Power Macintosh 7500

Power Macintosh 7500
A Power Macintosh 7500/100
Also known as"TNT"
DeveloperApple Computer
Product familyPower Macintosh
Release dateAugust 8, 1995 (1995-08-08)
Introductory priceUS$3,000 (equivalent to $5,999 in 2023)
DiscontinuedMay 18, 1996 (1996-05-18)
Operating systemSystem 7.5.2 - Mac OS 9.1
CPUPowerPC 601 @ 100 MHz
Memory8 or 16 MB, expandable to 1 GB (70 ns 168 pin DIMM)
PredecessorPower Macintosh 7100
SuccessorPower Macintosh 7600
Power Macintosh 7300

The Power Macintosh 7500 is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from August 1995 to May 1996. The 7500 was introduced alongside the Power Macintosh 7200 and 8500 at the 1995 MacWorld Expo in Boston.[1] Apple referred to these machines collectively as the "Power Surge" line, communicating that these machines offered a significant speed improvement over its predecessors. The 7500 introduced a new case design,[2] later dubbed "Outrigger" by Mac enthusiasts. There were two derivative models: the Power Macintosh 7600, identical to the 7500 except for the CPU which was a PowerPC 604 or 604e processor instead of the 7500's 601; and the Power Macintosh 7300, identical to the 7600 but without the video inputs found in both the 7500 and 7600.

Hardware

The 7500 is one of the first PCI-capable Macs manufactured by Apple; NuBus expansion cards are not supported. It has a PowerPC 601 processor rated at 100 MHz that is replaceable via a daughtercard.[3] It also includes full composite video and S-Video input capability, but no output, as the 7500 was designed to be a video conferencing system, not a multimedia editing machine—this was the 8500's task.

The main bus runs at 45 MHz or 50 MHz (set by the CPU daughtercard), and the CPU at integer or half-integer multiples of this speed. The bus can be temperamental with sensitivity to different kinds of RAM or of L2 cache, which could cause problems with aftermarket CPU cards trying to increase the clock speed.

Models

In addition to the standard matrix of configurations available from Apple, various third-party resellers offered a wide variety of configurations.

  • Power Macintosh 7500/100:[3] 8 or 16 MB RAM, 512 MB or 1 GB HDD, AppleCD 600i 4x CD-ROM drive.[4]

Timeline

Timeline of Power Macintosh, Pro, and Studio models
Mac ProMac StudioMac ProMac StudioMac ProMac ProMac ProPower Mac G5Power Mac G5Power Mac G4Power Mac G5Power Mac G4Power Mac G4 CubePower Mac G4Power Macintosh G3#Blue and WhitePower Macintosh 9600Power Macintosh G3Power Macintosh 8600Power Macintosh 9500Power Macintosh 8500Power Macintosh 8100Power Macintosh G3Power Macintosh 7600Power Macintosh 7300Power Macintosh 4400Power Macintosh 7500Power Macintosh 7200Power Macintosh 7100Power Macintosh 6500Power Macintosh 6400Power Macintosh 6200Power Macintosh 6100Power Macintosh G3Twentieth Anniversary MacintoshPower Macintosh 5500Power Macintosh 5400Power Macintosh 5260Power Macintosh 5200 LC
See also: List of Mac models

References

  1. ^ Epler, Anita (August 7, 1995). "Apple's PCI risk". InfoWorld Magazine. pp. 1, 80. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  2. ^ Warner, Tim (December 1995). "Reviews - Power Macintosh 7500/100". MacWorld Magazine. pp. 56–57.
  3. ^ a b "Power Macintosh 7500/100: Technical Specifications". Apple. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  4. ^ "Power Macintosh 7300/ 7500/7600 & WS 7350 - Apple Service Source" (PDF). Apple. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022.