The Mac Observer: AAPLTalk System Shootouts - Apple Desktop Comparison Chart

by Charles Gaba

Visit Charle Gaba's new System Shootout site for the latest shootouts!

Desktop Shootouts
New!	(U.S. $):

$800
Desktops

Apple Desktop Lineup
Page 1	Page 2

Laptop Shootouts
(coming soon!)

$800
Laptops

$1,100
Laptops

$1,600
"Mini-Me's"

$2,000
Laptops

$2,600
Laptops

$3,000
"LapZillas"

Apple Laptop Lineup

Laptops: iBook vs. Lindows

Educational Desktops: $700 / $1,000

OS's: Mac OS X vs. Windows XP

	AS OF 3/24/04
Note: Read the AAPLTalk System Shootout FAQ before proceeding!!!

STOCK MODELS
from Apple's
online store

PowerMac G4 w/17" LCD

PowerMac G5 w/17" LCD

Design/Styling:

Polycarbonate Shell

Aluminum Casing

Mobility:

appx. 50 lbs. total; integrated handles

appx. 54 lbs. total; integrated handles

Component Access?

Side drops open for easy expansion & component access.

Side panel lifts off for easy expansion & component access.

Desk Space Used:

appx. 300 sq. inches total

Noise Volume:

Full-sized fans.

under 35db (computer-controlled cooling system)

Energy Use:

appx. 340 watts;
appx. $60/yr.

appx. 450 watts (appx. $75/year)

Processor:
Notes

1.25 GHz G4

1.8 GHz Pentium 4

1.6 GHz G5

2.6 GHz Pentium 4

DUAL 1.8 GHz G5

3.1 GHz Pentium 4

DUAL 2.0 GHz G5

3.8 GHz Pentium 4

Cache:

64k L1 cache;
256k L2 cache

64k L1 cache; 512k L2 cache

64k L1 cache & 512k L2 cache per processor

L3 Cache/Other:

1 MB DDR L3 cache

64 bit architecture

RAM Type:

DDR-SDRAM PC2700 (333 MHz)

DDR-SDRAM PC3200 (400 MHz)

Front Side Bus:

167 MHz bus

800 MHz bus

900 MHz bus per proc.

1.0 GHz bus per proc.

RAM Amount:

256 MB (1 DIMM)

256 MB (2 DIMM)

512 MB (2 DIMM)

Max. RAM:

4.0 GB (4 slots)

8.0 GB (8 slots)

Hard Drive Capacity:

80 GB

160 GB

Hard Drive Type:

Ultra ATA/100

Serial-ATA 1.5 Gbs

Hard Drive Speed:

7200 RPM

CD-ROM:

32x CD-ROM

CD-RW:

32x10x CD-RW

16x10x CD-RW

DVD-ROM:

8x DVD-ROM

DVD-RW:

4x2x DVD-RW

PCI/AGP Slots:

4 PCI available
+ 1 filled AGP 4x

3 PCI available
+ 1 filled AGP 8x

3 PCI-X available + 1 filled AGP 8x

Internal Bays:

3 available / 4 total

1 available / 2 total

External Bays:

1 available / 2 total

0 available / 1 total

Mouse:

USB Optical

USB Ports:

6 USB 1.1 total: 2 on back, 2 on keybd., 2 on monitor

7 total: 3 USB 2.0 (2 on back, 1 on front)
4 USB 1.1 (2 on kbd, 2 on monitor)

FireWire Ports:

2 ports @ 400 Mbps

2 ports @ 400 Mbps (1 on front); 1 port @ 800 Mbps

Video Card:

ATI Radeon 9000

NVIDIA GeForce FX5200 Ultra

ATI Radeon 9600 Pro

Video RAM:

64 MB DDR dedicated

VGA Out:

Yes (DVI-VGA adapter included)

DVI/ADC Out:

Yes (DVI & ADC)

RCA-Out:

via optional PCI card

S-Video Out:

via optional PCI card

Dual Display Support?

