Apple iMac 24″ (M3) vs Apple iMac G5 (20-inch, iSight)

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iMac 24″ (M3) compared with iMac G5 (20-inch, iSight)

	AppleiMac 24″ (M3)	AppleiMac G5 (20-inch, iSight)
Overview
Released
Released	November 2023	October 2005
Performance
Processor
Processor	Apple M3	IBM PowerPC G5 2.1 GHz (iMac iSight)
CPU cores
CPU cores	8	1
Graphics
Graphics	8-core GPU or 10-core GPU	ATI Radeon X600 XT (128 MB DDR)
Memory
Memory	8 GB or 24 GB (better)	512 MB, 1 GB, 1.5 GB or 2.5 GB
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 2 TB (better)	250 GB to 500 GB
CPU
CPU	8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores	2.1 GHz PowerPC G5 with 512 KB L2 cache and 700 MHz frontside bus; single-core identity cross-checked with exact EveryMac source. Generic maker-clock chip record avoids borrowing uncertain silicon revision or unpublished thread/power figures.
GPU
GPU	8-core GPU (two-port model) or 10-core GPU (four-port models); hardware-accelerated ray tracing	ATI Radeon X600 XT with 128 MB dedicated DDR video memory; PCI Express.
Memory type
Memory type	–	533 MHz DDR2; 512 MB built in plus one expansion slot. Maker factory upgrades provide total capacities of 1, 1.5 or 2.5 GB.
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	–
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	100GB/s	–
Storage type
Storage type	SSD	250 GB 7200 rpm Serial ATA hard drive, configurable to 500 GB. Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive with 2.4x double-layer DVD writing, 4x DVD rewritable writing and 24x CD writing.
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″	20″
Resolution
Resolution	4480 × 2520 (better)	1680 × 1050
Panel
Panel	IPS LCD	–
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	60 Hz	–
Brightness
Brightness	500 nits (better)	280 nits
Display type
Display type	4.5K Retina display; actual diagonal 23.5 inches	TFT active-matrix LCD with millions of colours; typical contrast 800:1 and viewing angles of 170 degrees horizontal and vertical. Panel technology and refresh rate unpublished.
Pixel density
Pixel density	218 ppi	–
Display features
Display features	1 billion colours; wide colour (P3); True Tone	–
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB4, headphone jack	3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	–	1 Gb/s
External displays
External displays	Up to 1	–
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6E	802.11g
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.3	2.0 + EDR
Camera
Camera	1080p FaceTime HD	iSight camera
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	Three USB 2.0 ports on the computer, plus two USB 1.1 ports on the keyboard; two FireWire 400 ports sharing 8 W, Mini-VGA output, Gigabit Ethernet, headphone/optical output and audio line-in.
External displays
External displays	One at up to 6K 60Hz	Optional Mini-VGA adapters provide VGA mirroring or S-video/composite output; no DVI connector or extended-desktop mode is listed.
Camera
Camera	1080p FaceTime HD camera; advanced image signal processor with computational video	Built-in iSight; exact maker resolution is unpublished and omitted.
Speakers
Speakers	High-fidelity six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo sound; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos	Built-in stereo speakers and microphone; 12 W digital amplifier.
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 Keyboard, Mighty Mouse and Apple Remote.
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	4.43 kg (better)	10 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	547 × 147 × 461 mm	493 × 189 × 472 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	–	Maker reference weight; actual weight varies with configuration and manufacturing process.
Power supply
Power supply	143W external power adapter; power lead (2 m)	Maximum continuous power 180 W; 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz.
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	iMac G5, Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse, Apple Remote, power cord, install/restore DVDs and documentation; Mac OS X Tiger, iLife ’05, Front Row and Photo Booth. Apple announced availability the week after 12 October 2005; release remains October at month precision.