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Apple iMac G3 (Summer 2000) vs Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Better figure, where one is clearly better

AppleiMac G3 (Summer 2000)AppleiMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
Overview
ReleasedJuly 2000March 2019
Performance
ProcessorPowerPC G3 350 MHz (iMac), PowerPC G3 400 MHz (iMac), PowerPC G3 450 MHz (iMac) or PowerPC G3 500 MHz (iMac)Intel Core i3-8100, Intel Core i7-8700 or Intel Core i5-8500
CPU cores14 or 6
CPU threads–4, 6 or 12
GraphicsATI RAGE 128 Pro (8 MB)Radeon Pro 555X (2 GB GDDR5), Radeon Pro 560X (4 GB GDDR5) or Radeon Pro Vega 20 (4 GB HBM2)
Memory64 MB, 128 MB or 1 GB8 GB, 16 GB or 32 GB
Storage7 GB to 30 GB256 GB to 1 TB
CPU350, 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.3.6 GHz quad-core Core i3 without Turbo Boost, or 3.0 GHz six-core Core i5 with Turbo Boost up to 4.1 GHz; both configurable to 3.2 GHz six-core Core i7 with Turbo Boost up to 4.6 GHz
GPUATI RAGE 128 Pro with 8 MB dedicated SDRAM and AGP support across the range.Radeon Pro 555X with 2 GB GDDR5 in the lower base; Radeon Pro 560X with 4 GB GDDR5 in the upper base, configurable to Radeon Pro Vega 20 with 4 GB HBM2
Memory type64 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.8 GB standard, configurable to 16/32 GB; lower base uses 2400 MHz DDR4 and upper base 2666 MHz DDR4. Memory is not readily user-accessible.
Storage type350 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.The current Apple sheet lists 256 GB SSD or 1 TB Fusion Drive for both bases, and these are the configurations shown. Apple made SSD storage standard in August 2020. Launch reviews describe a 1 TB hard drive in the lower base and 1 TB Fusion Drive in the upper base, with larger SSD options (Macworld and TechRadar); these historical options are not flattened into the current matrix.
Display
Screen size15″21.5″
Resolution1024 × 7684096 × 2304
Panel–IPS LCD
Brightness–500 nits
Refresh rate75 Hz–
Display typeNominal 15-inch CRT with 13.8-inch viewable diagonal (EveryMac exact DV+ specification); no fixed LCD native resolution.LED-backlit Retina 4K display; IPS panel confirmed by EveryMac; Apple does not publish native refresh rate in this model’s specification sheet
Display features1024 × 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.Wide colour (P3); supports one billion colours
Connections
Ports2 × USB-A, Ethernet, 2 × headphone jack2 × Thunderbolt 3, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet0.1 Gb/s1 Gb/s
External displays–Up to 2
Wi-Fi–802.11ac
Bluetooth–4.2
Camera–FaceTime HD
Back portsTwo 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.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 displaysDV configurations provide VGA mirroring; entry model 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
SpeakersIntegrated Odyssey stereo sound system designed with Harman Kardon, built-in microphone and fanless enclosure.Stereo speakers
Microphones–Built-in microphone
Keyboard and mouseApple Pro Keyboard and optical Apple Pro Mouse.Rechargeable Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse 2; optional Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and Magic Trackpad 2
Design and power
TypeAll-in-oneAll-in-one
Weight–5.48 kg
Width × depth × height–528 × 175 × 450 mm
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Size and weight detailMaker 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.Dimensions include the stand; current Apple sheet lists 5.48 kg and warns that weight varies by configuration. Launch reviews tested heavier hard-drive/Fusion configurations. A built-in VESA mount version was also available.
Power supply100–260 V AC, 47–63 Hz, single phase; maximum continuous power 150 W.100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz, single phase
Materials–Recyclable aluminium enclosure; arsenic-free glass and mercury-free LED backlight
In the boxMac 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.iMac, Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2, power lead and Lightning to USB cable

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