Apple Power Macintosh G3 All-In-One vs Apple Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2003)

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Power Macintosh G3 All-In-One compared with Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2003)

	ApplePower Macintosh G3 All-In-One	ApplePower Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2003)
Overview
Released
Released	–	June 2003
Performance
Processor
Processor	PowerPC G3 233 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Desktop) or PowerPC G3 266 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Desktop)	PowerPC G4 1250 MHz (Power Mac MDD 2003) or 2 × PowerPC G4 1250 MHz (Power Mac MDD 2003)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	1 or 2
Graphics
Graphics	Built-in graphics accelerator (2 MB SGRAM; revision unpublished)	ATI Radeon 9000 Pro (64 MB)
Memory
Memory	32 MB	256 MB or 2 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	4 GB	80 GB (better)
CPU
CPU	233 or 266 MHz PowerPC G3 with 512 KB backside L2 cache at 117 or 133 MHz, a 66 MHz system bus and 64 KB L1 cache split equally between data and instructions. Supplier is not assigned without exact maker evidence.	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.
GPU
GPU	Built-in 2D/3D graphics accelerator with 2 MB SGRAM, expandable to 6 MB using the maker-supported 4 MB SGRAM module. Exact graphics-chip revision is unpublished in the read maker datasheet, so later RAGE Pro revisions are not assumed for every unit.	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 type
Memory type	32 MB SDRAM standard, up to 384 MB across three 168-pin DIMM slots. Apple Service Source specifies 3.3 V, 64-bit, 10 ns unbuffered SDRAM. Its prose about 64 MB DIMMs conflicts with its 384 MB/three 128 MB DIMM maximum; the explicit published maximum is retained. Factory BTO memory options included 64 or 96 MB.	Stock 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 type
Storage type	Both published 233 and 266 MHz base configurations have a 4 GB IDE disk, 24× maximum CD-ROM and 1.44 MB floppy drive. A 6 GB disk and 100 MB SCSI Zip drive were optional. Service Source also mentions a 2 GB disk in one table, unlike the exact base configuration datasheet; that unsupported base pairing is not assumed.	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 slots
Expansion slots	Three 7-inch PCI 2.1 slots with Macintosh drivers required; three memory slots and a PERCH I/O-card slot. Optional modem fits the I/O card. The chassis has a slide-out logic-board tray. PCI card power restrictions are three 15 W cards, two 25 W cards, or one 15 W and one 25 W card.	Four PCI slots and an occupied AGP 4x graphics slot.
Display
Screen size
Screen size	15″	None built in
Resolution
Resolution	1024 × 768	–
Panel
Panel	CRT	–
Display type
Display type	15-inch multiple-scan colour CRT with 13.8-inch viewable diagonal and 0.28 mm dot pitch; tilt and swivel. The supported 1024 × 768 mode is analogue, not a fixed pixel matrix. Maker advertises refresh up to 85 Hz without assigning that maximum to the highest resolution, so headline refresh is omitted. Service Source specifies 16-bit colour at 1024 × 768; the datasheet uses inconsistent colour-depth labels.	–
Connections
Ports
Ports	Ethernet, 3 × headphone jack	2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	0.01 Gb/s	1 Gb/s (better)
Front ports
Front ports	–	Headphone connection and built-in mono speaker.
Back ports
Back ports	10BASE-T Ethernet, one ADB, one external DB-25 SCSI, two GeoPort-compatible serial ports, rear stereo audio input/output and DB-15 monitor connector. Three headphone-compatible audio outputs total: two at the front and one at the rear. No built-in USB, FireWire or AirPort support. The optional Fast Ethernet PCI card does not change the standard network figure.	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 displays
External displays	DB-15 external monitor connector documented by the exact datasheet and rear service diagram; the current support summary instead labels video as none. Display mirroring is described by the contemporary Washington Apple Pi test, not an assumed extended desktop.	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.
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in stereo speakers; 16-bit stereo audio input/output at 22.05 or 44.1 kHz	Built-in mono speaker and connection for Apple Pro Speakers; no built-in microphone.
Microphones
Microphones	Built-in microphone	–
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	AppleDesign Keyboard and ADB Mouse II	Black Apple Pro input devices and DVI-to-VGA adapter.
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	Tower
Weight
Weight	26.8 kg	19.1 kg (better)
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	409 × 457 × 505 mm	226 × 467 × 432 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	Headline dimensions and 26.8 kg weight follow the exact May 1998 maker datasheet. Apple Service Source gives 498 × 402 × 450 mm and 27 kg with inconsistent inch conversions; the current support summary gives 19.92 × 16.08 × 18 inches and 59.5 lb. Weight varies with installed devices.	Maker 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 supply
Power supply	Automatically configured 90–264 V AC, 50–60 Hz, single phase	–
Power use
Power use	Maximum continuous electrical input 300 W; Service Source separately lists 200 W peak output, which is not acoustic output	–
In the box
In the box	Mac OS 8.1 in the contemporary datasheet and Service Source; the current archived support summary instead gives original system software 8.0. The model was offered for the education market. Apple support labels introduction as 3 April 1998; the dated May 1998 datasheet describes currently available configurations and BTO ordering from 6 May. An exact first retail delivery date is not established, so released is omitted rather than substituting introduction or BTO dates. The 266 MHz base variant adds audio/video I/O plus Avid Cinema and QuickTime 3 Pro; the 233 MHz base is audio I/O only. Optional AV hardware supports composite and S-video inputs/outputs with mode restrictions in Service Source.	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.