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Apple Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White) vs Apple Power Mac G5 (June 2004)

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

Better figure, where one is clearly better

ApplePower Macintosh G3 (Blue and White)ApplePower Mac G5 (June 2004)
Overview
ReleasedJanuary 1999June 2004
Performance
ProcessorPowerPC G3 300 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Blue and White), PowerPC G3 350 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Blue and White), PowerPC G3 400 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Blue and White) or PowerPC G3 450 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Blue and White)2 × PowerPC G5 1800 MHz (Power Mac June 2004), 2 × PowerPC G5 2000 MHz (Power Mac June 2004) or 2 × PowerPC G5 2500 MHz (Power Mac June 2004)
CPU cores12
GraphicsATI RAGE 128 (16 MB SDRAM)NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64 MB) or ATI Radeon 9600 XT (128 MB)
Memory64 MB or 128 MB256 MB, 512 MB, 4 GB or 8 GB
Storage6 GB to 12 GB80 GB to 160 GB
CPUOriginal 300, 350 and 400 MHz PowerPC G3 range; later 350, 400 and 450 MHz. The 300 MHz has 512 KB backside L2 cache; faster models have 1 MB, all at half processor clock. 100 MHz system bus, integrated FPU, 32 KB each instruction/data L1 cache. Manufacturer supplier is not assigned without exact fitted-chip evidence.Two physical PowerPC G5 processors at 1.8, 2 or 2.5 GHz, each with 512 KB L2 cache. Per-processor front-side bus is 900 MHz, 1 GHz or 1.25 GHz respectively. Only the dual 2.5 GHz uses the maker’s liquid-cooling system.
GPUATI RAGE 128 GL PCI card with 16 MB SDRAM, installed in the dedicated 66 MHz PCI slot. Supports QuickDraw 3D RAVE and OpenGL; DVD configurations add a hardware MPEG-2 decoder module.Dual 1.8 and 2 GHz: NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra with 64 MB DDR. Dual 2.5 GHz: ATI Radeon 9600 XT with 128 MB DDR. Optional ATI Radeon 9800 XT with 256 MB occupies the adjacent PCI slot as well as AGP.
Memory typeFour 168-pin 3.3 V unbuffered PC100 SDRAM slots; maker maximum 1 GB. Factory memory of 64 or 128 MB stays tied to each configuration.DDR400 PC3200 in matched pairs. Dual 1.8 GHz starts with 256 MB and has four DIMM slots with a 4 GB maximum. Dual 2 and 2.5 GHz start with 512 MB and have eight slots with an 8 GB maximum. Base and maximum memory rows retain each model’s stock storage and graphics.
Storage typeApple’s Japanese model list separates original factory pairs: 300 MHz/64 MB/6 GB ATA/CD (M6670); 350 MHz/64 MB/6 GB ATA/DVD (M6668); 350 MHz/128 MB/12 GB ATA/CD/Zip (M6666); 400 MHz/128 MB/9 GB Ultra2 Wide SCSI/CD (M6665). Later pairs: 350 MHz/64 MB/6 GB ATA/CD (M7556); 400 MHz/64 MB/6 GB ATA/DVD (M7555); 400 MHz/128 MB/12 GB ATA/CD/Zip (M7554); 450 MHz/128 MB/9 GB Ultra2 Wide SCSI/CD (M7553). Service Source distinguishes original 24x or 32x CD drives; current revised sheet gives 32x CD and 5x DVD. Optional BTO combinations are not multiplied into unverified configurations.Stock 80 GB on dual 1.8 GHz and 160 GB on dual 2/2.5 GHz; 7200 rpm Serial ATA. Two bays with 150 MB/s interfaces; optional 80, 160 or 250 GB drives, up to two 250 GB drives. One optical bay with 8x DVD-R SuperDrive; Combo drive is optional.
Expansion slotsFour PCI slots: three 64-bit 33 MHz slots and one 32-bit 66 MHz slot occupied by graphics. Two extra internal hard-drive expansion bays; SCSI configurations use a PCI controller card.AGP 8x Pro graphics slot. Dual 1.8 GHz has three 64-bit 33 MHz PCI slots. Dual 2 and 2.5 GHz have PCI-X: two 100 MHz and one 133 MHz slots.
Display
ScreenNone built inNone built in
Connections
Ports2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet0.1 Gb/s1 Gb/s
External displays–Up to 2
Front ports–USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and headphone minijack.
Back portsTwo 12 Mbps USB ports, two FireWire 400 ports, one ADB port, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, VGA and stereo audio input/output. Optional 56K modem is separate. Keyboard’s two USB ports excluded from chassis count. Current maker table corrects the developer note: ADB total current maximum is 500 mA, not 100 mA.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 keyboard USB 1.1 ports. Optional 54 Mbps AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 1.1.
External displaysGraphics supports up to 1600 × 1200 at 32 bits per pixel for 2D; 3D maximum is 1600 × 1200 with thousands of colours or 1280 × 1024 with millions.ADC and DVI with included DVI-to-VGA adapter; two displays in extended or mirrored modes. A second ADC display requires a separate adapter.
SpeakersOne built-in speaker; 16-bit stereo input/output at up to 44.1 kHz.Built-in speaker; analogue and optical connections for external audio.
Keyboard and mouseApple USB Keyboard and Apple USB Mouse; Macintosh-to-VGA display adapter.Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse, USB extension cable, DVI-to-VGA adapter, modem cable and AirPort antenna.
Design and power
TypeTowerTower
Weight13 kg20.2 kg
Width × depth × height226 × 467 × 432 mm206 × 475 × 511 mm
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Size and weight detailMaker centimetre figures converted directly to millimetres. Published 13.0 kg example includes CD-ROM, Zip and an ATA hard drive; fitted devices change weight.Maker height 51.1 cm, width 20.6 cm, depth 47.5 cm; reference weight 20.2 kg varies with configuration.
Materials–Aluminium enclosure with separate cooling zones.
Power supply200 W maximum continuous, excluding display; 115 V AC (90–132 V) or 230 V AC (180–264 V), 47–63 Hz.–
In the boxMac OS 8.5.1 originally; later stock has Mac OS 8.6. Apple’s 5 January 1999 release says the new range arrives on the market; contemporary January demonstration coverage says Apple is now shipping. Month precision retained, no inferred exact first-delivery day. Server G3 bundled configurations are excluded.Mac OS X Panther and iLife. The 1.8 and 2 GHz models were available on 9 June 2004. Apple initially stated July availability for the 2.5 GHz model, later than the generation’s first sale.

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