Apple iMac G3 (1998) vs Apple iMac Pro (2017)

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iMac G3 (1998) compared with iMac Pro (2017)

	AppleiMac G3 (1998)	AppleiMac Pro (2017)
Overview
Released
Released	August 1998	December 2017
Performance
Processor
Processor	PowerPC G3 233 MHz (iMac)	Intel Xeon W-2140B, Intel Xeon W-2150B, Intel Xeon W-2170B or Intel Xeon W-2191B
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	8, 10, 14 or 18
Graphics
Graphics	ATI RAGE IIc (2 MB)	Radeon Pro Vega 56 (8 GB HBM2), Radeon Pro Vega 64 (16 GB HBM2) or Radeon Pro Vega 64X (16 GB HBM2)
Memory
Memory	32 MB or 128 MB	32 GB, 64 GB, 128 GB or 256 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	4 GB	1 TB to 4 TB (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.	Xeon W at 3.2 GHz with 8 cores (Turbo Boost 4.2 GHz), 3.0 GHz with 10 cores (4.5 GHz), 2.5 GHz with 14 cores (4.3 GHz) or 2.3 GHz with 18 cores (4.3 GHz). Exact W-B CPU identities follow Geekbench. The 8/10-core versions launched first; Macworld reports later January 2018 availability for 14/18-core options. Apple changed the standard configuration to 10 cores in August 2020.
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.	Radeon Pro Vega 56 with 8 GB HBM2, optionally Vega 64 or Vega 64X with 16 GB HBM2. Vega 64X is a later option included in Apple’s current specification sheet, absent from the launch reviews.
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.	Quad-channel 2666 MHz DDR4 ECC; 32 GB standard, configurable to 64/128/256 GB. The current maker sheet includes the later 256 GB option; launch reviews cover up to 128 GB. No user-accessible memory door.
Storage type
Storage type	4 GB IDE hard drive and tray-loading 24x CD-ROM drive. No floppy drive.	1 TB SSD, configurable to 2 or 4 TB
Display
Screen size
Screen size	15″	27″
Resolution
Resolution	1024 × 768	5120 × 2880 (better)
Panel
Panel	–	IPS LCD
Brightness
Brightness	–	500 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.	LED-backlit Retina 5K display; IPS panel confirmed by EveryMac. Native refresh rate omitted because Apple does not publish it in the specification 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.	Wide colour (P3); supports one billion colours
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB-A, Ethernet, 2 × headphone jack	4 × Thunderbolt 3, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	0.1 Gb/s	10 Gb/s (better)
External displays
External displays	–	Up to 4
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	–	802.11ac
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	–	5.0
Camera
Camera	–	1080p FaceTime HD
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.	Four USB-A ports; four Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports with DisplayPort 1.2, Thunderbolt up to 40 Gb/s and USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10 Gb/s; UHS-II SDXC, Nbase-T Ethernet supporting 1/2.5/5/10Gb and 3.5 mm headphone jack. Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI and VGA require adapters.
External displays
External displays	–	Two 5120 × 2880 displays at 60 Hz with one billion colours, four 3840 × 2160 displays at 60 Hz with one billion colours, or four 4096 × 2304 displays at 60 Hz with millions of colours, alongside the built-in display
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in stereo speakers with SRS surround processing and built-in microphone.	Stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	–	Four microphones; supports Hey Siri
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Apple USB Keyboard and round Apple USB Mouse.	Space grey Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and Magic Mouse 2; optional space grey Magic Trackpad 2
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	–	9.7 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	–	650 × 203 × 516 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.	Dimensions include the stand; weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process. Optional VESA mount adapter kit.
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.	100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz, single phase
Materials
Materials	–	Recyclable aluminium enclosure; arsenic-free glass and mercury-free LED backlight
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.	iMac Pro, space grey Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad, space grey Magic Mouse 2, Lightning to USB cable and power lead