Apple iMac G5 (20-inch, Ambient Light Sensor) vs Apple Power Mac G5 (Early 2005)

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iMac G5 (20-inch, Ambient Light Sensor) compared with Power Mac G5 (Early 2005)

	AppleiMac G5 (20-inch, Ambient Light Sensor)	ApplePower Mac G5 (Early 2005)
Overview
Released
Released	May 2005	April 2005
Performance
Processor
Processor	IBM PowerPC G5 2 GHz (iMac Ambient Light Sensor)	2 × PowerPC G5 2000 MHz (Power Mac Early 2005), 2 × PowerPC G5 2300 MHz (Power Mac Early 2005) or 2 × PowerPC G5 2700 MHz (Power Mac Early 2005)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	2
Graphics
Graphics	ATI Radeon 9600 (128 MB)	ATI Radeon 9600 (128 MB) or ATI Radeon 9650 (256 MB)
Memory
Memory	512 MB or 2 GB	512 MB, 4 GB or 8 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	250 GB to 400 GB (better)	160 GB to 250 GB
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.	Two physical PowerPC G5 processors at 2, 2.3 or 2.7 GHz, each with 512 KB L2 cache and no L3 cache. Front-side bus per processor is 1, 1.15 or 1.35 GHz. The dual 2.7 GHz model uses liquid cooling.
GPU
GPU	ATI Radeon 9600 with 128 MB dedicated video memory; AGP 8x support.	Dual 2 and 2.3 GHz: ATI Radeon 9600 with 128 MB DDR and two single-link DVI outputs. Dual 2.7 GHz: ATI Radeon 9650 with 256 MB GDDR3, one single-link and one dual-link DVI output. Optional NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL with 256 MB has two dual-link DVI outputs and occupies the adjacent PCI slot.
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.	Stock 512 MB PC3200 DDR400, installed in matched pairs. Dual 2 GHz has four DIMM slots and a 4 GB maximum. Dual 2.3 and 2.7 GHz have eight slots and an 8 GB maximum. Configuration rows keep the stock drives and graphics at base and maximum memory.
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.	Stock 160 GB on dual 2 GHz and 250 GB on dual 2.3/2.7 GHz, all 7200 rpm Serial ATA. Two internal drive bays; optional 250 or 400 GB drives, including two 400 GB drives. One optical bay with 16x SuperDrive supporting DVD±R and up to 4x dual-layer DVD+R recording.
Expansion slots
Expansion slots	–	AGP 8x Pro graphics slot. Dual 2 GHz has three 64-bit 33 MHz PCI slots. Dual 2.3 and 2.7 GHz have PCI-X: two 100 MHz slots and one 133 MHz slot.
Display
Screen size
Screen size	20″	None built in
Resolution
Resolution	1680 × 1050	–
Display type
Display type	Widescreen LCD with millions of colours; panel technology, refresh rate and brightness not published in the retained exact maker specification.	–
Connections
Ports
Ports	3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack	3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s	1 Gb/s
External displays
External displays	–	Up to 2
Front ports
Front ports	–	USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and headphone minijack.
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.	Two USB 2.0, FireWire 800, FireWire 400, Gigabit Ethernet, optical S/PDIF input/output and analogue audio line-in/out. Three chassis USB ports in total, plus keyboard USB 1.1 ports. AirPort Extreme, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR and a V.92 modem are optional.
External displays
External displays	Optional Mini-VGA adapters provide VGA, S-video or composite output; no DVI connector is listed.	Two displays in extended desktop or mirrored modes. Radeon 9600 supports two displays up to 1920 × 1200; Radeon 9650 supports one 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Display via dual-link DVI. Optional 6800 Ultra DDL supports two 30-inch displays. DVI-to-VGA adapter included.
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in stereo speakers and microphone.	Built-in speaker; analogue and optical audio connections.
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, USB extension cable and DVI-to-VGA adapter.
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	Tower
Weight
Weight	11.4 kg (better)	20.2 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	493 × 189 × 472 mm	–
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	–	The exact maker sheet labels height as 47.5 cm, width 20.6 cm and depth 51.1 cm. Earlier G5 sheets label height/depth in the opposite order; main dimensions are omitted because those published axes conflict. Maker reference weight is 20.2 kg and varies with configuration.
Power supply
Power supply	–	450 W on dual 2/2.3 GHz; 600 W on dual 2.7 GHz, as stated by the maker.
Materials
Materials	–	Aluminium enclosure.
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.	Mac OS X Tiger and iLife ’05. Apple’s 27 April 2005 launch says these models are available “this week”; first sale is kept at April precision rather than treating the announcement as a confirmed delivery day. The older single 1.8 GHz model retained in the launch range is represented separately as Late 2004.