Apple Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2003) vs Apple Power Macintosh 9500/180MP

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Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2003) compared with Power Macintosh 9500/180MP
ApplePower Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2003)ApplePower Macintosh 9500/180MP
Overview
ReleasedJune 20031996
Performance
ProcessorPowerPC G4 1250 MHz (Power Mac MDD 2003) or 2 × PowerPC G4 1250 MHz (Power Mac MDD 2003)2 × PowerPC 604e 180 MHz (Power Macintosh 8500/180)
CPU cores1 or 22
GraphicsATI Radeon 9000 Pro (64 MB)Apple Accelerated Graphics (2 MB VRAM)
Memory256 MB or 2 GB (better)16 MB or 32 MB
Storage80 GB (better)2 GB
CPUStock 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.Two physical PowerPC 604e processors at 180 MHz on one removable processor card; 64 KB level-one cache per processor, 45 MHz processor bus and 512 KB level-two cache on the logic board. Multiprocessor-aware applications can use the second processor; this is not two cores inside one chip
GPUStock 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.Bundled Apple Accelerated Graphics PCI card with 2 MB VRAM, expandable to 4 MB. Exact maker tables give 24-bit colour through 832 × 624, 16-bit at 1024 × 768 and 1152 × 870, and 8-bit at 1280 × 1024 with standard memory; the 4 MB upgrade permits 24-bit through 1152 × 870 and 16-bit at 1280 × 1024. The catalogue appendix claims higher colour depths and is not transferred over the exact model tables
Memory typeStock 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.16 or 32 MB listed in Apple's service manual and worldwide catalogue; the Japanese configuration has 32 MB. Twelve 168-pin 64-bit 70 ns-or-faster DIMM sockets; matching modules in corresponding sockets enable interleaving. Exact support pages and catalogue give a 768 MB maximum; later shared Service Source gives 1536 MB using 128 MB DIMMs, while English support says those DIMMs were not tested. This expansion discrepancy remains explicit. 4 MB ROM
Storage typeStock 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 Fast SCSI hard disk, manual-inject Apple SuperDrive floppy and AppleCD 1200i 8× CD-ROM. Additional internal drive bay; external SCSI up to seven devices at 5 MB/s and internal SCSI up to 10 MB/s
Expansion slotsFour PCI slots and an occupied AGP 4x graphics slot.Six PCI 2.0 expansion slots, five free with the supplied graphics card; no NuBus slots. Processor is on a removable card
Display
ScreenNone built inNone built in
Connections
Ports2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jackEthernet, headphone jack
Ethernet1 Gb/s (better)0.01 Gb/s
Front portsHeadphone connection and built-in mono speaker.–
Back portsTwo 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.One ADB connector, two GeoPort/LocalTalk-compatible serial connectors, external DB-25 SCSI, AAUI-15 and 10BASE-T Ethernet connectors, 16-bit stereo sound input and output. DB-15 display connector belongs to the supplied graphics card. Both Ethernet connectors share one interface; if both are connected the service manual says 10BASE-T takes priority
External displaysADC 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.One external display through the supplied graphics card, up to 1280 × 1024 with compatible display and cables; colour depth depends on video memory
SpeakersBuilt-in mono speaker and connection for Apple Pro Speakers; no built-in microphone.Built-in speaker and 16-bit stereo sound input/output
Microphones–Supports an external Apple PlainTalk microphone; shared service manual lists it as standard but the exact Japanese package list omits it, so regional inclusion remains qualified
Keyboard and mouseBlack Apple Pro input devices and DVI-to-VGA adapter.Japanese configuration includes ADB Mouse II, power cable, KanjiTalk 7.5.3 CD-ROM, Apple Internet Starter Kit, manuals and warranty; keyboard and display sold separately. Shared service manual specifies system software 7.5.3 Revision 2 or later for the MP model
Design and power
TypeTowerTower
Weight19.1 kg12.7 kg (better)
Width × depth × height226 × 467 × 432 mm196 × 400 × 430 mm
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Size and weight detailMaker 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.Exact Japanese specifications and Service Source give 430 mm high, 196 mm wide and 400 mm deep, approximately 12.7 kg depending on installed devices. Worldwide catalogue rounds these to 429 × 196 × 401 mm and 12.6 kg
Power supply–100–240 V AC automatically configured, single phase, 50–60 Hz. Service Source distinguishes 225 W maximum DC power-supply output from input consumption
Power use–340 W maximum continuous AC input and 520 W peak input, excluding monitor; exact Japanese specifications and Service Source agree. English support's 225 W is the DC supply rating, not AC consumption
In the boxMac 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.English support gives 5 August 1996 as introduction. Apple's November 1996 worldwide product catalogue lists this exact model as an offering, supporting release year 1996; actual first-sale month/day remains unconfirmed

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