Apple iMac G5 (17-inch, Ambient Light Sensor) vs Apple iMac G5 (20-inch, 2004)

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

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

iMac G5 (17-inch, Ambient Light Sensor) compared with iMac G5 (20-inch, 2004)

	AppleiMac G5 (17-inch, Ambient Light Sensor)	AppleiMac G5 (20-inch, 2004)
Overview
Released
Released	May 2005	September 2004
Performance
Processor
Processor	IBM PowerPC G5 1.8 GHz (iMac Ambient Light Sensor) or IBM PowerPC G5 2 GHz (iMac Ambient Light Sensor)	IBM PowerPC G5 1.8 GHz (iMac 2004)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	1
Graphics
Graphics	ATI Radeon 9600 (128 MB)	NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64 MB)
Memory
Memory	512 MB or 2 GB	256 MB or 2 GB
Storage
Storage	160 GB to 400 GB (better)	160 GB to 250 GB
CPU
CPU	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.	1.8 GHz PowerPC G5 with 600 MHz frontside bus and 512 KB on-chip L2 cache. Generic maker-clock chip record retains the single-core identity; uncertain silicon revision is not inferred.
GPU
GPU	ATI Radeon 9600 with 128 MB dedicated video memory; AGP 8x support.	NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra with 64 MB dedicated DDR video memory and AGP 8x support.
Memory type
Memory type	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.	256 MB PC3200 (400 MHz) DDR SDRAM standard, expandable to 2 GB in two slots. Configurations conservatively list the published base and maker maximum.
Storage type
Storage type	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.	160 GB 7200 rpm Serial ATA hard drive, with a 250 GB build-to-order option confirmed by maker launch press. Slot-loading SuperDrive DVD-R/CD-RW writes DVD-R at 4x and reads DVDs at 8x; writes CD-R at 16x and CD-RW at 8x.
Display
Screen size
Screen size	17″	20″
Resolution
Resolution	1440 × 900	1680 × 1050 (better)
Brightness
Brightness	–	230 nits
Display type
Display type	Widescreen LCD with millions of colours; panel technology, refresh rate and brightness not published in the retained exact maker specification.	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.
Display features
Display features	–	Typical viewing angles: 170° horizontal and vertical.
Connections
Ports
Ports	3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack	3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s (better)	0.1 Gb/s
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11g	–
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	2.0 + EDR	–
Back ports
Back ports	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.	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.
External displays
External displays	Optional Mini-VGA adapters provide VGA, S-video or composite output; no DVI connector is listed.	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	Built-in stereo speakers and microphone.	Built-in stereo speakers, internal 12 W digital amplifier and built-in microphone.
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Apple Keyboard and Apple Mouse; the later Mighty Mouse and iSight-generation remote are not substituted for the launch accessories.	Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse and modem cable.
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	8.4 kg (better)	11.4 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	426 × 173 × 430 mm	493 × 189 × 472 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	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.	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.