Request a product

Apple Power Macintosh G3 Desktop 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 DesktopApplePower Mac G5 (June 2004)
Overview
ReleasedNovember 1997June 2004
Performance
ProcessorPowerPC G3 233 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Desktop), PowerPC G3 266 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Desktop) or PowerPC G3 300 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Desktop)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 3D RAGE II+ (2 MB), ATI 3D RAGE II+, RAGE Pro or RAGE Pro Turbo (2 MB; dated factory revisions) or ATI 3D RAGE Pro Turbo (2 MB)NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64 MB) or ATI Radeon 9600 XT (128 MB)
Memory32 MB or 64 MB256 MB, 512 MB, 4 GB or 8 GB
Storage4 GB to 6 GB80 GB to 160 GB
CPU233 or 266 MHz PowerPC G3 at launch, with 512 KB backside L2 cache at 117 or 133 MHz. The later 300 MHz option has 1 MB at 150 MHz; all use a 66 MHz system bus and 32 KB each instruction/data L1 cache. Apple names IBM/Motorola as G3 suppliers but does not identify each fitted processor supplier.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.
GPUOriginal ATI 3D RAGE II+ with 2 MB SGRAM, expandable to 6 MB. Apple Service Source distinguishes later RAGE Pro logic boards. EveryMac identifies May 1998 RAGE Pro and August 1998 RAGE Pro Turbo revisions; dated 300 MHz stock graphics are described explicitly rather than assigned to all models.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 typeThree 168-pin 3.3 V unbuffered SDRAM DIMM slots. Original support table gives 192 MB maximum; later Apple Service Source specifies 384 MB with DIMMs no taller than 1.15 inches (192 MB with 1.25-inch DIMMs). Unofficial 768 MB upgrades are excluded.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 typeLaunch factory pairs: M6141LL/A 233 MHz/32 MB/4 GB IDE/CD-ROM; M6202LL/A 266 MHz/32 MB/4 GB IDE/CD-ROM/100 MB Zip. Later 300 MHz/32 or 64 MB/6 GB/24x CD-ROM/Zip pairs are from EveryMac’s exact Desktop record; precise graphics revisions vary. Maker BTO options include 4 or 9 GB Ultra Wide SCSI, 2x DVD-ROM, Zip, faster Ethernet and FireWire cards; unproven cross-combinations are omitted. Internal SuperDrive accepts 1.44 MB and 800 KB floppy disks.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 slotsThree PCI slots, plus a PERCH audio or audio/video I/O card slot; optional modem attaches to the I/O card. Desktop has one or two free 3.5-inch storage bays depending on the Zip configuration.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
PortsEthernet, headphone jack3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet0.01 Gb/s1 Gb/s
External displays–Up to 2
Front ports–USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and headphone minijack.
Back portsOne DB-15 monitor connector, one DB-25 external SCSI connector, two DMA serial ports compatible with LocalTalk/GeoPort, one ADB connector, 10BASE-T Ethernet and stereo audio input/output. Optional expansion cards do not count as standard ports.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 displaysBuilt-in monitor port supports resolutions up to 1600 × 1200; available colour depths depend on graphics memory. Optional separate graphics card supports a second monitor.ADC and DVI with included DVI-to-VGA adapter; two displays in extended or mirrored modes. A second ADC display requires a separate adapter.
Speakers–Built-in speaker; analogue and optical connections for external audio.
Keyboard and mouseAppleDesign Keyboard, ADB Mouse II and Apple PlainTalk microphone (Service Source).Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse, USB extension cable, DVI-to-VGA adapter, modem cable and AirPort antenna.
Design and power
TypeCompactTower
Weight9.979 kg20.2 kg
Width × depth × height365.76 × 429.26 × 160.02 mm206 × 475 × 511 mm
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Size and weight detailCurrent maker support table gives 6.3 inches height, 14.4 inches width, 16.9 inches depth and 22 lb; main fields are direct unit conversions. Older Service Source differs at 15.6 × 36.5 × 43.0 cm and 9.97 kg. Weight varies with fitted devices.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 supply230 W maximum continuous and 290 W peak input (Service Source). Voltage-selector settings cover 100–130 V or 200–240 V AC; 50–60 Hz.–
In the boxMac OS 8.0 originally; revised logic board requires Mac OS 8.1 and System Enabler 777. November 1997 month is supported by Apple’s November release confirming immediate G3 availability and the opened Apple Store notice describing actual sales. No exact first-delivery day is established.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.

More comparisons