The new features in the enhanced PCI-based Power Macintosh computers include:
- Faster processor speeds: up to 150 MHz
- A second-level (L2) cache for higher performance in most models
- Larger sizes of internal hard disks: up to 2 GB
- The latest release of the Mac OS: System 7.5.3
- Multihoming support
Processor Types and Speeds
The clock speeds for the microprocessors in the enhanced Power Macintosh 7200, 7500, 8500, and 9500 computers are increased over their earlier counterparts. In addition, the microprocessor in the Power Macintosh 7600 is a PowerPC 604 instead of the PowerPC 601 used in the original Power Macintosh 7500. The updates are as follow:
| Processor Types and Speeds |
| Model | Processor Type | Processor Clock Speed | Processor Bus Speed |
| Power Macintosh 7200 | PowerPC 601 | 120 MHz | 40 MHz |
| Power Macintosh 7600 | PowerPC 604 | 120 MHz | 40 MHz |
| Power Macintosh 8500 | PowerPC 604 | 132 MHz | 44 MHz |
| Power Macintosh 8500 | PowerPC 604 | 150 MHz | 50 MHz |
| Power Macintosh 9500 | PowerPC 604 | 150 MHz | 50 MHz |
Second-Level Cache
All of the enhanced PCI-based Power Macintosh models, except the lowest-priced Power Macintosh 7200 models, include a second-level (L2) cache. The L2 cache provides up to 40% better performance.
The L2 cache in the Power Macintosh 9500/150 consists of 512 KB of fast static RAM. The size of the cache in the other models is 256 KB. The table in the configurations section of this article depicts this information.
Hard disk drive
The internal hard drives of the enhanced PCI-based Power Macintosh computers consist of either 800 MB, 1.2 GB, or 2 GB. The table in the configurations section of this article depicts this information.
Macintosh System 7.5.3
The enhanced PCI-based Power Macintosh computers include the latest version of the Mac OS, System 7.5.3.
Configurations
| Configurations |
| Model | DRAM | Hard Drive | L2 Cache |
| Power Macintosh 7200/100 | 8 MB | 800 MB | - |
| Power Macintosh 7200/120 | 8 MB | 1.2 GB | - |
| Power Macintosh 7200/120 | 8 or 16 MB | 1.2 GB | 256K |
| Power Macintosh 7600/120 | 16 MB | 1.2 GB | 256K |
| Power Macintosh 8500/132 | 16 MB | 1.2 GB | 256K |
| Power Macintosh 8500/150 | 16 MB | 2 GB | 256K |
| Power Macintosh 9500/150 | 16 MB | 2 GB | 512K |
Multihoming
The enhanced models of the PCI-based Power Macintosh computers have a new version of the Curio IC, CurioPrime, that supports multihoming. Multihoming, also called multiporting, makes it possible for AppleTalk to be active on more than one network port on the computer at the same time.
Multihoming is most important for Macintosh computers with PC Compatible cards installed so users can have simultaneous TCP/IP and Netware sessions.
This article was published in the Information Alley on 25 April 1996.