Apple iMac G5 (20-inch, iSight) vs Apple Power Mac G5 (Late 2005)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleiMac G5 (20-inch, iSight) | ApplePower Mac G5 (Late 2005) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | October 2005 | October 2005 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | IBM PowerPC G5 2.1 GHz (iMac iSight) | PowerPC G5 dual-core 2000 MHz (Power Mac Late 2005), PowerPC G5 dual-core 2300 MHz (Power Mac Late 2005) or 2 × PowerPC G5 dual-core 2500 MHz (Power Mac Late 2005) |
| CPU cores | 1 | 2 or 4 |
| Graphics | ATI Radeon X600 XT (128 MB DDR) | NVIDIA GeForce 6600 LE (128 MB) or NVIDIA GeForce 6600 (256 MB) |
| Memory | 512 MB, 1 GB, 1.5 GB or 2.5 GB | 512 MB or 16 GB (better) |
| Storage | 250 GB to 500 GB (better) | 160 GB to 250 GB |
| CPU | 2.1 GHz PowerPC G5 with 512 KB L2 cache and 700 MHz frontside bus; single-core identity cross-checked with exact EveryMac source. Generic maker-clock chip record avoids borrowing uncertain silicon revision or unpublished thread/power figures. | Dual models have one physical dual-core PowerPC G5 at 2 or 2.3 GHz. Quad has two physical dual-core processors at 2.5 GHz, four cores in total. Each core has 1 MB L2 cache. Front-side bus per physical processor is 1, 1.15 or 1.25 GHz respectively. Macworld’s exact Quad review describes its liquid cooling. |
| GPU | ATI Radeon X600 XT with 128 MB dedicated DDR video memory; PCI Express. | Stock dual-core 2 GHz: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 LE with 128 MB GDDR SDRAM. Dual-core 2.3 GHz and Quad: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 with 256 MB GDDR SDRAM. Optional NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT 256 MB and Quadro FX 4500 512 MB; the Quadro occupies the graphics slot and adjacent x4 slot. |
| Memory type | 533 MHz DDR2; 512 MB built in plus one expansion slot. Maker factory upgrades provide total capacities of 1, 1.5 or 2.5 GB. | Stock 512 MB PC2-4200 DDR2 at 533 MHz, installed in matched pairs. Up to 16 GB supported; ECC configurations available from 1 GB. Rows retain the stock drive and graphics at base and maximum supported memory. |
| Storage type | 250 GB 7200 rpm Serial ATA hard drive, configurable to 500 GB. Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive with 2.4x double-layer DVD writing, 4x DVD rewritable writing and 24x CD writing. | Stock 160 GB on dual-core 2 GHz and 250 GB on dual-core 2.3 GHz and Quad. 7200 rpm Serial ATA drives; two internal bays. Optional one or two 500 GB drives. One optical bay with 16x SuperDrive supporting dual-layer DVD+R recording. |
| Expansion slots | – | PCI Express: occupied x16 graphics slot, two open x4 slots and one open x8 slot. Older PCI and PCI-X expansion cards cannot be reused in these slots. |
| Display | ||
| Screen size | 20″ | None built in |
| Resolution | 1680 × 1050 | – |
| Brightness | 280 nits | – |
| Display type | TFT active-matrix LCD with millions of colours; typical contrast 800:1 and viewing angles of 170 degrees horizontal and vertical. Panel technology and refresh rate unpublished. | – |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack | 4 × USB-A, 2 × Ethernet, headphone jack |
| Ethernet | 1 Gb/s | 1 Gb/s |
| External displays | – | Up to 2 |
| Front ports | – | USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and headphone minijack. |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11g | – |
| Bluetooth | 2.0 + EDR | – |
| Camera | iSight camera | – |
| Back ports | Three USB 2.0 ports on the computer, plus two USB 1.1 ports on the keyboard; two FireWire 400 ports sharing 8 W, Mini-VGA output, Gigabit Ethernet, headphone/optical output and audio line-in. | Three USB 2.0, FireWire 800, FireWire 400, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, optical Toslink input/output and analogue audio line-in/out. Four chassis USB 2.0 ports in total, plus two keyboard USB 1.1 ports. AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR are optional, with integrated antennas; built-in support does not mean modules are included. |
| External displays | Optional Mini-VGA adapters provide VGA mirroring or S-video/composite output; no DVI connector or extended-desktop mode is listed. | Stock GeForce 6600 LE/6600 and optional 7800 GT have one single-link and one dual-link DVI port, supporting one 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Display alongside a second display. Optional Quadro FX 4500 has two dual-link DVI outputs for two 30-inch displays and a stereo 3D connector. DVI-to-VGA adapter included. |
| Camera | Built-in iSight; exact maker resolution is unpublished and omitted. | – |
| Speakers | Built-in stereo speakers and microphone; 12 W digital amplifier. | Built-in speaker and optical/analogue external audio connections. |
| Keyboard and mouse | Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse and Apple Remote. | Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse, USB keyboard extension and DVI-to-VGA adapter. |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | All-in-one | Tower |
| Weight | 10 kg | – |
| Width × depth × height | 493 × 189 × 472 mm | – |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Materials | – | Aluminium enclosure. |
| Size and weight detail | Maker reference weight; actual weight varies with configuration and manufacturing process. | – |
| Power supply | Maximum continuous power 180 W; 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz. | – |
| In the box | iMac G5, Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse, Apple Remote, power cord, install/restore DVDs and documentation; Mac OS X Tiger, iLife ’05, Front Row and Photo Booth. Apple announced availability the week after 12 October 2005; release remains October at month precision. | Mac OS X Tiger and iLife ’05. Apple confirmed the dual-core 2 and 2.3 GHz models available on 19 October 2005, with Quad expected in early November. Macs Only reports its Quad shipped on 10 November and arrived on 11 November; these later Quad dates do not change the generation’s first sale. The exact specification sheet does not publish weight or dimensions. |
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