Power Macintosh 7200
| Release date | August 7, 1995 |
|---|---|
| Introductory price | 1700, 1900 |
| Discontinued | February 17, 1997 |
| Operating system | System 7.5.2 |
| CPU | PowerPC 601 @ 75 - 120 MHz |
| Memory | 8 MB, expandable to 512 MB (70 ns 168-pin DIMM) |
The Power Macintosh 7200 (Codename: "Catalyst") is a personal computer that is a part of Apple Computer's Power Macintosh series of Macintosh computers. It was introduced in August 1995 as a successor to the Power Macintosh 7100, and was discontinued in favor of the Power Macintosh 7300 in February 1997. The 90 MHz model was also sold in Japan as the Power Macintosh 7215, and the 120 MHz model with bundled server software as the Apple Workgroup Server 7250. Additionally, it was available in Europe in an 8100-style case as the Power Macintosh 8200.
The Power Macintosh 7200 represents the low end of the "second wave" of Power Macs, which replaced NuBus with PCI. It was introduced at the same time as the Power Macintosh 8500 and the Power Macintosh 7500. With the latter, it also shares the novel "Outrigger" case. Unlike the 7500, however, the 7200 does not have video input capabilities, and its CPU is soldered to the motherboard instead of on a daughterboard like the 7500, making it much harder to upgrade. At the time of its introduction, Apple promised an inexpensive logic board upgrade to the 7500, but due to high demand for the 7500, when the upgrade was finally made available, it was to the follow-on model, the Power Macintosh 7600 and cost $1600—not the inexpensive upgrade promised.[1] It was launched at processor speeds of 75 and 90 MHz, and the slower model was replaced by a 120 MHz model in February 1996. The 120MHz model was also available in a "PC compatible" variant, which came with a PCI card that allowed the computer to run Microsoft Windows and other PC operating systems. The card featured a 100 MHz Pentium processor.
The 7200's CPU was considered otherwise impossible to upgrade until, over three years after the 7200 was discontinued, Sonnet eventually produced an G3 upgrade card for the PCI slots.[2]
External links
- Power Macintosh 7200/75, 7200/90, 7200/120, 7200/120 (PC compatible), 7215/90 and WGS 7250/120 specifications at AppleSpec
- Power Macintosh 7200 at apple-history.com
- Power Macintosh 7200 at Low End Mac
- Power Macintosh 7200/75, 7200/90, 7200/120 and WGS 7250/120 at EveryMac.com
- Official Power Macintosh 7200/120 page (1996) 7200/120
- Official Power Macintosh 7200/120 (PC Compatible) page (1996) 7200/120 PC
