Apple iMac G5 (20-inch, Ambient Light Sensor) vs Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)

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iMac G5 (20-inch, Ambient Light Sensor) compared with iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)

	AppleiMac G5 (20-inch, Ambient Light Sensor)	AppleiMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
Overview
Released
Released	May 2005	March 2019
Performance
Processor
Processor	IBM PowerPC G5 2 GHz (iMac Ambient Light Sensor)	Intel Core i3-8100, Intel Core i7-8700 or Intel Core i5-8500
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	4 or 6
CPU threads
CPU threads	–	4, 6 or 12
Graphics
Graphics	ATI Radeon 9600 (128 MB)	Radeon Pro 555X (2 GB GDDR5), Radeon Pro 560X (4 GB GDDR5) or Radeon Pro Vega 20 (4 GB HBM2)
Memory
Memory	512 MB or 2 GB	8 GB, 16 GB or 32 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	250 GB to 400 GB	256 GB to 1 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	2.0 GHz PowerPC G5 with 667 MHz frontside bus, 512 KB L2 cache and SuperDrive. Generic maker-clock chip records retain the single-core identity cross-checked with exact EveryMac sources; uncertain 970/970FX silicon revision is not inferred.	3.6 GHz quad-core Core i3 without Turbo Boost, or 3.0 GHz six-core Core i5 with Turbo Boost up to 4.1 GHz; both configurable to 3.2 GHz six-core Core i7 with Turbo Boost up to 4.6 GHz
GPU
GPU	ATI Radeon 9600 with 128 MB dedicated video memory; AGP 8x support.	Radeon Pro 555X with 2 GB GDDR5 in the lower base; Radeon Pro 560X with 4 GB GDDR5 in the upper base, configurable to Radeon Pro Vega 20 with 4 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.	8 GB standard, configurable to 16/32 GB; lower base uses 2400 MHz DDR4 and upper base 2666 MHz DDR4. Memory is not readily user-accessible.
Storage type
Storage type	250 GB 7200 rpm Serial ATA hard drive, configurable to 400 GB; 8x SuperDrive with 2.4x double-layer DVD writing.	The current Apple sheet lists 256 GB SSD or 1 TB Fusion Drive for both bases, and these are the configurations shown. Apple made SSD storage standard in August 2020. Launch reviews describe a 1 TB hard drive in the lower base and 1 TB Fusion Drive in the upper base, with larger SSD options (Macworld and TechRadar); these historical options are not flattened into the current matrix.
Display
Screen size
Screen size	20″	21.5″
Resolution
Resolution	1680 × 1050	4096 × 2304 (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 4K 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	11.4 kg	5.48 kg (better)
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	493 × 189 × 472 mm	528 × 175 × 450 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	–	Dimensions include the stand; current Apple sheet lists 5.48 kg and warns that weight varies by configuration. Launch reviews tested heavier hard-drive/Fusion configurations. 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