Apple Power Mac G5 (2003) vs Apple Power Macintosh 7300/166
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| ApplePower Mac G5 (2003) | ApplePower Macintosh 7300/166 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | August 2003 | 1997 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | PowerPC G5 1600 MHz (Power Mac 2003), PowerPC G5 1800 MHz (Power Mac 2003), 2 × PowerPC G5 2000 MHz (Power Mac 2003) or 2 × PowerPC G5 1800 MHz (Power Mac 2003) | PowerPC 604e 166 MHz (Power Macintosh 7300/166) |
| CPU cores | 1 or 2 | 1 |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64 MB) or ATI Radeon 9600 Pro (64 MB) | – |
| Memory | 256 MB, 512 MB, 4 GB or 8 GB (better) | 16 MB |
| Storage | 80 GB to 160 GB (better) | 2 GB |
| CPU | Single 1.6 or 1.8 GHz, or dual 2 GHz PowerPC G5 processors; Apple identifies IBM fabrication. Each physical processor has 512 KB L2 cache. Front-side bus per processor is 800 MHz, 900 MHz or 1 GHz respectively. A dual 1.8 GHz configuration was added on 18 November 2003, available immediately; it remains part of this generation. | One 166 MHz PowerPC 604e with integrated floating-point unit, 64 KB level-one cache, 50 MHz processor bus and 256 KB level-two cache; processor is on a removable card |
| GPU | Stock 1.6 and 1.8 GHz: NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra with 64 MB DDR. Stock dual 2 GHz: ATI Radeon 9600 Pro with 64 MB DDR. November dual 1.8 GHz: GeForce FX 5200 Ultra 64 MB. Optional ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB. | Built-in video with 2 MB VRAM, expandable to 4 MB. Exact support table gives 24-bit colour through 832 × 624, 16-bit at 1024 × 768 and 1152 × 870, and 8-bit at 1280 × 1024 with standard VRAM; 4 MB permits 24-bit through 1152 × 870 and 16-bit at 1280 × 1024 |
| Memory type | Single 1.6 GHz: 256 MB DDR333, four DIMM slots, maximum 4 GB. Single 1.8 GHz and dual 2 GHz: 512 MB DDR400, eight slots, maximum 8 GB. November dual 1.8 GHz also has 512 MB DDR400 and an 8 GB maximum. DIMMs are installed in matched pairs. Each configuration retains its stock drive and graphics at base and maximum memory. | 16 MB standard and 512 MB supported maximum using eight 168-pin 64-bit 5 V DIMM sockets, 70 ns or faster. EDO modules are treated as fast-page memory by the controller; matching DIMMs in corresponding sockets enable interleaving. Apple says 128 MB DIMMs can be used but were not tested. 4 MB ROM. Shared Service Source specifies 60 ns or faster EDO DIMMs for the 7300 series, while the exact Japanese page and English support specify 70 ns or faster; this difference remains explicit. |
| Storage type | Stock 80 GB on the single 1.6 GHz; 160 GB on the single 1.8 GHz, dual 2 GHz and November dual 1.8 GHz. 7200 rpm Serial ATA drives; two internal bays with 150 MB/s interfaces. One optical bay with 4x DVD-R SuperDrive; optional Combo drive and 80, 160 or 250 GB drives. | 2 GB internal Fast SCSI hard disk, manual-inject 1.44 MB Apple SuperDrive floppy and AppleCD 1800i 12× CD-ROM. One additional internal 3.5-inch storage bay; internal SCSI transfers up to 10 MB/s |
| Expansion slots | AGP 8x Pro graphics slot. Single 1.6 GHz has three 64-bit 33 MHz PCI slots; faster original models and the November dual 1.8 GHz have PCI-X slots, two at 100 MHz and one at 133 MHz. | Three PCI 2.0 slots; processor on a replaceable card. The 7300 does not include the analogue AV module supplied with the 7500 and 7600 |
| Display | ||
| Screen | None built in | None built in |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack | Ethernet, headphone jack |
| Ethernet | 1 Gb/s (better) | 0.01 Gb/s |
| External displays | Up to 2 | – |
| Front ports | USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and headphone minijack. | – |
| Back ports | Two USB 2.0, FireWire 800, FireWire 400, Gigabit Ethernet, V.92 modem, optical Toslink audio input/output and analogue line-in/out. Optional 54 Mbps AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 1.1 with external antennas. Three chassis USB ports in total; keyboard ports are separate. | DB-15 display output, one ADB connector, external DB-25 SCSI, two GeoPort/LocalTalk-compatible serial connectors, AAUI and 10BASE-T Ethernet, 16-bit stereo sound input and output. Both Ethernet connectors share one interface; 10BASE-T takes priority if both are connected |
| External displays | ADC and DVI connectors with DVI-to-VGA adapter; two displays in extended desktop or mirrored modes. A second ADC display needs an optional adapter. | One external display through built-in video, up to 1280 × 1024; colour depth depends on installed VRAM and compatible monitor |
| Speakers | Built-in speaker; external audio can use analogue or optical connections. | Built-in speaker and 16-bit stereo sound input/output |
| Microphones | – | Supports an external Apple PlainTalk microphone |
| Keyboard and mouse | Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse, USB extension cable, DVI-to-VGA adapter and modem cable. | Original KanjiTalk 7.5 version 7.5.5 in Japan, ADB Mouse II, PlainTalk microphone, power cable, system CD, Internet Starter Kit and manuals. Keyboard and monitor sold separately. Optional PC Compatibility Card is separate from this Macintosh configuration. |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | Tower | Compact |
| Weight | 17.8 kg | 10 kg (better) |
| Width × depth × height | 206 × 475 × 511 mm | 365 × 430 × 156 mm |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Size and weight detail | Published height 51.1 cm, width 20.6 cm, depth 47.5 cm; 17.8 kg reference weight varies with configuration. | Apple’s exact Japanese specification gives 156 mm high, 365 mm wide and 430 mm deep, 10 kg; weight varies with installed devices. Shared Service Source gives the corresponding 22 lb (9.97 kg). |
| Power supply | – | Exact Japanese maker page specifies 100–130/220–270 V AC, single phase, manually switched, 50–60 Hz, and claims 298 W continuous/453 W peak excluding monitor. Shared Service Source instead specifies automatically configured 100–240 V AC and 150 W maximum, while English support lists 150 W and 100–130/200–270 V. These unresolved differences are retained without an unqualified consumption figure. |
| Materials | Aluminium enclosure with separate thermal zones. | – |
| In the box | Original models shipped with Mac OS X Jaguar; the November dual 1.8 GHz announcement includes Panther. Apple’s 18 August 2003 shipping release confirms immediate availability of the single-processor models; the original dual 2 GHz was due later that month. | Exact Apple support lists 13 February 1997 as introduction and says this model was not sold in the US. Contemporary PC Watch retail rankings report Japanese sales beginning March 1997; first worldwide sale month/day remains unconfirmed, so release is kept at 1997 year precision. |
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