Power Macintosh 8500
Encyclopedia
The Power Macintosh 8500 (the 120 MHz model is also known as Power Macintosh 8515 in Europe
and Japan
) was a high-end Macintosh personal computer
designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer
from 1995 until 1997. Billed as a high-end graphics computer, the Power Macintosh 8500 was also the first Macintosh to ship with a replaceable daughtercard. Though slower than the 132 MHz Power Macintosh 9500
, the first-generation 8500 featured several audio and video (S-Video
and composite video
) in/out ports not found in the 9500. In fact, the 8500 incorporated near-broadcast quality (640x480) A/V input and output and was the first personal computer to do so; unfortunately, no hard drive manufactured in 1997 could sustain the 18 MB/sec data rate required to capture video at that resolution.
As with the other models in the x500 series, the 8500 underwent several "speed bump" modifications during its production. It originally shipped with a 120 MHz PowerPC
604 CPU, later with the same chip running at 150 MHz, and finally with a PowerPC 604e running at 180 MHz. It was succeeded by the Power Macintosh 8600
in February 1997.
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
) was a high-end Macintosh personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
from 1995 until 1997. Billed as a high-end graphics computer, the Power Macintosh 8500 was also the first Macintosh to ship with a replaceable daughtercard. Though slower than the 132 MHz Power Macintosh 9500
Power Macintosh 9500
The Power Macintosh 9500 was a high-end Macintosh personal computer which was designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from May 1995 until early 1997. It was powered by a PowerPC 604 processor, a second-generation PowerPC chip which was faster than the earlier PowerPC 601 chip...
, the first-generation 8500 featured several audio and video (S-Video
S-Video
Separate Video, more commonly known as S-Video and Y/C, is often referred to by JVC as both an S-VHS connector and as Super Video. It is an analog video transmission scheme, in which video information is encoded on two channels: luma and chroma...
and composite video
Composite video
Composite video is the format of an analog television signal before it is combined with a sound signal and modulated onto an RF carrier. In contrast to component video it contains all required video information, including colors in a single line-level signal...
) in/out ports not found in the 9500. In fact, the 8500 incorporated near-broadcast quality (640x480) A/V input and output and was the first personal computer to do so; unfortunately, no hard drive manufactured in 1997 could sustain the 18 MB/sec data rate required to capture video at that resolution.
As with the other models in the x500 series, the 8500 underwent several "speed bump" modifications during its production. It originally shipped with a 120 MHz PowerPC
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...
604 CPU, later with the same chip running at 150 MHz, and finally with a PowerPC 604e running at 180 MHz. It was succeeded by the Power Macintosh 8600
Power Macintosh 8600
The Power Macintosh 8600 is a personal computer that is a part of Apple Computer's Power Macintosh series of Macintosh computers. It was introduced at a processor speed of 200 MHz in February 1997 alongside the Power Macintosh 7300 and the Power Macintosh 9600. It replaced the Power Macintosh...
in February 1997.
See also
- List of Macintosh models grouped by CPU type
- List of products discontinued by Apple Computer