Apple Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2003) vs Apple Power Macintosh 8500/180

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 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2003) compared with Power Macintosh 8500/180

	ApplePower Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2003)	ApplePower Macintosh 8500/180
Overview
Released
Released	June 2003	1996
Performance
Processor
Processor	PowerPC G4 1250 MHz (Power Mac MDD 2003) or 2 × PowerPC G4 1250 MHz (Power Mac MDD 2003)	PowerPC 604e 180 MHz (Power Macintosh 8500/180)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1 or 2	1
Graphics
Graphics	ATI Radeon 9000 Pro (64 MB)	–
Memory
Memory	256 MB or 2 GB (better)	32 MB
Storage
Storage	80 GB (better)	2 GB
CPU
CPU	Stock single 1.25 GHz PowerPC G4 with 256 KB L2 cache and 1 MB L3 cache. Contemporary Macworld reporting of Apple Store configurations also documents dual 1.25 GHz processors, each with 2 MB L3; this custom build is labelled in configuration details rather than presented as a second stock base.	180 MHz PowerPC 604e with integrated floating-point unit, 64 KB L1 cache and 256 KB L2 cache
GPU
GPU	Stock ATI Radeon 9000 Pro with 64 MB DDR in an AGP 4x slot. Macworld also documents a custom dual-processor build with NVIDIA GeForce4 Titanium; that build has other upgrades and is not treated as a freely interchangeable stock configuration.	Built-in video with 2 MB VRAM, expandable to 4 MB; standard VRAM supports 1024 × 768 at 16-bit colour and 1280 × 1024 at 8-bit colour. Video mirroring requires 4 MB.
Memory type
Memory type	Stock 256 MB PC2700 DDR333; four DIMM slots, maximum 2 GB. The single-processor configurations retain the stock drive and graphics at base and maximum memory. The documented dual-processor custom base has 256 MB.	Apple's Japanese product configuration has 32 MB standard; the technical section lists 16 MB or 32 MB, expandable to 512 MB using eight 168-pin DIMM slots
Storage type
Storage type	Stock 80 GB 7200 rpm Ultra ATA/100 hard drive; up to four internal drives. Tray-loading Combo drive reads DVD at 8x and CD at 32x, writes CD-R at 16x and CD-RW at 10x. Macworld documents a dual 1.25 GHz custom base with 80 GB, Combo drive and Radeon 9000 Pro, and a separate upgraded build with 2 GB RAM, two 160 GB drives, SuperDrive and GeForce4 Titanium. The two-drive build is described here without flattening its drives into a single capacity.	2 GB internal SCSI hard drive, 1.44 MB floppy drive and 8× CD-ROM drive in Apple's Japanese product configuration
Expansion slots
Expansion slots	Four PCI slots and an occupied AGP 4x graphics slot.	Three PCI slots and another internal storage bay
Display
Screen
Screen	None built in	None built in
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack	Ethernet
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s	–
Front ports
Front ports	Headphone connection and built-in mono speaker.	–
Back ports
Back ports	Two USB 1.1, two FireWire 400, Gigabit Ethernet with Auto-MDIX, ADC and DVI display connectors, audio line-in/out and Apple Pro Speakers connection. The maker lists a V.92 modem. Optional original AirPort; the contemporary Apple-spokesman report confirms no AirPort Extreme, internal Bluetooth or FireWire 800.	DB-15 monitor, Apple Desktop Bus, external DB-25 SCSI, two serial ports, AAUI and 10BASE-T Ethernet, stereo audio input and output, RCA audio input and output, S-video and composite video input and output
External displays
External displays	ADC and DVI connectors with included DVI-to-VGA adapter. Digital resolution up to 1920 × 1200; analogue up to 1600 × 1200. The exact sheet does not publish a simultaneous display count.	Built-in video supports one external monitor at up to 1280 × 1024 pixels; colour depth depends on fitted VRAM
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in mono speaker and connection for Apple Pro Speakers; no built-in microphone.	–
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Black Apple Pro input devices and DVI-to-VGA adapter.	–
Design and power
Type
Type	Tower	Tower
Weight
Weight	19.1 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 dimensions: height 43.2 cm, width 22.6 cm, depth 46.7 cm; weight 19.1 kg. These published metric values differ slightly from the FW800 sheet.	Apple's English technical sheet lists 14 × 7.7 × 15.75 inches and 25 lb
In the box
In the box	Mac OS X 10.2.4 and bootable Mac OS 9.2.2, install/restore DVD and Apple Hardware Test. First sale uses the 23 June 2003 Macworld report that these models were for sale at Apple’s online store; a 29 June report quotes an Apple spokesman confirming manufacture and sale. The first day is contemporary Apple Store reporting rather than a retained maker launch notice.	Original System Software 7.5.3. Apple lists 5 August 1996 as introduction; a distinct first-sale date was not established. The Japanese sheet documents the 32 MB/2 GB/8× CD configuration.