Apple · Power Mac
Power Mac G5 (2003)
Apple’s first G5 tower, with single or dual processors, Serial ATA drives and an aluminium enclosure.
Model history · 9 models, 1999–2003
- 1999Power Mac G4 (AGP Graphics)Compare
- 2000Power Mac G4 (Gigabit Ethernet)Compare
- 2001Power Mac G4 (Digital Audio)Compare
- 2001Power Mac G4 (QuickSilver 2001)Compare
- 2002Power Mac G4 (QuickSilver 2002)Compare
- 2002Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2002)Compare
- 2003Power Mac G4 (FW800)Compare
- 2003Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2003)Compare
- 2003Power Mac G5 (2003)
- Type
- Tower
- Processor
- ibm PowerPC G5 1600 MHz (Power Mac 2003), PowerPC G5 1800 MHz (Power Mac 2003) or PowerPC G5 2000 MHz (Power Mac 2003)
- Memory
- 256 MB – 8 GB
- Storage
- 80 GB – 160 GB
- Screen
- –
- Weight
- 17.8 kg
What reviewers say
Reviewers welcome the substantial architecture and performance step, professional media capabilities and organised, quiet aluminium enclosure. They find the large case and high price less appealing, with fewer drive bays than the G4. Cross-platform tests do not support a universal claim to be the fastest personal computer.
From macworld.com and worldradiohistory.com
Specifications
Report a wrong or missing specPerformance
- Processor
- PowerPC G5 1600 MHz (Power Mac 2003), PowerPC G5 1800 MHz (Power Mac 2003), 2 × PowerPC G5 2000 MHz (Power Mac 2003) or 2 × PowerPC G5 1800 MHz (Power Mac 2003)
- CPU cores
- 1 or 2
- Graphics
- NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64 MB) or ATI Radeon 9600 Pro (64 MB)
- Memory
- 256 MB, 512 MB, 4 GB or 8 GB
- Storage
- 80 GB to 160 GB
- CPU
- Single 1.6 or 1.8 GHz, or dual 2 GHz PowerPC G5 processors; Apple identifies IBM fabrication. Each physical processor has 512 KB L2 cache. Front-side bus per processor is 800 MHz, 900 MHz or 1 GHz respectively. A dual 1.8 GHz configuration was added on 18 November 2003, available immediately; it remains part of this generation.
- GPU
- Stock 1.6 and 1.8 GHz: NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra with 64 MB DDR. Stock dual 2 GHz: ATI Radeon 9600 Pro with 64 MB DDR. November dual 1.8 GHz: GeForce FX 5200 Ultra 64 MB. Optional ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB.
- Memory type
- Single 1.6 GHz: 256 MB DDR333, four DIMM slots, maximum 4 GB. Single 1.8 GHz and dual 2 GHz: 512 MB DDR400, eight slots, maximum 8 GB. November dual 1.8 GHz also has 512 MB DDR400 and an 8 GB maximum. DIMMs are installed in matched pairs. Each configuration retains its stock drive and graphics at base and maximum memory.
- Storage type
- Stock 80 GB on the single 1.6 GHz; 160 GB on the single 1.8 GHz, dual 2 GHz and November dual 1.8 GHz. 7200 rpm Serial ATA drives; two internal bays with 150 MB/s interfaces. One optical bay with 4x DVD-R SuperDrive; optional Combo drive and 80, 160 or 250 GB drives.
- Expansion slots
- AGP 8x Pro graphics slot. Single 1.6 GHz has three 64-bit 33 MHz PCI slots; faster original models and the November dual 1.8 GHz have PCI-X slots, two at 100 MHz and one at 133 MHz.
Display
- Screen
- None built in
Connections
- Ports
- 3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
- Ethernet
- 1 Gb/s
- External displays
- Up to 2
- Front ports
- USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and headphone minijack.
- Back ports
- Two USB 2.0, FireWire 800, FireWire 400, Gigabit Ethernet, V.92 modem, optical Toslink audio input/output and analogue line-in/out. Optional 54 Mbps AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 1.1 with external antennas. Three chassis USB ports in total; keyboard ports are separate.
- External displays
- ADC and DVI connectors with DVI-to-VGA adapter; two displays in extended desktop or mirrored modes. A second ADC display needs an optional adapter.
- Speakers
- Built-in speaker; external audio can use analogue or optical connections.
- Keyboard and mouse
- Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse, USB extension cable, DVI-to-VGA adapter and modem cable.
Design and power
- Type
- Tower
- Weight
- 17.8 kg
- Width × depth × height
- 206 × 475 × 511 mm
- Operating system
- macOS
- Size and weight detail
- Published height 51.1 cm, width 20.6 cm, depth 47.5 cm; 17.8 kg reference weight varies with configuration.
- Materials
- Aluminium enclosure with separate thermal zones.
- In the box
- Original models shipped with Mac OS X Jaguar; the November dual 1.8 GHz announcement includes Panther. Apple’s 18 August 2003 shipping release confirms immediate availability of the single-processor models; the original dual 2 GHz was due later that month.
Configurations
| Processor | Memory | Storage | Storage type | Graphics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PowerPC G5 1600 MHz (Power Mac 2003) | 256 MB | 80 GB | Hard drive | NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64 MB) |
| PowerPC G5 1600 MHz (Power Mac 2003) | 4 GB | 80 GB | Hard drive | NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64 MB) |
| PowerPC G5 1800 MHz (Power Mac 2003) | 512 MB | 160 GB | Hard drive | NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64 MB) |
| PowerPC G5 1800 MHz (Power Mac 2003) | 8 GB | 160 GB | Hard drive | NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64 MB) |
| 2 × PowerPC G5 2000 MHz (Power Mac 2003) | 512 MB | 160 GB | Hard drive | ATI Radeon 9600 Pro (64 MB) |
| 2 × PowerPC G5 2000 MHz (Power Mac 2003) | 8 GB | 160 GB | Hard drive | ATI Radeon 9600 Pro (64 MB) |
| 2 × PowerPC G5 1800 MHz (Power Mac 2003) | 512 MB | 160 GB | Hard drive | NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64 MB) |
| 2 × PowerPC G5 1800 MHz (Power Mac 2003) | 8 GB | 160 GB | Hard drive | NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64 MB) |
Pros and cons
Pros
- Single and dual-processor configurations
- Separate cooling zones and accessible expansion
- Digital and analogue audio inputs and outputs
Cons
- Only two internal hard-drive bays
- Wireless connectivity sold separately
- Base model has PCI rather than PCI-X
Closest rivals
Model | Type | Processor | Memory | Storage | Screen | Weight | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tower | PowerPC G5 1800 MHz (Power Mac June 2004), PowerPC G5 2000 MHz (Power Mac June 2004) or PowerPC G5 2500 MHz (Power Mac June 2004) | 256 MB – 8 GB | 80 GB – 160 GB | – | 20.2 kg | Jun 2004 | |
| Tower | PowerPC G5 2000 MHz (Power Mac Early 2005), PowerPC G5 2300 MHz (Power Mac Early 2005) or PowerPC G5 2700 MHz (Power Mac Early 2005) | 512 MB – 8 GB | 160 GB – 250 GB | – | 20.2 kg | Apr 2005 | |
| Tower | PowerPC G5 1800 MHz (Power Mac Late 2004) | 256 MB – 4 GB | 80 GB | – | 16.4 kg | Oct 2004 |
Previous model: Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2003). Newer model: Power Mac G5 (June 2004).