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Second Class Macs & Road Apples
Power Macintosh 7200, 8200

Dan Knight - 1998.03.18
Second Class Macs are Apple's somewhat compromised hardware designs. For the most part, they're not really bad - simply designs that didn't meet their full potential. (On our rating scale, the more brown apples, the worse the hardware.)
Like several other road apples, the Power Mac 7200 wasn't a terrible design. In fact, it was a pretty good design, sharing a lot of components and features with the 7500.
The 7200 runs faster with 2 MB or 4 MB VRAM, but Apple shipped it with 1 MB to keep costs down. Likewise, it runs significantly faster with a level 2 cache, which Apple also left out to keep the price down.
Apple promised an inexpensive motherboard upgrade, which would turn the fixed-CPU 7200 into a CPU-replaceable 7500. It didn't ship when it was supposed to, due to demand for the 7500. When it finally shipped, it was a 7600 upgrade - and it cost $1,600 with a slow CPU daughter card.
Outrageous, and definitely not inexpensive.
Despite comparable performance between the 7200/90, 7200/120, and 7500/100, the 7200s are less desirable because they cannot be upgraded for a reasonable price. This is reflected on the used market, where a used 7500 sells for roughly 50% more than a comparably equipped 7200. (A used 7500 also sells for less than the cost of Apple's upgrade.)
The Power Mac 7200 was not a bad computer - more a promise poorly fulfilled.
It wasn't until late 2000 that Sonnet managed to create an
accelerator for these computers, a $500 PCI card with a 400 MHz G3
processor.
Details
- 7200/75 introduced 1995.08, discontinued 1996.03
- 7200/90 introduced 1995.08, discontinued
- 7200/120 introduced 1996.03, discontinued
- requires System 7.5.2 or later
- CPU: 75/90/120 MHz PPC 601
- bus: 37.5/45/40 MHz
- performance:
- ROM: 4 MB
- RAM: 8 MB, expandable to 512 KB using DIMMs (4 sockets available)
- VRAM: 1 MB, expandable to 4 MB
- Video: supports resolutions to 1152 x 870
- L2 cache: optional
- ADB: 1 port for keyboard and mouse
- serial: 2 DIN-8 GeoPorts on back of computer
- SCSI: DB-25 connector on back of computer
- ethernet: AAUI and 10Base-T connectors on back of computer
- upgrade path: 7300 or 7500/7600 motherboard + CPU daughtercard for 7200; 8500 motherboard for 8200; possibly to G3
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: MacBook Core Duo, May 2006. The iBook's replacement has a 13" widescreen display and a 1.83-2.0 GHz Intel Core Duo CPU.
- Group of the Day: StarMax List is for anyone using Motorola StarMax Mac clones.
- Support Low End Mac
Recent Content
- CardBus WiFi, the Shiira Browser, Ridding the Web of Flash, and Macs vs. PCs, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 03.18. Mac longevity, Shiira speed, ambidextrous Mac and Windows use, and how Flash benefits Apple.
- How to Zoom Your Browser for a More Readable Web, Steve Watkins, The Practical Mac, 03.18. Instructions for zooming text and pages in Safari, Firefox, Camino, and Opera.
- How Ad Blocking Hurts Your Favorite Websites, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 03.18. Ad income keeps the Web free. Blocking online ads hurts your favorite websites.
- Taking Apart the 12" PowerBook, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 03.17. There are a lot of steps involved in disassembling a 12" PowerBook. Proceed with caution.
- Why I Plan to Stop Using Google Docs, Jason Walsh, Mac Life, 03.16. Jason Walsh continues his search for the perfect word processor and explains why he uses Google Docs - and why he will stop using it.
- Ubiquitous Computing: Tabs, Pads, Books, and Clouds, Adam Rosen, Adam's Apple, 03.16. "Ubiquitous computing names the third wave in computing, just now beginning . . . when technology recedes into the background of our lives."
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best Intel iMac Deals, 03.17. Used 17" from $600; 20" from $750; 24" from $825; refurb 21.5" nVidia, $999; new, $1,099; refurb Radeon, $1,299; new, $1,399; refurb 27" 3.06, $1,499; more.
- Best G5 iMac Deals, 03.17. 17" 2.0 GHz, $380; 1.9 GHz iSight, $479 shipped; 20" 1.8 GHz, $509 shipped; 2.1 GHz iSight, $549 shipped.
- Best Time Capsule Deals, 03.17. Close-out 500 GB, $140; new 1 TB, $279; used 2 TB simultaneous dual-band, $400; new, $455. Shipping included.
- Best iPad Deals, 03.16. 16 GB iPad, $499; 32 GB, $599; 64 GB, $699; 16 GB with 3G, $629; 32 GB 3G, $729; 64 GB 3G, $829. Free ground shipping.
- Best iPod classic Deals, 03.12. Used 20 GB, $119; 40 GB, $139; 60 GB, $159; 30 GB video, $129; 60 GB, $159; 80 GB, $169; refurb 120 GB, $189; new, $214; 160 GB, $228 shipped.
- Best G3 iBook and AirPort Card Deals, 03.12. 366 MHz 12" clamshell, $89; 466, $125; 500 white CD, $100; 600, $199; 800 Combo, $239; 14" 900, $225.
- Best Xserve Deals, 03.12. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $499; 2.0 dual G5, $599; 2.3, $749; refurb 2.26 4-core Nehalem, $2,499; new, $2,699; 8-core, $3,449; refurb 2.66, $4,299; new, $4,799; more.
- More deals in our archive.
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