Apple Power Macintosh 8600/250 vs Apple Power Macintosh 8600/300

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Power Macintosh 8600/250 compared with Power Macintosh 8600/300

	ApplePower Macintosh 8600/250	ApplePower Macintosh 8600/300
Overview
Released
Released	1997	August 1997
Performance
Processor
Processor	PowerPC 604e 250 MHz (Power Macintosh 8600/250)	PowerPC 604e 300 MHz (Power Macintosh 8600/300)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	1
Memory
Memory	32 MB	32 MB
Storage
Storage	4 GB	4 GB
CPU
CPU	250 MHz PowerPC 604e with 64 KB L1 cache, 1 MB L2 cache, 100 MHz cache bus and 50 MHz system bus	300 MHz PowerPC 604e with 64 KB L1 cache, 1 MB L2 cache, 100 MHz cache bus and 50 MHz system bus
GPU
GPU	Built-in video with 2 MB VRAM, expandable to 4 MB; the latter is required for video mirroring	Built-in video with 2 MB VRAM, expandable to 4 MB; the latter is required for video mirroring
Memory type
Memory type	32 MB minimum with eight 168-pin DIMM slots, expandable to 512 MB according to Apple	32 MB standard with eight 168-pin DIMM slots, expandable to 512 MB according to Apple
Storage type
Storage type	4 GB internal SCSI hard drive, 1.44 MB floppy, 24× CD-ROM and built-in Iomega Zip drive	4 GB internal SCSI hard drive, 1.44 MB floppy, 24× CD-ROM and built-in Iomega Zip drive
Expansion slots
Expansion slots	Three PCI slots; Apple's launch release also describes a pre-wired 5.25-inch SCSI expansion bay	Three PCI slots; Apple's launch release also describes a pre-wired 5.25-inch SCSI expansion bay and two 3.5-inch drive bays
Display
Screen
Screen	None built in	None built in
Connections
Ports
Ports	Ethernet	Ethernet
Back ports
Back ports	Apple Desktop Bus, external DB-25 SCSI, two serial ports, AAUI and 10BASE-T Ethernet, DB-15 video, stereo audio input and output, S-video and RCA video input and output, RCA audio input and output	Apple Desktop Bus, external DB-25 SCSI, two serial ports, AAUI and 10BASE-T Ethernet, DB-15 video, stereo audio input and output, S-video and RCA video input and output, RCA audio input and output
Design and power
Type
Type	Tower	Tower
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	Apple lists 17.3 × 9.7 × 17.3 inches (height × width × depth) and 35 lb	Apple lists 17.3 × 9.7 × 17.3 inches (height × width × depth) and 35 lb
Power supply
Power supply	–	Apple lists a 560 W maximum
In the box
In the box	Apple lists 5 August 1997 as introduction and describes the 8600/250 as offered outside the US. Its French-Canadian launch release says the new 8600 models came with Mac OS 8, while the later support sheet lists 7.6.1 as original system software. An exact first-sale date for the 8600/250 was not separately established.	Apple's 5 August 1997 announcement says the 8600/300 was available immediately worldwide with Mac OS 8. Its support sheet lists original system software as 7.6.1.