Apple Power Mac G5 (Late 2004) vs Apple Power Macintosh 8500/120
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| ApplePower Mac G5 (Late 2004) | ApplePower Macintosh 8500/120 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | October 2004 | 1995 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | PowerPC G5 1800 MHz (Power Mac Late 2004) | PowerPC 604 120 MHz (Power Macintosh 8500/120) |
| CPU cores | 1 | 1 |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64 MB) | – |
| Memory | 256 MB or 4 GB (better) | 16 MB |
| Storage | 80 GB (better) | 1 GB to 2 GB |
| CPU | One 1.8 GHz PowerPC G5 with 512 KB L2 cache and a 600 MHz front-side bus. This is the new single-processor model; the dual-processor models also listed on the retained sheet are June 2004 carryovers. | 120 MHz PowerPC 604 with integrated floating-point unit, 32 KB L1 cache, 256 KB L2 cache and 64-bit data path at 40 MHz |
| GPU | Stock NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra with 64 MB DDR in AGP 8x Pro. Optional ATI Radeon 9600 XT 128 MB, Radeon 9800 XT 256 MB, NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT DDL 256 MB or 6800 Ultra DDL 256 MB. The 9800 XT and 6800 cards also occupy the adjacent PCI slot. | Built-in video with 2 MB VRAM supports 24-bit colour through 832 × 624; 4 MB VRAM raises 1152 × 870 to 24-bit colour and is required for video mirroring |
| Memory type | Stock 256 MB PC3200 DDR400 in matched pairs; four DIMM slots support up to 4 GB. Configuration rows keep the stock graphics and drive at base and maximum supported memory. | Eight 168-pin DIMM slots; Apple supports 16–512 MB total with 70 ns memory |
| Storage type | Stock 80 GB 7200 rpm Serial ATA drive. Two 3.5-inch bays, each with a 150 MB/s interface. Optional 160 or 250 GB drives, including two 250 GB drives. One optical bay with 8x DVD-R SuperDrive; Combo drive is optional. | Internal 1.44 MB floppy drive, 1 or 2 GB SCSI hard drive and 4× CD-ROM drive; Apple's Japanese configuration sheet lists the 2 GB version |
| Expansion slots | Three open full-length 64-bit 33 MHz PCI slots and occupied AGP 8x Pro graphics slot; no PCI-X on this single-processor model. | Three PCI slots; optional PC Compatibility 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 | – |
| 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 two keyboard USB 1.1 ports. AirPort Extreme 54 Mbps and Bluetooth 1.1 are optional. | Apple Desktop Bus, DB-15 video, DB-25 SCSI, two GeoPort serial connections, AAUI and 10BASE-T Ethernet, S-video and RCA video input and output, RCA audio input and output, microphone input and speaker output |
| External displays | Stock ADC and DVI with included DVI-to-VGA adapter, supporting two displays. Optional 6800 GT/Ultra DDL cards have two dual-link DVI connectors and support two 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Displays; a second ADC display on the stock card needs an adapter. | Built-in video supports up to 1280 × 1024 pixels; available colour depth depends on VRAM |
| Speakers | Built-in speaker; optical and analogue connections for external audio. | – |
| Keyboard and mouse | Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse, USB extension cable, DVI-to-VGA adapter, modem cable and AirPort antenna. | – |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | Tower | Tower |
| Weight | 16.4 kg | 11.34 kg (better) |
| Width × depth × height | 206 × 475 × 511 mm | 196 × 400 × 356 mm |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Size and weight detail | Maker height 51.1 cm, width 20.6 cm, depth 47.5 cm. Published reference weight for the single 1.8 GHz model is 16.4 kg, distinct from the carryover dual-processor models; weight varies with configuration. | Apple's 14 × 7.7 × 15.75 inch and 25 lb reference dimensions; metric fields are rounded conversions |
| Power supply | – | Maximum 225 W; 100–125 or 200–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz; 3.6 V lithium clock battery |
| Materials | Aluminium enclosure. | – |
| In the box | The October 2004 release includes Mac OS X Panther and iLife ’04. Apple’s retained specification sheet later lists iLife ’05; that later software listing does not change the hardware’s October 2004 first sale. | Original System Software 7.5.2. Apple lists 8 August 1995 as introduction; a separate first-sale month was not established. |
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