Apple iMac G3 (1998) vs Apple iMac G4 (15-inch, Flat Panel)

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iMac G3 (1998) compared with iMac G4 (15-inch, Flat Panel)

	AppleiMac G3 (1998)	AppleiMac G4 (15-inch, Flat Panel)
Overview
Released
Released	August 1998	January 2002
Performance
Processor
Processor	PowerPC G3 233 MHz (iMac)	Motorola PowerPC G4 700 MHz (iMac Flat Panel) or Motorola PowerPC G4 800 MHz (iMac Flat Panel)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	1
Graphics
Graphics	ATI RAGE IIc (2 MB)	NVIDIA GeForce2 MX (32 MB)
Memory
Memory	32 MB or 128 MB	128 MB, 256 MB or 1 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	4 GB	40 GB to 60 GB (better)
CPU
CPU	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.	700 or 800 MHz PowerPC G4 with 256 KB on-chip L2 cache and 100 MHz system bus. Generic maker-clock chip records retain the single-core identity cross-checked with exact EveryMac sources; an uncertain silicon revision is not inferred.
GPU
GPU	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.	NVIDIA GeForce2 MX with 32 MB dedicated DDR video memory and AGP 2x support.
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.	SDRAM, expandable to 1 GB, with one 168-pin DIMM and one user-accessible SO-DIMM slot. Launch CD-RW base: 128 MB; Combo and SuperDrive bases: 256 MB. Configurations conservatively show those published bases and the maker's maximum.
Storage type
Storage type	4 GB IDE hard drive and tray-loading 24x CD-ROM drive. No floppy drive.	Launch combinations: 700 MHz with CD-RW and 40 GB hard drive; 700 MHz with Combo drive and 40 GB; 800 MHz with SuperDrive and 60 GB. Optical options on the 700 MHz model account for its different base memory. Drives use Ultra ATA. Combo reads DVDs and writes CDs; SuperDrive writes DVDs and CDs.
Display
Screen size
Screen size	15″	15″
Resolution
Resolution	1024 × 768	1024 × 768
Brightness
Brightness	–	200 nits
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	75 Hz	–
Display type
Display type	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.	TFT active-matrix LCD with millions of colours and typical 300:1 contrast. Panel technology and refresh rate are not established by the exact maker sheet.
Display features
Display features	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.	Typical viewing angles: 120° horizontal and 90° vertical. Articulated arm adjusts the display's height and angle.
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB-A, Ethernet, 2 × headphone jack	3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	0.1 Gb/s	0.1 Gb/s
Back ports
Back ports	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.	Three USB 1.1 ports on the computer, plus two on the keyboard; two FireWire 400 ports with 8 W shared power, Mini-VGA, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, 56K V.90 modem, headphone jack and Apple speaker minijack. Original AirPort 802.11b card is optional; wireless networking is not standard.
External displays
External displays	–	Mini-VGA provides video mirroring through an optional VGA adapter: 640 × 480 at 60 Hz, 800 × 600 at 75 Hz or 1024 × 768 at 75 Hz. The original model does not list S-video or composite output.
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in stereo speakers with SRS surround processing and built-in microphone.	Built-in speaker and microphone; selected configurations include Apple Pro Speakers rated at 9 W each with an internal 18 W amplifier.
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Apple USB Keyboard and round Apple USB Mouse.	Apple Pro Keyboard and Apple Pro Mouse; Apple Pro Speakers are included with the Combo and SuperDrive launch configurations.
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	–	9.7 kg
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.	Adjustable maker ranges: height 329–509 mm, width 384–415 mm and depth 270–415 mm; base diameter 270 mm. The reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process, so no single fixed-position dimension is selected.
Power supply
Power supply	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.	90–264 V AC, 47–63 Hz, single phase; maximum continuous power 130 W.
In the box
In the box	Mac OS 8.1. First on sale 15 August 1998, corroborated by Apple’s contemporary retrospective release and retained introduction date.	Launch software: Mac OS X 10.1.2 and Mac OS 9.2.2, with iTunes, iMovie and iPhoto; iDVD requires SuperDrive. The 800 MHz SuperDrive configuration was stated to ship in late January 2002, the 700 MHz Combo in February and CD-RW in March. The release month records the first configuration, not the 7 January announcement.