Apple Power Mac G4 Cube vs Apple Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2002)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| ApplePower Mac G4 Cube | ApplePower Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2002) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | August 2000 | August 2002 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | PowerPC 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 cores | 1 | 2 |
| Graphics | ATI RAGE 128 Pro (16 MB) | NVIDIA GeForce4 MX (32 MB) or ATI Radeon 9000 Pro (64 MB) |
| Memory | 64 MB, 128 MB or 1.5 GB | 256 MB, 512 MB or 2 GB (better) |
| Storage | 20 GB | 60 GB to 120 GB (better) |
| CPU | 450 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. |
| GPU | ATI 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 type | Original 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 type | Original 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 slots | Dedicated 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 | ||
| Screen | None built in | None built in |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 2 × USB-A, Ethernet | 2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack |
| Ethernet | 0.1 Gb/s | 1 Gb/s (better) |
| External displays | – | Up to 2 |
| Front ports | – | Headphone jack and built-in speaker. |
| Back ports | Underside: 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 displays | ADC 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. |
| Speakers | Bundled 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 mouse | Apple 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 | ||
| Type | Compact | Tower |
| Weight | 6.4 kg (better) | 19.1 kg |
| Width × depth × height | 195 × 195 × 248 mm | 227 × 468 × 432 mm |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Size and weight detail | Maker 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 supply | External 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. |
| Noise | Fanless vertical cooling channel; no fan added to this original factory specification. | – |
| In the box | Original 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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