Apple eMac (2002) vs Apple iMac G3 (Summer 2001)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleeMac (2002) | AppleiMac G3 (Summer 2001) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | June 2002 | July 2001 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | PowerPC G4 0.7 GHz (eMac 2002) or PowerPC G4 0.8 GHz (eMac 2002) | PowerPC G3 500 MHz (iMac), PowerPC G3 600 MHz (iMac) or PowerPC G3 700 MHz (iMac) |
| CPU cores | 1 | 1 |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce2 MX (32 MB DDR) | ATI RAGE 128 Ultra (16 MB) |
| Memory | 128 MB, 256 MB, 512 MB or 1 GB | 128 MB, 256 MB or 1 GB |
| Storage | 40 GB to 60 GB | 20 GB to 60 GB |
| CPU | 700 MHz PowerPC G4 with Velocity Engine, 256 KB full-speed L2 cache and 100 MHz system bus in Apple's original consumer specification. The August update also offered an 800 MHz processor. EveryMac identifies both as PowerPC 7441; Apple publishes only the G4 family and clock speeds. | 500, 600 or 700 MHz PowerPC G3 with 256 KB on-chip L2 cache at processor speed; 100 MHz system bus. Clock-only chip records do not infer a silicon supplier. |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce2 MX with AGP 2× support and 32 MB dedicated DDR video memory | ATI RAGE 128 Ultra with 16 MB SDRAM in every configuration; AGP 2x. |
| Memory type | 128 MB SDRAM standard on 700 MHz configurations, 256 MB on the August 800 MHz SuperDrive configuration. Two user-accessible 168-pin DIMM slots support up to 1 GB using 128 MB, 256 MB or 512 MB DIMMs. | 500 MHz: 128 MB; 600/700 MHz: 256 MB PC100 SDRAM. Two DIMM slots support up to 1 GB. The configurations preserve the base processor/drive ties at base and maximum memory. |
| Storage type | Original consumer 700 MHz CD-RW model has a 40 GB Ultra ATA disk and maximum 24× CD-R, 10× CD-RW and 32× CD reading. August 2002 consumer choices were 700 MHz Combo with 40 GB and 800 MHz SuperDrive with 60 GB. Optical-drive speeds for those later choices are not assumed from the original CD-RW specification. | 500 MHz: 20 GB, Indigo or Snow. 600 MHz: 40 GB, Snow or Graphite. 700 MHz Special Edition: 60 GB, Snow or Graphite. All have an 8x/4x/24x CD-RW drive; no DVD reading. Apple says 500/600 MHz available immediately on 18 July; 700 MHz expected in August. |
| Display | ||
| Screen size | 17″ | 15″ |
| Resolution | 1280 × 960 (better) | 1024 × 768 |
| Panel | CRT | – |
| Refresh rate | 72 Hz | 75 Hz (better) |
| Display type | Flat 17-inch CRT with 16-inch viewable area and 0.25 mm dot pitch. Supported analogue modes are 1280 × 960 at 72 Hz, 1152 × 864 at 80 Hz, 1024 × 768 at 89 Hz, 800 × 600 at 112 Hz and 640 × 480 at 138 Hz; these are not a fixed pixel matrix. The headline refresh applies to the highest published screen resolution. | 15-inch nominal shadow-mask CRT, 13.8-inch viewable diagonal and 0.28 mm dot pitch. |
| Display features | – | 1024 × 768 at 75 Hz, 800 × 600 at 95 Hz and 640 × 480 at 117 Hz. Main refresh describes the highest-resolution mode. |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack | 2 × USB-A, Ethernet, 2 × headphone jack |
| Ethernet | 0.1 Gb/s | 0.1 Gb/s |
| Front ports | – | Two headphone jacks. |
| Wi-Fi | Optional AirPort 802.11b | – |
| Back ports | Three USB 1.1 ports on the computer shared across two 12 Mbps controllers, plus two on the keyboard; two FireWire 400 ports sharing 8 W; mini-VGA; headphone and analogue audio input; 10/100BASE-T Ethernet and a 56K V.90 modem on the consumer model. No built-in Bluetooth is specified. | Two FireWire 400 ports, two USB ports at 12 Mbps each, VGA mirroring, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, 56K V.90 modem and audio line-in/out. Keyboard USB ports are excluded from chassis counts. Optional 11 Mbps AirPort card; not built-in wireless. |
| External displays | VGA display mirroring through an optional VGA display adapter; the external screen repeats the internal screen rather than providing an extended desktop. | VGA output mirrors the built-in screen. |
| Speakers | Integrated stereo system with internal 16 W digital amplifier | Odyssey stereo sound system designed with Harman Kardon; built-in microphone. |
| Microphones | Built-in microphone | – |
| Keyboard and mouse | Apple Pro Keyboard and optical Apple Pro Mouse; optional Tilt and Swivel Stand | Apple Pro Keyboard and optical Apple Pro Mouse. |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | All-in-one | All-in-one |
| Weight | 22.7 kg | 15.8 kg (better) |
| Width × depth × height | 406 × 433 × 406 mm | 381 × 435 × 381 mm |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Size and weight detail | Maker metric dimensions and reference weight retained. Weight varies with configuration and manufacturing process; published centimetre and inch values do not convert exactly. | Maker publishes height 38.1, width 38.1 and depth 43.5 cm; weight 15.8 kg. |
| Power supply | Configured for 100 V AC or 220 V AC according to country; 47–63 Hz, single phase | Maximum continuous power 150 W. |
| Power use | Maximum continuous electrical power 170 W | – |
| Colours | White | – |
| In the box | June consumer configuration included Mac OS X 10.1.4 and Mac OS 9.2.2, iPhoto, iMovie 2, iTunes and other bundled applications. Apple confirmed immediate US consumer availability on 4 June 2002; this record describes those consumer CD-RW, Combo and SuperDrive configurations, excluding the earlier education-only CD-ROM option. The original April education announcement planned US/Canadian availability in May; its first actual institutional sale remains unresolved. The August 700 MHz Combo was stated as available that week; 800 MHz SuperDrive was expected at the end of August, not a confirmed first-sale day. | Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X supplied with iTunes, iMovie 2 and Disc Burner. Later software revisions described in reviews are not launch firmware. |
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