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Q
& A:
Power
Mac G4 Q & A:
Tech & Performance (1/3)
What are the primary differences
between the Power Mac G4 and Blue Power Mac G3
series?
First of all, all models in the Power Macintosh G4 series use the same case introduced by the Blue Power Macintosh G3 series, but are colored in a more somber "graphite", or for the "Quicksilver" and "Mirrored Drive Doors" models, silver. The case design is superb, with an easy access, fold down door on the side that makes upgrading extremely easy.
The Yikes! PCI-based Power Macintosh G4 models use a logic board that is essentially identical to the board used by the Blue Power Macintosh G3. The only major difference is that the Yikes! Power Macintosh G4, obviously, has a PowerPC 7400 (G4) processor instead of a PowerPC 750 (G3) processor.
The Sawtooth AGP-based Power Macintosh G4 models use a completely redesigned logic board, with a different processor daughtercard design, a "MaxBus" system bus, greater RAM capacity, a 2X AGP slot with an ATI Rage 128 Pro video card, support for AirPort wireless networking, onboard FireWire, dual-independent USB ports, faster Ultra ATA/66 hard drive support onboard, and only have support for DVD (no CD-ROM option, although DVD-ROM and DVD-RAM drives both can use CD-ROMs).
The AGP-based Power Macintosh G4 models announced on January 9, 2001 use a different logic board design than the Sawtooth AGP-based models, with a faster system bus, faster RAM, a 4X AGP slot, an extra PCI slot (four instead of three), CD-RW/SuperDrives, and a new digital audio sound system with a highly-efficient Tripath "Class T" amplifier. However, these systems do have the same slot for an AirPort card and antenna, onboard FireWire, dual-independent USB ports, and the Ultra ATA/66 hard drive support of the Sawtooth-based systems.
The "Quicksilver" Power Macintosh G4 models use the same logic board design as the systems announced on January 9, 2001, but, as would be expected, feature more powerful processors and "beefier" configurations, in addition to a revised case design with a silver front. For complete details on the configurations provided with the "Quicksilver" series, and to see a picture of the case, please refer to the appropriate specs pages.
Both series of "Mirrored Drive Doors" Power Macintosh G4 models share a vastly different logicboard than earlier models. Based on the Xserve, the "MDD" logicboard has support for faster DDR memory, faster graphics systems, and support for more storage (four internal 3.5" drive bays with one ATA/100 and one ATA/66 bus). The case design is similar to the "Quicksilver" models, and also features a silver and ice color scheme, but as the name implies, adds two "mirrored finish" external drive bays, in addition to decorative indentions on the front reminiscent of the "Ventiports" on a 1949 Buick Roadmaster and a rear panel full of "bulletholes", presumably to aid in cooling the additional storage.
What are the primary differences between the PCI-based and AGP-based Power Mac G4?
According to Tech Info Document #58418, the Yikes! PCI-based Power Macintosh G4 computers use a modified Blue Power Macintosh G3 logic board, with either a 350 or 400 MHz PowerPC 7400 (G4) processor mounted on a ZIF, a 100 MHz 60x bus, support for up-to 1.0 GB of RAM, an ATI Rage 128 video card, and the same USB, FireWire, Ethernet, modem, PCI, hard drive, and CD-ROM (DVD-ROM optional) support as the Blue Power Macintosh G3.
The Sawtooth AGP-based Power Macintosh G4 computers use a different logic board design, with either a single 350, 400, 450, or 500 MHz PowerPC 7400 (G4) processor or dual 450 or 500 MHz PowerPC 7400 (G4) processors mounted on a new 300-pin daughtercard instead of a ZIF, a 100 MHz re-designed "MaxBus" system bus, support for up-to 2.0 GB of RAM (1.5 GB of which can be used by the MacOS and applications), a 2X AGP slot with an ATI Rage 128 or Rage 128 Pro video card, a slot for an AirPort card and antenna, onboard FireWire, dual-independent USB ports, Ultra ATA/66 hard drive support (as opposed to Ultra ATA/33 on earlier models), and no support for CD-ROM drives (DVD-ROM or DVD-RAM drives are standard, which can read CD-ROMs as well as DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, and DVD-Video discs).
The AGP-based Power Macintosh G4 systems announced on January 9, 2001 and discontinued on July 18, 2001 use a different logic board design than the earlier Sawtooth models, with either a single 466 MHz PowerPC 7410 (G4) processor, single or dual 533 MHz PowerPC 7410 (G4) processors, a single 667 MHz PowerPC 7450 (G4) processor, or a single 733 MHz PowerPC 7450 (G4) processor mounted on the same 300-pin daughtercard of the Sawtooth AGP-based systems. These systems also utilize a faster 133 MHz system bus, three RAM slots that support PC133 SDRAM, a 4X AGP slot with a 16 MB ATI Rage 128 Pro or 32 MB NVIDIA GeForce2 MX video card, four PCI slots (instead of three), and a digital audio sound system with a highly-efficient Tripath "Class T" amplifier. These systems have the same slot for an AirPort card and antenna, onboard FireWire, dual-independent USB ports, and the Ultra ATA/66 hard drive support of the Sawtooth-based systems, but replace the DVD-ROM and DVD-RAM drives with CD-RW drives and a hybrid CD-RW/DVD-R SuperDrive in one high-end configuration.
