Apple iMac G4 (17-inch, Flat Panel)

Apple · iMac

iMac G4 (17-inch, Flat Panel)

Released August 2002

A PowerPC all-in-one with an adjustable 17-inch widescreen display and a DVD-writing optical drive.

Type
All-in-one
Processor
Motorola PowerPC G4 800 MHz (iMac Flat Panel)
Memory
256 MB – 1 GB
Storage
80 GB
Screen
17″
Weight
–

Performance

Processor
Motorola PowerPC G4 800 MHz (iMac Flat Panel)
CPU cores
1
Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce4 MX (32 MB)
Memory
256 MB or 1 GB
Storage
80 GB
CPU
800 MHz PowerPC G4 with 256 KB on-chip L2 cache and 100 MHz system bus. 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 32 MB dedicated DDR video memory; the retained maker sheet lists AGP 2x support.
Memory type
256 MB SDRAM standard, expandable to 1 GB; one 168-pin DIMM and one user-accessible SO-DIMM slot. Configurations conservatively list the published base and maximum.
Storage type
80 GB Ultra ATA hard drive and SuperDrive DVD-R/CD-RW. The retained sheet lists DVD-R writing at 2x, DVD reading at 6x, CD-R writing at 8x and CD-RW writing at 4x.

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 are not established by the exact maker sheet.
Display features
Typical viewing angles: 120° horizontal and 90° vertical. Articulated arm adjusts the display's 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.90 modem, headphone jack and Apple speaker minijack. Original AirPort 802.11b card is optional, rather than standard.
External displays
Mini-VGA provides video mirroring through an optional VGA adapter: 640 × 480 at 60 Hz, 800 × 600 at 75 Hz or 1024 × 768 at 75 Hz. S-video and composite output are not listed for this original revision.
Speakers
Built-in speaker and microphone, Apple Pro Speakers rated at 9 W each and internal 18 W amplifier.
Keyboard and mouse
Apple Pro Keyboard, Apple Pro Mouse and Apple Pro Speakers; modem cable, Apple Hardware Test CD and documentation.

Design and power

Type
All-in-one
Operating system
macOS
Size and weight detail
The retained combined maker sheet publishes metric size and weight only for the 15-inch model; those figures are not borrowed for the 17-inch model.
Power supply
90–264 V AC, 47–63 Hz, single phase; retained combined specification gives maximum continuous power 130 W.
In the box
Mac OS X and Mac OS 9 with Apple's creative and productivity software. The 17 July announcement expected shipping early the following month; Apple's 13 August release confirmed immediate availability, so the release month is August. Jaguar software availability and the launch configuration are not assumed to be identical.

Configurations

ProcessorMemoryStorageStorage typeGraphics
Motorola PowerPC G4 800 MHz (iMac Flat Panel)256 MB80 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce4 MX (32 MB)
Motorola PowerPC G4 800 MHz (iMac Flat Panel)1 GB80 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce4 MX (32 MB)

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Adjustable widescreen display
  • Dedicated graphics memory
  • Keyboard, mouse and speakers included

Cons

  • Single-core processor
  • USB ports limited to USB 1.1
  • Video output mirrors the built-in display

Closest rivals

Model
TypeProcessorMemoryStorageScreenWeightReleased
All-in-oneMotorola PowerPC G4 0.7 GHz (eMac 2002) or PowerPC G4 0.8 GHz (eMac 2002)128 MB – 1 GB40 GB – 60 GB17″22.7 kgJun 2002
All-in-oneMotorola PowerPC G4 700 MHz (iMac Flat Panel) or PowerPC G4 800 MHz (iMac Flat Panel)128 MB – 1 GB40 GB – 60 GB15″9.7 kgJan 2002
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

Newer model: iMac G4 (17-inch, Early 2003).

Sources

  1. support.apple.com/en-gb/112501
  2. apple.com/newsroom/2002/07/17Apple-Unveils-17-inch-Flat-Screen-iMac
  3. apple.com/newsroom/2002/08/13Apple-Enhances-Consumer-Desktop-Lines
  4. everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/specs/imac_800_17_fp.html

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

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