Apple iMac (21.5-inch, 2017) vs Apple iMac G3 (Slot Loading, 1999)

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iMac (21.5-inch, 2017) compared with iMac G3 (Slot Loading, 1999)

	AppleiMac (21.5-inch, 2017)	AppleiMac G3 (Slot Loading, 1999)
Overview
Released
Released	June 2017	October 1999
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i5-7360U	PowerPC G3 350 MHz (iMac) or PowerPC G3 400 MHz (iMac)
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	1
CPU threads
CPU threads	4	–
Graphics
Graphics	Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640	ATI RAGE 128 VR (8 MB)
Memory
Memory	8 GB or 16 GB (better)	64 MB, 128 MB or 512 MB
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 1 TB (better)	6 GB to 13 GB
CPU
CPU	2.3 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz; Geekbench identifies the exact processor as Core i5-7360U	350 MHz or 400 MHz PowerPC G3 with 100 MHz system bus and 512 KB backside L2 cache. Apple developer history gives 140/160 MHz cache clocks while EveryMac gives 200 MHz for the DV Special Edition; optional cache-clock fields are omitted. Exact processor supplier is not established.
GPU
GPU	Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640; no discrete graphics option	ATI RAGE 128 VR with 8 MB video memory and AGP support. Retained sheet says SGRAM while the developer note says SDRAM; memory technology is not silently selected.
Memory type
Memory type	8 GB of 2133 MHz DDR4, configurable to 16 GB	PC100 SDRAM in two DIMM slots, up to 512 MB in the retained maker sheet. Base 350 MHz and DV models have 64 MB; DV Special Edition has 128 MB. Configurations retain each base and published maximum with its original processor and drive.
Storage type
Storage type	1 TB 5400-rpm hard drive, configurable to 1 TB Fusion Drive or 256 GB SSD	350 MHz: 6 GB ATA hard drive and slot-loading 24x CD-ROM, Blueberry. 400 MHz DV: 10 GB and 4x DVD-ROM, five fruit colours. 400 MHz DV Special Edition: 13 GB and 4x DVD-ROM, Graphite. These are configurations of one generation.
Display
Screen size
Screen size	21.5″	15″
Resolution
Resolution	1920 × 1080 (better)	1024 × 768
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	–	75 Hz
Display type
Display type	21.5-inch LED-backlit display; 1920 × 1080 with support for millions of colours. Apple does not identify the panel technology, native refresh rate or brightness in its specification sheet; Retina model display figures do not apply.	Nominal 15-inch CRT with 13.8-inch viewable diagonal; no fixed LCD native resolution.
Display features
Display features	–	Maximum mode 1024 × 768 at 75 Hz; 800 × 600 at 95 Hz and 640 × 480 at 117 Hz (EveryMac exact DV Special Edition specification).
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt 3, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack	2 × USB-A, Ethernet, 2 × headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s (better)	0.1 Gb/s
External displays
External displays	Up to 2	–
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11ac	–
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	4.2	–
Camera
Camera	FaceTime HD	–
Back ports
Back ports	Four USB-A ports, two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, SDXC card slot, Gigabit Ethernet, 3.5 mm headphone jack and Kensington lock slot. Thunderbolt 3 supports DisplayPort, up to 40 Gb/s Thunderbolt and up to 10 Gb/s USB 3.1 Gen 2; Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI and VGA require adapters.	Two 12 Mbps USB ports on the computer, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, 56K V.90 modem, audio line-in/out and two front headphone jacks. Two FireWire 400 ports and VGA video mirroring are present only on DV and DV Special Edition. AirPort card is optional across this generation.
External displays
External displays	Built-in display at native resolution alongside one 5120 × 2880 display at 60 Hz with one billion colours, two 3840 × 2160 displays at 60 Hz with one billion colours, or two 4096 × 2304 displays at 60 Hz with millions of colours	DV and DV Special Edition mirror the internal display through VGA; the 350 MHz entry configuration has no external video connector.
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers; supports Apple iPhone headset with microphone	Integrated Harman Kardon Odyssey stereo sound system and built-in microphone. Convection cooling uses no fan.
Microphones
Microphones	Built-in microphone	–
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, Lightning to USB cable and polishing cloth; configurable with Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad or Magic Trackpad	Apple USB Keyboard and round Apple USB Mouse.
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	5.44 kg	–
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	528 × 175 × 450 mm	–
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	Dimensions include the stand; weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process. A built-in VESA mount version was available.	Retained Apple sheet gives height 15.8, width 15.2 and depth 17.6 inches, weight 34.7 pounds. Exact developer note gives height 39.5, width 38 and depth 44 cm and weight 15.5 kg (34 pounds). Disagreeing main dimensions and weight are omitted.
Power supply
Power supply	100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz, single phase	–
Noise
Noise	Apple reports operator-position sound pressure of 11 dB at idle and during wireless web, and 12 dB during hard-drive seek, tested on the Core i5 with 8 GB memory and 1 TB hard drive	–
Materials
Materials	Aluminium enclosure; arsenic-free display glass; mercury-, BFR- and beryllium-free with regional exceptions for PVC-free power leads	–
In the box
In the box	iMac, Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, Lightning to USB cable, polishing cloth and power lead. Apple's current support page describes the later macOS Big Sur release.	Mac OS 8.6 at launch; TIME notes Mac OS 9 would begin shipping subsequently. Conservative October 1999 sale month follows the contemporary physical DV Special Edition reviews; the retained introduction day differs from the launch event date.