Apple iMac G3 (Early 1999) vs Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)

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iMac G3 (Early 1999) compared with iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)

	AppleiMac G3 (Early 1999)	AppleiMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)
Overview
Released
Released	January 1999	August 2020
Performance
Processor
Processor	PowerPC G3 266 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 Pro Turbo (6 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	6 GB	256 GB to 8 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	266 MHz PowerPC G3 with 66 MHz system bus and 512 KB backside L2 cache. Generic clock-only record does not infer a silicon supplier.	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 Pro Turbo with 6 MB video memory. The retained maker resolution table includes a conflicting 2 MB column; Apple’s January 1999 release explicitly states 6 MB.	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 in two SO-DIMM slots. Current retained maker sheet gives a 128 MB maximum; older Apple developer history and Italian launch release give 256 MB. The conservative configurations retain the current maker 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	6 GB ATA hard drive and tray-loading 24x CD-ROM.	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 CRT with 13.8-inch viewable diagonal; not a fixed-native-resolution LCD.	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	1024 × 768 at 75 Hz, 800 × 600 at 95 Hz and 640 × 480 at 117 Hz (EveryMac exact-model specification).	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 USB ports on the computer, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, 56K V.90 modem, audio line-in/out and two front headphone jacks. No FireWire, external VGA output or AirPort option. The infrared port and mezzanine slot from earlier revisions are absent (EveryMac).	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 processing and 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; Blueberry, Grape, Tangerine, Lime and Strawberry case colours.	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	Maker retained sheet gives weight 40 pounds; height 15.8, width 15.2 and depth 17.6 inches. No converted or sibling metric values are added.	Dimensions include the stand; weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process. A built-in VESA mount version was also available.
Power supply
Power supply	–	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	Launch Mac OS 8.5; retained sheet lists 8.5.1. Apple’s Italian release confirms availability in January 1999; an exact worldwide first-sale day is unestablished.	iMac, Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2, power lead, Lightning to USB cable and polishing cloth