993. Apple discontinued it in July 1994.
How much did the Macintosh Quadra 840AV cost?
The Macintosh Quadra 840AV launched at $4,680 in 1993 — about $10,202 in today’s money (approximate, US CPI).
What are the Macintosh Quadra 840AV’s specs?
The Macintosh Quadra 840AV used a Motorola 68040 running at 40 MHz, with 4 MB of memory and 230 MB of storage. It ran System 7.1.
Why does the Macintosh Quadra 840AV matter?
Fastest 68k Mac, with a DSP for audio/video and telephone-quality speech recognition.
Full specifications
| CPU | Motorola 68040 · 40 MHz |
|---|---|
| Cores | 1 |
| Memory (RAM) | 4 MB (up to 128 MB) |
| Storage | 230 MB |
| Display | External colour + video in/out |
| GPU | Built-in video |
| Ports | SCSI, ADB, ethernet, AV, NuBus |
| Weight | 11 kg |
| Dimensions | Desktop case |
| Operating system | System 7.1 |
| Released | July 1993 |
| Discontinued | July 1994 |
| Launch price | $4,680 |
How the Macintosh Quadra 840AV compares to today
A 16 GB Apple Silicon MacBook Pro has about 4,100× more memory than this device shipped with.
At 40 MHz, the clock is roughly 80× slower than a single performance core of a 16 GB Apple Silicon MacBook Pro — and that is before counting cores, width and IPC.
All of this storage holds about 58 modern phone photos.
Launched at $4,680 in 1993 — about $10,202 in today’s money (approx., US CPI).
Cross-architecture speed figures are clock-only and approximate; inflation figures use US CPI.
Did you know?
It could read your documents aloud and take dictation, in 1993.
Related Mac models
Open the Macintosh Quadra 840AV in the interactive archive →
Last updated: 2026-06-25