Borrowing a code name popularised by Sun Microsystems Inc for quite another product, Apple Computer Inc is working on a Power Macintosh code-named Tsunami, tailored specifically for the pre-press publishing market, MacWeek hears. The paper hears that the tower system will be in the January launch that is expected to see a total of five new models, all with Peripheral Component Interconnect replacing the NuBus in the first Power Macs. Tsunami will have six PCI slots and no video circuitry on the logic board, the thinking being that users of publishing-intensive applications usually install their own graphics boards so should not be required to pay for circuitry they won’t use. It is expected to use a tower case similar to that of the 8100, but wider and taller for three extra slots and bigger storage bays. Using a PowerPC 601, likely at 120MHz, it will have at least 512Kb Level 2 cache; main memory will go to a massive 768Mb with 64-bit SIMMs. It will include GeoPort, Ethernet, fast SCSI, direct memory access and 16-bit stereo sound, and Apple does plan its own optional display board. Apple’s implementation of the 33MHz 32-bit Peripheral Component Interconnect bus is expected to use Open Firmware, a draft IEEE standard to enable PCI boards not designed specifically for the Mac to work in Tsunami – with a Mac software driver: Open Firmware boards will configure themselves to any processor architecture. It will aim for the theoretical maximum bus throughput of 132M-bytes per second, against the 40Mbps peak and 20Mbps average for the old NuBus.
