Apple Mac Pro (2006) vs Apple Power Mac G5 (Late 2004)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleMac Pro (2006) | ApplePower Mac G5 (Late 2004) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | August 2006 | October 2004 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | 2 × Intel Xeon 5130, 2 × Intel Xeon 5150 or 2 × Intel Xeon 5160 | PowerPC G5 1800 MHz (Power Mac Late 2004) |
| CPU cores | 4 | 1 |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT, ATI Radeon X1900 XT or NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 | NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64 MB) |
| Memory | 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, 8 GB or 16 GB (better) | 256 MB or 4 GB |
| Storage | 250 GB to 750 GB (better) | 80 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. | One 1.8 GHz PowerPC G5 with 512 KB L2 cache and a 600 MHz front-side bus. This is the new single-processor model; the dual-processor models also listed on the retained sheet are June 2004 carryovers. |
| 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 NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra with 64 MB DDR in AGP 8x Pro. Optional ATI Radeon 9600 XT 128 MB, Radeon 9800 XT 256 MB, NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT DDL 256 MB or 6800 Ultra DDL 256 MB. The 9800 XT and 6800 cards also occupy the adjacent PCI slot. |
| 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 | Stock 256 MB PC3200 DDR400 in matched pairs; four DIMM slots support up to 4 GB. Configuration rows keep the stock graphics and drive at base and maximum supported memory. |
| 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 80 GB 7200 rpm Serial ATA drive. Two 3.5-inch bays, each with a 150 MB/s interface. Optional 160 or 250 GB drives, including two 250 GB drives. One optical bay with 8x DVD-R SuperDrive; Combo drive is optional. |
| 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. | Three open full-length 64-bit 33 MHz PCI slots and occupied AGP 8x Pro graphics slot; no PCI-X on this single-processor model. |
| Display | ||
| Screen | None built in | None built in |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 5 × USB-A, 2 × Ethernet, headphone jack | 3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack |
| Ethernet | 1 Gb/s | 1 Gb/s |
| External displays | Up to 8 (better) | Up to 2 |
| Wi-Fi | Optional AirPort Extreme | – |
| Bluetooth | Optional 2.0 + EDR | – |
| Front ports | Two USB 2.0, FireWire 400, FireWire 800 and headphone output | USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and headphone minijack. |
| 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 USB 2.0, FireWire 800, FireWire 400, Gigabit Ethernet, V.92 modem, optical Toslink input/output and analogue audio line-in/out. Three chassis USB ports in total, plus two keyboard USB 1.1 ports. AirPort Extreme 54 Mbps and Bluetooth 1.1 are optional. |
| 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. | Stock ADC and DVI with included DVI-to-VGA adapter, supporting two displays. Optional 6800 GT/Ultra DDL cards have two dual-link DVI connectors and support two 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Displays; a second ADC display on the stock card needs an adapter. |
| Speakers | Front-panel speaker | Built-in speaker; optical and analogue connections for external audio. |
| Keyboard and mouse | Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse; display sold separately | Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse, USB extension cable, DVI-to-VGA adapter, modem cable and AirPort antenna. |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | Tower | Tower |
| Weight | – | 16.4 kg |
| Width × depth × height | 206 × 475 × 511 mm | 206 × 475 × 511 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 height 51.1 cm, width 20.6 cm, depth 47.5 cm. Published reference weight for the single 1.8 GHz model is 16.4 kg, distinct from the carryover dual-processor models; weight varies with configuration. |
| Materials | – | Aluminium enclosure. |
| 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 | – |
| 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. | The October 2004 release includes Mac OS X Panther and iLife ’04. Apple’s retained specification sheet later lists iLife ’05; that later software listing does not change the hardware’s October 2004 first sale. |
More comparisons
- Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro) vs Apple Power Mac G5 (Late 2004)
- 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 (Digital Audio)
- 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)

