Apple Power Mac G5 (Early 2005) vs Apple Power Macintosh 9500/150

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Power Mac G5 (Early 2005) compared with Power Macintosh 9500/150

	ApplePower Mac G5 (Early 2005)	ApplePower Macintosh 9500/150
Overview
Released
Released	April 2005	1996
Performance
Processor
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)	PowerPC 604 150 MHz (Power Macintosh 8500/150)
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	1
Graphics
Graphics	ATI Radeon 9600 (128 MB) or ATI Radeon 9650 (256 MB)	Apple Accelerated Graphics (2 MB VRAM)
Memory
Memory	512 MB, 4 GB or 8 GB (better)	16 MB or 32 MB
Storage
Storage	160 GB to 250 GB (better)	2 GB
CPU
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.	One PowerPC 604 processor at 150 MHz on a removable processor card; 32 KB level-one cache, 50 MHz processor bus and 512 KB level-two cache on the logic board
GPU
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.	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 type
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.	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. English support lists 8 MB as the minimum RAM but does not associate it with a complete disk configuration; only the 16/32 MB configurations documented in the contemporary maker catalogue and service manual are included. This expansion discrepancy remains explicit. 4 MB ROM
Storage type
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.	2 GB internal Fast SCSI hard disk, manual-inject Apple SuperDrive floppy and AppleCD 600i 4× CD-ROM. Maker catalogue lists space for two additional 3.5-inch storage devices; external SCSI up to seven devices at 5 MB/s and internal SCSI up to 10 MB/s
Expansion slots
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.	Six PCI 2.0 expansion slots, five free with the supplied graphics card; no NuBus slots. Processor is on a removable card
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, 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.	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 displays
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.	One external display through the supplied graphics card, up to 1280 × 1024 with compatible display and cables; colour depth depends on video memory
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in speaker; analogue and optical audio connections.	Built-in speaker and 16-bit stereo sound input/output
Microphones
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 mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse, USB extension cable and DVI-to-VGA adapter.	Japanese configuration includes ADB Mouse II, power cable, KanjiTalk 7.5.3 CD-ROM, manuals and warranty; keyboard and display sold separately. Shared service manual specifies system software 7.5.3 or later for the 150 MHz model
Design and power
Type
Type	Tower	Tower
Weight
Weight	20.2 kg	12.7 kg (better)
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	–	196 × 400 × 430 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
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.	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
Power supply	450 W on dual 2/2.3 GHz; 600 W on dual 2.7 GHz, as stated by the maker.	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
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
Materials
Materials	Aluminium enclosure.	–
In the box
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.	English support gives 22 April 1996 as introduction. Apple's May 1996 worldwide product catalogue lists this exact model as an offering, supporting release year 1996; actual first-sale month/day remains unconfirmed