Apple Power Mac G5 (2003) vs Apple Power Macintosh 8500/132

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Power Mac G5 (2003) compared with Power Macintosh 8500/132

	ApplePower Mac G5 (2003)	ApplePower Macintosh 8500/132
Overview
Released
Released	August 2003	1996
Performance
Processor
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 604 132 MHz (Power Macintosh 9500/132)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1 or 2	1
Graphics
Graphics	NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64 MB) or ATI Radeon 9600 Pro (64 MB)	–
Memory
Memory	256 MB, 512 MB, 4 GB or 8 GB (better)	16 MB
Storage
Storage	80 GB to 160 GB (better)	1.2 GB
CPU
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 132 MHz PowerPC 604 on a removable processor card, with integrated floating-point unit, 32 KB level-one cache, 256 KB level-two cache and a 44 MHz processor bus. The 50 MHz figure on the shared Japanese sheet is the family maximum, not the 132 MHz model's bus
GPU
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 64-bit video subsystem with 2 MB VRAM, expandable to 4 MB. Standard memory supports 24-bit colour through 832 × 624, 16-bit at 1024 × 768 and 1152 × 870, and 8-bit at 1280 × 1024. With 4 MB, 24-bit colour extends through 1152 × 870 and 16-bit to 1280 × 1024; monitor and video output simultaneously require 4 MB. Exact model tables take precedence over contradictory high-colour catalogue appendix claims
Memory type
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 for the 8500/132, eight 168-pin 64-bit 70 ns-or-faster DRAM DIMM sockets, up to 512 MB supported; corresponding matching DIMMs permit interleaving. The shared Japanese page's 32 MB package is explicitly the 8500/150 and is not transferred. English support says 128 MB DIMMs were untested. 4 MB ROM
Storage type
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.	Exact Japanese 8500/132 configuration has a 1.2 GB internal Fast SCSI hard disk, manual-inject Apple SuperDrive floppy and AppleCD 600i 4× CD-ROM. Shared Service Source lists 1.2 or 2 GB across 132/150/180 but does not pair an additional 132 configuration, so none is inferred. Additional internal storage bay; external SCSI up to seven devices at 5 MB/s, internal channel up to 10 MB/s
Expansion slots
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, all free with onboard video, and an internal Digital Audio/Video connector for compatible compression hardware; no NuBus slots
Display
Screen
Screen	None built in	None built in
Connections
Ports
Ports	3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack	Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s (better)	0.01 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 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.	One ADB connector, two GeoPort/LocalTalk-compatible serial connectors, DB-15 display output, external DB-25 SCSI, AAUI-15 and 10BASE-T Ethernet connectors, 16-bit stereo sound input/output, left/right RCA audio input/output, composite video input/output and S-video input/output. Both Ethernet connectors share one interface and cannot be used concurrently 24-bit analogue composite and S-video input/output. Japanese sheet specifies live display through 640 × 480 NTSC or 768 × 576 PAL/SECAM, capture through 320 × 240 at 25 frames/s NTSC, and a separate maximum 640 × 480 NTSC capture size without that frame-rate claim. NTSC and PAL/SECAM output supported; full-size preview is not full-size continuous capture
External displays
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 up to 1280 × 1024; available colour depth depends on VRAM. Simultaneous monitor and video output requires 4 MB VRAM
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in speaker; external audio can use analogue or optical connections.	Built-in speaker; stereo sound and RCA line audio interfaces support 16-bit, 44.1 kHz sampling
Microphones
Microphones	–	Apple PlainTalk external microphone included in the exact Japanese package; no built-in microphone
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse, USB extension cable, DVI-to-VGA adapter and modem cable.	Japanese 16 MB/1.2 GB package includes ADB Mouse II, PlainTalk microphone, power cable, KanjiTalk 7.5.3 CD-ROM, VideoShop 3.0J, manuals and warranty. Keyboard and display sold separately
Design and power
Type
Type	Tower	Tower
Weight
Weight	17.8 kg	–
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	206 × 475 × 511 mm	196 × 400 × 355.6 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
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.	Exact Japanese sheet gives 355.6 × 196 × 400 mm, consistent with service manual's rounded 356 × 196 × 400 mm. Catalogue gives 363 × 196 × 401 mm. Weight is unresolved and omitted from the headline; exact Japanese page says 12.7 kg, but English support, service manual and catalogue give 25 lb or approximately 11.3 kg. All qualify weight by installed devices
Power supply
Power supply	–	100–240 V AC automatically configured, single phase, 50–60 Hz. Service Source distinguishes 225 W maximum DC output from AC consumption
Power use
Power use	–	340 W maximum continuous AC input and 520 W peak input, excluding monitor; exact Japanese specification and shared Service Source agree
Materials
Materials	Aluminium enclosure with separate thermal zones.	–
In the box
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.	Original system software 7.5.3. English support gives 22 April 1996 as introduction; Apple's May 1996 catalogue lists the exact 8500/132 as an offering, supporting release year 1996. Actual first-sale month/day remains unconfirmed