Apple iMac G3 (1998) vs Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)

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iMac G3 (1998) compared with iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)

	AppleiMac G3 (1998)	AppleiMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)
Overview
Released
Released	August 1998	August 2020
Performance
Processor
Processor	PowerPC G3 233 MHz (iMac)	Intel Core i5-10500, Intel Core i5-10600, Intel Core i9-10910 or Intel Core i7-10700K
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	6, 8 or 10
CPU threads
CPU threads	–	12, 16 or 20
Graphics
Graphics	ATI RAGE IIc (2 MB)	Radeon Pro 5300 (4 GB GDDR6), Radeon Pro 5500 XT (8 GB GDDR6), Radeon Pro 5700 (8 GB GDDR6) or Radeon Pro 5700 XT (16 GB GDDR6)
Memory
Memory	32 MB or 128 MB	8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB or 128 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	4 GB	256 GB to 8 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.	Six-core Core i5 at 3.1 GHz (Turbo Boost 4.5 GHz) or 3.3 GHz (4.8 GHz), or eight-core Core i7 at 3.8 GHz (5.0 GHz). Upper two bases configurable to 3.6 GHz ten-core Core i9 (5.0 GHz). Exact CPU identities follow Geekbench. Apple specifies a 5.0 GHz Core i7 limit in this iMac, while Intel lists 5.1 GHz for the chip itself.
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 5300 with 4 GB GDDR6 on the two Core i5 bases. Upper base has Radeon Pro 5500 XT with 8 GB GDDR6, optionally Radeon Pro 5700 with 8 GB or 5700 XT with 16 GB GDDR6.
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.	2666 MHz DDR4; 8 GB standard as two 4 GB modules. Four user-accessible SO-DIMM slots; configurable to 16/32/64/128 GB on every base.
Storage type
Storage type	4 GB IDE hard drive and tray-loading 24x CD-ROM drive. No floppy drive.	Lower base: fixed 256 GB SSD. Middle base: 512 GB/1/2 TB SSD. Upper base: 512 GB/1/2/4/8 TB SSD.
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. Apple does not publish native refresh rate 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), one billion colours and True Tone; standard glass or optional nano-texture glass
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB-A, Ethernet, 2 × headphone jack	2 × Thunderbolt 3, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	0.1 Gb/s	1 Gb/s (better)
External displays
External displays	–	Up to 2
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; two Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports with DisplayPort, Thunderbolt up to 40 Gb/s and USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10 Gb/s; UHS-II SDXC, Gigabit Ethernet and 3.5 mm headphone jack; Kensington lock slot. Optional 10Gb Ethernet supports 1/2.5/5/10Gb connections. Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI and VGA require adapters.
External displays
External displays	–	One 6K or 5K external display, or two 4K displays; two 6K displays require Radeon Pro 5700 or 5700 XT. All listed external modes run at 60 Hz.
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in stereo speakers with SRS surround processing and built-in microphone.	Stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	–	Three-mic array with directional beamforming; supports Hey Siri
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Apple USB Keyboard and round Apple USB Mouse.	Rechargeable Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse 2; optional numeric keyboard and Magic Trackpad
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	–	8.92 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. A built-in VESA mount version was also available.
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, low-carbon 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, Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2, power lead, Lightning to USB cable and polishing cloth