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Apple Power Macintosh G3 Desktop vs Apple Power Mac G5 (Late 2004)

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

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ApplePower Macintosh G3 DesktopApplePower Mac G5 (Late 2004)
Overview
ReleasedNovember 1997October 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)PowerPC G5 1800 MHz (Power Mac Late 2004)
CPU cores11
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)
Memory32 MB or 64 MB256 MB or 4 GB
Storage4 GB to 6 GB80 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.One 1.8 GHz PowerPC G5 with 512 KB L2 cache and a 600 MHz front-side bus. This is the new single-processor model; the dual-processor models also listed on the retained sheet are June 2004 carryovers.
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.Stock NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra with 64 MB DDR in AGP 8x Pro. Optional ATI Radeon 9600 XT 128 MB, Radeon 9800 XT 256 MB, NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT DDL 256 MB or 6800 Ultra DDL 256 MB. The 9800 XT and 6800 cards also occupy the adjacent PCI slot.
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.Stock 256 MB PC3200 DDR400 in matched pairs; four DIMM slots support up to 4 GB. Configuration rows keep the stock graphics and drive at base and maximum supported memory.
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 7200 rpm Serial ATA drive. Two 3.5-inch bays, each with a 150 MB/s interface. Optional 160 or 250 GB drives, including 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.Three open full-length 64-bit 33 MHz PCI slots and occupied AGP 8x Pro graphics slot; no PCI-X on this single-processor model.
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 two keyboard USB 1.1 ports. AirPort Extreme 54 Mbps and Bluetooth 1.1 are optional.
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.Stock ADC and DVI with included DVI-to-VGA adapter, supporting two displays. Optional 6800 GT/Ultra DDL cards have two dual-link DVI connectors and support two 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Displays; a second ADC display on the stock card needs an adapter.
Speakers–Built-in speaker; optical and analogue 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 kg16.4 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. Published reference weight for the single 1.8 GHz model is 16.4 kg, distinct from the carryover dual-processor models; weight varies with configuration.
Materials–Aluminium enclosure.
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.The October 2004 release includes Mac OS X Panther and iLife ’04. Apple’s retained specification sheet later lists iLife ’05; that later software listing does not change the hardware’s October 2004 first sale.

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