Apple Power Mac G5 (Late 2005) vs Apple Power Macintosh 5260/120
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| ApplePower Mac G5 (Late 2005) | ApplePower Macintosh 5260/120 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | October 2005 | 1996 |
| 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 120 MHz (Power Macintosh 5260/120) |
| CPU cores | 2 or 4 | 1 |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce 6600 LE (128 MB) or NVIDIA GeForce 6600 (256 MB) | – |
| Memory | 512 MB or 16 GB (better) | 16 MB |
| Storage | 160 GB to 250 GB (better) | 1.2 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. | 120 MHz PowerPC 603e with integrated floating-point unit and 32 KB L1 cache. Exact original brochure and Apple support specify a 64-bit processor data path at 40 MHz. Optional 256 KB L2 High Power Macintosh Module M4849LL/A; it is not included as standard. |
| 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. | 1 MB built-in DRAM framebuffer; exact support and shared service video-mode list support 640 × 480 with 16-bit colour. Other higher-resolution timing pages in the shared service do not establish those as supported modes for the built-in 14-inch display. |
| 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. | 16 MB standard, expandable to 64 MB using two 72-pin SIMM sockets; exact support and shared Service Source state no soldered RAM. Original exact brochure specifies 70 ns or faster noncomposite SIMMs, while current support and service specify 80 ns. The 5260-series user manual technical table and exact 5260/120 user-guide update instead state a 12 MB minimum in removable 70 ns fast-page SIMMs without an exact factory-order bundle. November 1996 Apple Facts claims 8 MB on board plus an 8 MB SIMM, contradicting exact support and service. No additional factory configuration is inferred from these disagreements. |
| 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. | 1.2 GB IDE hard drive and 1.44 MB Apple SuperDrive floppy. Exact current support, TIL 20413 description and original education bundle list an 8× CD-ROM drive; shared Service Source identifies AppleCD 1200i. The September 1996 exact brochure and November 1996 Apple Facts instead say 4× CD-ROM. The optical-drive difference remains source-qualified rather than adding an undocumented factory configuration. |
| 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. | LC-compatible PDS, 68040-bus communications slot for optional modem or Ethernet, optional video-input card and TV tuner bay. PDS is not a direct connection to the PowerPC processor; processor-dependent cache/FPU cards are not compatible. Optional MPEG Media System requires the video-input card. Video capture accepts NTSC, PAL and SECAM; tuner standard varies by region. |
| Display | ||
| Screen | None built in | 12.3″ |
| Resolution | – | 640 × 480 |
| Panel | – | CRT |
| Refresh rate | – | 66.67 Hz |
| Display type | – | Built-in 14-inch nominal shadow-mask colour CRT with 12.3-inch viewable diagonal in the exact original brochure and product description. Shared Service Source instead says 12.8-inch viewable; exact model wording is retained. Dot pitch 0.28 mm; tilt-and-swivel base. |
| Display features | – | 640 × 480 at 16-bit colour and 66.67 Hz in the exact original brochure. The shared service agrees on 66.7 Hz. This is a CRT raster mode, not an LCD fixed pixel grid. |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 4 × USB-A, 2 × Ethernet, headphone jack | Headphone jack |
| Ethernet | 1 Gb/s | – |
| External displays | Up to 2 | – |
| Front ports | USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and headphone minijack. | Headphone output, push-button volume and display brightness controls, infrared remote receiver. |
| 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. | ADB, external DB-25 SCSI, two RS-232/422 modem/printer serial ports with LocalTalk, PlainTalk-compatible sound input and stereo sound output. Ethernet requires an optional communications-slot card; no GeoPort. Original exact brochure and maker catalogue specify five external SCSI devices; the shared user manual gives six and shared service gives seven, so limits remain source-qualified. |
| 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. | Optional Apple External Video Connector provides DB-15 mirroring, with a compatible display. Optional Apple Presentation System converts the mirrored output for television/projector or VCR use; it is not an independent extended desktop. |
| Speakers | Built-in speaker and optical/analogue external audio connections. | Two built-in speakers and 16-bit stereo output. Shared service specifies 22 kHz playback and 11/22 kHz recording, with ordinary audio-CD playback. Stereo input connectors are combined to mono for recording/play-through; do not treat the connector as stereo capture. |
| Microphones | – | Built-in microphone for mono recording; rear microphone/line input supports PlainTalk-compatible microphones. |
| Keyboard and mouse | Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse, USB keyboard extension and DVI-to-VGA adapter. | Original exact brochure and product description include a matching keyboard, mouse and necessary cables. External speakers, optional cache, Ethernet, video input/output, TV tuner and MPEG expansion are separate. Photos show the exact 5260/120 with keyboard and mouse. |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | Tower | All-in-one |
| Weight | – | 20.5 kg |
| Width × depth × height | – | 383 × 406 × 445 mm |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Size and weight detail | – | Exact original brochure gives 44.5 × 38.3 × 40.6 cm (height × width × depth), 20.5 kg/45 lb; current Apple support agrees on 16-inch depth and 45 lb. November 1996 Apple Facts instead gives 41.4 cm depth, with the same 20.5 kg and variation for installed devices. Shared service swaps width/depth and has inconsistent weight units. Exact original brochure measurements are retained. The shared 5260-series user manual instead lists 21.15 kg/47 lb; it agrees with the retained dimensions but not the exact brochure weight. |
| Power supply | – | Exact current support gives 125 W maximum, 110–240 V AC at 50–60 Hz. Exact original brochure instead gives 240 W maximum at the same voltage and frequency; shared service gives 100–240 V 47–63 Hz, 240 W maximum and a separate 220 W all-line/load maximum. Ratings remain source-qualified; no universal operating consumption is assigned. Shared user manual agrees on 125 W maximum, with 100–240 V at 50–60 Hz. |
| 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. | System 7.5.3 and 4 MB ROM in exact Apple support; original brochure calls the supplied software System 7.5. Apple records introduction on 1 October 1996. Contemporary original education ordering bundle and current November 1996 maker catalogue establish sale during 1996 but not a first-sale month; release remains year precision. Shared service explicitly identifies this model as the 120 MHz, 16 MB and AppleCD 1200i update to the 5260/100. North American Power Macintosh is kept distinct from international Performa 5260/120 and 5280 bundles. |
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