You mean Mac OS 8? Sure. A 9600 can even still do 7.x, the last Power Mac that could.
The 9600 requires 7.6.1. You can't even use a 7.6 install disc, it has to be 7.6.1. I have both and that .1 tacked on at the end makes a huge difference to these machines.
The 8500 Shipped with OS 7.5.x. I don't recoomend 7.5.2 but anything 7.5.5 or later (7.6.1 and 8.1 are perfect for a stock 8500) will do nicely. On G3 equipped 8500 I go for OS 9.1, no real need for 9.2.2 unless you run OSX as well (updates were for OSX compatability).
I agree with most of this. I keep 7.6.1 and 8.1 install discs as my baseline OS's. The one I use depends how powerful the system I am installing it on is. I try not to use older versions of 7 unless the machine isn't 32-bit clean or runs too slowly for 7.6.1. Most of my currently running Macs are capable of going to 9 so I really don't use my 7 and 8 discs much. Oh, according to the OS9 Helper site, there are benefits to upgrading to 9.2.2 if you can. The last device drivers and some of the last software updates to work with 9 require 9.2.1 or 9.2.2 and the optimizations for classic mode also speed things up when you boot directly into it making it faster than 9.1. That's not me, that's according the website like I said.
