Apple iMac G3 (Summer 2001) vs Apple iMac G4 (15-inch, USB 2.0)

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iMac G3 (Summer 2001) compared with iMac G4 (15-inch, USB 2.0)

	AppleiMac G3 (Summer 2001)	AppleiMac G4 (15-inch, USB 2.0)
Overview
Released
Released	July 2001	September 2003
Performance
Processor
Processor	PowerPC G3 500 MHz (iMac), PowerPC G3 600 MHz (iMac) or PowerPC G3 700 MHz (iMac)	Motorola PowerPC G4 1 GHz (iMac USB 2.0)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	1
Graphics
Graphics	ATI RAGE 128 Ultra (16 MB)	NVIDIA GeForce4 MX (32 MB)
Memory
Memory	128 MB, 256 MB or 1 GB	256 MB, 512 MB or 1 GB
Storage
Storage	20 GB to 60 GB	80 GB to 160 GB (better)
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.	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
GPU	ATI RAGE 128 Ultra with 16 MB SDRAM in every configuration; AGP 2x.	NVIDIA GeForce4 MX with 32 MB dedicated DDR video memory and AGP 4x 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.	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
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.	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
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. Exact maker sheet does not publish panel technology or refresh rate.
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 display 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 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
External displays	VGA output mirrors the built-in screen.	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
Speakers	Odyssey stereo sound system designed with Harman Kardon; built-in microphone.	Built-in speaker and microphone, Apple Pro Speakers rated at 7 W each and internal 14 W amplifier.
Keyboard and mouse
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
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.	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
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 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.