Apple · Power Mac
Power Macintosh G3 Desktop
A horizontal PowerPC desktop with an internal floppy drive, legacy Macintosh ports and three PCI expansion slots.
- Type
- Compact
- Processor
- PowerPC G3 233 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Desktop), PowerPC G3 266 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Desktop) or PowerPC G3 300 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Desktop)
- Memory
- 32 MB – 64 MB
- Storage
- 4 GB – 6 GB
- Screen
- –
- Weight
- 9.979 kg
Specifications
Report a wrong or missing specPerformance
- Processor
- PowerPC G3 233 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Desktop), PowerPC G3 266 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Desktop) or PowerPC G3 300 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Desktop)
- CPU cores
- 1
- Graphics
- ATI 3D RAGE II+ (2 MB), ATI 3D RAGE II+, RAGE Pro or RAGE Pro Turbo (2 MB; dated factory revisions) or ATI 3D RAGE Pro Turbo (2 MB)
- Memory
- 32 MB or 64 MB
- Storage
- 4 GB to 6 GB
- CPU
- 233 or 266 MHz PowerPC G3 at launch, with 512 KB backside L2 cache at 117 or 133 MHz. The later 300 MHz option has 1 MB at 150 MHz; all use a 66 MHz system bus and 32 KB each instruction/data L1 cache. Apple names IBM/Motorola as G3 suppliers but does not identify each fitted processor supplier.
- GPU
- Original ATI 3D RAGE II+ with 2 MB SGRAM, expandable to 6 MB. Apple Service Source distinguishes later RAGE Pro logic boards. EveryMac identifies May 1998 RAGE Pro and August 1998 RAGE Pro Turbo revisions; dated 300 MHz stock graphics are described explicitly rather than assigned to all models.
- Memory type
- Three 168-pin 3.3 V unbuffered SDRAM DIMM slots. Original support table gives 192 MB maximum; later Apple Service Source specifies 384 MB with DIMMs no taller than 1.15 inches (192 MB with 1.25-inch DIMMs). Unofficial 768 MB upgrades are excluded.
- Storage type
- Launch factory pairs: M6141LL/A 233 MHz/32 MB/4 GB IDE/CD-ROM; M6202LL/A 266 MHz/32 MB/4 GB IDE/CD-ROM/100 MB Zip. Later 300 MHz/32 or 64 MB/6 GB/24x CD-ROM/Zip pairs are from EveryMac’s exact Desktop record; precise graphics revisions vary. Maker BTO options include 4 or 9 GB Ultra Wide SCSI, 2x DVD-ROM, Zip, faster Ethernet and FireWire cards; unproven cross-combinations are omitted. Internal SuperDrive accepts 1.44 MB and 800 KB floppy disks.
- Expansion slots
- Three PCI slots, plus a PERCH audio or audio/video I/O card slot; optional modem attaches to the I/O card. Desktop has one or two free 3.5-inch storage bays depending on the Zip configuration.
Display
- Screen
- None built in
Connections
- Ports
- Ethernet, headphone jack
- Ethernet
- 0.01 Gb/s
- Back ports
- One DB-15 monitor connector, one DB-25 external SCSI connector, two DMA serial ports compatible with LocalTalk/GeoPort, one ADB connector, 10BASE-T Ethernet and stereo audio input/output. Optional expansion cards do not count as standard ports.
- External displays
- Built-in monitor port supports resolutions up to 1600 × 1200; available colour depths depend on graphics memory. Optional separate graphics card supports a second monitor.
- Keyboard and mouse
- AppleDesign Keyboard, ADB Mouse II and Apple PlainTalk microphone (Service Source).
Design and power
- Type
- Compact
- Weight
- 9.979 kg
- Width × depth × height
- 365.76 × 429.26 × 160.02 mm
- Operating system
- macOS
- Size and weight detail
- Current maker support table gives 6.3 inches height, 14.4 inches width, 16.9 inches depth and 22 lb; main fields are direct unit conversions. Older Service Source differs at 15.6 × 36.5 × 43.0 cm and 9.97 kg. Weight varies with fitted devices.
- Power supply
- 230 W maximum continuous and 290 W peak input (Service Source). Voltage-selector settings cover 100–130 V or 200–240 V AC; 50–60 Hz.
- In the box
- Mac OS 8.0 originally; revised logic board requires Mac OS 8.1 and System Enabler 777. November 1997 month is supported by Apple’s November release confirming immediate G3 availability and the opened Apple Store notice describing actual sales. No exact first-delivery day is established.
Configurations
| Processor | Memory | Storage | Storage type | Graphics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PowerPC G3 233 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Desktop) | 32 MB | 4 GB | Hard drive | ATI 3D RAGE II+ (2 MB) |
| PowerPC G3 266 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Desktop) | 32 MB | 4 GB | Hard drive | ATI 3D RAGE II+ (2 MB) |
| PowerPC G3 300 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Desktop) | 32 MB | 6 GB | Hard drive | ATI 3D RAGE II+, RAGE Pro or RAGE Pro Turbo (2 MB; dated factory revisions) |
| PowerPC G3 300 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Desktop) | 64 MB | 6 GB | Hard drive | ATI 3D RAGE Pro Turbo (2 MB) |
Pros and cons
Pros
- Three PCI expansion slots
- Accessible internal components
- Built-in floppy and CD-ROM drives
Cons
- No built-in USB or FireWire
- Small standard RAM allocation
- Early logic boards lack IDE slave-drive support
Closest rivals
Model | Type | Processor | Memory | Storage | Screen | Weight | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compact | PowerPC 603e 200 MHz (Power Macintosh 4400/200) | 16 MB – 32 MB | 2 GB | – | 9.5 kg | 1997 | |
| Compact | PowerPC 604e 200 MHz (Power Macintosh 9600/200) | 32 MB | 2 GB | – | 9.97 kg | 1997 | |
| Compact | PowerPC 604e 200 MHz (Power Macintosh 7600/200) | 32 MB | 2 GB | – | 9.98 kg | 1997 |
Sources
- support.apple.com/en-us/112279
- macdat.net/files/pdf/apple/servicesource/powermac_g3_desktop.pdf
- apple.com/ca/fr/press/1997/11/PowerMacG3.html
- apple.com/ca/fr/press/1997/11/AppleStore.html
- everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac_g3/specs/powermac_g3_300_dt.html
- apple.com/ca/fr/press/1997/11/newEra.html
Photo: upload.wikimedia.org
