500 with 16 MB of RAM), will compete well against even the most ag
gressively priced Intel-based machines.
Common Denominators
All three Power Macs in this group share a remarkable number of similar features. Even though some of the similarities are architectural (all have three Peripheral Component Interconnect [PCI] slots, for example), most of them fulfill multimedia and communications requirements.
All models include stereo-audio input and output ports. The digital side of the systems' audio-generation capabilities boasts 16 bits of resolution and a sampling rate up to 44.1 kHz (CD-quality sound). On the communications side, all models include 10Base-T and AAUI-15 Ethernet connectors. And all models include high-speed DMA serial ports, compatible with GeoPort telephony/fax hardware.
As usual, Apple paid close attention to the design of the boxes themselves. For example, the 7200's top is held on by hidden latch releases under the front bezel. Release those, and the top slides off to reveal the power supply, disk dr
ives, and a hinged inner cover that holds the PCI cards in place. The memory slots are beneath the drive units -- a position that at first appears impossible to get at without major disassembly. But the entire drive and power supply unit is also hinged, and it swings up to provide easy access to any corner of the motherboard.
Of course, hardware is only part of the story. If there's Windows software that you can't live without, all three models can run SoftWindows from Insignia Systems. Both the 7500 and 8500 models' impressive software bundles include PlainTalk (the combined text-to-speech and speech-recognition engine) and Apple Media Conference (a QuickTime application that incorporates videoconferencing, whiteboard collaboration, and more).
We tested Media Conference by hooking a Power Mac 8500 to a 7500 across 10Base-T Ethernet (see the screen on page 114). The video was jerky but usable, and we could relay messages and freehand sketches on the shared whiteboard. Unfortunately, application sh
aring is not supported, and the audio quality was poor.
Power Mac 7200
The low-end model of the series, the Power Mac 7200, houses a 75- or 90-MHz PowerPC 601 processor. Memory starts at 8 MB, but you can expand that to 256 MB. Similarly, a baseline 7200 houses only a 500-MB SCSI drive, but an internal expansion bay supports another SCSI device (and, remember, there's always the rear SCSI connector for external drives).
The 7200's graphics system is built around a 64-bit data path to the video memory (a standard feature on the other models as well), and you can expand the baseline 1 MB of video memory to 4 MB for up to 1280- by 1024-pixel resolution (or 1024 by 768 in 24-bit color).
Power Mac 7500
Although the 7500 system we tested included a PowerPC 601 processor running at 100 MHz, you can upgrade the system to a 100-MHz 604 processor via a swappable CPU daughtercard. (A 604 has a significant performance advantage over a similarly clocked 601, th
anks to the 604's increased number of execution units and dynamic branch prediction.)
The chassis of the 7500 is virtually indistinguishable from that of the 7200, and it shares the 7200's easy access to internals. However, the 7500 incorporates hardware beyond that of the 7200, including an S-video input connector and an internal DAV (digital audio/video) connector that accepts video compression/decompression cards. (The 7500 also has a composite video input.) The beefier processing power of the 7500 supports real-time video playthrough, as well as video capture (up to 320 by 240 pixels of NTSC at 15 frames per second).
Power Mac 8500
The 8500 is a desktop minitower design, as opposed to the "monitor-stand" design of the 7500 and 7200. Inside beats the heart of a PowerPC 604 with a pulse rate of 120 MHz. You can upgrade the 8500's system memory from its base of 16 MB to a dizzying 512 MB.
While the 7500's composite and S-video connectors are input only, the 8500 adds
output connectors for both. The 8500 also supports video playthrough and capture. Capture rates for the 8500 are 25 fps with NTSC (but the documentation warns that you'll need a 2-GB hard drive for that).
PowerPC Performance
The models that we received from Apple all had 256 KB of L2 cache installed. The 7200 came with 16 MB of RAM and a 500-MB hard drive, while both the 7500 and 8500 had 24 MB of RAM and a 1-GB hard drive. We compiled the BYTEmark native-mode benchmarks using version 7 of Metrowerks' CodeWarrior and ran them on each system, being careful to set 604 instruction ordering on the 8500.
All three models performed well in the integer BYTEmark tests, but less so in the floating-point tests. The 90-MHz 7200 turned in an integer index of 1.05 and an FPU index of 0.64 -- what you might expect from a 90-MHz Pentium with a throttled FPU. The 100-MHz 7500 scored 1.18 on the integer tests and 0.71 on the FPU tests. The 120-MHz 604-based 8500 produced an integer index of 2
.1 and an FPU index of 1.4, putting its integer score on a par with that of a 150-MHz P6 system.
The Attraction
These are desktop machines, not server boxes you'd want to hang drives from and slide into a closet. For the price, all these systems provide excellent performance, good expandability, and a generous serving of prepackaged peripherals: CD-ROM, stereo audio, video ports, network hardware, and so forth. The only people we'd advise against buying one of these Power Macs is anyone whose business involves a great deal of number-crunching.
But for those looking for an easy-to-set-up home machine, or a workhorse multimedia system for the office, these Power Macs can definitely do the job.
PRODUCT INFORMATION
Power Mac 7200................$1949
(90-MHz 601 CPU with 8 MB
of RAM and 500-MB hard drive)
Power Mac 7500................$3099
(100-MHz 601 CPU with 16 MB
of RAM and 1-GB hard drive)
Power Mac 8500................$4199
(120-MHz 604 CPU with 16 MB
of RAM and 1-GB hard drive)
Apple Computer, Inc.
Cupertino, CA
(800) 776-2333
(408) 996-1010
fax: (408) 974-6412
www.arborsoft.com
Circle 1091 on Inquiry Card.
HotBYTEs
- information on products covered or advertised in BYTE
The Specs
7200 7500 8500
====================================================================
CPU 601 601 or 604 604
MHz 75 or 90 100 120
Internal cache (KB) 32 32 32
External cache 256 to 512 KB 256 KB to 1 MB 256 KB
System memory (MB) 8 to 256 16 to 512 16 to 512
Video memory (MB) 1 to 4 2 to 4 2 to 4
Hard disk 500
MB 500 MB to 1 GB 1 to 2 GB
New Macs Better Than Ever
photo_link (70 Kbytes)
The new Power Macs: the 7500 (left), the 8500 minitower (center), and the low-end 7200. All three models include impressive multimedia support. Apple's clever design (inset) grants easy access to memory slots and the motherboard.
Phone Home or a Business Associate
screen_link (66 Kbytes)
QuickTime Conferencing supports a shared whiteboard and videoconferencing over Ethernet. We liked the whiteboard application and the video quality but would have appreciated application sharing and better audio transmission.
Rick Grehan, who developed the BYTEmark benchmark suite, is a senior technical editor for BYTE reviews. You can reach him on the Internet or BIX at
rick_g@bix.com
.
New Media Is the Message
