Apple Power Mac G5 (Early 2005) vs Apple Power Mac G5 (June 2004)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| ApplePower Mac G5 (Early 2005) | ApplePower Mac G5 (June 2004) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | April 2005 | June 2004 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | 2 × PowerPC G5 2000 MHz (Power Mac Early 2005), 2 × PowerPC G5 2300 MHz (Power Mac Early 2005) or 2 × PowerPC G5 2700 MHz (Power Mac Early 2005) | 2 × PowerPC G5 1800 MHz (Power Mac June 2004), 2 × PowerPC G5 2000 MHz (Power Mac June 2004) or 2 × PowerPC G5 2500 MHz (Power Mac June 2004) |
| CPU cores | 2 | 2 |
| Graphics | ATI Radeon 9600 (128 MB) or ATI Radeon 9650 (256 MB) | NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64 MB) or ATI Radeon 9600 XT (128 MB) |
| Memory | 512 MB, 4 GB or 8 GB | 256 MB, 512 MB, 4 GB or 8 GB |
| Storage | 160 GB to 250 GB (better) | 80 GB to 160 GB |
| CPU | Two physical PowerPC G5 processors at 2, 2.3 or 2.7 GHz, each with 512 KB L2 cache and no L3 cache. Front-side bus per processor is 1, 1.15 or 1.35 GHz. The dual 2.7 GHz model uses liquid cooling. | Two physical PowerPC G5 processors at 1.8, 2 or 2.5 GHz, each with 512 KB L2 cache. Per-processor front-side bus is 900 MHz, 1 GHz or 1.25 GHz respectively. Only the dual 2.5 GHz uses the maker’s liquid-cooling system. |
| GPU | Dual 2 and 2.3 GHz: ATI Radeon 9600 with 128 MB DDR and two single-link DVI outputs. Dual 2.7 GHz: ATI Radeon 9650 with 256 MB GDDR3, one single-link and one dual-link DVI output. Optional NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL with 256 MB has two dual-link DVI outputs and occupies the adjacent PCI slot. | Dual 1.8 and 2 GHz: NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra with 64 MB DDR. Dual 2.5 GHz: ATI Radeon 9600 XT with 128 MB DDR. Optional ATI Radeon 9800 XT with 256 MB occupies the adjacent PCI slot as well as AGP. |
| Memory type | Stock 512 MB PC3200 DDR400, installed in matched pairs. Dual 2 GHz has four DIMM slots and a 4 GB maximum. Dual 2.3 and 2.7 GHz have eight slots and an 8 GB maximum. Configuration rows keep the stock drives and graphics at base and maximum memory. | DDR400 PC3200 in matched pairs. Dual 1.8 GHz starts with 256 MB and has four DIMM slots with a 4 GB maximum. Dual 2 and 2.5 GHz start with 512 MB and have eight slots with an 8 GB maximum. Base and maximum memory rows retain each model’s stock storage and graphics. |
| Storage type | Stock 160 GB on dual 2 GHz and 250 GB on dual 2.3/2.7 GHz, all 7200 rpm Serial ATA. Two internal drive bays; optional 250 or 400 GB drives, including two 400 GB drives. One optical bay with 16x SuperDrive supporting DVD±R and up to 4x dual-layer DVD+R recording. | Stock 80 GB on dual 1.8 GHz and 160 GB on dual 2/2.5 GHz; 7200 rpm Serial ATA. Two bays with 150 MB/s interfaces; optional 80, 160 or 250 GB drives, up to two 250 GB drives. One optical bay with 8x DVD-R SuperDrive; Combo drive is optional. |
| Expansion slots | AGP 8x Pro graphics slot. Dual 2 GHz has three 64-bit 33 MHz PCI slots. Dual 2.3 and 2.7 GHz have PCI-X: two 100 MHz slots and one 133 MHz slot. | AGP 8x Pro graphics slot. Dual 1.8 GHz has three 64-bit 33 MHz PCI slots. Dual 2 and 2.5 GHz have PCI-X: two 100 MHz and one 133 MHz slots. |
| Display | ||
| Screen | None built in | None built in |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack | 3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack |
| Ethernet | 1 Gb/s | 1 Gb/s |
| External displays | Up to 2 | Up to 2 |
| Front ports | USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and headphone minijack. | USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and headphone minijack. |
| Back ports | Two USB 2.0, FireWire 800, FireWire 400, Gigabit Ethernet, optical S/PDIF input/output and analogue audio line-in/out. Three chassis USB ports in total, plus keyboard USB 1.1 ports. AirPort Extreme, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR and a V.92 modem are optional. | 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 keyboard USB 1.1 ports. Optional 54 Mbps AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 1.1. |
| External displays | Two displays in extended desktop or mirrored modes. Radeon 9600 supports two displays up to 1920 × 1200; Radeon 9650 supports one 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Display via dual-link DVI. Optional 6800 Ultra DDL supports two 30-inch displays. DVI-to-VGA adapter included. | ADC and DVI with included DVI-to-VGA adapter; two displays in extended or mirrored modes. A second ADC display requires a separate adapter. |
| Speakers | Built-in speaker; analogue and optical audio connections. | Built-in speaker; analogue and optical connections for external audio. |
| Keyboard and mouse | Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse, USB extension cable and DVI-to-VGA adapter. | Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse, USB extension cable, DVI-to-VGA adapter, modem cable and AirPort antenna. |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | Tower | Tower |
| Weight | 20.2 kg | 20.2 kg |
| Width × depth × height | – | 206 × 475 × 511 mm |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Size and weight detail | The exact maker sheet labels height as 47.5 cm, width 20.6 cm and depth 51.1 cm. Earlier G5 sheets label height/depth in the opposite order; main dimensions are omitted because those published axes conflict. Maker reference weight is 20.2 kg and varies with configuration. | Maker height 51.1 cm, width 20.6 cm, depth 47.5 cm; reference weight 20.2 kg varies with configuration. |
| Power supply | 450 W on dual 2/2.3 GHz; 600 W on dual 2.7 GHz, as stated by the maker. | – |
| Materials | Aluminium enclosure. | Aluminium enclosure with separate cooling zones. |
| In the box | Mac OS X Tiger and iLife ’05. Apple’s 27 April 2005 launch says these models are available “this week”; first sale is kept at April precision rather than treating the announcement as a confirmed delivery day. The older single 1.8 GHz model retained in the launch range is represented separately as Late 2004. | Mac OS X Panther and iLife. The 1.8 and 2 GHz models were available on 9 June 2004. Apple initially stated July availability for the 2.5 GHz model, later than the generation’s first sale. |
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