Apple iMac G5 (17-inch, 2004) vs Apple iMac G5 (17-inch, Ambient Light Sensor)

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iMac G5 (17-inch, 2004) compared with iMac G5 (17-inch, Ambient Light Sensor)

	AppleiMac G5 (17-inch, 2004)	AppleiMac G5 (17-inch, Ambient Light Sensor)
Overview
Released
Released	September 2004	May 2005
Performance
Processor
Processor	IBM PowerPC G5 1.6 GHz (iMac 2004) or IBM PowerPC G5 1.8 GHz (iMac 2004)	IBM PowerPC G5 1.8 GHz (iMac Ambient Light Sensor) or IBM PowerPC G5 2 GHz (iMac Ambient Light Sensor)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	1
Graphics
Graphics	NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64 MB)	ATI Radeon 9600 (128 MB)
Memory
Memory	256 MB or 2 GB	512 MB or 2 GB
Storage
Storage	80 GB to 160 GB	160 GB to 400 GB (better)
CPU
CPU	1.6 GHz PowerPC G5 with 533 MHz frontside bus and Combo drive, or 1.8 GHz with 600 MHz bus and SuperDrive; both have 512 KB on-chip L2 cache. Generic maker-clock chip records retain the single-core identity cross-checked with exact EveryMac sources; a silicon revision is not inferred.	1.8 GHz PowerPC G5 with 600 MHz frontside bus and Combo drive, or 2.0 GHz with 667 MHz bus and SuperDrive; both have 512 KB L2 cache. Generic maker-clock chip records retain the single-core identity cross-checked with exact EveryMac sources; uncertain 970/970FX silicon revision is not inferred.
GPU
GPU	NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra with 64 MB dedicated DDR video memory and AGP 8x support.	ATI Radeon 9600 with 128 MB dedicated video memory; AGP 8x support.
Memory type
Memory type	256 MB PC3200 (400 MHz) DDR SDRAM standard, expandable to 2 GB in two slots. Configurations conservatively list the published base and maker maximum.	400 MHz DDR SDRAM (PC3200), two 184-pin DIMM slots; 512 MB standard and 2 GB supported maximum. Configurations conservatively list the published base and maximum; no intermediate factory pairing is inferred.
Storage type
Storage type	80 GB 7200 rpm Serial ATA hard drive; The maker launch lists a 160 GB build-to-order option. The 1.6 GHz model uses a slot-loading Combo DVD-ROM/CD-RW; the 1.8 GHz model uses SuperDrive DVD-R/CD-RW with 4x DVD-R writing. The launch press's generic 250 GB option is not paired with the 17-inch model without exact support.	160 GB 7200 rpm Serial ATA hard drive, configurable to 250 or 400 GB. The 1.8 GHz base has a Combo drive (DVD reading/CD writing); the 2.0 GHz base has an 8x SuperDrive with 2.4x double-layer DVD writing.
Display
Screen size
Screen size	17″	17″
Resolution
Resolution	1440 × 900	1440 × 900
Brightness
Brightness	200 nits	–
Display type
Display type	Widescreen TFT active-matrix LCD with millions of colours and typical 350:1 contrast. Panel technology and refresh rate are not published in the exact maker sheet.	Widescreen LCD with millions of colours; panel technology, refresh rate and brightness not published in the retained exact maker specification.
Display features
Display features	Typical viewing angles: 120° horizontal and 90° vertical.	–
Connections
Ports
Ports	3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack	3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	0.1 Gb/s	1 Gb/s (better)
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	–	802.11g
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	–	2.0 + EDR
Back ports
Back ports	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/optical digital audio output and audio line-in. AirPort Extreme 802.11g card and internal Bluetooth module are optional, rather than standard.	Three USB 2.0 ports on the computer, plus two USB 1.1 ports on the keyboard; two FireWire 400 ports, Mini-VGA output, Gigabit Ethernet, headphone/optical output and audio line-in. Built-in 56K V.92 modem is confirmed by launch press and exact manual; retained USB-HSP wording describes its internal transport, rather than an extra external USB device.
External displays
External displays	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.	Optional Mini-VGA adapters provide VGA, S-video or composite output; no DVI connector is listed.
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in stereo speakers, internal 12 W digital amplifier and built-in microphone.	Built-in stereo speakers and microphone.
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse and modem cable.	Apple Keyboard and Apple Mouse; the later Mighty Mouse and iSight-generation remote are not substituted for the launch accessories.
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	8.4 kg	8.4 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	426 × 173 × 430 mm	426 × 173 × 430 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	Published metric size and reference weight; weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.	–
Power supply
Power supply	100–120 V AC or 100–240 V AC depending on country of purchase, 47–63 Hz, single phase; maximum continuous power 180 W.	–
In the box
In the box	Launch Mac OS X 10.3 Panther, iLife ’04 and bundled productivity software, with Classic environment support. The retained specification lists the later iLife ’05 bundle. Apple announced the model on 31 August 2004 and stated worldwide shipping would begin in mid-September; the release field therefore retains September month precision.	iMac G5, keyboard, mouse, power cord, install/restore DVDs and documentation; Mac OS X Tiger, iLife ’05 and AppleWorks. Classic support is available but not preinstalled and cannot boot Mac OS 9.