Apple iMac G5 (20-inch, iSight) vs Apple Power Mac G5 (Late 2005)

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iMac G5 (20-inch, iSight) compared with Power Mac G5 (Late 2005)
AppleiMac G5 (20-inch, iSight)ApplePower Mac G5 (Late 2005)
Overview
ReleasedOctober 2005October 2005
Performance
ProcessorIBM 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 cores12 or 4
GraphicsATI Radeon X600 XT (128 MB DDR)NVIDIA GeForce 6600 LE (128 MB) or NVIDIA GeForce 6600 (256 MB)
Memory512 MB, 1 GB, 1.5 GB or 2.5 GB512 MB or 16 GB (better)
Storage250 GB to 500 GB (better)160 GB to 250 GB
CPU2.1 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 Generic maker-clock chip record avoids borrowing uncertain silicon revision or unpublished thread/power figures.Dual models have one physical dual-core PowerPC G5 at 2 or 2.3 GHz.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.
GPUATI 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 type533 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 type250 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 size20″None built in
Resolution1680 × 1050–
Brightness280 nits–
Display typeTFT 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
Ports3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack4 × USB-A, 2 × Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet1 Gb/s1 Gb/s
External displays–Up to 2
Front ports–USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and headphone minijack.
Wi-Fi802.11g–
Bluetooth2.0 + EDR–
CameraiSight camera–
Back portsThree 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 displaysOptional 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.
CameraBuilt-in iSight; exact maker resolution is unpublished and omitted.–
SpeakersBuilt-in stereo speakers and microphone; 12 W digital amplifier.Built-in speaker and optical/analogue external audio connections.
Keyboard and mouseApple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse and Apple Remote.Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse, USB keyboard extension and DVI-to-VGA adapter.
Design and power
TypeAll-in-oneTower
Weight10 kg–
Width × depth × height493 × 189 × 472 mm–
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Materials–Aluminium enclosure.
Size and weight detailMaker reference weight; actual weight varies with configuration and manufacturing process.–
Power supplyMaximum continuous power 180 W; 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz.–
In the boxiMac 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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