Apple Mac Pro (2019) vs Apple Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2002)

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

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Mac Pro (2019) compared with Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2002)
AppleMac Pro (2019)ApplePower Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2002)
Overview
ReleasedDecember 2019August 2002
Performance
ProcessorIntel Xeon W-3223, Intel Xeon W-3235, Intel Xeon W-3245, Intel Xeon W-3265M or Intel Xeon W-3275M2 × PowerPC G4 867 MHz (Power Mac Mirrored Drive Doors 2002), 2 × PowerPC G4 1000 MHz (Power Mac Mirrored Drive Doors 2002) or 2 × PowerPC G4 1250 MHz (Power Mac Mirrored Drive Doors 2002)
CPU cores8, 12, 16, 24 or 282
CPU threads16, 24, 32, 48 or 56–
GraphicsAMD Radeon Pro 580X (8 GB GDDR5), AMD Radeon Pro Vega II (32 GB HBM2), AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo (32 GB HBM2 per GPU), AMD Radeon Pro W5500X (8 GB GDDR6; later option), AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (16 GB GDDR6; later option), AMD Radeon Pro W6800X (32 GB GDDR6; later option), AMD Radeon Pro W6900X (32 GB GDDR6; later option), AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo (32 GB GDDR6 per GPU; later option) or AMD Radeon Pro W6600X (8 GB GDDR6; later option)NVIDIA GeForce4 MX (32 MB) or ATI Radeon 9000 Pro (64 MB)
Memory32 GB, 48 GB, 96 GB, 192 GB, 384 GB, 768 GB or 1536 GB (better)256 MB, 512 MB or 2 GB
Storage256 GB to 8 TB (better)60 GB to 120 GB
CPUIntel Xeon W with 8 cores at 3.5 GHz (Turbo Boost up to 4.0 GHz), 12 at 3.3 GHz, 16 at 3.2 GHz, 24 at 2.7 GHz or 28 at 2.5 GHz (all up to 4.4 GHz). Sound On Sound identifies the exact processors as W-3223, W-3235, W-3245, W-3265M and W-3275M; Intel confirms their specifications. Intel's separate Turbo Boost Max 3.0 figures are not asserted as Mac Pro system capabilities.Dual 867 MHz, dual 1 GHz or dual 1.25 GHz PowerPC G4 processors; each physical processor has 256 KB on-chip L2 cache. 867 MHz and 1 GHz have 1 MB DDR SRAM L3 per processor; 1.25 GHz has 2 MB. System bus 133 MHz on dual 867, 167 MHz on dual 1/1.25 GHz. CPU count describes physical processors; supplier is not inferred.
GPUOne MPX module per listed configuration. Launch options were Radeon Pro 580X (8 GB GDDR5), Vega II (32 GB HBM2) and Vega II Duo (two GPUs with 32 GB HBM2 each). Later maker-listed options include W5500X and W6600X (8 GB GDDR6), W5700X (16 GB GDDR6), W6800X and W6900X (32 GB GDDR6), and W6800X Duo (two GPUs with 32 GB GDDR6 each). Two MPX bays support up to four GPUs; Apple confirms upgrades to two Vega II or two Vega II Duo modules, and an Infinity Fabric Link between two W6800X Duo modules. GPU memory is not pooled into one GPU's capacity.Dual 867 MHz: NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 32 MB DDR. Dual 1/1.25 GHz: ATI Radeon 9000 Pro 64 MB DDR. Optional NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 128 MB; independent CTO options are not expanded into unsupported stock combinations.
Memory typeTwelve user-accessible DIMM slots for DDR4 ECC memory; 32, 48, 96, 192, 384 or 768 GB. 1.5 TB requires the 24-core or 28-core processor. Memory runs at 2666 MHz with the 8-core CPU and 2933 MHz with the other CPUs. 768 GB uses six 128 GB or twelve 64 GB modules; 1.5 TB uses twelve 128 GB modules.Dual 867 MHz: 256 MB PC2100 DDR SDRAM at 266 MHz. Dual 1 GHz: 256 MB PC2700 DDR at 333 MHz; dual 1.25 GHz: 512 MB PC2700. Four DIMM slots support up to 2 GB. Configurations preserve stock processor/drive/graphics ties at base and maximum memory.
Storage typeT2-encrypted SSD storage; 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB, 4 TB or 8 TB. The 256 GB and 512 GB versions use one module; larger capacities use two modules of half the total capacity. Apple states up to 3.4 GB/s sequential reads and writes. The current 512 GB option was not listed in Sound On Sound's original configuration table.60/80/120 GB 7200 rpm Ultra ATA/100 stock drives respectively. Dual 867 MHz has Combo DVD-ROM/CD-RW (CD-R 16x); faster models SuperDrive (DVD-R 2x, CD-R 8x). Four hard-drive bays support two ATA/100 and two ATA/66 drives, or up to four SCSI drives with a separately sold PCI card. Two optical bays, one occupied; optional second Combo drive. Maker optional storage choices remain in details rather than assumed CPU cross-pairs.
Expansion slotsEight PCI Express Gen 3 slots; two MPX bays provide x16 graphics and x8 Thunderbolt bandwidth each, with up to 500 W for an MPX module. Three additional full-length slots provide one x16 and two x8 links; the half-length x4 slot holds the Apple I/O card. Optional Afterburner x16 card accelerates ProRes and ProRes RAW in supported applications; current maker tests report up to six 8K ProRes RAW or 23 4K ProRes RAW streams, compared with the lower figures in the initial announcement.Four open full-length 64-bit 33 MHz PCI slots and dedicated AGP 4x graphics slot.
