CPU, Main Boards, and Video Support
There are four major supported &architecture;
flavors: PMac (Power-Macintosh) PReP, Apus, and CHRP machines. Ports
to other &architecture; architectures, such as
the Be-Box and MBX architecture, are underway but not yet supported by
Debian. We may have a 64bit port (Power3) in the future.
Apple (and briefly a few other manufacturers - Power Computing, for
example) makes a series of Macintosh computers based on the PowerPC
processor. For purposes of architecture support, they are categorized
as NuBus, OldWorld PCI, and NewWorld.
Macintosh computers using the 680x0 series of processors are not in
the PowerPC family but are instead m68k machines. Those models start
with `Mac II' or have a 3-digit model number such as Centris 650
or Quadra 950. Apple's pre-iMac PowerPC model numbers have four digits.
NuBus systems are not currently supported by debian/powerpc. The
monolithic Linux/PPC kernel architecture does not have support for
these machines; instead, one must use the MkLinux Mach microkernel,
which Debian does not yet support. These include the following:
Power Macintosh 6100, 7100, 8100
Performa 5200, 6200, 6300
Powerbook 1400, 2300, and 5300
Workgroup Server 6150, 8150, 9150
A linux kernel for these machines and limited support is available at
OldWorld systems are most Power Macintoshes with a floppy drive and a
PCI bus. Most 603, 603e, 604, and 604e based Power Macintoshes are
OldWorld machines. The beige colored G3 systems are also OldWorld.
The so called NewWorld PowerMacs are any PowerMacs in translucent
colored plastic cases. That includes all iMacs, iBooks, G4 systems,
blue colored G3 systems, and most PowerBooks manufactured in and after
1999. The NewWorld PowerMacs are also known for using the `ROM in RAM'
system for MacOS, and were manufactured from mid-1998 onwards.
Recently introduced Macintosh systems have hardware which is more well
supported by the 2.4 Linux kernel. For some, the 2.2 kernel just
doesn't work. The new-powermac flavor, which uses the 2.4 kernel, has
been added to keep up with the hardware. The new-powermac flavor may
also be installed on other OldWorld and NewWorld machines. Machines
for which new-powermac is highly recommended are flagged with an
asterisk below.
Specifications for Apple hardware are available at
AppleSpec,
and, for older hardware,
AppleSpec Legacy.
Model Name/Number
Architecture
Apple
iMac Bondi Blue, 5 Flavors, Slot Loading
powermac-NewWorld
iMac Summer 2000, Early 2001
powermac-NewWorld
* iBook, iBook SE, iBook Dual USB
powermac-NewWorld
* iBook2
powermac-NewWorld
Power Macintosh Blue and White (B&W) G3
powermac-NewWorld
* Power Macintosh G4 PCI, AGP, Cube
powermac-NewWorld
* Power Macintosh G4 Gigabit Ethernet
powermac-NewWorld
* Power Macintosh G4 Digital Audio, Quicksilver
powermac-NewWorld
PowerBook G3 FireWire Pismo (2000)
powermac-NewWorld
PowerBook G3 Lombard (1999)
powermac-NewWorld
* PowerBook G4 Titanium
powermac-NewWorld
Performa 4400, 54xx, 5500
powermac-OldWorld
Performa 6360, 6400, 6500
powermac-OldWorld
Power Macintosh 4400, 5400
powermac-OldWorld
Power Macintosh 7200, 7300, 7500, 7600
powermac-OldWorld
Power Macintosh 8200, 8500, 8600
powermac-OldWorld
Power Macintosh 9500, 9600
powermac-OldWorld
Power Macintosh (Beige) G3 Minitower
powermac-OldWorld
Power Macintosh (Beige) Desktop, All-in-One
powermac-OldWorld
PowerBook 2400, 3400, 3500
powermac-OldWorld
PowerBook G3 Wallstreet (1998)
powermac-OldWorld
Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh
powermac-OldWorld
Workgroup Server 7250, 7350, 8550, 9650, G3
powermac-OldWorld
Power Computing
PowerBase, PowerTower / Pro, PowerWave
powermac-OldWorld
PowerCenter / Pro, PowerCurve
powermac-OldWorld
UMAX
C500, C600, J700, S900
powermac-OldWorld
APS
APS Tech M*Power 604e/2000
powermac-OldWorld
Motorola
Starmax 3000, 4000, 5000, 5500
powermac-OldWorld
Firepower, PowerStack Series E, PowerStack II
prep
MPC 7xx, 8xx
prep
MTX, MTX+
prep
MVME2300(SC)/24xx/26xx/27xx/36xx/46xx
prep
MCP(N)750
prep
IBM RS/6000
40P, 43P
prep
Power 830/850/860 (6070, 6050)
prep
6030, 7025, 7043
prep
p640
prep
B50, 43P-150, 44P
chrp
Amiga Power-UP Systems (APUS)
A1200, A3000, A4000
apus