The Mac86 was designed for the Macintosh SE PDS slot, and integrated a 10 MHz Intel 8086 CPU. The Mac86 did not include its own RAM, instead sharing up to 640 KB of the host Macintosh's RAM. A floppy drive controller was integrated, including an external bracket to connect an Apple PC 5.25 Drive.
There are three distinct versions of the Mac286 hardware:
Of the three versions, the AST appears to be the most common.
The Mac286 software provides emulation of the following additional hardware:
Reviews of the expansion noted the lack of responsiveness, particularly in CGA mode,3 despite the generally higher performance of a hardware solution when compared to software emulators, leading to suggestions that the complexity of display emulation might be at fault. With the product's usability impaired by "the extreme slowness of the display system", it was noted that a leaflet accompanying the product documentation promised improved screen handling as a key improvement in a planned version 1.1 of the product.4
Peltz, David (May 1988). "The Best of both worlds". Macworld. Vol. 5, no. 5. p. 185. https://archive.org/details/macworld00unse_qn5/page/185/mode/1up ↩
Donaldson, John (May 1988). "AST Mac286" (PDF). Personal Computer World. pp. 112–114. Retrieved 8 May 2025. https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Personal-Computer-World/80s/PCW-1988-05-S-OCR.pdf ↩