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Apple Mac Pro (2006) vs Apple Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2003)

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Better figure, where one is clearly better

AppleMac Pro (2006)ApplePower Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2003)
Overview
ReleasedAugust 2006June 2003
Performance
Processor2 × Intel Xeon 5130, 2 × Intel Xeon 5150 or 2 × Intel Xeon 5160PowerPC G4 1250 MHz (Power Mac MDD 2003) or 2 × PowerPC G4 1250 MHz (Power Mac MDD 2003)
CPU cores41 or 2
GraphicsNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT, ATI Radeon X1900 XT or NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500ATI Radeon 9000 Pro (64 MB)
Memory1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, 8 GB or 16 GB256 MB or 2 GB
Storage250 GB to 750 GB80 GB
CPUTwo 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.Stock single 1.25 GHz PowerPC G4 with 256 KB L2 cache and 1 MB L3 cache. Contemporary Macworld reporting of Apple Store configurations also documents dual 1.25 GHz processors, each with 2 MB L3; this custom build is labelled in configuration details rather than presented as a second stock base.
GPUGeForce 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 ATI Radeon 9000 Pro with 64 MB DDR in an AGP 4x slot. Macworld also documents a custom dual-processor build with NVIDIA GeForce4 Titanium; that build has other upgrades and is not treated as a freely interchangeable stock configuration.
Memory type667 MHz DDR2 ECC fully buffered DIMMs; eight slots on two removable risers, up to 16 GB; factory options 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 GBStock 256 MB PC2700 DDR333; four DIMM slots, maximum 2 GB. The single-processor configurations retain the stock drive and graphics at base and maximum memory. The documented dual-processor custom base has 256 MB.
Storage typeFour 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 80 GB 7200 rpm Ultra ATA/100 hard drive; up to four internal drives. Tray-loading Combo drive reads DVD at 8x and CD at 32x, writes CD-R at 16x and CD-RW at 10x. Macworld documents a dual 1.25 GHz custom base with 80 GB, Combo drive and Radeon 9000 Pro, and a separate upgraded build with 2 GB RAM, two 160 GB drives, SuperDrive and GeForce4 Titanium. The two-drive build is described here without flattening its drives into a single capacity.
Expansion slotsOne 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 PCI slots and an occupied AGP 4x graphics slot.
Display
ScreenNone built inNone built in
Connections
Ports5 × USB-A, 2 × Ethernet, headphone jack2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet1 Gb/s1 Gb/s
External displaysUp to 8–
Wi-FiOptional AirPort Extreme–
BluetoothOptional 2.0 + EDR–
Front portsTwo USB 2.0, FireWire 400, FireWire 800 and headphone outputHeadphone connection and built-in mono speaker.
Back portsThree 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 USB 1.1, two FireWire 400, Gigabit Ethernet with Auto-MDIX, ADC and DVI display connectors, audio line-in/out and Apple Pro Speakers connection. The maker lists a V.92 modem. Optional original AirPort; the contemporary Apple-spokesman report confirms no AirPort Extreme, internal Bluetooth or FireWire 800.
External displaysUp 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 DVI connectors with included DVI-to-VGA adapter. Digital resolution up to 1920 × 1200; analogue up to 1600 × 1200. The exact sheet does not publish a simultaneous display count.
SpeakersFront-panel speakerBuilt-in mono speaker and connection for Apple Pro Speakers; no built-in microphone.
Keyboard and mouseApple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse; display sold separatelyBlack Apple Pro input devices and DVI-to-VGA adapter.
Design and power
TypeTowerTower
Weight–19.1 kg
Width × depth × height206 × 475 × 511 mm226 × 467 × 432 mm
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Size and weight detailMaker standard-configuration weight 19.2 kg; actual weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process, so shared scalar weight omittedMaker dimensions: height 43.2 cm, width 22.6 cm, depth 46.7 cm; weight 19.1 kg. These published metric values differ slightly from the FW800 sheet.
Power supply100–120 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–
In the boxMac 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 X 10.2.4 and bootable Mac OS 9.2.2, install/restore DVD and Apple Hardware Test. First sale uses the 23 June 2003 Macworld report that these models were for sale at Apple’s online store; a 29 June report quotes an Apple spokesman confirming manufacture and sale. The first day is contemporary Apple Store reporting rather than a retained maker launch notice.

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