Apple Power Mac G5 (Late 2005) vs Apple Power Macintosh 4400/200
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| ApplePower Mac G5 (Late 2005) | ApplePower Macintosh 4400/200 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | October 2005 | 1997 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | PowerPC G5 dual-core 2000 MHz (Power Mac Late 2005), PowerPC G5 dual-core 2300 MHz (Power Mac Late 2005) or 2 × PowerPC G5 dual-core 2500 MHz (Power Mac Late 2005) | PowerPC 603e 200 MHz (Power Macintosh 4400/200) |
| CPU cores | 2 or 4 | 1 |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce 6600 LE (128 MB) or NVIDIA GeForce 6600 (256 MB) | ATI 264VT-A4S2 |
| Memory | 512 MB or 16 GB (better) | 16 MB or 32 MB |
| Storage | 160 GB to 250 GB (better) | 2 GB |
| CPU | Dual models have one physical dual-core PowerPC G5 at 2 or 2.3 GHz. Quad has two physical dual-core processors at 2.5 GHz, four cores in total. Each core has 1 MB L2 cache. Front-side bus per physical processor is 1, 1.15 or 1.25 GHz respectively. Macworld’s exact Quad review describes its liquid cooling. | 200 MHz PowerPC 603e, 40 MHz system bus and 32 KB L1 cache; 256 KB L2 cache supplied in the North American launch configuration, optional in the Japanese specification |
| GPU | Stock dual-core 2 GHz: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 LE with 128 MB GDDR SDRAM. Dual-core 2.3 GHz and Quad: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 with 256 MB GDDR SDRAM. Optional NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT 256 MB and Quadro FX 4500 512 MB; the Quadro occupies the graphics slot and adjacent x4 slot. | ATI 264VT-A4S2 graphics controller; North American launch configuration has 2 MB video memory, expandable to 4 MB. Supported resolution and colour depth depend on the fitted video-memory DIMM |
| Memory type | Stock 512 MB PC2-4200 DDR2 at 533 MHz, installed in matched pairs. Up to 16 GB supported; ECC configurations available from 1 GB. Rows retain the stock drive and graphics at base and maximum supported memory. | Three 168-pin 3.3 V unbuffered EDO DIMM slots, maximum 160 MB; slot 1 takes single-bank DIMMs. August 1997 Apple Facts incorrectly describes onboard RAM and two slots; the exact support table and developer note specify three slots |
| Storage type | Stock 160 GB on dual-core 2 GHz and 250 GB on dual-core 2.3 GHz and Quad. 7200 rpm Serial ATA drives; two internal bays. Optional one or two 500 GB drives. One optical bay with 16x SuperDrive supporting dual-layer DVD+R recording. | 2 GB IDE hard drive and 1.44 MB SuperDrive floppy drive. Original North American configuration has an 8× CD-ROM; Japan lists 12× and August 1997 Apple Facts lists later 12× or 24× configurations |
| Expansion slots | PCI Express: occupied x16 graphics slot, two open x4 slots and one open x8 slot. Older PCI and PCI-X expansion cards cannot be reused in these slots. | Two PCI slots, one accommodating a 7-inch card and the other a 7-inch or 12-inch card; separate Comm Slot II. Optional PC Compatibility Card occupies a PCI slot and is not included in these configurations |
| Display | ||
| Screen | None built in | None built in |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 4 × USB-A, 2 × Ethernet, headphone jack | Ethernet |
| 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 | Three USB 2.0, FireWire 800, FireWire 400, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, optical Toslink input/output and analogue audio line-in/out. Four chassis USB 2.0 ports in total, plus two keyboard USB 1.1 ports. AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR are optional, with integrated antennas; built-in support does not mean modules are included. | DB-15 monitor, ADB, DB-25 external SCSI, two GeoPort-compatible serial connections, stereo sound input/output and 10BASE-T Ethernet; Japanese bundled modem occupies Comm Slot II |
| External displays | Stock GeForce 6600 LE/6600 and optional 7800 GT have one single-link and one dual-link DVI port, supporting one 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Display alongside a second display. Optional Quadro FX 4500 has two dual-link DVI outputs for two 30-inch displays and a stereo 3D connector. DVI-to-VGA adapter included. | – |
| Speakers | Built-in speaker and optical/analogue external audio connections. | – |
| Keyboard and mouse | Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse, USB keyboard extension and DVI-to-VGA adapter. | – |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | Tower | Compact |
| Weight | – | 9.5 kg |
| Width × depth × height | – | 385 × 442 × 139 mm |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Size and weight detail | – | Technical Information manual gives 139 × 385 × 442 mm and 9.5 kg, varying with hard drive and optional equipment; its 24 lb figure is inconsistent with 9.5 kg, so the published metric value is retained without conversion |
| Power supply | – | Technical Information manual specifies manually switched 90–135 V or 180–265 V AC, 47–63 Hz, 285 W maximum continuous input and 160 W maximum continuous DC output. Support's 150 W maximum conflicts with this; neither is treated as measured operating consumption |
| Materials | Aluminium enclosure. | – |
| In the box | Mac OS X Tiger and iLife ’05. Apple confirmed the dual-core 2 and 2.3 GHz models available on 19 October 2005, with Quad expected in early November. Macs Only reports its Quad shipped on 10 November and arrived on 11 November; these later Quad dates do not change the generation’s first sale. The exact specification sheet does not publish weight or dimensions. | North American launch package includes keyboard, mouse and System 7.5.3. Japan lists 32 MB RAM, 12× CD-ROM, Apple Multiscan 15AV display and GeoPort modem; those accessories are not generic standard hardware. Apple records introduction on 17 February 1997 and planned Canadian delivery in March; August 1997 catalogue confirms the model was offered, but an actual first-sale month remains unresolved |
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