Apple Power Macintosh 8600/250 vs Apple Power Macintosh 9600/200

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Power Macintosh 8600/250 compared with Power Macintosh 9600/200

	ApplePower Macintosh 8600/250	ApplePower Macintosh 9600/200
Overview
Released
Released	1997	1997
Performance
Processor
Processor	PowerPC 604e 250 MHz (Power Macintosh 8600/250)	PowerPC 604e 200 MHz (Power Macintosh 9600/200)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	1
Graphics
Graphics	–	IMS Twin Turbo 128 M4A (4 MB VRAM)
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	200 MHz PowerPC 604e with integrated floating-point unit, 64 KB L1 cache and 512 KB L2 cache
GPU
GPU	Built-in video with 2 MB VRAM, expandable to 4 MB; the latter is required for video mirroring	Bundled IMS Twin Turbo 128 M4A PCI video card with 4 MB VRAM; Apple lists output up to 1600 × 1200 pixels
Memory type
Memory type	32 MB minimum with eight 168-pin DIMM slots, expandable to 512 MB according to Apple	32 MB standard, expandable to 768 MB using twelve 168-pin DIMM slots
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 drive and 12× CD-ROM drive
Expansion slots
Expansion slots	Three PCI slots; Apple's launch release also describes a pre-wired 5.25-inch SCSI expansion bay	Six PCI slots, one occupied by the bundled video card; additional internal 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	DB-15 video on the PCI card, Apple Desktop Bus, external DB-25 SCSI, two serial ports, AAUI and 10BASE-T Ethernet, stereo audio input and output
External displays
External displays	–	Bundled video card supports one external display at up to 1600 × 1200 pixels
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 and 35 lb
Power supply
Power supply	–	Apple lists a 390 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.	Original System Software 7.5.5. Apple lists 17 February 1997 as introduction and expected Canadian availability in March; a distinct verified first-sale date was not established.