Apple iMac (20-inch, Early 2006) vs Apple iMac G5 (20-inch, 2004)

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Better figure, where one is clearly better

iMac (20-inch, Early 2006) compared with iMac G5 (20-inch, 2004)
AppleiMac (20-inch, Early 2006)AppleiMac G5 (20-inch, 2004)
Overview
ReleasedJanuary 2006September 2004
Performance
ProcessorIntel Core Duo T2500IBM PowerPC G5 1.8 GHz (iMac 2004)
CPU cores21
GraphicsATI Radeon X1600 (128 MB GDDR3) or ATI Radeon X1600 (256 MB GDDR3)NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64 MB)
Memory512 MB, 1 GB or 2 GB256 MB or 2 GB
Storage250 GB to 500 GB (better)160 GB to 250 GB
CPU2 GHz Intel Core Duo T2500 with 2 MB shared L2 cache and 667 MHz system bus; exact identity documented in Ars Technica's launch review1.8 GHz PowerPC G5 with 600 MHz frontside bus and 512 KB on-chip L2 cache. Generic maker-clock chip record retains the single-core identity; uncertain silicon revision is not inferred.
GPUATI Radeon X1600 with 128 MB GDDR3, configurable to 256 MBNVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra with 64 MB dedicated DDR video memory and AGP 8x support.
Memory typeTwo SO-DIMM slots for PC2-5300 (667 MHz) DDR2 SDRAM; 512 MB standard as one module, expandable to 2 GB. The intermediate 1 GB factory option is documented by Sound On Sound's launch review.256 MB PC3200 (400 MHz) DDR SDRAM standard, expandable to 2 GB in two slots. Configurations conservatively list the published base and maker maximum.
Storage type250 GB 7200 rpm Serial ATA hard drive, configurable to 500 GB; slot-loading 8x SuperDrive with 2.4x double-layer DVD burning160 GB 7200 rpm Serial ATA hard drive, with a 250 GB build-to-order option confirmed by maker launch press. Slot-loading SuperDrive DVD-R/CD-RW writes DVD-R at 4x and reads DVDs at 8x; writes CD-R at 16x and CD-RW at 8x.
Display
Screen size20″20″
Resolution1680 × 10501680 × 1050
Brightness280 nits (better)230 nits
Display typeWidescreen TFT active-matrix LCD, millions of colours; typical contrast 800:1 and viewing angles 170° horizontal and vertical. Panel technology and refresh rate unpublished.Widescreen TFT active-matrix LCD with millions of colours and typical 350:1 contrast. Panel technology and refresh rate are not published in the exact maker sheet.
Display features–Typical viewing angles: 170° horizontal and vertical.
Connections
Ports3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet1 Gb/s (better)0.1 Gb/s
External displaysUp to 1–
Wi-Fi802.11g; 54 Mbps AirPort Extreme–
Bluetooth2.0 + EDR–
CameraiSight camera–
Back portsThree USB 2.0 ports on the computer and two USB 1.1 ports on its keyboard; two FireWire 400 ports sharing 8 W, mini-DVI, Gigabit Ethernet, headphone/optical digital output and analogue audio line inputThree USB 2.0 ports on the computer, up to 480 Mbps, plus two USB 1.1 ports on the keyboard; two FireWire 400 ports with 8 W shared power, Mini-VGA, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, headphone/optical digital audio output and audio line-in. AirPort Extreme 802.11g card and internal Bluetooth module are optional, rather than standard.
External displaysOne external display in extended desktop or mirroring mode; digital resolutions up to 1920 × 1200. DVI, VGA, S-video and composite adapters sold separately; analogue maximum omitted because the archived maker page gives an unresolved 2045 × 1536 figure.Mini-VGA provides video mirroring on a VGA display or S-video/composite television through optional adapters. Output resolutions: 640 × 480 at 60 Hz, 800 × 600 at 75 Hz or 1024 × 768 at 75 Hz.
SpeakersBuilt-in stereo speakers with internal 12 W digital amplifier and built-in microphoneBuilt-in stereo speakers, internal 12 W digital amplifier and built-in microphone.
Keyboard and mouseApple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse and Apple Remote; optional wireless keyboard and mouseApple Keyboard, Apple Mouse and modem cable.
Design and power
TypeAll-in-oneAll-in-one
Weight–11.4 kg
Width × depth × height493 × 189 × 472 mm493 × 189 × 472 mm
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Size and weight detailMaker weight 22 pounds (10 kg), varying by configuration and manufacturing process; shared scalar weight omittedPublished metric size and reference weight; weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
Power supplyMaximum continuous power 180 W; 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz single phase100–120 V AC or 100–240 V AC depending on country of purchase, 47–63 Hz, single phase; maximum continuous power 180 W.
In the boxiMac, Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse, Apple Remote, power cord, install/restore DVDs and documentation; Mac OS X 10.4.4 Tiger and iLife '06, Front Row, Photo Booth, Microsoft Office 2004 Test Drive and iWork trialLaunch Mac OS X 10.3 Panther, iLife ’04 and bundled productivity software, with Classic environment support. The retained specification lists the later iLife ’05 bundle. Apple announced the model on 31 August 2004 and stated worldwide shipping would begin in mid-September; the release field therefore retains September month precision.

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