Yes (1 ADC + 1 DVI or VGA)

Display:

17" view. digital LCD (Apple Studio Display)

Resolution:

1280x1024 / 1.3 Mpx (native); 1920x1200 2.3 Mpx (max. possible via video card)

Viewable Angle:

160 vertical; 160 horizontal

Brightness/Contrast:

200 cd/m; 350:1 contrast ratio

Audio In:

Microphone Jack; Audio In Jack

Analog & Optical digital audio in (Toslink connectors)

Audio Out:

HP/Speaker Jacks; Audio Out Jack

Analog & optical digital audio out (Toslink connectors)
front headphone jack

Speakers:

integrated mono speaker included; works with any external speaker system

Ethernet:

10/100/1000 (Gigabit) integrated

56k Modem:

Yes (v.92) integrated; built-in fax software

Wi-Fi Card?

802.11b (11 Mbps) via
optional internal Airport card

802.11g (54 Mbps) via optional internal Airport Extreme card

Bluetooth Card?

optional via internal or external card

Hardware Extras:

Epson Stylus C84 Printer(free after rebate; ltd. time offer)

Included OS:

Mac OS X 10.3 Panther; Mac OS 9.2; BSD Unix; Apache Web Server

Windows Support:

DOS/95/98/ME/2000/XP (via Virtual PC)

Mac Support:

Mac OS 9, (Native)
Mac OS X (Native)

Mac OS 9 (Classic Environment),
Mac OS X (Native)

Linux Support:

Various flavors (Native)

Unix Support:

Various flavors (Native)

Java 2 Support:

Native

Save-as PDF:

Native (any file)

Handwriting Recognition:

Inkwell (system wide)

Word Processor:

MSFT Word v.X trial

Spreadsheet:

MSFT Excel v.X trial

Presentation:

MSFT PowerPoint v.X trial

Database:

FileMaker Pro 6 trial

Drawing/Painting:

Art Director's Toolkit; GraphicConverter

Projects/Planning:

OmniOutliner; OmniGraffle

Web Browser

Safari 1.2, IE 5.2, Sherlock 3.0

E-Mail/PIM/Address Book:

OS X Mail/Address Book; iCal, iSync, iChat AV; MSFT Entourage v.X trial

Media Players:
*free download

QuickTime 6; Media Player 9.0*; RealOne Player 9.0 *; DVD Player

Financial:

QuickBooks Pro 5

Reference:

Digital Photography:

iPhoto 4.0; GraphicConverter

Digital Video Editing:

iMovie 4.0

CD Burning/Music:

iTunes 4.2; Disk Burner

Audio Engineering:

GarageBand 1.0

DVD Burning/Authoring:

iDVD 4.0; Disk Burner

Games Included:

Chess

Additional Software:

Asstd. system software

Free Services:

1 month Earthlink; 2 month .Mac trial

Viruses/Security:

No known viruses effect Mac OS X.

Firewall:

Built-in; configurable

Warranty:

1 yr. ltd./mail-in; 90 days phone (3-yr. AppleCare extended warranty available for $249; covers LCD as well)

Customer Service:

Scored 74% by Consumer Reports (Highest Rating)

Subotal:

$1,398

$1,898

$1,598

$3,098

- Rebates if any:

- $99 printer rebate

+ Ground Shipping:

n/c

Total Price
as configured:
(tax not included)

$1,299

$1,799

$2,499

$2,999

The information above is as accurate as I could make it based on a reasonable time studying the respective companies' Web sites. There is no guarantee that these configurations, prices, and features are the best that one could come up with; assorted bundles, free internet access, free extra memory, and so on can most likely be found for any of the above systems. The point of this chart is to demonstrate that Apple's lineup holds its own against any brand-name computer, even in areas in which it has traditionally had resistance. In short, do not base your purchasing decisions solely on this chart or information. Neither I, nor The Mac Observer will be held responsible or liable for any purchase decisions you make based on this presentation.

Charles Gaba started the AAPLTalk System Shootouts at AAPLTalk.com, and has brought them to TMO. Charles is the creative talent behind Brainwrap Web Design.

AAPLTalk System Shootouts Archives

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