Apple iMac G5 (17-inch, 2004) vs Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleiMac G5 (17-inch, 2004) | AppleiMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | September 2004 | August 2020 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | IBM PowerPC G5 1.6 GHz (iMac 2004) or IBM PowerPC G5 1.8 GHz (iMac 2004) | Intel Core i5-10500, Intel Core i5-10600, Intel Core i9-10910 or Intel Core i7-10700K |
| CPU cores | 1 | 6, 8 or 10 |
| CPU threads | – | 12, 16 or 20 |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64 MB) | Radeon Pro 5300 (4 GB GDDR6), Radeon Pro 5500 XT (8 GB GDDR6), Radeon Pro 5700 (8 GB GDDR6) or Radeon Pro 5700 XT (16 GB GDDR6) |
| Memory | 256 MB or 2 GB | 8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB or 128 GB (better) |
| Storage | 80 GB to 160 GB | 256 GB to 8 TB (better) |
| 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. | Six-core Core i5 at 3.1 GHz (Turbo Boost 4.5 GHz) or 3.3 GHz (4.8 GHz), or eight-core Core i7 at 3.8 GHz (5.0 GHz). Upper two bases configurable to 3.6 GHz ten-core Core i9 (5.0 GHz). Exact CPU identities follow Geekbench. Apple specifies a 5.0 GHz Core i7 limit in this iMac, while Intel lists 5.1 GHz for the chip itself. |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra with 64 MB dedicated DDR video memory and AGP 8x support. | Radeon Pro 5300 with 4 GB GDDR6 on the two Core i5 bases. Upper base has Radeon Pro 5500 XT with 8 GB GDDR6, optionally Radeon Pro 5700 with 8 GB or 5700 XT with 16 GB GDDR6. |
| 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. | 2666 MHz DDR4; 8 GB standard as two 4 GB modules. Four user-accessible SO-DIMM slots; configurable to 16/32/64/128 GB on every base. |
| 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. | Lower base: fixed 256 GB SSD. Middle base: 512 GB/1/2 TB SSD. Upper base: 512 GB/1/2/4/8 TB SSD. |
| Display | ||
| Screen size | 17″ | 27″ |
| Resolution | 1440 × 900 | 5120 × 2880 (better) |
| Panel | – | IPS LCD |
| Brightness | 200 nits | 500 nits (better) |
| 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. | LED-backlit Retina 5K display; IPS panel confirmed by EveryMac. Apple does not publish native refresh rate in the specification sheet. |
| Display features | Typical viewing angles: 120° horizontal and 90° vertical. | Wide colour (P3), one billion colours and True Tone; standard glass or optional nano-texture glass |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack | 2 × Thunderbolt 3, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack |
| Ethernet | 0.1 Gb/s | 1 Gb/s (better) |
| External displays | – | Up to 2 |
| Wi-Fi | – | 802.11ac |
| Bluetooth | – | 5.0 |
| Camera | – | 1080p FaceTime HD |
| 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. | 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; UHS-II SDXC, Gigabit Ethernet and 3.5 mm headphone jack; Kensington lock slot. Optional 10Gb Ethernet supports 1/2.5/5/10Gb connections. Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI and VGA require adapters. |
| 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. | One 6K or 5K external display, or two 4K displays; two 6K displays require Radeon Pro 5700 or 5700 XT. All listed external modes run at 60 Hz. |
| Speakers | Built-in stereo speakers, internal 12 W digital amplifier and built-in microphone. | Stereo speakers |
| Microphones | – | Three-mic array with directional beamforming; supports Hey Siri |
| Keyboard and mouse | Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse and modem cable. | Rechargeable Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse 2; optional numeric keyboard and Magic Trackpad |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | All-in-one | All-in-one |
| Weight | 8.4 kg (better) | 8.92 kg |
| Width × depth × height | 426 × 173 × 430 mm | 650 × 203 × 516 mm |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Size and weight detail | Published metric size and reference weight; weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process. | Dimensions include the stand; weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process. A built-in VESA mount version was also available. |
| 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. | 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz, single phase |
| Materials | – | Recyclable, low-carbon aluminium enclosure; arsenic-free glass and mercury-free LED backlight |
| 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, Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2, power lead, Lightning to USB cable and polishing cloth |
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