Motorola PowerStack

The Motorola PowerStack was an early PowerPC workstation and server family built around the company’s PowerPlus architecture. It offered PCI and ISA expansion with industry-standard storage and networking in desktop and tower configurations.

PowerStack represented Motorola’s move from 68000 and VME systems to PowerPC computing during the short-lived market for non-Apple PowerPC workstations.

Notable Features

• PowerPC processors supplied RISC performance in systems designed for several operating systems.
• PCI and ISA slots made the architecture less proprietary than earlier Motorola workstations.

Historical Significance

• PowerStack represented Motorola’s move from 68000 and VME systems to PowerPC computing during the short-lived market for non-Apple PowerPC workstations.

Collector’s Notes

• Firmware and operating-system compatibility depend on exact model and board revision; confirm these before attempting installation.
• Memory, storage, displays and expansion hardware should be documented because configurations often changed during a system’s working life.

Specifications

Technical Information
Name	Motorola PowerStack
Manufacturer	Motorola
Launched	Saturday, January 1, 1994
Discontinued	Late 1990s
Country	United States
CPU	PowerPC 604-family processor
Units Sold
Form Factor	Desktop or tower workstation/server
Power	Internal universal mains supply
Networking	Integrated or optional Ethernet
Operating System	AIX, Windows NT, Solaris or Linux support varied by model
Expansion / I/O	PCI, ISA, serial, parallel, SCSI/IDE and external peripheral ports
Keyboard	Detached PC-style keyboard and mouse
Storage	IDE or SCSI hard disk, floppy and optional CD-ROM
Sound	Sound support depended on configuration
Colours	Adapter-dependent colour
Graphics	PCI graphics adapter
Display	External VGA-compatible monitor
ROM	Open Firmware or model-specific boot firmware
RAM	Model-dependent, commonly 16MB or more
CPU Speed	Model-dependent, commonly 100–200 MHz