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

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

	ApplePower Macintosh 8600/250	ApplePower Macintosh 9600/200MP
Overview
Released
Released	1997	1997
Performance
Processor
Processor	PowerPC 604e 250 MHz (Power Macintosh 8600/250)	2 × PowerPC 604e 200 MHz (Power Macintosh 9600/200)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	2
Graphics
Graphics	–	PCI graphics accelerator (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	Two physical PowerPC 604e processors at 200 MHz on one removable processor card; each has 32 KB instruction and 32 KB data caches. 50 MHz processor bus and 512 KB level-two cache soldered to the logic board. Under classic Mac OS the primary CPU runs the system and interrupts, while MP-aware applications schedule tasks on the second CPU; this is not two cores inside one chip
GPU
GPU	Built-in video with 2 MB VRAM, expandable to 4 MB; the latter is required for video mirroring	Bundled PCI graphics accelerator with 4 MB non-expandable VRAM. Exact Japanese specifications and developer note give 16-bit colour at 1280 × 1024 and 1600 × 1200, and 24-bit colour through 1152 × 870. The catalogue’s 24-bit 1280 × 1024 claim conflicts with those tables and is not transferred. Exact card identity is not inferred from a sibling
Memory type
Memory type	32 MB minimum with eight 168-pin DIMM slots, expandable to 512 MB according to Apple	32 MB standard, twelve 168-pin 64-bit 70 ns-or-faster DRAM DIMM sockets, up to 768 MB officially supported; matching modules in corresponding sockets permit interleaving. English support says 128 MB DIMMs may work but were not tested; these are not treated as an approved expansion configuration. 4 MB ROM
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 Fast SCSI hard disk, manual-inject Apple SuperDrive floppy and 12× internal CD-ROM. Shared service manual names AppleCD 1800i, while developer note names AppleCD 1600i; exact mechanism name remains unresolved, so the published speed is retained. No standard Zip drive on the original 200MP; later 9600 variants differ
Expansion slots
Expansion slots	Three PCI slots; Apple's launch release also describes a pre-wired 5.25-inch SCSI expansion bay	Six PCI 2.0 expansion slots, five free with the supplied graphics card. Additional internal storage bays and removable processor card; no NuBus slots. Side-panel release permits access to memory, PCI cards and processor
Display
Screen
Screen	None built in	None built in
Connections
Ports
Ports	Ethernet	Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	–	0.01 Gb/s
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	One ADB connector, two GeoPort/LocalTalk-compatible serial connectors, external SCSI, AAUI-15 and 10BASE-T Ethernet connectors, 16-bit stereo sound input and output. DB-15 monitor connector belongs to the supplied PCI card. Both Ethernet connectors share one interface; with both connected, the service manual says 10BASE-T takes priority
External displays
External displays	–	One external monitor via the supplied graphics card, up to 1600 × 1200 with compatible display and cables; developer note says the card does not support sync-on-green monitors
Speakers
Speakers	–	Built-in speaker and 16-bit stereo audio input/output
Microphones
Microphones	–	External Apple PlainTalk microphone supplied in the Japanese bundle; no built-in microphone
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	–	Japanese configuration includes ADB Mouse II, PlainTalk microphone, power cable, KanjiTalk 7.5.5 CD-ROM, Internet Starter Kit, sample CDs, manuals and warranty. Keyboard and display are sold separately
Design and power
Type
Type	Tower	Tower
Weight
Weight	–	15.9 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	–	246 × 440 × 439 mm
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	Exact Japanese maker specifications: 439 mm high, 246 mm wide and 440 mm deep, 15.9 kg, varying with installed devices. Worldwide catalogue rounds height to 440 mm. Shared 8600/9600 service physical table gives a conflicting 224 mm width; the exact 9600/200MP specification takes precedence
Power supply
Power supply	–	100–240 V AC automatically configured, single phase, 50/60 Hz. Shared Service Source distinguishes 390 W maximum DC supply output from AC input consumption
Power use
Power use	–	560 W maximum continuous AC input and 700 W peak input, excluding monitor; exact Japanese specification and shared service manual agree. English support’s 390 W matches the service manual’s DC output rating, so it is not treated as AC consumption
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 with MP-specific support; Japanese bundle uses KanjiTalk 7.5.5. Apple announced the 9600 family on 17 February 1997 and planned Canadian availability from March; August maker catalogue lists the exact 200MP offering, supporting release year 1997. Exact actual first-sale month/day remains unconfirmed. Developer note explicitly identifies 9500/180MP as predecessor