Apple Power Mac G5 (June 2004) vs Apple Power Macintosh 6100/66 DOS Compatible
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| ApplePower Mac G5 (June 2004) | ApplePower Macintosh 6100/66 DOS Compatible | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | June 2004 | 1995 |
| Performance | ||
| 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 601 66 MHz (Power Macintosh 6100/66) |
| CPU cores | 2 | 1 |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64 MB) or ATI Radeon 9600 XT (128 MB) | – |
| Memory | 256 MB, 512 MB, 4 GB or 8 GB (better) | 16 MB |
| Storage | 80 GB to 160 GB (better) | 500 MB |
| 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. | Macintosh side uses a 66 MHz PowerPC 601 with integrated FPU and PMMU, 32 KB L1 cache, 256 KB L2 cache and a 64-bit data path at 33 MHz. The separate Intel 80486DX2-66 on the DOS Compatibility Card runs at 66 MHz with a 33 MHz bus and 8 KB internal cache; it runs PC applications independently, rather than adding a second PowerPC core. The main processor comparison describes the Macintosh processor only. |
| 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. | Macintosh HDI-45 video uses system DRAM. The DOS card has separate 512 KB video RAM and a VGA controller; Sound Blaster-compatible 16-bit stereo playback is mixed with Macintosh and CD audio. PC sound hardware provides output only, while Macintosh audio has input and output. |
| 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. | 8 MB on the Macintosh logic board and two 72-pin SIMM slots installed in pairs; maximum supported Macintosh RAM 72 MB. The DOS card can share selected Macintosh memory or use its own single 72-pin SIMM up to 32 MB; PC-local memory is not additional Macintosh RAM. AppleFacts also lists 8 MB system memory, but the shown 16 MB/500 MB factory configuration is explicitly ordered as M3972LL/A in Apple's TIL 16756. |
| 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. | M3972LL/A has a 500 MB internal hard drive, plus built-in 1.44 MB Apple SuperDrive floppy; optional double-speed CD-ROM reads Macintosh and DOS discs. Exact current support gives a broader 350–500 MB range; the initial January newsletter anticipated 16 MB/350 MB before final availability, so that prospective configuration is not added. DOS drive files reside on the Macintosh hard drive. |
| 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. | The sole processor-direct expansion position is occupied by the DOS Compatibility Card and its adapter; AV and NuBus expansion cannot coexist in that position. The PC processor card has a local-memory SIMM socket and sound expansion card. |
| Display | ||
| Screen | None built in | None built in |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack | Ethernet |
| Ethernet | 1 Gb/s | – |
| External displays | Up to 2 | 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 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, HDI-45 Macintosh display output, DB-25 external SCSI, two GeoPort serial ports, AAUI Ethernet, microphone input and speaker output. The DOS card's 26-pin connection uses a monitor adapter cable with display and PC joystick connectors. Macintosh serial and printer interfaces can emulate PC connections, with compatibility limits in the developer guide. |
| 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. | One shared display or two separate simultaneous Macintosh and PC displays; only one environment receives keyboard and mouse input at a time. Macintosh video supports 512 × 384 and 640 × 480 at 16-bit colour, or 832 × 624 at 8-bit. DOS card supports VGA/SVGA displays; the developer note lists shared VGA 640 × 480 and SVGA 800 × 600 monitors. Depth and supported modes depend on environment and driver. |
| Speakers | Built-in speaker; analogue and optical connections for external audio. | – |
| Keyboard and mouse | Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse, USB extension cable, DVI-to-VGA adapter, modem cable and AirPort antenna. | Apple's DOS-card specification lists the compatibility card, MS-DOS 6.22 manual and disks, Windows 3.1, Macintosh PC Exchange User's Guide and monitor cable. Gallery monitor, keyboard and mouse illustrate the original maker setup and do not establish a universal factory bundle. |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | Tower | Compact |
| Weight | 20.2 kg | – |
| Width × depth × height | 206 × 475 × 511 mm | 414 × 396 × 86 mm |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| 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. | Original AppleFacts gives 86 × 414 × 396 mm (height × width × depth), used here. Exact support gives 3.4 × 16.3 × 15.6 inches and 14 lb; shared service manual gives 85 × 415 × 399 mm and 6.4 kg depending on installed devices. AppleFacts prints inconsistent 16.2 lb and 3.3 kg; headline weight omitted rather than resolving that conflict by guessing. |
| Power supply | – | Exact support lists 210 W maximum and automatically configured 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz. Shared-family Service Source separately gives 132 W maximum continuous AC input, 201 W peak input excluding monitor power, and 86 W continuous DC output; these ratings retain their different conditions. |
| Materials | Aluminium enclosure with separate cooling zones. | – |
| 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. | Original System 7.5 with PowerPC Enabler 1.1.1, MS-DOS 6.22 and Windows 3.1. Apple support records introduction on 3 January 1995; January Apple Directions only promises first-quarter shipments. April 1995 AppleFacts lists the current product and the contemporary June TidBITS review describes a purchased unit, establishing sale in 1995 without proving the first-sale month. Apple explicitly calls the earlier Quadra 610 DOS Compatible its predecessor. |
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