Apple Mac Pro (2006) vs Apple Power Mac G4 (Digital Audio)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleMac Pro (2006) | ApplePower Mac G4 (Digital Audio) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | August 2006 | January 2001 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | 2 × Intel Xeon 5130, 2 × Intel Xeon 5150 or 2 × Intel Xeon 5160 | PowerPC G4 466 MHz (Power Mac Digital Audio), PowerPC G4 533 MHz (Power Mac Digital Audio), 2 × PowerPC G4 533 MHz (Power Mac Digital Audio), PowerPC G4 667 MHz (Power Mac Digital Audio) or PowerPC G4 733 MHz (Power Mac Digital Audio) |
| CPU cores | 4 | 1 or 2 |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT, ATI Radeon X1900 XT or NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 | ATI RAGE 128 Pro (16 MB) or NVIDIA GeForce2 MX (32 MB) |
| Memory | 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, 8 GB or 16 GB (better) | 128 MB, 256 MB or 1.5 GB |
| Storage | 250 GB to 750 GB (better) | 30 GB to 60 GB |
| CPU | Two dual-core Xeon 5100-series processors at 2.0, 2.66 or 3.0 GHz, with 4 MB shared L2 cache per processor and independent 1.33 GHz frontside buses; EveryMac identifies Xeon 5130, 5150 and 5160 respectively. Four cores total. Later 2007 eight-core MacPro2,1 upgrade is a separate generation, not included in these configurations. | 466/533 MHz single or dual 533 MHz G4: 1 MB backside L2 cache at half processor speed. 667/733 MHz: 256 KB on-chip L2 and 1 MB backside L3; retained 733 sheet specifies quarter-speed L3, whereas launch prose loosely says half-speed. 133 MHz system bus. Generic per-processor chip records do not infer silicon identity. |
| GPU | GeForce 7300 GT has 256 MB GDDR2, one single-link and one dual-link DVI; Radeon X1900 XT and Quadro FX 4500 each have 512 MB GDDR3 and two dual-link DVI. Quadro adds stereo 3D. Maker also confirms two, three or four 7300 GT cards; multi-card upgrades are described here rather than inferred mixed-card configurations. | Stock 466 MHz: ATI RAGE 128 Pro 16 MB; stock 533/667/733 MHz: NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 32 MB. Retained options include ATI Radeon 32 MB and GeForce3 64 MB; these are not silently treated as launch stock. |
| Memory type | 667 MHz DDR2 ECC fully buffered DIMMs; eight slots on two removable risers, up to 16 GB; factory options 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 GB | 128 MB standard on 466/533 MHz; 256 MB on 667/733 MHz. Three PC133 SDRAM DIMM slots support up to 1.5 GB; base and maximum memory retain evidenced processor/drive/graphics ties. |
| Storage type | Four independent SATA 3 Gb/s direct-attach bays. Launch supports 250/500 GB drives and up to 2 TB; later archived specification adds 750 GB drives and up to 3 TB. Configurations list one primary drive; additional independent drives and optional RAID card are separate upgrades, not a Fusion Drive. One or two 16x SuperDrives with double-layer DVD support. | Stock 466 MHz: 30 GB 5400 rpm; 533 MHz: 40 GB 7200 rpm; 667/733 MHz: 60 GB 7200 rpm Ultra ATA/66. CD-RW 8x/4x/32x on lower configurations; 733 MHz SuperDrive writes DVD-R 2x and CD-R 8x. Current retained sheet additionally lists a 733 MHz CD-RW factory variant and omits launch 667 MHz; both distinctions retained here. Macs Only tested a maker-store dual 533 MHz with a named 30 GB downgrade from standard 40 GB; only these restricted dual configurations are included. Three drive bays; optional SCSI and independent CTO options remain in details. |
| Expansion slots | One double-wide x16 graphics slot and three full-length PCI Express expansion slots with configurable bandwidth; 300 W combined maximum. PCI/PCI-X cards are incompatible. | Four full-length 64-bit 33 MHz PCI slots plus dedicated AGP 4x graphics slot. |
| Display | ||
