Apple Power Mac G5 (Late 2005) vs Apple Power Macintosh 7200/100

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Power Mac G5 (Late 2005) compared with Power Macintosh 7200/100

	ApplePower Mac G5 (Late 2005)	ApplePower Macintosh 7200/100
Overview
Released
Released	October 2005	1996
Performance
Processor
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 601 100 MHz (Power Macintosh 7200/100)
CPU cores
CPU cores	2 or 4	1
Graphics
Graphics	NVIDIA GeForce 6600 LE (128 MB) or NVIDIA GeForce 6600 (256 MB)	–
Memory
Memory	512 MB or 16 GB (better)	8 MB
Storage
Storage	160 GB to 250 GB (better)	800 MB
CPU
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.	100 MHz PowerPC 601 with integrated floating-point unit, 32 KB L1 cache and 50 MHz processor bus. Exact improved-model developer table lists no fitted L2 cache for the 7200/100; the shared maker catalogue documents an optional 256 KB L2 cache. The developer note introductory narrative contains a 7600/100/604 typo; its explicitly labelled processor/configuration tables establish the 7200/100 as a 601 model.
GPU
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 VRAM standard, expandable to 4 MB. Original Apple catalogue describes a 32-bit graphics data path with 1 MB and 64-bit with 2 MB. It supports 24-bit colour on 16-inch displays with 2 MB and on 21-inch displays with 4 MB; exact modes depend on installed VRAM and a compatible external monitor.
Memory type
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.	Exact April 1996 improved-model developer table lists 8 MB RAM in four 168-pin DIMM slots; the shared May 1996 7200/100 and 7200/120 catalogue describes 8 MB or 16 MB family configurations and expansion to 256 MB. No exact 100 MHz model 16 MB factory configuration is inferred from the combined table.
Storage type
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.	Exact developer and original Apple support configuration tables list an 800 MB hard disk for the 7200/100. The joint May 1996 7200/100 and 7200/120 catalogue instead lists 1.2 GB with regional configuration wording; that unresolved family-level difference is not assigned as another exact 100 MHz configuration. A built-in CD-ROM is confirmed for all improved models; the joint catalogue gives quadruple-speed CD-ROM and Apple SuperDrive floppy. One additional 3.5-inch storage-device bay.
Expansion slots
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.	Three PCI expansion slots; the maker catalogue lists support for six SCSI devices. Apple explicitly supports its optional PCI Token Ring Card on 7200/100 and 7200/120, unlike earlier 7200/75 and 7200/90. The contemporary support article says the Token Ring card is incompatible with the PCI DOS Compatibility Card.
Display
Screen
Screen	None built in	None built in
Connections
Ports
Ports	4 × USB-A, 2 × Ethernet, headphone jack	Ethernet
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s	–
External displays
External displays	Up to 2	–
Front ports
Front ports	USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and headphone minijack.	–
Back ports
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.	Two GeoPort-compatible serial ports, ADB, monitor output, external SCSI and 16-bit stereo audio input/output. Built-in LocalTalk, 10BASE-T and AAUI Ethernet. The original enhanced-model support article describes CurioPrime multihoming for simultaneous AppleTalk network ports.
External displays
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.	External monitor required. Built-in video supports up to 1280 × 1024 with 4 MB VRAM in the original maker catalogue. The primary shared100/120 maker photograph shows a separate display and keyboard/mouse; the display is not built into the computer.
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in speaker and optical/analogue external audio connections.	–
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse, USB keyboard extension and DVI-to-VGA adapter.	The shared maker photograph shows keyboard, mouse and an external monitor; this is an illustrated setup, not evidence all accessories were included in each bundle. The shared 7200 user guide says monitor/keyboard vary with what was purchased and the PlainTalk microphone is optional.
Design and power
Type
Type	Tower	Compact
Weight
Weight	–	9.9 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	–	366 × 429 × 157 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	–	Original May 1996 joint 7200/100 and 7200/120 Apple Facts table gives 15.7 × 36.6 × 42.9 cm (height ×width ×depth), 9.9 kg/22 lb, varying with installed devices. These are computer measurements, excluding the separately shown monitor and peripherals.
Materials
Materials	Aluminium enclosure.	–
In the box
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 in the exact improved-model developer note. Original Apple May 1996 current product catalogue establishes sale in 1996; actual first-sale month is unresolved, so release stays year precision. Developer-note publication 23 April 1996 and support-article publication 25 April 1996 are not treated as retail-launch dates. No successor relationship is inferred merely from shared family naming.