Power Macintosh 8600

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Power Macintosh 8600

Manufacturer	Apple Computer
Introduced	February 17, 1997
Discontinued	February 17, 1998
Price	US$2700
CPU	PowerPC 604e/604ev, 200 - 300 MHz
RAM	32 MB, expandable to 1 GB, 70 ns 168-pin DIMM
OS	System 7.5.5

The Power Macintosh 8600 (Codename: "Kansas") 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 8500. In August 1997, the original model was replaced with two faster ones, at 250 and 300 MHz. The 8600 was discontinued in February 1998, in favour of the Power Macintosh G3 minitower that had been introduced in November 1997.

Like the Power Macintoshes 7300 and 9600, the 8600 featured the new PowerPC 604e and 604ev CPU, an enhanced version of the PowerPC 604 used in the predecessor models 8500 and 9500. It used the same new case as the 9600, but was considerably less expandable (8 instead of 12 RAM sockets, 3 instead of 6 PCI slots) at a lower price, a distinction that was carried over from the x500 generation. The 8600 was plagued with supply problems from the beginning, and only in June 1997, four months ofter its introduction, the computer was widely available. The 300 MHz model was also delayed after its introduction, but not as heavily as the original model had been had been. ^[1]