Apple Power Mac G4 Cube vs Apple Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2002)

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Power Mac G4 Cube compared with Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2002)
ApplePower Mac G4 CubeApplePower Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2002)
Overview
ReleasedAugust 2000August 2002
Performance
ProcessorPowerPC G4 450 MHz (Power Mac G4 Cube)2 × PowerPC G4 867 MHz (Power Mac Mirrored Drive Doors 2002), 2 × PowerPC G4 1000 MHz (Power Mac Mirrored Drive Doors 2002) or 2 × PowerPC G4 1250 MHz (Power Mac Mirrored Drive Doors 2002)
CPU cores12
GraphicsATI RAGE 128 Pro (16 MB)NVIDIA GeForce4 MX (32 MB) or ATI Radeon 9000 Pro (64 MB)
Memory64 MB, 128 MB or 1.5 GB256 MB, 512 MB or 2 GB (better)
Storage20 GB60 GB to 120 GB (better)
CPU450 MHz PowerPC G4 with Velocity Engine, 100 MHz system bus and 1 MB backside L2 cache running at 225 MHz. Apple offered a 500 MHz processor option; its complete launch memory/storage configuration is not established by the pages used, so it is described here rather than assigned an assumed configuration.Dual 867 MHz, dual 1 GHz or dual 1.25 GHz PowerPC G4 processors; each physical processor has 256 KB on-chip L2 cache. 867 MHz and 1 GHz have 1 MB DDR SRAM L3 per processor; 1.25 GHz has 2 MB. System bus 133 MHz on dual 867, 167 MHz on dual 1/1.25 GHz. CPU count describes physical processors; supplier is not inferred.
GPUATI RAGE 128 Pro with 16 MB SDRAM in a dedicated AGP 2x slot. The retained maker sheet also lists optional NVIDIA GeForce2 MX with 32 MB SDRAM and ATI Radeon with 32 MB DDR; these later options are not presented as launch stock.Dual 867 MHz: NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 32 MB DDR. Dual 1/1.25 GHz: ATI Radeon 9000 Pro 64 MB DDR. Optional NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 128 MB; independent CTO options are not expanded into unsupported stock combinations.
Memory typeOriginal launch base: 64 MB PC100 SDRAM. February 2001 CD-RW base: 128 MB. Three DIMM slots support up to 1.5 GB, using low-profile DIMMs up to 1.38 inches (35 mm). Retained maker options: 128, 256, 384, 512 and 768 MB, 1 GB and 1.5 GB.Dual 867 MHz: 256 MB PC2100 DDR SDRAM at 266 MHz. Dual 1 GHz: 256 MB PC2700 DDR at 333 MHz; dual 1.25 GHz: 512 MB PC2700. Four DIMM slots support up to 2 GB. Configurations preserve stock processor/drive/graphics ties at base and maximum memory.
Storage typeOriginal 20 GB Ultra ATA/66 hard drive and top slot-loading DVD-ROM. The 22 February 2001 available-now base has 20 GB and CD-RW. Retained options include 20/40 GB at 5400 rpm or 60 GB at 7200 rpm, CD-RW or DVD-ROM; independent processor/drive/GPU options are not expanded into unsupported combinations. One internal hard drive; external USB and FireWire storage supported.60/80/120 GB 7200 rpm Ultra ATA/100 stock drives respectively. Dual 867 MHz has Combo DVD-ROM/CD-RW (CD-R 16x); faster models SuperDrive (DVD-R 2x, CD-R 8x). Four hard-drive bays support two ATA/100 and two ATA/66 drives, or up to four SCSI drives with a separately sold PCI card. Two optical bays, one occupied; optional second Combo drive. Maker optional storage choices remain in details rather than assumed CPU cross-pairs.
Expansion slotsDedicated AGP 2x graphics slot; no PCI slots. Lift-out electronics core provides access to DIMMs and optional AirPort card.Four open full-length 64-bit 33 MHz PCI slots and dedicated AGP 4x graphics slot.
Display
ScreenNone built inNone built in
Connections
Ports2 × USB-A, Ethernet2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet0.1 Gb/s1 Gb/s (better)
External displays–Up to 2
Front ports–Headphone jack and built-in speaker.
Back portsUnderside: two 12 Mbps USB ports, two 400 Mbps FireWire ports (12 W total), 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, 56K V.90 modem, ADC and VGA. Optional 11 Mbps IEEE 802.11b AirPort card; no standard wireless networking. The headphone minijack is on the separate USB amplifier, not on the Cube chassis.Two FireWire 400, two USB chassis ports (maker four-port total includes two keyboard ports), Gigabit Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, ADC/DVI, stereo audio line-in/out and Apple Pro Speakers minijack. Optional 11 Mbps AirPort 802.11b card. Bluetooth is a separately listed adapter, not built-in. No FireWire 800 in this 2002 generation.
External displaysADC carries video, USB and power; 15-pin VGA output. Maker graphics support reaches 1920 × 1200 at millions of colours. A display is sold separately; the source does not establish simultaneous dual-display operation.Two displays in extended desktop or mirroring modes; ADC and DVI with included DVI-to-VGA adapter. Connecting two ADC displays requires a separately sold DVI-to-ADC adapter.
SpeakersBundled digital USB amplifier and Harman Kardon speakers: total 20 W, stated 80 Hz–20 kHz response. One USB cable carries power and audio; amplifier includes headphone minijack.Built-in speaker; optional Apple Pro Speakers.
Keyboard and mouseApple Pro Keyboard with two additional USB ports, optical Apple Pro Mouse, USB digital amplifier and speakers.Apple Pro Keyboard, optical Apple Pro Mouse, DVI-to-VGA adapter and modem cable.
Design and power
TypeCompactTower
Weight6.4 kg (better)19.1 kg
Width × depth × height195 × 195 × 248 mm227 × 468 × 432 mm
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Size and weight detailMaker reference weight approximately 6.4 kg varies by configuration and manufacturing process. Published height 24.8 cm, width/depth 19.5 cm. Separate external power adapter.Exact maker reference weight 19.1 kg varies with configuration and manufacturing process; height 43.2, width 22.7, depth 46.8 cm. These published dimensions differ slightly from earlier G4 sheets and are retained.
Power supplyExternal power supply; maker maximum continuous power 205 W. 115 V AC (90–132 V) or 230 V AC (180–264 V), 47–63 Hz.100–125 V AC or 200–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz. Maximum current 6.5 A at low voltage or 7.5 A at high voltage; maker publishes no maximum wattage here.
NoiseFanless vertical cooling channel; no fan added to this original factory specification.–
In the boxOriginal launch includes iMovie 2. Maker July 2000 announcement promised early August availability; Macworld’s later history confirms shipping a month after the July launch, so first sale uses August 2000 with no claimed first day. February 2001 CD-RW configuration is labelled in the storage and memory details.Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar as default startup system, plus bootable Mac OS 9.2.2; iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes and iDVD for SuperDrive. Maker August 13 release says dual 867/1 GHz available that week, so first sale uses August month precision. Actual dual-1.25 GHz shipping confirmed 18 September. January 2003 FireWire 800 models and June 2003 reissue are separate generations.

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