Apple iMac G3 (Slot Loading, 1999) vs Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)

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iMac G3 (Slot Loading, 1999) compared with iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)

	AppleiMac G3 (Slot Loading, 1999)	AppleiMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)
Overview
Released
Released	October 1999	March 2019
Performance
Processor
Processor	PowerPC G3 350 MHz (iMac) or PowerPC G3 400 MHz (iMac)	Intel Core i5-8500, Intel Core i5-8600, Intel Core i9-9900K or Intel Core i5-9600K
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	6 or 8
CPU threads
CPU threads	–	6 or 16
Graphics
Graphics	ATI RAGE 128 VR (8 MB)	Radeon Pro 570X (4 GB GDDR5), Radeon Pro 575X (4 GB GDDR5), Radeon Pro 580X (8 GB GDDR5) or Radeon Pro Vega 48 (8 GB HBM2)
Memory
Memory	64 MB, 128 MB or 512 MB	8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	6 GB to 13 GB	256 GB to 3 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	350 MHz or 400 MHz PowerPC G3 with 100 MHz system bus and 512 KB backside L2 cache. Apple developer history gives 140/160 MHz cache clocks while EveryMac gives 200 MHz for the DV Special Edition; optional cache-clock fields are omitted. Exact processor supplier is not established.	Six-core Core i5 at 3.0 GHz (Turbo Boost 4.1 GHz), 3.1 GHz (Turbo Boost 4.3 GHz) or 3.7 GHz (Turbo Boost 4.6 GHz); upper two bases configurable to 3.6 GHz eight-core Core i9 with Turbo Boost up to 5.0 GHz. Exact K-suffix CPU identities follow Geekbench’s model database; Macworld instead lists KF suffixes.
GPU
GPU	ATI RAGE 128 VR with 8 MB video memory and AGP support. Retained sheet says SGRAM while the developer note says SDRAM; memory technology is not silently selected.	Radeon Pro 570X or 575X with 4 GB GDDR5, or Radeon Pro 580X with 8 GB GDDR5; only the upper base supports Radeon Pro Vega 48 with 8 GB HBM2
Memory type
Memory type	PC100 SDRAM in two DIMM slots, up to 512 MB in the retained maker sheet. Base 350 MHz and DV models have 64 MB; DV Special Edition has 128 MB. Configurations retain each base and published maximum with its original processor and drive.	2666 MHz DDR4; 8 GB standard as two 4 GB modules in four user-accessible SO-DIMM slots. Lower base configurable to 16/32 GB; upper two bases to 16/32/64 GB.
Storage type
Storage type	350 MHz: 6 GB ATA hard drive and slot-loading 24x CD-ROM, Blueberry. 400 MHz DV: 10 GB and 4x DVD-ROM, five fruit colours. 400 MHz DV Special Edition: 13 GB and 4x DVD-ROM, Graphite. These are configurations of one generation.	570X base: 1/2 TB Fusion Drive or 256/512 GB/1 TB SSD. 575X base: 1/2/3 TB Fusion Drive or 256/512 GB/1 TB SSD. 580X/Vega base: 2/3 TB Fusion Drive or 512 GB/1/2 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; no fixed LCD native resolution.	LED-backlit Retina 5K display; IPS panel confirmed by EveryMac; Apple does not publish native refresh rate in this model’s specification sheet
Display features
Display features	Maximum mode 1024 × 768 at 75 Hz; 800 × 600 at 95 Hz and 640 × 480 at 117 Hz (EveryMac exact DV Special Edition specification).	Wide colour (P3); supports one billion colours
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	–	4.2
Camera
Camera	–	FaceTime HD
Back ports
Back ports	Two 12 Mbps USB ports on the computer, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, 56K V.90 modem, audio line-in/out and two front headphone jacks. Two FireWire 400 ports and VGA video mirroring are present only on DV and DV Special Edition. AirPort card is optional across this generation.	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; SDXC, Gigabit Ethernet and 3.5 mm headphone jack; Kensington lock slot. Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI and VGA require separately sold adapters.
External displays
External displays	DV and DV Special Edition mirror the internal display through VGA; the 350 MHz entry configuration has no external video connector.	Built-in display at full native resolution alongside one 5120 × 2880 display at 60 Hz with one billion colours, two 3840 × 2160 displays at 60 Hz with one billion colours, or two 4096 × 2304 displays at 60 Hz with millions of colours
Speakers
Speakers	Integrated Harman Kardon Odyssey stereo sound system and built-in microphone. Convection cooling uses no fan.	Stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	–	Built-in microphone
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Apple USB Keyboard and round Apple USB Mouse.	Rechargeable Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse 2; optional Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and Magic Trackpad 2
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	–	9.42 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	Retained Apple sheet gives height 15.8, width 15.2 and depth 17.6 inches, weight 34.7 pounds. Exact developer note gives height 39.5, width 38 and depth 44 cm and weight 15.5 kg (34 pounds). Disagreeing main dimensions and weight are omitted.	Dimensions include the stand; weight varies by configuration. 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 aluminium enclosure; arsenic-free glass and mercury-free LED backlight
In the box
In the box	Mac OS 8.6 at launch; TIME notes Mac OS 9 would begin shipping subsequently. Conservative October 1999 sale month follows the contemporary physical DV Special Edition reviews; the retained introduction day differs from the launch event date.	iMac, Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2, power lead and Lightning to USB cable