Apple Power Mac G5 (June 2004) vs Apple Power Macintosh 5500/275

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

Power Mac G5 (June 2004) compared with Power Macintosh 5500/275

	ApplePower Mac G5 (June 2004)	ApplePower Macintosh 5500/275
Overview
Released
Released	June 2004	1997
Performance
Processor
Processor	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)	PowerPC 603e (275 MHz, Power Macintosh 5500)
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	1
Graphics
Graphics	NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64 MB) or ATI Radeon 9600 XT (128 MB)	–
Memory
Memory	256 MB, 512 MB, 4 GB or 8 GB (better)	16 MB or 32 MB
Storage
Storage	80 GB to 160 GB (better)	2 GB to 4 GB
CPU
CPU	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.	275 MHz PowerPC 603e with integrated floating-point unit, 32 KB internal cache and 64-bit PowerPC bus. UK and Dutch exact graphite specifications give 512 KB L2 cache. Shared service describes another 275 MHz configuration with the same features as the basic 5500/225 apart from clock speed; optional 256 KB family cache does not replace the documented graphite 512 KB value.
GPU
GPU	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.	2 MB SGRAM and built-in hardware acceleration for 2D QuickDraw and 3D QuickDraw 3D/RAVE. Exact archived Dutch family specifications identify ATI 3D Rage II and support 24-bit colour through 800 × 600 on the built-in CRT. Headline resolution is this explicitly documented built-in colour mode, not a fixed pixel matrix or established maximum for every colour depth. Shared service lists 640 × 480, 800 × 600 and 832 × 624 at 32 bits per pixel, 1024 × 768 and 1152 × 870 at 16 bits, and 1280 × 1024 at 8 bits; it does not establish all of these as exact regional built-in display limits.
Memory type
Memory type	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.	Graphite UK and Dutch family configurations have 32 MB EDO RAM, expandable to 128 MB in two 168-pin DIMM sockets. No system RAM is soldered on the logic board. Archived exact Dutch page specifies noncomposite 5 V, 60 ns or faster EDO DIMMs with 1K or 2K refresh. Shared service also permits 5 V fast-page DIMMs and warns that mixing types can use fast-page timings. Basic service configuration has 16 MB. 4 MB ROM.
Storage type
Storage type	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.	Exact graphite family configuration has a 4 GB IDE hard drive, internal 24× CD-ROM and Apple SuperDrive floppy. Shared service also documents a basic 275 MHz configuration inheriting 16 MB RAM, a 2 GB or larger drive and 12× CD-ROM from the basic 225 MHz model; the 2 GB configuration is the documented minimum, not a claimed universal shipped capacity. Optical drives and software differ between these configurations. Shared service describes the floppy as 1.4 MB; the archived Dutch page uses the same maker wording.
Expansion slots
Expansion slots	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.	One 32-bit PCI 2.0 slot for a 7-inch card with Macintosh drivers; communications slot occupied by the supplied graphite modem or optional Ethernet; video-input slot and TV/FM tuner bay. Graphite family specification includes TV/FM tuner and video-input card. Avid Cinema video-editing hardware is optional and requires Apple Video System. NuBus cards are not compatible with the PCI slot.
Display
Screen
Screen	None built in	12.8″
Resolution
Resolution	–	800 × 600
Panel
Panel	–	CRT
Display type
Display type	–	Built-in 15-inch nominal colour CRT with 12.8-inch visible diagonal. Shared service specifies 0.28 mm dot pitch and shadow-mask tube. Archived exact family page states up to 85 Hz without tying this figure to a resolution; headline refresh remains omitted. Display brightness controls are on the front, and the housing uses a swivel base.
Connections
Ports
Ports	3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack	2 × headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s	–
External displays
External displays	Up to 2	–
Front ports
Front ports	USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and headphone minijack.	Headphone output, sound-volume and display-brightness controls, and infrared receiver for the TV/FM remote. Front jack plus rear stereo output give the headline two output jacks; sound input is counted separately in details.
Back ports
