The 75 MHz Power Macintosh 6200 (a.k.a. Performa 6200, 6205, 6210, 6214, 6216, 6218, 6220, and 6230!) was one of the first Macs to use the PowerPC 603 processor. Although the CPU was superior to the older 601, the computer architecture kept performance of the 6200 – and it’s built-in monitor twin, the 5200 – comparable to the 66 MHz Power Mac 6100.

To save money, Apple based the x200 motherboard on the Quadra 605 with its 25 MHz system bus and 32-bit memory, even though the 603 is a 64-bit chip. Apple also used an 8-bit IDE controller for the hard drive instead of the more expensive SCSI used in earlier Macs. (This is the kind of thinking that had crippled the LC with a 32-bit CPU on a 16-bit bus five years earlier.)

Because of unusual architecture, installing a 25-pin SCSI terminator to the SCSI port (if you have no SCSI devices attached) will improve network stability. Also, if you are using a serial printer and no modem, connect the printer to the modem port to avoid network problems.

Open Transport 1.2, which ships with Mac OS 8, solves many network problems.

A word of warning: The serial ports don’t support hardware handshaking, which is required for all modems 9600 bps and faster. You must use a comm slot modem for good throughput.

FWB HD Toolkit is a much better driver for the IDE hard drive than Apple’s.

Be sure to read Performa and Power Mac 5200, 5300, 6200, 6300 Issues. Then you’ll understand why we call it a Road Apple – and the worst Mac hardware ever.

• Got a NuBus Power Mac? Join our 1st PowerMacs Group.
• Our Mac OS 9 Group is for anyone using Mac OS 9, either natively or in Classic Mode.

Details

• Power Mac 6200/75 introduced 1995.05.01; discontinued
• Performa 6200 introduced 1995.05.01; 6216, 6218, 6220, and 6230, 17, 1995.07.17; 6205 and 6214, 1995.08.28; 6210, 1995.10.12; discontinued
• requires System 7.5.1 through 9.1
• CPU: 75 MHz PPC 603
• Bus: network and SCSI run at 10 MHz, RAM and IDE at 22.5 MHz, CPU at 37.5 MHz, graphics at 30 MHz
• Performance: XXX (relative to SE)
• ROM: 4 MB
• RAM: 8 MB, expandable to 64 MB using 70ns 72-pin SIMMs (two slots, each supports a 4, 8, 16, or 32 MB SIMM), 32-bit memory bus, installing RAM in pairs of identical speed gives slightly more efficient performance
• VRAM: 1 MB, not expandable
• Video: thousands of colors at 640 x 480, 256 at 832 x 624
• L2 cache: 256 KB
• Hard drive: 1 GB IDE
• CD-ROM: 4x
• Sound: may have 8-bit or 16-bit (if capacitor C255 is present, motherboard has 8-bit sound)
• Microphone: standard 3.5mm minijack, compatible with line-level input including Apple’s PlainTalk microphone
• ADB: 1 port for keyboard and mouse
• DIN-8 serial ports on back of computer (modem port disabled when comm slot modem present; printer port disabled when comm slot ethernet card present)
• SCSI: DB-25 connector on back of computer
• one LC PDS slot, one comm slot, one TV slot, one video I/O slot
• Gestalt ID: 42
• Size (HxWxD): 4.3″ x 12.6″ x 16.5″
• Weight: 19 pounds