| Screen | None built in | None built in |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 5 × USB-A, 2 × Ethernet, headphone jack | 2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack |
| Ethernet | 1 Gb/s | 1 Gb/s |
| External displays | Up to 8 | – |
| Wi-Fi | Optional AirPort Extreme | – |
| Bluetooth | Optional 2.0 + EDR | – |
| Front ports | Two USB 2.0, FireWire 400, FireWire 800 and headphone output | – |
| Back ports | Three USB 2.0, FireWire 400, FireWire 800, two Gigabit Ethernet, optical TOSLINK input/output and analogue line input/output. Graphics card DVI outputs vary by configuration; included keyboard USB ports excluded from chassis count. | Two FireWire 400 and two 12 Mbps USB chassis ports; Gigabit Ethernet, 56K V.90 modem, ADC and VGA; optional 11 Mbps AirPort card. Headphone jack and Apple Pro Speakers minijack; no analog audio-input jack. Keyboard USB ports excluded. |
| External displays | Up to eight displays requires four GeForce 7300 GT cards. Single-link DVI up to 1920 × 1200; dual-link DVI up to 2560 × 1600; analogue up to 2048 × 1536 using included adapter. | ADC and VGA; maker graphics support up to 1920 × 1200. No assumption of simultaneous extended desktop for standard cards. |
| Speakers | Front-panel speaker | Built-in speaker; optional Apple Pro Speakers use a dedicated amplified connection. |
| Keyboard and mouse | Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse; display sold separately | Apple Pro Keyboard and optical Apple Pro Mouse. |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | Tower | Tower |
| Weight | – | 13.6 kg |
| Width × depth × height | 206 × 475 × 511 mm | 226 × 467 × 432 mm |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Size and weight detail | Maker standard-configuration weight 19.2 kg; actual weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process, so shared scalar weight omitted | Maker reference weight 13.6 kg; height 43.2, width 22.6, depth 46.7 cm. Weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process. |
| Power supply | 100–120 V or 200–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz single phase; maximum 12 A in low-voltage range or 6 A in high-voltage range | Maximum continuous power 338 W. |
| In the box | Mac Pro, keyboard and mouse, DVI-to-VGA adapter, USB keyboard extension cable, install/restore DVDs and documentation. Launch software Mac OS X 10.4.7 Tiger and iLife '06; later archived sheet lists Leopard and iLife '08. Launch AirPort Extreme optional; archive later specifies optional 802.11n. | Mac OS 9.1 in reviewed shipment; iMovie 2 and downloadable iTunes/Disc Burner. Maker confirms 466/533 MHz immediately available on 9 January, 667/733 MHz expected February, and actual 733 MHz SuperDrive shipments on 19 February 2001. Later options are not a new generation. |
More comparisons
- Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max or M5 Ultra) vs Apple Power Mac G4 (Digital Audio)
- Apple Mac Pro (2006) vs Apple Mac Pro (M2 Ultra)
- Apple Mac Pro (2006) vs Apple Mac Pro (2019)
- Apple Mac Pro (2006) vs Apple Mac Pro (Late 2013)
- Apple Mac Pro (2006) vs Apple Mac Pro (Mid 2012)
- Apple Mac Pro (2006) vs Apple Mac Pro (Mid 2010)
- Apple Mac Pro (2006) vs Apple Mac Pro (Early 2009)
- Apple Mac Pro (2006) vs Apple Mac Pro (Early 2008)
- Apple iMac (20-inch, Late 2006) vs Apple Mac Pro (2006)
- Apple Mac Pro (2006) vs Apple Power Mac G4 (AGP Graphics)
- Apple Mac Pro (2006) vs Apple Power Mac G4 (Gigabit Ethernet)
- Apple Mac Pro (2006) vs Apple Power Mac G4 (QuickSilver 2001)
- Apple Mac Pro (2006) vs Apple Power Mac G4 (QuickSilver 2002)
- Apple Mac Pro (2006) vs Apple Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2002)
- Apple Mac Pro (2006) vs Apple Power Mac G4 (FW800)
- Apple Mac Pro (2006) vs Apple Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2003)