Back ports	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.	ADB; external DB-25 SCSI with support for six external devices in the original Dutch family page; two RS-232/RS-422 serial ports with LocalTalk and GeoPort support in shared service; PlainTalk-compatible stereo sound input and rear stereo output. Graphite family modem supports data up to 33.6 Kbit/s, fax up to 14.4 Kbit/s, voice, answering-machine and hands-free functions; data rate depends on connection and provider. Archived page lists MNP4, V.42, MNP5 and V.42bis. Ethernet is a communications-slot option, not universally fitted. No USB or FireWire.
External displays
External displays	ADC and DVI with included DVI-to-VGA adapter; two displays in extended or mirrored modes. A second ADC display requires a separate adapter.	Computer-monitor video mirroring requires the optional external-video connector kit. Shared service supports mirroring at 640 × 480, 800 × 600 or 832 × 624; this does not establish an independent extended desktop. Avid Cinema provides optional PAL/NTSC video editing and output and requires the video-input system. Included TV/FM reception is not proof of included TV output.
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in speaker; analogue and optical connections for external audio.	Two built-in stereo speakers and 16-bit stereo sound input/output, with SRS surround-sound enhancement. Shared service supports recording at 11, 22 or 44 kHz. Front headphone and rear speaker outputs are separate.
Microphones
Microphones	–	Built-in microphone plus external sound-input port supporting PlainTalk microphones. Shared service explicitly excludes the earlier Omni microphone and attenuated RCA adapter.
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse, USB extension cable, DVI-to-VGA adapter, modem cable and AirPort antenna.	Exact archived Dutch ordering page identifies graphite Family Macintosh M6183 with keyboard, mouse, cables and model-specific software. Original UK Christmas 1997 brochure shows the graphite computer with matching keyboard and mouse, with TV/FM tuner and video-in listed in its 275 MHz specification. The screen artwork is original maker photography; it is not a clean unlit-screen alternative.
Design and power
Type
Type	Tower	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	20.2 kg	–
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	206 × 475 × 511 mm	–
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	Maker height 51.1 cm, width 20.6 cm, depth 47.5 cm; reference weight 20.2 kg varies with configuration.	Exact archived Dutch family page gives 40.6 × 19.8 × 42.8 cm and 20.2 kg, values resembling the companion tower rather than the pictured all-in-one. Shared service gives 445 mm height but swaps the family width/depth compared with other original all-in-one brochures, and prints internally inconsistent 17/19 lb versus 21.15 kg weights. These unresolved exact-model measurement conflicts are not promoted into headline weight or dimensions, and sibling-model measurements are not substituted.
Power supply
Power supply	–	Archived exact Dutch family specifications give 220 W maximum continuous input, with regional 200–240 or 100–125 V AC at 47–63 Hz and energy-saving sleep. Shared service gives 100–240 V AC at 47–63 Hz, a separate 125 W entry and 220 W maximum for all line/load conditions. These qualified ratings are not measured operating consumption.
Noise
Noise	–	Shared service describes a variable-speed enclosure fan and separate processor cooling fan, without a measured acoustic figure.
Materials
Materials	Aluminium enclosure with separate cooling zones.	–
In the box
In the box	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.	Shared service graphite configuration includes Mac OS 8.0. Original UK Christmas brochure describes purchase between 1 November and 31 December 1997 for a software offer; exact Dutch product ordering page is dated September 1997 and lists 275 MHz M6183. These establish sale in 1997; actual first-sale month or day remains unresolved. UK software includes Apple Magic Collection, Actua Soccer, Kai's Power Goo and multimedia reference titles; promotional software is not another hardware generation. Product resource is the original Dutch Apple family page covering exact 225/275 configurations; the support resource is the current official Earlier Power Mac family document index in English (Macau region), which has no exact 275 MHz entry. No exact surviving English maker support specification record or user guide was recovered.