Apple iMac G3 (Summer 2001) vs Apple iMac G4 (15-inch, Flat Panel)

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

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

iMac G3 (Summer 2001) compared with iMac G4 (15-inch, Flat Panel)

	AppleiMac G3 (Summer 2001)	AppleiMac G4 (15-inch, Flat Panel)
Overview
Released
Released	July 2001	January 2002
Performance
Processor
Processor	PowerPC G3 500 MHz (iMac), PowerPC G3 600 MHz (iMac) or PowerPC G3 700 MHz (iMac)	Motorola PowerPC G4 700 MHz (iMac Flat Panel) or Motorola PowerPC G4 800 MHz (iMac Flat Panel)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	1
Graphics
Graphics	ATI RAGE 128 Ultra (16 MB)	NVIDIA GeForce2 MX (32 MB)
Memory
Memory	128 MB, 256 MB or 1 GB	128 MB, 256 MB or 1 GB
Storage
Storage	20 GB to 60 GB	40 GB to 60 GB
CPU
CPU	500, 600 or 700 MHz PowerPC G3 with 256 KB on-chip L2 cache at processor speed; 100 MHz system bus. Clock-only chip records do not infer a silicon supplier.	700 or 800 MHz PowerPC G4 with 256 KB on-chip L2 cache and 100 MHz system bus. Generic maker-clock chip records retain the single-core identity cross-checked with exact EveryMac sources; an uncertain silicon revision is not inferred.
GPU
GPU	ATI RAGE 128 Ultra with 16 MB SDRAM in every configuration; AGP 2x.	NVIDIA GeForce2 MX with 32 MB dedicated DDR video memory and AGP 2x support.
Memory type
Memory type	500 MHz: 128 MB; 600/700 MHz: 256 MB PC100 SDRAM. Two DIMM slots support up to 1 GB. The configurations preserve the base processor/drive ties at base and maximum memory.	SDRAM, expandable to 1 GB, with one 168-pin DIMM and one user-accessible SO-DIMM slot. Launch CD-RW base: 128 MB; Combo and SuperDrive bases: 256 MB. Configurations conservatively show those published bases and the maker's maximum.
Storage type
Storage type	500 MHz: 20 GB, Indigo or Snow. 600 MHz: 40 GB, Snow or Graphite. 700 MHz Special Edition: 60 GB, Snow or Graphite. All have an 8x/4x/24x CD-RW drive; no DVD reading. Apple says 500/600 MHz available immediately on 18 July; 700 MHz expected in August.	Launch combinations: 700 MHz with CD-RW and 40 GB hard drive; 700 MHz with Combo drive and 40 GB; 800 MHz with SuperDrive and 60 GB. Optical options on the 700 MHz model account for its different base memory. Drives use Ultra ATA. Combo reads DVDs and writes CDs; SuperDrive writes DVDs and CDs.
Display
Screen size
Screen size	15″	15″
Resolution
Resolution	1024 × 768	1024 × 768
Brightness
Brightness	–	200 nits
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	75 Hz	–
Display type
Display type	15-inch nominal shadow-mask CRT, 13.8-inch viewable diagonal and 0.28 mm dot pitch.	TFT active-matrix LCD with millions of colours and typical 300:1 contrast. Panel technology and refresh rate are not established by the exact maker sheet.
Display features
Display features	1024 × 768 at 75 Hz, 800 × 600 at 95 Hz and 640 × 480 at 117 Hz. Main refresh describes the highest-resolution mode.	Typical viewing angles: 120° horizontal and 90° vertical. Articulated arm adjusts the display's height and angle.
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB-A, Ethernet, 2 × headphone jack	3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	0.1 Gb/s	0.1 Gb/s
Front ports
Front ports	Two headphone jacks.	–
Back ports
Back ports	Two FireWire 400 ports, two USB ports at 12 Mbps each, VGA mirroring, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, 56K V.90 modem and audio line-in/out. Keyboard USB ports are excluded from chassis counts. Optional 11 Mbps AirPort card; not built-in wireless.	Three USB 1.1 ports on the computer, plus two on the keyboard; two FireWire 400 ports with 8 W shared power, Mini-VGA, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, 56K V.90 modem, headphone jack and Apple speaker minijack. Original AirPort 802.11b card is optional; wireless networking is not standard.
External displays
External displays	VGA output mirrors the built-in screen.	Mini-VGA provides video mirroring through an optional VGA adapter: 640 × 480 at 60 Hz, 800 × 600 at 75 Hz or 1024 × 768 at 75 Hz. The original model does not list S-video or composite output.
Speakers
Speakers	Odyssey stereo sound system designed with Harman Kardon; built-in microphone.	Built-in speaker and microphone; selected configurations include Apple Pro Speakers rated at 9 W each with an internal 18 W amplifier.
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Apple Pro Keyboard and optical Apple Pro Mouse.	Apple Pro Keyboard and Apple Pro Mouse; Apple Pro Speakers are included with the Combo and SuperDrive launch configurations.
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	15.8 kg	9.7 kg (better)
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	381 × 435 × 381 mm	–
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	Maker publishes height 38.1, width 38.1 and depth 43.5 cm; weight 15.8 kg.	Adjustable maker ranges: height 329–509 mm, width 384–415 mm and depth 270–415 mm; base diameter 270 mm. The reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process, so no single fixed-position dimension is selected.
Power supply
Power supply	Maximum continuous power 150 W.	90–264 V AC, 47–63 Hz, single phase; maximum continuous power 130 W.
In the box
In the box	Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X supplied with iTunes, iMovie 2 and Disc Burner. Later software revisions described in reviews are not launch firmware.	Launch software: Mac OS X 10.1.2 and Mac OS 9.2.2, with iTunes, iMovie and iPhoto; iDVD requires SuperDrive. The 800 MHz SuperDrive configuration was stated to ship in late January 2002, the 700 MHz Combo in February and CD-RW in March. The release month records the first configuration, not the 7 January announcement.