Apple iMac G5 (17-inch, Ambient Light Sensor) vs Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)

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iMac G5 (17-inch, Ambient Light Sensor) compared with iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)

	AppleiMac G5 (17-inch, Ambient Light Sensor)	AppleiMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)
Overview
Released
Released	May 2005	March 2019
Performance
Processor
Processor	IBM PowerPC G5 1.8 GHz (iMac Ambient Light Sensor) or IBM PowerPC G5 2 GHz (iMac Ambient Light Sensor)	Intel Core i5-8500, Intel Core i5-8600, Intel Core i9-9900K or Intel Core i5-9600K
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	6 or 8
CPU threads
CPU threads	–	6 or 16
Graphics
Graphics	ATI Radeon 9600 (128 MB)	Radeon Pro 570X (4 GB GDDR5), Radeon Pro 575X (4 GB GDDR5), Radeon Pro 580X (8 GB GDDR5) or Radeon Pro Vega 48 (8 GB HBM2)
Memory
Memory	512 MB or 2 GB	8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	160 GB to 400 GB	256 GB to 3 TB (better)
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.	Six-core Core i5 at 3.0 GHz (Turbo Boost 4.1 GHz), 3.1 GHz (Turbo Boost 4.3 GHz) or 3.7 GHz (Turbo Boost 4.6 GHz); upper two bases configurable to 3.6 GHz eight-core Core i9 with Turbo Boost up to 5.0 GHz. Exact K-suffix CPU identities follow Geekbench’s model database; Macworld instead lists KF suffixes.
GPU
GPU	ATI Radeon 9600 with 128 MB dedicated video memory; AGP 8x support.	Radeon Pro 570X or 575X with 4 GB GDDR5, or Radeon Pro 580X with 8 GB GDDR5; only the upper base supports Radeon Pro Vega 48 with 8 GB HBM2
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.	2666 MHz DDR4; 8 GB standard as two 4 GB modules in four user-accessible SO-DIMM slots. Lower base configurable to 16/32 GB; upper two bases to 16/32/64 GB.
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.	570X base: 1/2 TB Fusion Drive or 256/512 GB/1 TB SSD. 575X base: 1/2/3 TB Fusion Drive or 256/512 GB/1 TB SSD. 580X/Vega base: 2/3 TB Fusion Drive or 512 GB/1/2 TB SSD.
Display
Screen size
Screen size	17″	27″
Resolution
Resolution	1440 × 900	5120 × 2880 (better)
Panel
Panel	–	IPS LCD
Brightness
Brightness	–	500 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.	LED-backlit Retina 5K display; IPS panel confirmed by EveryMac; Apple does not publish native refresh rate in this model’s specification sheet
Display features
Display features	–	Wide colour (P3); supports one billion colours
Connections
Ports
Ports	3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack	2 × Thunderbolt 3, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s	1 Gb/s
External displays
External displays	–	Up to 2
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11g	802.11ac
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	2.0 + EDR	4.2
Camera
Camera	–	FaceTime HD
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.	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; SDXC, Gigabit Ethernet and 3.5 mm headphone jack; Kensington lock slot. Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI and VGA require separately sold adapters.
External displays
External displays	Optional Mini-VGA adapters provide VGA, S-video or composite output; no DVI connector is listed.	Built-in display at full native resolution alongside one 5120 × 2880 display at 60 Hz with one billion colours, two 3840 × 2160 displays at 60 Hz with one billion colours, or two 4096 × 2304 displays at 60 Hz with millions of colours
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in stereo speakers and microphone.	Stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	–	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.	Rechargeable Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse 2; optional Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and Magic Trackpad 2
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	8.4 kg (better)	9.42 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	426 × 173 × 430 mm	650 × 203 × 516 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	–	Dimensions include the stand; weight varies by configuration. A built-in VESA mount version was also available.
Power supply
Power supply	–	100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz, single phase
Materials
Materials	–	Recyclable aluminium enclosure; arsenic-free glass and mercury-free LED backlight
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.	iMac, Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2, power lead and Lightning to USB cable