Editing Macintosh IIfx (section)

== Engineering Philosophy ==

The IIfx represented a radical departure from incremental Mac II improvements. While the IIcx and IIci focused on integration and cost reduction, the IIfx pursued absolute performance regardless of price. Apple engineers implemented multiple architectural innovations:

* Apple didn't go that route – the IIfx ran a 40 MHz 68030 CPU and 40 MHz 68882 FPU (math chip) on a 40 MHz system bus. It used a special 64-bit memory module that could overlap read and write operations for improved speed. It had a 32 KB L2 cache on the motherboard, since even its high speed memory couldn't keep up at 40 MHz.
* Dual I/O processors (IOPs) handled peripheral operations independently
* Proprietary high-speed RAM architecture with dedicated data paths
* Hardware DMA controller for SCSI operations
* Six NuBus slots maintained maximum expandability

This approach produced the fastest Mac of its generation but required specialized components and software optimization, limiting broad compatibility.