Apple Power Macintosh 8500/120 (1995) – PowerPC 604, 128MB RAM – Previously Sold

Description

Status: Previously sold. This listing is preserved as a historical archive and reference only.
If this model becomes available again, it will be listed separately as a new item.

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Item Overview

This archived listing documents an original Apple Power Macintosh 8500/120,
a mid‑1990s PowerPC‑based desktop Macintosh designed for expandability and performance.
This unit was evaluated and sold as a vintage collectible suitable for restoration,
retro computing, or historical reference.

• Model: Power Macintosh 8500/120 (M3409)
• Manufactured: 1995
• Processor: PowerPC 604 @ 120 MHz
• Memory: 128 MB RAM
• Storage: 1 GB Quantum SCSI hard drive
• Assembly: Assembled in USA

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Condition at Time of Sale

At the time of evaluation, the system powered on successfully and booted into
Mac OS System 7.5.2, which had been cleanly installed on the internal SCSI hard drive.

• Booted successfully into Mac OS 7.5.2
• System date and time were incorrect, indicating a depleted PRAM battery
• AppleCD 600i SCSI CD‑ROM booted installation media and loaded the OS;
  the drive was noisy during operation
• Floppy drive reliability was questionable; attempts to create installation diskettes
  failed verification and no additional testing was performed

The enclosure was in generally good condition for its age, with typical cosmetic wear
including scuffs, scratches, and yellowing. The plastic throughout the chassis was brittle,
consistent with a nearly 30‑year‑old Macintosh.

The plastic power switch linkage connecting the external case button to the motherboard
switch broke during case removal for photography.
To power on the system, access to the internal motherboard power switch was required,
either by removing the outer case or by reaching through the opening left by the broken linkage.
All broken pieces of the power switch linkage were included with the unit.

An aftermarket Asante PCI 10/100 Fast Ethernet card was installed as an upgrade
from the original 10 Mbps onboard networking. Networking functionality was not tested,
though TCP/IP settings were present in the system software.
Apple documentation indicates this model is capable of running later versions
of the classic Mac OS, up to Mac OS 9, when properly configured.

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Included / Not Included

• Included: Desktop unit, broken power switch linkage pieces, installed Asante PCI Ethernet card
• Not Included: Monitor, keyboard, mouse, power cable, Mac OS installation media

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Archival & Collector Notes

This system was sold as‑is due to its age.
Mechanical failures such as broken power‑button linkages are common on this Power Macintosh chassis family,
as the external plastics become increasingly brittle with age.

This archived listing is maintained for long‑tail search visibility and may be useful
to collectors, restorers, or researchers studying Power Macintosh 8500 configurations,
common mechanical failure modes, and mid‑1990s PCI expansion usage.

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This archived listing is preserved for historical reference and collector research.

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