Apple iMac G4 (17-inch, Early 2003)

Apple · iMac

iMac G4 (17-inch, Early 2003)

Released February 2003

A 17-inch PowerPC all-in-one with an adjustable display, DDR memory and internal support for optional wireless upgrades.

Model history · 2 models, 2002–2003
  1. 2002iMac G4 (17-inch, Flat Panel)Compare
  2. 2003iMac G4 (17-inch, Early 2003)
Type
All-in-one
Processor
Motorola PowerPC G4 1.0 GHz (iMac Early 2003)
Memory
256 MB – 1 GB
Storage
80 GB
Screen
17″
Weight
10.4 kg

Performance

Processor
Motorola PowerPC G4 1.0 GHz (iMac Early 2003)
CPU cores
1
Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce4 MX (64 MB)
Memory
256 MB, 512 MB or 1 GB
Storage
80 GB
CPU
1 GHz PowerPC G4 with 133 MHz system bus and 256 KB on-chip L2 cache. Generic maker-clock record retains the single-core identity cross-checked with the exact EveryMac source; a silicon revision is not inferred.
GPU
NVIDIA GeForce4 MX with 64 MB dedicated DDR video memory and AGP 4x support.
Memory type
256 MB PC2100 (266 MHz) DDR SDRAM standard; factory options 512 MB or 1 GB. One 184-pin DIMM and one user-accessible SO-DIMM slot. Configurations use Apple's supported 1 GB maximum, rather than unofficial upgrade limits.
Storage type
80 GB 7200 rpm Ultra ATA/100 hard drive and 4x SuperDrive DVD-R/CD-RW. Reads DVDs at 8x; writes CD-R at 16x and CD-RW at 8x. No unsupported storage option is paired with this processor.

Display

Screen size
17″
Resolution
1440 × 900
Brightness
200 nits
Display type
Widescreen TFT active-matrix LCD with millions of colours and typical 300:1 contrast; panel technology and refresh rate unpublished in the exact maker sheet.
Display features
Typical viewing angles: 120° horizontal and 90° vertical; articulated display arm adjusts height and angle.

Connections

Ports
3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
0.1 Gb/s
Back ports
Three USB 1.1 ports on the computer, plus two on the keyboard; two FireWire 400 ports with 8 W shared power, Mini-VGA, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, headphone jack, Apple speaker minijack and audio line-in. AirPort Extreme 802.11g card and internal Bluetooth module are optional factory upgrades, not standard equipment.
External displays
Mini-VGA provides video mirroring on a VGA display or S-video/composite television through optional adapters. Output resolutions: 640 × 480 at 60 Hz, 800 × 600 at 75 Hz or 1024 × 768 at 75 Hz.
Speakers
Built-in speaker and microphone; Apple Pro Speakers rated at 9 W each and internal 18 W amplifier.
Keyboard and mouse
Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse, Apple Pro Speakers and modem cable.

Design and power

Type
All-in-one
Weight
10.4 kg
Operating system
macOS
Size and weight detail
Adjustable maker ranges: height 331–509 mm, width 423–449 mm and depth 270–423 mm; base diameter 270 mm. Reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
Power supply
90–264 V AC, 47–63 Hz, single phase; maximum continuous power 160 W.
In the box
Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar, iLife and bundled productivity software, with the Classic environment. Maker launch confirms immediate availability on 4 February 2003. The later USB 2.0 generation is a separate model.

Configurations

ProcessorMemoryStorageStorage typeGraphics
Motorola PowerPC G4 1.0 GHz (iMac Early 2003)256 MB80 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce4 MX (64 MB)
Motorola PowerPC G4 1.0 GHz (iMac Early 2003)512 MB80 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce4 MX (64 MB)
Motorola PowerPC G4 1.0 GHz (iMac Early 2003)1 GB80 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce4 MX (64 MB)

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Adjustable widescreen display
  • Dedicated graphics memory
  • Audio input and analogue video output

Cons

  • Single-core processor
  • USB ports limited to USB 1.1
  • Wireless networking requires an optional card

Closest rivals

Model
TypeProcessorMemoryStorageScreenWeightReleased
All-in-oneMotorola PowerPC G4 0.8 GHz (eMac ATI Graphics) or PowerPC G4 1 GHz (eMac ATI Graphics)128 MB – 1 GB40 GB – 80 GB17″22.7 kgMay 2003
All-in-oneMotorola PowerPC G4 800 MHz (iMac Flat Panel)256 MB – 1 GB60 GB15″9.7 kgFeb 2003
All-in-oneMotorola PowerPC G4 1 GHz (iMac USB 2.0)256 MB – 1 GB80 GB – 160 GB15″9.7 kgSept 2003

Previous model: iMac G4 (17-inch, Flat Panel). Newer model: iMac G4 (17-inch, USB 2.0).

Sources

  1. support.apple.com/en-gb/112516
  2. apple.com/uk/newsroom/2003/02/04Apple-Unveils-Spring-iMacs
  3. everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/specs/imac_1.0_17_fp.html

Photo: Low-resolution 240 px maker family front image with blue desktop artwork.

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