Apple Power Mac G4 (QuickSilver 2002) vs Apple Power Mac G5 (Late 2004)

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Power Mac G4 (QuickSilver 2002) compared with Power Mac G5 (Late 2004)

	ApplePower Mac G4 (QuickSilver 2002)	ApplePower Mac G5 (Late 2004)
Overview
Released
Released	January 2002	October 2004
Performance
Processor
Processor	PowerPC G4 800 MHz (Power Mac QuickSilver 2002), PowerPC G4 933 MHz (Power Mac QuickSilver 2002) or 2 × PowerPC G4 1000 MHz (Power Mac QuickSilver 2002)	PowerPC G5 1800 MHz (Power Mac Late 2004)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1 or 2	1
Graphics
Graphics	ATI Radeon 7500 (32 MB) or NVIDIA GeForce4 MX (64 MB)	NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64 MB)
Memory
Memory	256 MB, 512 MB or 1.5 GB	256 MB or 4 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	40 GB to 80 GB	80 GB
CPU
CPU	Single 800/933 MHz or dual 1 GHz PowerPC G4. Each processor has 256 KB on-chip L2 cache; 800 MHz has no L3, while 933 MHz and dual 1 GHz have 2 MB DDR L3 per processor. 133 MHz system bus. Supplier omitted from generic per-processor records.	One 1.8 GHz PowerPC G5 with 512 KB L2 cache and a 600 MHz front-side bus. This is the new single-processor model; the dual-processor models also listed on the retained sheet are June 2004 carryovers.
GPU
GPU	800 MHz: ATI Radeon 7500 32 MB DDR; 933 MHz and dual 1 GHz: NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 64 MB DDR. Retained maker options include GeForce4 Ti 128 MB with ADC/DVI; that later option is not launch stock or an unproven configuration cross-product.	Stock NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra with 64 MB DDR in AGP 8x Pro. Optional ATI Radeon 9600 XT 128 MB, Radeon 9800 XT 256 MB, NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT DDL 256 MB or 6800 Ultra DDL 256 MB. The 9800 XT and 6800 cards also occupy the adjacent PCI slot.
Memory type
Memory type	256 MB PC133 SDRAM on single-processor models, 512 MB on dual 1 GHz. Three DIMM slots support up to 1.5 GB; configurations retain stock processor/storage/graphics ties at base and maximum memory.	Stock 256 MB PC3200 DDR400 in matched pairs; four DIMM slots support up to 4 GB. Configuration rows keep the stock graphics and drive at base and maximum supported memory.
Storage type
Storage type	800 MHz: 40 GB; 933 MHz: 60 GB; dual 1 GHz: 80 GB, all 7200 rpm Ultra ATA/66. Entry model has CD-RW (24x/10x/32x in current maker sheet), higher models SuperDrive (DVD-R 2x, CD-R 8x). Optional Combo drive, Zip 250 and 36/72 GB SCSI choices remain detailed rather than unproven CPU combinations. Three hard-drive bays, supporting two ATA or three SCSI drives.	Stock 80 GB 7200 rpm Serial ATA drive. Two 3.5-inch bays, each with a 150 MB/s interface. Optional 160 or 250 GB drives, including two 250 GB drives. One optical bay with 8x DVD-R SuperDrive; Combo drive is optional.
Expansion slots
Expansion slots	Four open full-length 64-bit 33 MHz PCI slots plus dedicated AGP 4x graphics slot.	Three open full-length 64-bit 33 MHz PCI slots and occupied AGP 8x Pro graphics slot; no PCI-X on this single-processor model.
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	Up to 2
Front ports
Front ports	–	USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and headphone minijack.
Back ports
Back ports	Two USB chassis ports at 12 Mbps; the maker’s four-port total includes two on the keyboard. Two FireWire 400, Gigabit Ethernet, 56K V.90 modem, headphone/line-out minijack and Apple Pro Speakers minijack. Optional 11 Mbps AirPort 802.11b card, no built-in wireless or analog audio-input jack.	Two USB 2.0, FireWire 800, FireWire 400, Gigabit Ethernet, V.92 modem, optical Toslink input/output and analogue audio line-in/out. Three chassis USB ports in total, plus two keyboard USB 1.1 ports. AirPort Extreme 54 Mbps and Bluetooth 1.1 are optional.
External displays
External displays	Extended desktop or mirroring on two displays. Standard Radeon 7500/GeForce4 MX cards provide ADC and VGA; optional GeForce4 Ti provides ADC and DVI. A second ADC display requires a separately sold adapter. Supported resolutions depend on the card.	Stock ADC and DVI with included DVI-to-VGA adapter, supporting two displays. Optional 6800 GT/Ultra DDL cards have two dual-link DVI connectors and support two 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Displays; a second ADC display on the stock card needs an adapter.
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in speaker; optional Apple Pro Speakers.	Built-in speaker; optical and analogue connections for external audio.
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Apple Pro Keyboard, optical Apple Pro Mouse and modem cable.	Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse, USB extension cable, DVI-to-VGA adapter, modem cable and AirPort antenna.
Design and power
Type
Type	Tower	Tower
Weight
Weight	13.6 kg (better)	16.4 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	226 × 467 × 432 mm	206 × 475 × 511 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	Maker reference weight 13.6 kg varies with configuration and manufacturing process; height 43.2, width 22.6, depth 46.7 cm.	Maker height 51.1 cm, width 20.6 cm, depth 47.5 cm. Published reference weight for the single 1.8 GHz model is 16.4 kg, distinct from the carryover dual-processor models; weight varies with configuration.
Materials
Materials	–	Aluminium enclosure.
Power supply
Power supply	Maximum continuous power 360 W.	–
In the box
In the box	Mac OS X 10.1 as default startup system, with Mac OS 9.2; iTunes 2, iMovie 2 and iDVD 2 for SuperDrive. Apple confirms all three stock configurations immediately available on 28 January 2002.	The October 2004 release includes Mac OS X Panther and iLife ’04. Apple’s retained specification sheet later lists iLife ’05; that later software listing does not change the hardware’s October 2004 first sale.