Apple Mac Pro (2019) vs Apple Power Mac G4 (QuickSilver 2002)

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Mac Pro (2019) compared with Power Mac G4 (QuickSilver 2002)

	AppleMac Pro (2019)	ApplePower Mac G4 (QuickSilver 2002)
Overview
Released
Released	December 2019	January 2002
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Xeon W-3223, Intel Xeon W-3235, Intel Xeon W-3245, Intel Xeon W-3265M or Intel Xeon W-3275M	PowerPC G4 800 MHz (Power Mac QuickSilver 2002), PowerPC G4 933 MHz (Power Mac QuickSilver 2002) or 2 × PowerPC G4 1000 MHz (Power Mac QuickSilver 2002)
CPU cores
CPU cores	8, 12, 16, 24 or 28	1 or 2
CPU threads
CPU threads	16, 24, 32, 48 or 56	–
Graphics
Graphics	AMD 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)	ATI Radeon 7500 (32 MB) or NVIDIA GeForce4 MX (64 MB)
Memory
Memory	32 GB, 48 GB, 96 GB, 192 GB, 384 GB, 768 GB or 1536 GB (better)	256 MB, 512 MB or 1.5 GB
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 8 TB (better)	40 GB to 80 GB
CPU
CPU	Intel 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.	Single 800/933 MHz or dual 1 GHz PowerPC G4. Each processor has 256 KB on-chip L2 cache; 800 MHz has no L3, while 933 MHz and dual 1 GHz have 2 MB DDR L3 per processor. 133 MHz system bus. Supplier omitted from generic per-processor records.
GPU
GPU	One 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.	800 MHz: ATI Radeon 7500 32 MB DDR; 933 MHz and dual 1 GHz: NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 64 MB DDR. Retained maker options include GeForce4 Ti 128 MB with ADC/DVI; that later option is not launch stock or an unproven configuration cross-product.
Memory type
Memory type	Twelve 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.	256 MB PC133 SDRAM on single-processor models, 512 MB on dual 1 GHz. Three DIMM slots support up to 1.5 GB; configurations retain stock processor/storage/graphics ties at base and maximum memory.
Storage type
Storage type	T2-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.	800 MHz: 40 GB; 933 MHz: 60 GB; dual 1 GHz: 80 GB, all 7200 rpm Ultra ATA/66. Entry model has CD-RW (24x/10x/32x in current maker sheet), higher models SuperDrive (DVD-R 2x, CD-R 8x). Optional Combo drive, Zip 250 and 36/72 GB SCSI choices remain detailed rather than unproven CPU combinations. Three hard-drive bays, supporting two ATA or three SCSI drives.
Expansion slots
Expansion slots	Eight 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 plus dedicated AGP 4x graphics slot.
Display
Screen
Screen	None built in	None built in
Connections
Ports
Ports	4 × Thunderbolt 3, 2 × USB-A, 2 × Ethernet, headphone jack	2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	10 Gb/s (better)	1 Gb/s
External displays
External displays	–	Up to 2
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11ac	–
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.0	–
Front ports
Front ports	Two 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 support	–
Back ports
Back ports	Apple 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 USB chassis ports at 12 Mbps; the maker’s four-port total includes two on the keyboard. Two FireWire 400, Gigabit Ethernet, 56K V.90 modem, headphone/line-out minijack and Apple Pro Speakers minijack. Optional 11 Mbps AirPort 802.11b card, no built-in wireless or analog audio-input jack.
External displays
External displays	Display 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.	Extended desktop or mirroring on two displays. Standard Radeon 7500/GeForce4 MX cards provide ADC and VGA; optional GeForce4 Ti provides ADC and DVI. A second ADC display requires a separately sold adapter. Supported resolutions depend on the card.
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in speaker; 3.5 mm headphone jack supports a headset	Built-in speaker; optional Apple Pro Speakers.
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and Magic Mouse in silver and black; optional matching Magic Trackpad	Apple Pro Keyboard, optical Apple Pro Mouse and modem cable.
Design and power
Type
Type	Tower	Tower
Weight
Weight	18 kg	13.6 kg (better)
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	–	226 × 467 × 432 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	Apple'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.	Maker reference weight 13.6 kg varies with configuration and manufacturing process; height 43.2, width 22.6, depth 46.7 cm.
Power supply
Power supply	1.4 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.	Maximum continuous power 360 W.
Noise
Noise	Regional 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.	–
Materials
Materials	Low-carbon aluminium housing on a stainless-steel frame; BFR-, PVC- and beryllium-free	–
In the box
In the box	Tower, 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 10.1 as default startup system, with Mac OS 9.2; iTunes 2, iMovie 2 and iDVD 2 for SuperDrive. Apple confirms all three stock configurations immediately available on 28 January 2002.