Apple Power Mac G4 (Digital Audio) vs Apple Power Mac G5 (Early 2005)

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

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

Power Mac G4 (Digital Audio) compared with Power Mac G5 (Early 2005)

	ApplePower Mac G4 (Digital Audio)	ApplePower Mac G5 (Early 2005)
Overview
Released
Released	January 2001	April 2005
Performance
Processor
Processor	PowerPC G4 466 MHz (Power Mac Digital Audio), PowerPC G4 533 MHz (Power Mac Digital Audio), 2 × PowerPC G4 533 MHz (Power Mac Digital Audio), PowerPC G4 667 MHz (Power Mac Digital Audio) or PowerPC G4 733 MHz (Power Mac Digital Audio)	2 × PowerPC G5 2000 MHz (Power Mac Early 2005), 2 × PowerPC G5 2300 MHz (Power Mac Early 2005) or 2 × PowerPC G5 2700 MHz (Power Mac Early 2005)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1 or 2	2
Graphics
Graphics	ATI RAGE 128 Pro (16 MB) or NVIDIA GeForce2 MX (32 MB)	ATI Radeon 9600 (128 MB) or ATI Radeon 9650 (256 MB)
Memory
Memory	128 MB, 256 MB or 1.5 GB	512 MB, 4 GB or 8 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	30 GB to 60 GB	160 GB to 250 GB (better)
CPU
CPU	466/533 MHz single or dual 533 MHz G4: 1 MB backside L2 cache at half processor speed. 667/733 MHz: 256 KB on-chip L2 and 1 MB backside L3; retained 733 sheet specifies quarter-speed L3, whereas launch prose loosely says half-speed. 133 MHz system bus. Generic per-processor chip records do not infer silicon identity.	Two physical PowerPC G5 processors at 2, 2.3 or 2.7 GHz, each with 512 KB L2 cache and no L3 cache. Front-side bus per processor is 1, 1.15 or 1.35 GHz. The dual 2.7 GHz model uses liquid cooling.
GPU
GPU	Stock 466 MHz: ATI RAGE 128 Pro 16 MB; stock 533/667/733 MHz: NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 32 MB. Retained options include ATI Radeon 32 MB and GeForce3 64 MB; these are not silently treated as launch stock.	Dual 2 and 2.3 GHz: ATI Radeon 9600 with 128 MB DDR and two single-link DVI outputs. Dual 2.7 GHz: ATI Radeon 9650 with 256 MB GDDR3, one single-link and one dual-link DVI output. Optional NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL with 256 MB has two dual-link DVI outputs and occupies the adjacent PCI slot.
Memory type
Memory type	128 MB standard on 466/533 MHz; 256 MB on 667/733 MHz. Three PC133 SDRAM DIMM slots support up to 1.5 GB; base and maximum memory retain evidenced processor/drive/graphics ties.	Stock 512 MB PC3200 DDR400, installed in matched pairs. Dual 2 GHz has four DIMM slots and a 4 GB maximum. Dual 2.3 and 2.7 GHz have eight slots and an 8 GB maximum. Configuration rows keep the stock drives and graphics at base and maximum memory.
Storage type
Storage type	Stock 466 MHz: 30 GB 5400 rpm; 533 MHz: 40 GB 7200 rpm; 667/733 MHz: 60 GB 7200 rpm Ultra ATA/66. CD-RW 8x/4x/32x on lower configurations; 733 MHz SuperDrive writes DVD-R 2x and CD-R 8x. Current retained sheet additionally lists a 733 MHz CD-RW factory variant and omits launch 667 MHz; both distinctions retained here. Macs Only tested a maker-store dual 533 MHz with a named 30 GB downgrade from standard 40 GB; only these restricted dual configurations are included. Three drive bays; optional SCSI and independent CTO options remain in details.	Stock 160 GB on dual 2 GHz and 250 GB on dual 2.3/2.7 GHz, all 7200 rpm Serial ATA. Two internal drive bays; optional 250 or 400 GB drives, including two 400 GB drives. One optical bay with 16x SuperDrive supporting DVD±R and up to 4x dual-layer DVD+R recording.
Expansion slots
Expansion slots	Four full-length 64-bit 33 MHz PCI slots plus dedicated AGP 4x graphics slot.	AGP 8x Pro graphics slot. Dual 2 GHz has three 64-bit 33 MHz PCI slots. Dual 2.3 and 2.7 GHz have PCI-X: two 100 MHz slots and one 133 MHz slot.
Display
Screen
Screen	None built in	None built in
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack	3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s	1 Gb/s
External displays
External displays	–	Up to 2
Front ports
Front ports	–	USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and headphone minijack.
Back ports
Back ports	Two FireWire 400 and two 12 Mbps USB chassis ports; Gigabit Ethernet, 56K V.90 modem, ADC and VGA; optional 11 Mbps AirPort card. Headphone jack and Apple Pro Speakers minijack; no analog audio-input jack. Keyboard USB ports excluded.	Two USB 2.0, FireWire 800, FireWire 400, Gigabit Ethernet, optical S/PDIF input/output and analogue audio line-in/out. Three chassis USB ports in total, plus keyboard USB 1.1 ports. AirPort Extreme, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR and a V.92 modem are optional.
External displays
External displays	ADC and VGA; maker graphics support up to 1920 × 1200. No assumption of simultaneous extended desktop for standard cards.	Two displays in extended desktop or mirrored modes. Radeon 9600 supports two displays up to 1920 × 1200; Radeon 9650 supports one 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Display via dual-link DVI. Optional 6800 Ultra DDL supports two 30-inch displays. DVI-to-VGA adapter included.
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in speaker; optional Apple Pro Speakers use a dedicated amplified connection.	Built-in speaker; analogue and optical audio connections.
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Apple Pro Keyboard and optical Apple Pro Mouse.	Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse, USB extension cable and DVI-to-VGA adapter.
Design and power
Type
Type	Tower	Tower
Weight
Weight	13.6 kg (better)	20.2 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	226 × 467 × 432 mm	–
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	Maker reference weight 13.6 kg; height 43.2, width 22.6, depth 46.7 cm. Weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.	The exact maker sheet labels height as 47.5 cm, width 20.6 cm and depth 51.1 cm. Earlier G5 sheets label height/depth in the opposite order; main dimensions are omitted because those published axes conflict. Maker reference weight is 20.2 kg and varies with configuration.
Power supply
Power supply	Maximum continuous power 338 W.	450 W on dual 2/2.3 GHz; 600 W on dual 2.7 GHz, as stated by the maker.
Materials
Materials	–	Aluminium enclosure.
In the box
In the box	Mac OS 9.1 in reviewed shipment; iMovie 2 and downloadable iTunes/Disc Burner. Maker confirms 466/533 MHz immediately available on 9 January, 667/733 MHz expected February, and actual 733 MHz SuperDrive shipments on 19 February 2001. Later options are not a new generation.	Mac OS X Tiger and iLife ’05. Apple’s 27 April 2005 launch says these models are available “this week”; first sale is kept at April precision rather than treating the announcement as a confirmed delivery day. The older single 1.8 GHz model retained in the launch range is represented separately as Late 2004.