Display
ScreenNone built inNone built in
Connections
Ports4 × Thunderbolt 3, 2 × USB-A, 2 × Ethernet, headphone jack2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet10 Gb/s (better)1 Gb/s
External displays–Up to 2
Wi-Fi802.11ac–
Bluetooth5.0–
Front portsTwo Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports on top of the tower; up to 40 Gb/s Thunderbolt, up to 10 Gb/s USB-C and DisplayPort supportHeadphone jack and built-in speaker.
Back portsApple I/O card has two Thunderbolt 3 ports, two USB-A ports at up to 5 Gb/s and a 3.5 mm headset jack. Two Ethernet ports support 1, 2.5, 5 and 10 Gb/s. Graphics ports vary by MPX module; 580X, W5500X and W6600X have two HDMI ports, while the other listed modules have four Thunderbolt 3 ports and one HDMI port. The chassis port counts above exclude graphics-module ports. TechRadar and The Verge describe an additional internal USB-A port for a software dongle.Two FireWire 400, two USB chassis ports (maker four-port total includes two keyboard ports), Gigabit Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, ADC/DVI, stereo audio line-in/out and Apple Pro Speakers minijack. Optional 11 Mbps AirPort 802.11b card. Bluetooth is a separately listed adapter, not built-in. No FireWire 800 in this 2002 generation.
External displaysDisplay limits depend on the graphics configuration. One 580X supports six 4K displays, two 5K displays or two Pro Display XDRs; W5500X supports four 4K, one 5K or one XDR, and W6600X four 4K, two 5K or two XDRs. W5700X, W6800X and W6900X support six 4K, three 5K or three XDRs per module. Vega II supports six 4K, three 5K or two XDRs; Vega II Duo eight 4K, four 5K or four XDRs. W6800X Duo supports eight 4K, four 5K or six XDRs. Apple's dedicated current Vega II Duo guide confirms two modules can drive twelve 4K, six 5K or six XDR displays; port and bus placement restrictions apply.Two displays in extended desktop or mirroring modes; ADC and DVI with included DVI-to-VGA adapter. Connecting two ADC displays requires a separately sold DVI-to-ADC adapter.
SpeakersBuilt-in speaker; 3.5 mm headphone jack supports a headsetBuilt-in speaker; optional Apple Pro Speakers.
Keyboard and mouseMagic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and Magic Mouse in silver and black; optional matching Magic TrackpadApple Pro Keyboard, optical Apple Pro Mouse, DVI-to-VGA adapter and modem cable.
Design and power
TypeTowerTower
Weight18 kg (better)19.1 kg
Width × depth × height–227 × 468 × 432 mm
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Size and weight detailApple's UK and US sheets publish height 52.9 cm, width 45.0 cm and depth 21.8 cm for the tower with feet, but the width and depth labels appear transposed relative to the maker's front and side image. Main dimensions are omitted pending resolution. The US sheet gives 55.7 cm height with optional wheels. Weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process; rack enclosure specifications are separate.Exact maker reference weight 19.1 kg varies with configuration and manufacturing process; height 43.2, width 22.7, depth 46.8 cm. These published dimensions differ slightly from earlier G4 sheets and are retained.
Power supply1.4 kW supply; maximum continuous output 1280 W at 108–125 V or 220–240 V, and 1180 W at 100–107 V. AC input 100–125 V at 12 A or 220–240 V at 6 A; 50–60 Hz.100–125 V AC or 200–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz. Maximum current 6.5 A at low voltage or 7.5 A at high voltage; maker publishes no maximum wattage here.
NoiseRegional maker acoustic tables differ; UK reports 2.5 B sound power at idle and during wireless web, while US reports 2.7 B and 11 dB operator-position sound pressure. Both describe a 12-core configuration with 48 GB memory, Vega II graphics and a 256 GB SSD.–
MaterialsLow-carbon aluminium housing on a stainless-steel frame; BFR-, PVC- and beryllium-free–
In the boxTower, Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad, Magic Mouse, 1 m USB-C to Lightning cable and 2 m power lead. Launched with macOS Catalina; the current support sheet describes the later macOS Ventura release. Graphics options added after launch remain part of this generation, with their timing distinguished above.Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar as default startup system, plus bootable Mac OS 9.2.2; iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes and iDVD for SuperDrive. Maker August 13 release says dual 867/1 GHz available that week, so first sale uses August month precision. Actual dual-1.25 GHz shipping confirmed 18 September. January 2003 FireWire 800 models and June 2003 reissue are separate generations.

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