Apple iMac G5 (17-inch, Ambient Light Sensor) vs Apple iMac Pro (2017)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleiMac G5 (17-inch, Ambient Light Sensor) | AppleiMac Pro (2017) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | May 2005 | December 2017 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | IBM PowerPC G5 1.8 GHz (iMac Ambient Light Sensor) or IBM PowerPC G5 2 GHz (iMac Ambient Light Sensor) | Intel Xeon W-2140B, Intel Xeon W-2150B, Intel Xeon W-2170B or Intel Xeon W-2191B |
| CPU cores | 1 | 8, 10, 14 or 18 |
| Graphics | ATI Radeon 9600 (128 MB) | Radeon Pro Vega 56 (8 GB HBM2), Radeon Pro Vega 64 (16 GB HBM2) or Radeon Pro Vega 64X (16 GB HBM2) |
| Memory | 512 MB or 2 GB | 32 GB, 64 GB, 128 GB or 256 GB (better) |
| Storage | 160 GB to 400 GB | 1 TB to 4 TB (better) |
| 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. | Xeon W at 3.2 GHz with 8 cores (Turbo Boost 4.2 GHz), 3.0 GHz with 10 cores (4.5 GHz), 2.5 GHz with 14 cores (4.3 GHz) or 2.3 GHz with 18 cores (4.3 GHz). Exact W-B CPU identities follow Geekbench. The 8/10-core versions launched first; Macworld reports later January 2018 availability for 14/18-core options. Apple changed the standard configuration to 10 cores in August 2020. |
| GPU | ATI Radeon 9600 with 128 MB dedicated video memory; AGP 8x support. | Radeon Pro Vega 56 with 8 GB HBM2, optionally Vega 64 or Vega 64X with 16 GB HBM2. Vega 64X is a later option included in Apple’s current specification sheet, absent from the launch reviews. |
| 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. | Quad-channel 2666 MHz DDR4 ECC; 32 GB standard, configurable to 64/128/256 GB. The current maker sheet includes the later 256 GB option; launch reviews cover up to 128 GB. No user-accessible memory door. |
| 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. | 1 TB SSD, configurable to 2 or 4 TB |
| Display | ||
| Screen size | 17″ | 27″ |
| Resolution | 1440 × 900 | 5120 × 2880 (better) |
| Panel | – | IPS LCD |
| Brightness | – | 500 nits |
| Display type | Widescreen LCD with millions of colours; panel technology, refresh rate and brightness not published in the retained exact maker specification. | LED-backlit Retina 5K display; IPS panel confirmed by EveryMac. Native refresh rate omitted because Apple does not publish it in the specification sheet. |
| Display features | – | Wide colour (P3); supports one billion colours |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack | 4 × Thunderbolt 3, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack |
| Ethernet | 1 Gb/s | 10 Gb/s (better) |
| External displays | – | Up to 4 |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11g | 802.11ac |
| Bluetooth | 2.0 + EDR | 5.0 |
| Camera | – | 1080p FaceTime HD |
| 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. | Four USB-A ports; four Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports with DisplayPort 1.2, Thunderbolt up to 40 Gb/s and USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10 Gb/s; UHS-II SDXC, Nbase-T Ethernet supporting 1/2.5/5/10Gb and 3.5 mm headphone jack. Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI and VGA require adapters. |
| External displays | Optional Mini-VGA adapters provide VGA, S-video or composite output; no DVI connector is listed. | Two 5120 × 2880 displays at 60 Hz with one billion colours, four 3840 × 2160 displays at 60 Hz with one billion colours, or four 4096 × 2304 displays at 60 Hz with millions of colours, alongside the built-in display |
| Speakers | Built-in stereo speakers and microphone. | Stereo speakers |
| Microphones | – | Four microphones; supports Hey Siri |
| Keyboard and mouse | Apple Keyboard and Apple Mouse; the later Mighty Mouse and iSight-generation remote are not substituted for the launch accessories. | Space grey Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and Magic Mouse 2; optional space grey Magic Trackpad 2 |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | All-in-one | All-in-one |
| Weight | 8.4 kg (better) | 9.7 kg |
| Width × depth × height | 426 × 173 × 430 mm | 650 × 203 × 516 mm |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Size and weight detail | – | Dimensions include the stand; weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process. Optional VESA mount adapter kit. |
| Power supply | – | 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz, single phase |
| Materials | – | Recyclable aluminium enclosure; arsenic-free glass and mercury-free LED backlight |
| 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. | iMac Pro, space grey Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad, space grey Magic Mouse 2, Lightning to USB cable and power lead |
More comparisons
- Apple iMac Pro (2017) vs Apple Mac Studio (M4 Max or M3 Ultra)
- Apple iMac 24″ (M4) vs Apple iMac Pro (2017)
- Apple iMac 24″ (M4) vs Apple iMac G5 (17-inch, Ambient Light Sensor)
- Apple iMac 24″ (M3) vs Apple iMac Pro (2017)
- Apple iMac 24″ (M3) vs Apple iMac G5 (17-inch, Ambient Light Sensor)
- Apple iMac Pro (2017) vs Apple Mac Pro (M2 Ultra)
- Apple iMac Pro (2017) vs Apple Mac Studio (M1 Max / M1 Ultra)
- Apple iMac 24″ (M1) vs Apple iMac G5 (17-inch, Ambient Light Sensor)
- Apple iMac 24″ (M1) vs Apple iMac Pro (2017)
- Apple iMac Pro (2017) vs Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)
- Apple iMac G5 (17-inch, Ambient Light Sensor) vs Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)
- Apple iMac Pro (2017) vs Apple Mac Pro (2019)
- Apple iMac Pro (2017) vs Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)
- Apple iMac Pro (2017) vs Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
- Apple iMac G5 (17-inch, Ambient Light Sensor) vs Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
- Apple iMac G5 (17-inch, Ambient Light Sensor) vs Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)

