Apple iMac (21.5-inch, 2017) vs Apple iMac G5 (20-inch, Ambient Light Sensor)

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iMac (21.5-inch, 2017) compared with iMac G5 (20-inch, Ambient Light Sensor)

	AppleiMac (21.5-inch, 2017)	AppleiMac G5 (20-inch, Ambient Light Sensor)
Overview
Released
Released	June 2017	May 2005
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i5-7360U	IBM PowerPC G5 2 GHz (iMac Ambient Light Sensor)
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	1
CPU threads
CPU threads	4	–
Graphics
Graphics	Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640	ATI Radeon 9600 (128 MB)
Memory
Memory	8 GB or 16 GB (better)	512 MB or 2 GB
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 1 TB (better)	250 GB to 400 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	2.0 GHz PowerPC G5 with 667 MHz frontside bus, 512 KB L2 cache and SuperDrive. Generic maker-clock chip records retain the single-core identity cross-checked with exact EveryMac sources; uncertain 970/970FX silicon revision is not inferred.
GPU
GPU	Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640; no discrete graphics option	ATI Radeon 9600 with 128 MB dedicated video memory; AGP 8x support.
Memory type
Memory type	8 GB of 2133 MHz DDR4, configurable to 16 GB	400 MHz DDR SDRAM (PC3200), two 184-pin DIMM slots; 512 MB standard and 2 GB supported maximum. Configurations conservatively list the published base and maximum; no intermediate factory pairing is inferred.
Storage type
Storage type	1 TB 5400-rpm hard drive, configurable to 1 TB Fusion Drive or 256 GB SSD	250 GB 7200 rpm Serial ATA hard drive, configurable to 400 GB; 8x SuperDrive with 2.4x double-layer DVD writing.
Display
Screen size
Screen size	21.5″	20″
Resolution
Resolution	1920 × 1080 (better)	1680 × 1050
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.	Widescreen LCD with millions of colours; panel technology, refresh rate and brightness not published in the retained exact maker specification.
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt 3, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack	3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s	1 Gb/s
External displays
External displays	Up to 2	–
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11ac	802.11g
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	4.2	2.0 + EDR
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.	Three USB 2.0 ports on the computer, plus two USB 1.1 ports on the keyboard; two FireWire 400 ports, Mini-VGA output, Gigabit Ethernet, headphone/optical output and audio line-in. Built-in 56K V.92 modem is confirmed by launch press and exact manual; retained USB-HSP wording describes its internal transport, rather than an extra external USB device.
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	Optional Mini-VGA adapters provide VGA, S-video or composite output; no DVI connector is listed.
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers; supports Apple iPhone headset with microphone	Built-in stereo speakers and microphone.
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 Keyboard and Apple Mouse; the later Mighty Mouse and iSight-generation remote are not substituted for the launch accessories.
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	5.44 kg (better)	11.4 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	528 × 175 × 450 mm	493 × 189 × 472 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.	–
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.	iMac G5, keyboard, mouse, power cord, install/restore DVDs and documentation; Mac OS X Tiger, iLife ’05 and AppleWorks. Classic support is available but not preinstalled and cannot boot Mac OS 9.