Apple iMac 24″ (M3) vs Apple iMac G3 (1998)

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iMac 24″ (M3) compared with iMac G3 (1998)

	AppleiMac 24″ (M3)	AppleiMac G3 (1998)
Overview
Released
Released	November 2023	August 1998
Performance
Processor
Processor	Apple M3	PowerPC G3 233 MHz (iMac)
CPU cores
CPU cores	8	1
Graphics
Graphics	8-core GPU or 10-core GPU	ATI RAGE IIc (2 MB)
Memory
Memory	8 GB or 24 GB (better)	32 MB or 128 MB
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 2 TB (better)	4 GB
CPU
CPU	8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores	233 MHz PowerPC G3 processor with 66 MHz system bus and 512 KB backside L2 cache at 117 MHz. The exact silicon supplier is not established by the maker sheet; generic clock-only chip record.
GPU
GPU	8-core GPU (two-port model) or 10-core GPU (four-port models); hardware-accelerated ray tracing	ATI RAGE IIc with 2 MB SGRAM standard; maker options increase video memory to 4 MB or 6 MB. Configurations retain the standard graphics allocation.
Memory type
Memory type	–	32 MB SDRAM standard in two SO-DIMM slots; original July 1998 Apple datasheet supports up to 128 MB. Do not substitute the Revision B maximum.
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	–
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	100GB/s	–
Storage type
Storage type	SSD	4 GB IDE hard drive and tray-loading 24x CD-ROM drive. No floppy drive.
Media engine
Media engine	Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; video decode engine; video encode engine; ProRes encode and decode engine; AV1 decode	–
Display
Screen size
Screen size	24″	15″
Resolution
Resolution	4480 × 2520 (better)	1024 × 768
Panel
Panel	IPS LCD	–
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	60 Hz	75 Hz (better)
Brightness
Brightness	500 nits	–
Display type
Display type	4.5K Retina display; actual diagonal 23.5 inches	Nominal 15-inch shadow-mask CRT with 13.8-inch viewable diagonal and 0.28 mm dot pitch; it has no fixed LCD native resolution.
Pixel density
Pixel density	218 ppi	–
Display features
Display features	1 billion colours; wide colour (P3); True Tone	Maximum supported mode 1024 × 768 at 75 Hz; 800 × 600 at 95 Hz and 640 × 480 at 117 Hz. The scalar refresh rate describes the highest-resolution mode.
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB4, headphone jack	2 × USB-A, Ethernet, 2 × headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	–	0.1 Gb/s
External displays
External displays	Up to 1	–
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6E	–
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.3	–
Camera
Camera	1080p FaceTime HD	–
Back ports
Back ports	Two-port model: 2 × Thunderbolt / USB 4 with DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40Gb/s), USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s) and USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s), Gigabit Ethernet optional; four-port models add 2 × USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s) and Gigabit Ethernet as standard; 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones	Two 12 Mbps USB ports on the computer, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, 56K V.90/K56flex modem, 4 Mbps IrDA, audio line-in and line-out, plus two front headphone jacks. No FireWire or external VGA output.
External displays
External displays	One at up to 6K 60Hz	–
Camera
Camera	1080p FaceTime HD camera; advanced image signal processor with computational video	–
Speakers
Speakers	High-fidelity six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo sound; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos	Built-in stereo speakers with SRS surround processing and built-in microphone.
Microphones
Microphones	Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming	–
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Magic Keyboard (two-port model) or Magic Keyboard with Touch ID (four-port models), and Magic Mouse; Magic Trackpad or Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad available instead	Apple USB Keyboard and round Apple USB Mouse.
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	4.43 kg	–
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	547 × 147 × 461 mm	–
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	–	Current retained maker sheet: height 15.8, width 15.2 and depth 17.6 inches, weight 40 pounds. Original Apple July 1998 datasheet instead gives height 39.5, width 38 and depth 44 cm, weight 17.3 kg (38.1 pounds). Conflicting main metric values are omitted.
Power supply
Power supply	143W external power adapter; power lead (2 m)	Retained maker sheet lists 80 W maximum continuous power; the original Apple datasheet lists 200 W. This conflict is retained rather than selecting a scalar rating.
Colours
Colours	Two-port model: Blue, Green, Pink, Silver; four-port models also Yellow, Orange, Purple	–
In the box
In the box	iMac, Magic Keyboard (with Touch ID on four-port models), Magic Mouse, 143W power adapter, power lead (2 m), USB-C to Lightning Cable	Mac OS 8.1. First on sale 15 August 1998, corroborated by Apple’s contemporary retrospective release and retained introduction date.