Apple Power Mac G4 (AGP Graphics) vs Apple Power Mac G5 (June 2004)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| ApplePower Mac G4 (AGP Graphics) | ApplePower Mac G5 (June 2004) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | 1999 | June 2004 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | PowerPC G4 350 MHz (Power Mac AGP Graphics), PowerPC G4 400 MHz (Power Mac AGP Graphics), PowerPC G4 450 MHz (Power Mac AGP Graphics) or PowerPC G4 500 MHz (Power Mac AGP Graphics) | 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 cores | 1 | 2 |
| Graphics | ATI RAGE 128 Pro (16 MB) or ATI RAGE 128 (16 MB) | NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64 MB) or ATI Radeon 9600 XT (128 MB) |
| Memory | 64 MB, 128 MB, 256 MB or 1.5 GB | 256 MB, 512 MB, 4 GB or 8 GB (better) |
| Storage | 10 GB to 27 GB | 80 GB to 160 GB (better) |
| CPU | Single 350, 400, 450 or 500 MHz PowerPC G4 with 1 MB backside L2 cache at half processor speed and 100 MHz system bus. Unknown silicon supplier omitted. Original 500 MHz announcement never shipped; only the actual February 2000 option is represented. | 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. |
| GPU | 16 MB ATI RAGE 128 AGP 2x originally, changed to RAGE 128 Pro in December 1999 (EveryMac). Pro adds DVI and supports up to 1920 × 1200, versus original VGA up to 1600 × 1200. | 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 type | Four PC100 DIMM slots, maker-supported maximum 1.5 GB. Base memory varies with dated factory configuration; higher unofficial capacities 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 type | Dated stock changes (EveryMac): original 450 MHz 128 MB/20 GB/DVD-ROM; October 400 MHz 128 MB/20 GB/DVD-ROM and 450 MHz 256 MB/27 GB/DVD-RAM. December adds 350 MHz 64 MB/10 GB/DVD-ROM and replaces graphics with Pro. February 2000 maker confirms 400 MHz 64 MB/10 GB/DVD-ROM, 450 MHz 128 MB/20 GB/DVD-ROM and 500 MHz 256 MB/27 GB/DVD-RAM. Zip included on original 450, October 400/450, and February 450/500; identical optical-only variants are kept in details. No unproven SCSI/drive cross-combinations. | 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 slots | Three open full-length 64-bit 33 MHz PCI slots and one AGP 2x slot used by graphics. | 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 | ||
| Screen | None built in | None built in |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 2 × USB-A, Ethernet | 3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack |
| Ethernet | 0.1 Gb/s | 1 Gb/s (better) |
| External displays | – | Up to 2 |
| Front ports | – | USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and headphone minijack. |
| Back ports | Two independent 12 Mbps USB ports; two external FireWire 400 ports and one internal connector; VGA, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, analog audio input/output and optional 11 Mbps AirPort card. 56K modem is standard except the top February 500 MHz configuration where it is optional. Keyboard USB excluded. | 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 displays | – | 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; analog audio input and output. | Built-in speaker; analogue and optical connections for external audio. |
| Keyboard and mouse | Apple USB Keyboard and Apple USB Mouse. | Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse, USB extension cable, DVI-to-VGA adapter, modem cable and AirPort antenna. |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | Tower | Tower |
| Weight | 13.6 kg (better) | 20.2 kg |
| Width × depth × height | 226 × 467 × 432 mm | 206 × 475 × 511 mm |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Size and weight detail | Exact Japanese maker sheet publishes 43.2 cm height, 22.6 cm width, 46.7 cm depth and 13.6 kg weight; configuration-dependent. | 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 supply | Maximum continuous power 200 W. | – |
| In the box | Mac OS 8.6 originally. September 1999 introduction and a few original 450 MHz channel shipments are documented by Apple-History, but the first shipping month is not established; release stays at year precision. February 2000 maker release confirms immediate availability of the revised range. | 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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