Apple Power Mac G5 (June 2004) vs Apple Power Macintosh 9500/180MP
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| ApplePower Mac G5 (June 2004) | ApplePower Macintosh 9500/180MP | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | June 2004 | 1996 |
| 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) | 2 × PowerPC 604e 180 MHz (Power Macintosh 8500/180) |
| CPU cores | 2 | 2 |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64 MB) or ATI Radeon 9600 XT (128 MB) | Apple Accelerated Graphics (2 MB VRAM) |
| Memory | 256 MB, 512 MB, 4 GB or 8 GB (better) | 16 MB or 32 MB |
| Storage | 80 GB to 160 GB (better) | 2 GB |
| 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. | Two physical PowerPC 604e processors at 180 MHz on one removable processor card; 64 KB level-one cache per processor, 45 MHz processor bus and 512 KB level-two cache on the logic board. Multiprocessor-aware applications can use the second processor; this is not two cores inside one chip |
| 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. | 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 | 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. | 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. This expansion discrepancy remains explicit. 4 MB ROM |
| 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. | 2 GB internal Fast SCSI hard disk, manual-inject Apple SuperDrive floppy and AppleCD 1200i 8× CD-ROM. Additional internal drive bay; external SCSI up to seven devices at 5 MB/s and internal SCSI up to 10 MB/s |
| 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. | Six PCI 2.0 expansion slots, five free with the supplied graphics card; no NuBus slots. Processor is on a removable card |
| Display | ||
| Screen | None built in | None built in |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack | Ethernet, headphone jack |
| Ethernet | 1 Gb/s (better) | 0.01 Gb/s |
| External displays | 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. | 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 | 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 external display through the supplied graphics card, up to 1280 × 1024 with compatible display and cables; colour depth depends on video memory |
| Speakers | Built-in speaker; analogue and optical connections for external audio. | Built-in speaker and 16-bit stereo sound input/output |
| 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 | Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse, USB extension cable, DVI-to-VGA adapter, modem cable and AirPort antenna. | Japanese configuration includes ADB Mouse II, power cable, KanjiTalk 7.5.3 CD-ROM, Apple Internet Starter Kit, manuals and warranty; keyboard and display sold separately. Shared service manual specifies system software 7.5.3 Revision 2 or later for the MP model |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | Tower | Tower |
| Weight | 20.2 kg | 12.7 kg (better) |
| Width × depth × height | 206 × 475 × 511 mm | 196 × 400 × 430 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. | 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 | – | 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 | – | 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 | 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. | English support gives 5 August 1996 as introduction. Apple's November 1996 worldwide product catalogue lists this exact model as an offering, supporting release year 1996; actual first-sale month/day remains unconfirmed |
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