Accelerators & Upgrades

• Power Mac 6300 motherboard
• Power Mac 6360 motherboard and power supply

Online Resources

• Low End Mac’s Compleat Guide to Mac OS 9, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2008.05.12. Mac OS 9 remains fast and stable, but Classic software hasn’t kept up with the changing internet. Which Macs support OS 9, where to buy it, and how to update to 9.2.2.
• Low End Mac’s GeoPort Guide, Tommy Yune, 2018.03.21
• Environmentally Responsible Retirement for Old Macs, Rick Lawson, Pioneers in Mac Development, 2008.06.13. After you’ve scavenged what useful parts you can from your old Mac, what’s the most environmentally friendly way to dispose of the rest?
• Know Your Mac’s Upgrade Options, Phil Herlihy, The Usefulness Equation, 2008.08.26. Any Mac can be upgraded, but it’s a question of what can be upgraded – RAM, hard drive, video, CPU – and how far it can be upgraded.
• Low End Mac’s Comm Slot FAQ, Tommy Yune, 2018.03.20
• Creating Classic Mac Boot Floppies in OS X, Paul Brierley, The ‘Book Beat, 2008.08.07. Yes, it is possible to create a boot floppy for the Classic Mac OS using an OS X Mac that doesn’t have Classic. Here’s how.
• The Compressed Air Keyboard Repair, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2008.07.24. If your keyboard isn’t working as well as it once did, blasting under the keys with compressed air may be the cure.
• More G4 upgrade advice, secure disk wipes, 500 MHz iMacs with Tiger in action, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2008.05.09. The importance of securely clearing your hard drive before you pass on your Mac, Pismo and closed lid mode, G3 iMacs in the classroom, and more thoughts on upgrading G4 Power Macs.
• Vintage Mac Video and Monitor Mania, Adam Rosen, Adam’s Apple, 2007.12.17. Vintage Macs and monitors didn’t use VGA connectors. Tips on making modern monitors work with old Macs.
• Getting Inside Vintage Macs and Swapping Out Bad Parts, Adam Rosen, Adam’s Apple, 2007.12.14. When an old Mac dies, the best source of parts is usually another dead Mac with different failed parts.
• Solving Mac Startup Problems, Adam Rosen, Adam’s Apple, 2007.12.12. When your old Mac won’t boot, the most likely culprits are a dead PRAM battery or a failed (or failing) hard drive.
• The 10 worst Macs ever, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2007.10.23. The ten worst Macs of all time – and one of them came out just last year.
• Interchangeabilty and Compatibility of Apple 1.4 MB Floppy SuperDrives, Sonic Purity, Mac Daniel, 2007.09.26. Apple used two kinds of high-density floppy drives on Macs, auto-inject and manual inject. Can they be swapped?
• Apple’s Consumer Performa Line, 1992 to 1997, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2007.09.14. Apple decided to pursue the average consumer by renaming existing Macs, bundling them with software, and putting their colorful boxes in regular retail outlets.
• Restoring PowerBook batteries, MB/GB confusion, upgrading a Performa 6300, Road Apples, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2007.08.20. Also information on Mac128k.com, the market for a midrange Macintosh, iBook reliability, an alternative to Name Munger, and thanks from a reader.
• Mac System 7.5.5 Can Do Anything Mac OS 7.6.1 Can, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2007.06.04. Yes, it is possible to run Internet Explorer 5.1.7 and SoundJam with System 7.5.5. You just need to have all the updates – and make one modification for SoundJam.
• Appearance Manager Allows Internet Explorer 5.1.7 to Work with Mac OS 7.6.1, Max Wallgren, Mac Daniel, 2007.05.23. Want a fairly modern browser with an old, fast operating system? Mac OS 7.6.1 plus the Appearance Manager and Internet Explorer may be just what you want.
• Format Any Drive for Older Macs with Patched Apple Tools, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2007.04.25. Apple HD SC Setup and Drive Setup only work with Apple branded hard drives – until you apply the patches linked to this article.
• System 7 Today, advocates of Apple’s ‘orphan’ Mac OS 7.6.1, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 2006.10.26. Why Mac OS 7.6.1 is far better for 68040 and PowerPC Macs than System 7.5.x.
• Mac OS 8 and 8.1: Maximum Size, Maximum Convenience, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2006.09.11. Mac OS 8 and 8.1 add some useful new features and tools, and it can even be practical on 68030-based Macs.
• Customizing Mac OS 9, Nathan Thompson, Embracing Obsolescence, 2006.08.01. Fiddling with themes, picking a browser, and making the Classic Mac OS work just the way you want it to.
• Floppy drive observations: A compleat guide to Mac floppy drives and disk formats, Scott Baret, Online Tech Journal, 2006.06.29. A history of the Mac floppy from the 400K drive in the Mac 128K through the manual-inject 1.4M SuperDrives used in the late 1990s.
• System 7.6.1 is perfect for many older Macs, John Martorana, That Old Mac Magic, 2006.03.24. Want the best speed from your old Mac? System 7.6.1 can give you that with a fairly small memory footprint – also helpful on older Macs.
• System 7.5 and Mac OS 7.6: The beginning and end of an era, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2006.02.15. System 7.5 and Mac OS 7.6 introduced many new features and greater modernity while staying within reach of most early Macintosh models.
• Web browser tips for the classic Mac OS, Nathan Thompson, Embracing Obsolescence, 2006.01.03. Tips on getting the most out of WaMCom, Mozilla, Internet Explorer, iCab, Opera, and WannaBe using the classic Mac OS.
• The best browsers for PowerPC Macs and the classic Mac OS, Nathan Thompson, Embracing Obsolescence, 2005.12.16. Two browsers stand out from the pack: iCab 3 is modern and remains under development, and WaMCom brings Mozilla to older Macs.
• Why you should use Mac OS 7.6 to get the most out of vintage Macs, Thomas Ahart, The Productive Mac, 2005.12.12. Although you may be able to run OS 8 or 9 on your old Mac, you’ll generally find better performance using Mac OS 7.6.
• The 10 worst Macs ever built, Remy Davison, Insanely Great Mac, 2001.08.06
• Guide to LC PDS Video Cards. Includes Focus, Radius, and RasterOps cards for the LC processor direct slot.
• PDS Power Macs: Road Apples?, Adam Robert Guha, Apple Archive, 9/29/00. These Macs aren’t bad, just limited. Here’s how to make the most of them.
• Can I Speed a 6200 or 5200 on the Net?, Mac Daniel
• Performa 6300, 5200 questions, Mac Daniel
• Apple Specs for Power Macintosh 6100/75, Performa 6200, 6205, 6210, 6214, 6216, 6218, 6220, 6230
• Performa and Power Mac 5200, 5300, 6200, 6300 Issues by Scott L. Barber
• Modem performance using FreePPP and OT PPP on at 5320, Adrian Winnard

Cautions

• Internal HD Format: Cannot See IDE Drives (Apple Knowledge Base 18360) notes that due to changes in the way modern IDE drives are formatted at the factory, early versions of Apple HD SC Setup (ones that come with System 7.5.1 and earlier) will not recognize them. You should boot System 7.5.2 or later and use Drive Setup 1.0.3 or higher with these drives.
• This highest PIO mode this model supports is Mode 3 (11.1 MB/s), Macintosh: Using Third Party IDE Hard Disks
• Macs with IDE hard drive do not provide SCSI termination power, depending on external SCSI devices to provide it. For more details, see SCSI Termination Power.
• On most models, the serial ports do not support hardware handshaking necessary for high speed (9600 bps or higher) modems. However, Global Village Teleport Platinum modems implement handshaking on the modem, providing 28.8 kbps and faster telecommunications. (The final revision of the motherboard does support hardware handshaking.)

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