Apple iMac G3 (Summer 2000) vs Apple iMac G4 (15-inch, USB 2.0)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleiMac G3 (Summer 2000) | AppleiMac G4 (15-inch, USB 2.0) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | July 2000 | September 2003 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | PowerPC G3 350 MHz (iMac), PowerPC G3 400 MHz (iMac), PowerPC G3 450 MHz (iMac) or PowerPC G3 500 MHz (iMac) | Motorola PowerPC G4 1 GHz (iMac USB 2.0) |
| CPU cores | 1 | 1 |
| Graphics | ATI RAGE 128 Pro (8 MB) | NVIDIA GeForce4 MX (32 MB) |
| Memory | 64 MB, 128 MB or 1 GB | 256 MB, 512 MB or 1 GB |
| Storage | 7 GB to 30 GB | 80 GB to 160 GB (better) |
| CPU | 350, 400, 450 or 500 MHz PowerPC G3 with 512 KB backside L2 cache. All use a 100 MHz system bus. Generic clock-only chip records do not infer silicon suppliers; cache differences remain in model details. | 1 GHz PowerPC G4 with 167 MHz system bus and 256 KB on-chip L2 cache; a generic maker-clock record avoids inferring a silicon revision. |
| GPU | ATI RAGE 128 Pro with 8 MB dedicated SDRAM and AGP support across the range. | NVIDIA GeForce4 MX with 32 MB dedicated DDR video memory and AGP 4x support. |
| Memory type | 64 MB PC100 SDRAM standard on 350/400/450 MHz configurations; 128 MB on 500 MHz Special Edition. Two DIMM slots support up to 1 GB in the current maker sheet. Configurations retain each base and maximum memory with its original processor and drive. | 256 MB PC2700 (333 MHz) DDR SDRAM standard; factory options 512 MB or 1 GB. One 184-pin DIMM and one user-accessible SO-DIMM slot. |
| Storage type | 350 MHz: 7 GB hard drive and CD-ROM, Indigo. 400 MHz DV: 10 GB and CD-ROM, Indigo or Ruby. 450 MHz DV+: 20 GB and 4x DVD-ROM, Indigo, Ruby or Sage. 500 MHz DV Special Edition: 30 GB and DVD-ROM, Graphite or Snow. Ultra ATA hard drives; original storage stays tied to each processor. | 80 GB 7200 rpm Ultra ATA/100 hard drive, configurable to 160 GB; 32x Combo DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive. Published memory and storage factory options are retained for the 1 GHz processor. |
| Display | ||
| Screen size | 15″ | 15″ |
| Resolution | 1024 × 768 | 1024 × 768 |
| Brightness | – | 200 nits |
| Refresh rate | 75 Hz | – |
| Display type | Nominal 15-inch CRT with 13.8-inch viewable diagonal (EveryMac exact DV+ specification); no fixed LCD native resolution. | TFT active-matrix LCD with millions of colours and typical 300:1 contrast. Exact maker sheet does not publish panel technology or refresh rate. |
| Display features | 1024 × 768 at 75 Hz; 800 × 600 at 95 Hz and 640 × 480 at 117 Hz. Scalar refresh describes the highest-resolution mode. Exact supported modes are from EveryMac’s DV+ specification. | Typical viewing angles 120° horizontal and 90° vertical; articulated arm adjusts display height and angle. |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 2 × USB-A, Ethernet, 2 × headphone jack | 3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack |
| Ethernet | 0.1 Gb/s | 0.1 Gb/s |
| Back ports | Two FireWire 400 ports and VGA video mirroring on DV, DV+ and DV Special Edition only; the entry 350 MHz model lacks them. 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; keyboard USB ports are not counted as chassis ports. AirPort card is optional on DV configurations; no standard wireless specification is added. | Three USB 2.0 ports on the computer, up to 480 Mbps, plus two USB 1.1 ports on the keyboard; two FireWire 400 ports with 8 W shared power, Mini-VGA, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, headphone jack, Apple speaker minijack and audio line-in. AirPort Extreme 802.11g card and internal Bluetooth are optional. |
| External displays | DV configurations provide VGA mirroring; entry model has no external video connector. | Mini-VGA provides video mirroring on a VGA display or S-video/composite television through optional adapters. Output resolutions: 640 × 480 at 60 Hz, 800 × 600 at 75 Hz or 1024 × 768 at 75 Hz. |
| Speakers | Integrated Odyssey stereo sound system designed with Harman Kardon, built-in microphone and fanless enclosure. | Built-in speaker and microphone, Apple Pro Speakers rated at 7 W each and internal 14 W amplifier. |
| Keyboard and mouse | Apple Pro Keyboard and optical Apple Pro Mouse. | Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse, Apple Pro Speakers and modem cable. |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | All-in-one | All-in-one |
| Weight | – | 9.7 kg |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Size and weight detail | Maker gives height 15.0, width 15.0 and depth 17.1 inches, weight 34.7 pounds. No converted or sibling metric values are added to main fields. | Maker adjustable ranges: height 329–509 mm, width 384–415 mm and depth 270–415 mm; base diameter 270 mm. Reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process. |
| Power supply | 100–260 V AC, 47–63 Hz, single phase; maximum continuous power 150 W. | 90–264 V AC, 47–63 Hz, single phase; maximum continuous power 130 W. |
| In the box | Mac OS 9.0.4, iMovie 2 and productivity software. Maker confirms DV, DV+ and DV Special Edition are available immediately on 19 July 2000; the 350 MHz entry configuration was scheduled to ship the next month, August 2000. | Launch Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar and iLife, with productivity software and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4. The retained sheet lists the later Mac OS X 10.3 Panther bundle. Maker launch confirms immediate availability on 8 September 2003. |
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