Apple iMac (21.5-inch, 2017) vs Apple iMac G3 (Summer 2000)

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

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iMac (21.5-inch, 2017) compared with iMac G3 (Summer 2000)
AppleiMac (21.5-inch, 2017)AppleiMac G3 (Summer 2000)
Overview
ReleasedJune 2017July 2000
Performance
ProcessorIntel Core i5-7360UPowerPC G3 350 MHz (iMac), PowerPC G3 400 MHz (iMac), PowerPC G3 450 MHz (iMac) or PowerPC G3 500 MHz (iMac)
CPU cores21
CPU threads4–
GraphicsIntel Iris Plus Graphics 640ATI RAGE 128 Pro (8 MB)
Memory8 GB or 16 GB (better)64 MB, 128 MB or 1 GB
Storage256 GB to 1 TB (better)7 GB to 30 GB
CPU2.3 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz; Geekbench identifies the exact processor as Core i5-7360U350, 400, 450 or 500 MHz PowerPC G3 with 512 KB backside L2 cache. All use a 100 MHz system bus. Generic clock-only chip records do not infer silicon suppliers; cache differences remain in model details.
GPUIntel Iris Plus Graphics 640; no discrete graphics optionATI RAGE 128 Pro with 8 MB dedicated SDRAM and AGP support across the range.
Memory type8 GB of 2133 MHz DDR4, configurable to 16 GB64 MB PC100 SDRAM standard on 350/400/450 MHz configurations; 128 MB on 500 MHz Special Edition. Two DIMM slots support up to 1 GB in the current maker sheet. Configurations retain each base and maximum memory with its original processor and drive.
Storage type1 TB 5400-rpm hard drive, configurable to 1 TB Fusion Drive or 256 GB SSD350 MHz: 7 GB hard drive and CD-ROM, Indigo. 400 MHz DV: 10 GB and CD-ROM, Indigo or Ruby. 450 MHz DV+: 20 GB and 4x DVD-ROM, Indigo, Ruby or Sage. 500 MHz DV Special Edition: 30 GB and DVD-ROM, Graphite or Snow. Ultra ATA hard drives; original storage stays tied to each processor.
Display
Screen size21.5″15″
Resolution1920 × 1080 (better)1024 × 768
Refresh rate–75 Hz
Display type21.5-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 (EveryMac exact DV+ specification); no fixed LCD native resolution.
Display features–1024 × 768 at 75 Hz; 800 × 600 at 95 Hz and 640 × 480 at 117 Hz. Scalar refresh describes the highest-resolution mode. Exact supported modes are from EveryMac’s DV+ specification.
Connections
Ports2 × Thunderbolt 3, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack2 × USB-A, Ethernet, 2 × headphone jack
Ethernet1 Gb/s (better)0.1 Gb/s
External displaysUp to 2–
Wi-Fi802.11ac–
Bluetooth4.2–
CameraFaceTime HD–
Back portsFour 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 FireWire 400 ports and VGA video mirroring on DV, DV+ and DV Special Edition only; the entry 350 MHz model lacks them. 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; keyboard USB ports are not counted as chassis ports. AirPort card is optional on DV configurations; no standard wireless specification is added.
External displaysBuilt-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 coloursDV configurations provide VGA mirroring; entry model has no external video connector.
SpeakersStereo speakers; supports Apple iPhone headset with microphoneIntegrated Odyssey stereo sound system designed with Harman Kardon, built-in microphone and fanless enclosure.
MicrophonesBuilt-in microphone–
Keyboard and mouseMagic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, Lightning to USB cable and polishing cloth; configurable with Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad or Magic TrackpadApple Pro Keyboard and optical Apple Pro Mouse.
Design and power
TypeAll-in-oneAll-in-one
Weight5.44 kg–
Width × depth × height528 × 175 × 450 mm–
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Size and weight detailDimensions include the stand; weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process. A built-in VESA mount version was available.Maker gives height 15.0, width 15.0 and depth 17.1 inches, weight 34.7 pounds. No converted or sibling metric values are added to main fields.
Power supply100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz, single phase100–260 V AC, 47–63 Hz, single phase; maximum continuous power 150 W.
NoiseApple 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–
MaterialsAluminium enclosure; arsenic-free display glass; mercury-, BFR- and beryllium-free with regional exceptions for PVC-free power leads–
In the boxiMac, 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 9.0.4, iMovie 2 and productivity software. Maker confirms DV, DV+ and DV Special Edition are available immediately on 19 July 2000; the 350 MHz entry configuration was scheduled to ship the next month, August 2000.

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