Apple · Power Mac
Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White)
A translucent PowerPC tower with a hinged motherboard panel, USB and FireWire ports, and PCI graphics.
Model history · 2 models, 1997–1999
- 1997Power Macintosh G3 Mini TowerCompare
- 1999Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White)
- Type
- Tower
- Processor
- PowerPC G3 300 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Blue and White), PowerPC G3 350 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Blue and White), PowerPC G3 400 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Blue and White) or PowerPC G3 450 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Blue and White)
- Memory
- 64 MB – 128 MB
- Storage
- 6 GB – 12 GB
- Screen
- –
- Weight
- 13 kg
Specifications
Report a wrong or missing specPerformance
- Processor
- PowerPC G3 300 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Blue and White), PowerPC G3 350 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Blue and White), PowerPC G3 400 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Blue and White) or PowerPC G3 450 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Blue and White)
- CPU cores
- 1
- Graphics
- ATI RAGE 128 (16 MB SDRAM)
- Memory
- 64 MB or 128 MB
- Storage
- 6 GB to 12 GB
- CPU
- Original 300, 350 and 400 MHz PowerPC G3 range; later 350, 400 and 450 MHz. The 300 MHz has 512 KB backside L2 cache; faster models have 1 MB, all at half processor clock. 100 MHz system bus, integrated FPU, 32 KB each instruction/data L1 cache. Manufacturer supplier is not assigned without exact fitted-chip evidence.
- GPU
- ATI RAGE 128 GL PCI card with 16 MB SDRAM, installed in the dedicated 66 MHz PCI slot. Supports QuickDraw 3D RAVE and OpenGL; DVD configurations add a hardware MPEG-2 decoder module.
- Memory type
- Four 168-pin 3.3 V unbuffered PC100 SDRAM slots; maker maximum 1 GB. Factory memory of 64 or 128 MB stays tied to each configuration.
- Storage type
- Apple’s Japanese model list separates original factory pairs: 300 MHz/64 MB/6 GB ATA/CD (M6670); 350 MHz/64 MB/6 GB ATA/DVD (M6668); 350 MHz/128 MB/12 GB ATA/CD/Zip (M6666); 400 MHz/128 MB/9 GB Ultra2 Wide SCSI/CD (M6665). Later pairs: 350 MHz/64 MB/6 GB ATA/CD (M7556); 400 MHz/64 MB/6 GB ATA/DVD (M7555); 400 MHz/128 MB/12 GB ATA/CD/Zip (M7554); 450 MHz/128 MB/9 GB Ultra2 Wide SCSI/CD (M7553). Service Source distinguishes original 24x or 32x CD drives; current revised sheet gives 32x CD and 5x DVD. Optional BTO combinations are not multiplied into unverified configurations.
- Expansion slots
- Four PCI slots: three 64-bit 33 MHz slots and one 32-bit 66 MHz slot occupied by graphics. Two extra internal hard-drive expansion bays; SCSI configurations use a PCI controller card.
Display
- Screen
- None built in
Connections
- Ports
- 2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
- Ethernet
- 0.1 Gb/s
- Back ports
- Two 12 Mbps USB ports, two FireWire 400 ports, one ADB port, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, VGA and stereo audio input/output. Optional 56K modem is separate. Keyboard’s two USB ports excluded from chassis count. Current maker table corrects the developer note: ADB total current maximum is 500 mA, not 100 mA.
- External displays
- Graphics supports up to 1600 × 1200 at 32 bits per pixel for 2D; 3D maximum is 1600 × 1200 with thousands of colours or 1280 × 1024 with millions.
- Speakers
- One built-in speaker; 16-bit stereo input/output at up to 44.1 kHz.
- Keyboard and mouse
- Apple USB Keyboard and Apple USB Mouse; Macintosh-to-VGA display adapter.
Design and power
- Type
- Tower
- Weight
- 13 kg
- Width × depth × height
- 226 × 467 × 432 mm
- Operating system
- macOS
- Size and weight detail
- Maker centimetre figures converted directly to millimetres. Published 13.0 kg example includes CD-ROM, Zip and an ATA hard drive; fitted devices change weight.
- Power supply
- 200 W maximum continuous, excluding display; 115 V AC (90–132 V) or 230 V AC (180–264 V), 47–63 Hz.
- In the box
- Mac OS 8.5.1 originally; later stock has Mac OS 8.6. Apple’s 5 January 1999 release says the new range arrives on the market; contemporary January demonstration coverage says Apple is now shipping. Month precision retained, no inferred exact first-delivery day. Server G3 bundled configurations are excluded.
Configurations
| Processor | Memory | Storage | Storage type | Graphics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PowerPC G3 300 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Blue and White) | 64 MB | 6 GB | Hard drive | ATI RAGE 128 (16 MB SDRAM) |
| PowerPC G3 350 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Blue and White) | 64 MB | 6 GB | Hard drive | ATI RAGE 128 (16 MB SDRAM) |
| PowerPC G3 350 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Blue and White) | 128 MB | 12 GB | Hard drive | ATI RAGE 128 (16 MB SDRAM) |
| PowerPC G3 400 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Blue and White) | 128 MB | 9 GB | Hard drive | ATI RAGE 128 (16 MB SDRAM) |
| PowerPC G3 400 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Blue and White) | 64 MB | 6 GB | Hard drive | ATI RAGE 128 (16 MB SDRAM) |
| PowerPC G3 400 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Blue and White) | 128 MB | 12 GB | Hard drive | ATI RAGE 128 (16 MB SDRAM) |
| PowerPC G3 450 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Blue and White) | 128 MB | 9 GB | Hard drive | ATI RAGE 128 (16 MB SDRAM) |
Pros and cons
Pros
- Accessible hinged motherboard panel
- USB and FireWire built in
- Three free PCI expansion slots
Cons
- No built-in floppy drive or serial ports
- Legacy SCSI requires an expansion card
- Round bundled mouse
Closest rivals
Model | Type | Processor | Memory | Storage | Screen | Weight | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tower | PowerPC G3 233 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Mini Tower), PowerPC G3 266 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Mini Tower), PowerPC G3 300 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Mini Tower) or PowerPC G3 333 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Mini Tower) | 32 MB – 128 MB | 4 GB – 9 GB | – | 15.015 kg | Nov 1997 | |
| All-in-one | PowerPC G3 266 MHz (iMac) | 32 MB – 128 MB | 6 GB | 15″ | – | Jan 1999 | |
| All-in-one | PowerPC G3 333 MHz (iMac) | 32 MB – 128 MB | 6 GB | 15″ | – | Apr 1999 |
Previous model: Power Macintosh G3 Mini Tower.
Sources
- support.apple.com/en-us/112293
- macdat.net/files/pdf/apple/servicesource/powermac_g3_blueandwhite.pdf
- apple.com/jp/support/list.html
- apple.com/ca/fr/press/1999/01/new_for_99.html
- wap.org/journal/showcase/washingtonapplepijournal1999v21no2.pdf
Photo: macdat.net