 A Power Macintosh 9500/132 | |
| Also known as | Power Macintosh 9515 and WGS 9550 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Apple Computer |
| Product family | Power Macintosh |
| Release date | June 19, 1995 (1995-06-19)[1] |
| Introductory price | US$4,699 (equivalent to $9,697 in 2024) |
| Discontinued | February 17, 1997 (1997-02-17) |
| Operating system | System 7.5.2 -Mac OS 9.1 |
| CPU | PowerPC 604, 120–150 MHz PowerPC 604e, 180×2 and 200 MHz |
| Memory | Expandable to 1.5GB (168 pinDIMM 5V) |
| Dimensions | Height: 16.9 inches (43 cm) Width: 7.7 inches (20 cm) Depth: 15.75 inches (40.0 cm) |
| Weight | 28 pounds (13 kg) |
| Predecessor | Macintosh Quadra 950 |
| Successor | Power Macintosh 9600 |
ThePower Macintosh 9500 (additionally sold asPower Macintosh 9515 in some regions ofEurope andAsia[2]) is apersonal computer designed, manufactured and sold byApple Computer from June 1995 to February 1997.[1] It is powered by aPowerPC 604 processor, a second-generationPowerPC chip which is faster than thePowerPC 601 chip used in thePower Macintosh 8100. The 180MP and200 MHz models, introduced August 1996, use the enhancedPowerPC 604e processor. The 9500 uses a taller version of the case originally used in theQuadra 800 and Power Macintosh 8100.
MacWorld Magazine gave the 9500 a positive review, concluding that it is "not the second-generation Power Mac for the rest of us — it's too pricey .... but it is an excellent foundation for a high-end graphics workstation — for color publishing or media production. Its speed and expandability should also made it popular in the scientific and technical markets."[3] Their benchmarks showed that the 9500 outperformed the Quadra 950 when running older Mac software in theMac 68k emulator, posting speeds almost twice as fast as theQuadra 900.
The 9500 was replaced by thePower Macintosh 9600 which had minimal technical changes, but provided a new case and faster processor speeds.
The 9500 includes several technological firsts for Apple. The CPU is connected via adaughterboard, and so can be swapped easily. Processor cards available were Single-processor versions ranging from 120 to 200 MHz, and adual processor card with two 180 MHz CPUs. This is also the first Macintosh to use thePCI standard, with six PCI slots available—one of which must be used for agraphics card.[3] Infoworld's Anita Epler noted that "Because most multimedia developers don't use the onboard video found on previous Mac models, Apple wisely economized by simply leaving it out. Users can purchase their own PCI graphics card or opt for Apple's 64-bit accelerated PCI video board with 2 MB of VRAM as an optional accessory."[4]
The 9500 is also the first computer from Apple to support 168-pinDIMM memory modules, and the 512 KB of on-board 128-bit-wide cache utilizes copy-back instead of write-through, offering faster speeds than prior Macintosh models,[3] as well as the ability to install single modules (although matched pairs are recommended for best performance[5]). The logic board has a total of 12 memory slots; like thePower Macintosh 8100, installing memory requires removing the logic board from the case. When it was introduced, 64 MB DIMMs were the largest available on the market, making for a maximum memory limit of 768 MB. Companies like Advantage Memory were selling DIMMs of this size for US$3,900 each.[6] 128 MB DIMMs were introduced later in 1995, offering a theoretical limit of 1.5 GB memory, thoughSystem 7.5.2 is unable to use more than 1 GB of memory.
Some other firsts for a Macintosh include a regular10BASE-T Ethernet port alongside theAAUI port, as well as support for the newSCSI-2 Fast standard, and a 4X CD-ROM.[4]
The basic design of thelogic board, called "Tsunami",[4] was used by variousMacintosh clone makers as a reference design[7] and a modified version was used in the non-MacintoshApple Network Server series. The Tsunami board was later reused with minor modifications in earlier variants of the Power Macintosh 9600, although later replaced with an updated "Kansas" variant for 300 and 350 MHz variants.
Utilizing a third-party G4 CPU upgrade[8] and theXPostFacto installation utility it is possible to run up toMac OS X v10.5 "Leopard" on a 9500, making it the oldest model capable of running Mac OS X.
Included as standard with all models are 16 MB RAM, 1 GB HDD, andAppleCD 600i 4x CD-ROM.
Introduced June 19, 1995:
Introduced October 2, 1995:
Introduced April 22, 1996:
Introduced August 7, 1996:
| Timeline of Power Macintosh, Pro, and Studio models |
|---|
 See also:List of Mac models |