The original "Quicksilver" AGP-based Power Macintosh G4 systems introduced on July 18, 2001 and discontinued on January 28, 2002 use the same logic board design as the previous AGP-based series, with either a single 733 MHz PowerPC 7450 (G4) processor, a single 867 MHz PowerPC 7450 (G4) processor, or dual 800 MHz PowerPC 7450 (G4) processors mounted on the same 300-pin daughtercard of earlier AGP-based systems. The "Quicksilver" AGP-based models introduced on January 28, 2002 and discontinued on August 13, 2002 use a similar logicboard design with either a single 800 MHz PowerPC 7450/55 (G4) processor, a single 933 MHz PowerPC 7450/55 (G4) processor, or dual 1.0 GHz PowerPC 7450/55 processors on a 300-pin daughtercard, in addition to shipping with more powerful video cards, more RAM, and larger hard drives. Like the previous series, all "Quicksilver" models are equipped with a 133 MHz system bus, three RAM slots that support PC133 SDRAM, a 4X AGP slot, four PCI slots (instead of three), and a digital audio sound system with a highly-efficient Tripath "Class T" amplifier, but ship with upgraded configurations in a revised case design with a silver front.
The "Mirrored Drive Doors" AGP-based Power Macintosh G4 systems introduced on August 13, 2002, speedbumped on January 28, 2003, and discontinued on June 23, 2003, use a revised logicboard design based on the logicboard used in the Xserve, with dual 867 MHz PowerPC 7455 (G4) processors, single or dual 1.0 GHz PowerPC 7455 (G4) processors, dual 1.25 GHz PowerPC 7455 (G4), or dual 1.42 GHz PowerPC 7455 (G4) processors mounted on a 300-pin daughtercard. The "MDD" models have support for faster DDR memory, faster graphics systems, and support for more storage (four internal 3.5" drive bays with one ATA/100 and one ATA/66 bus) than previous systems. The case design is similar to the "Quicksilver" models, and also features a silver and ice color scheme, but as the name implies, adds two "mirrored finish" external drive bays, in addition to decorative indentions on the front reminiscent of the "Ventiports" on a 1949 Buick Roadmaster and a rear panel full of "bulletholes", presumably to aid in cooling the additional storage.
Essentially, the Yikes! PCI-based models, Sawtooth AGP-based models, "January 2001" AGP-based models, "Quicksilver" AGP-based models, and "Mirrored Drive Doors" AGP-based models are completely different computers. All models in the Power Macintosh G4 series that shipped from December 2, 1999 to January 8, 2001 use the Sawtooth AGP-based logic board, and models shipped after January 9, 2001 use AGP-based logic boards.
What are the differences between the "Quicksilver"/"Mirrored Drive Doors" Power Macintosh G4 and the flat-panel iMac?
The primary differences between the now-discontinued "Quicksilver" and "Mirrored Drive Doors" Power Macintosh G4 models and the flat-panel iMacs are speed, screen-size, and expandability. The "Quicksilver" and "MDD" Power Macintosh G4 models feature faster processors with Level 3 cache, a faster system bus, faster hard drives, and faster Ethernet than the flat-panel iMacs. The "Quicksilver" and "MDD" Power Macintosh G4 models can accomodate larger displays than the one that ships mounted to the flat-panel iMac, in addition to multiple displays. Finally, the "Quicksilver" and "MDD" Power Macintosh G4, with four PCI slots, one external drive bay (without a Zip 250 drive installed in the "Quicksilver" models or a second optical drive installed in the "MDD" models), and two internal drive bays in the "Quicksilver" and three drive bays in the "MDD" (with one hard drive installed), offers greater expansion possibilities than the flat-panel iMac, which only accomodates upgrading the RAM, hard drive, and AirPort card.
If you need a powerful, expandable system with the flexibility to determine the type and size of display(s), then a model from the now-discontinued "Quicksilver" or "MDD" Power Macintosh G4 lines (or the subsequently released Power Macintosh G5) would likely be your best choice. If expansion and screen-size are lower priorities, but simplicity and space are higher-priorities, you may want to consider purchasing a flat-panel iMac.
What are the differences between the Power Macintosh G4 "Mirrored Drive Doors" and the Xserve?
There are significant technical similarities between the Power Macintosh G4 "Mirrored Drive Doors" models and the Xserve. In both technical and promotional documents Apple refers to the Power Macintosh G4 "MDD" models as featuring an "Xserve-based system architecture", and from evaluating the specifications of each system, it is clear that the logicboard used in the Power Macintosh G4 "MDD" is derived from the Xserve. Both systems use DDR SDRAM, support four internal drives, and use Ultra ATA/100 drive buses (although the Xserve has four independent Ultra ATA/100 drive buses, and the Power Macintosh G4 "MDD" has one Ultra ATA/100 bus to support two drives and a slower Ultra ATA/66 bus to support an additional two drives). The two systems also share processors, system buses, and similar internal architectures.
However, the primary difference between the two systems is immediately apparent when viewing the systems. The Power Macintosh G4 "MDD" uses a traditional tower case designed for desk use, and the Xserve uses a "rack-mount" case designed for network intensive use as a server. For photographs of both systems, please refer to the applicable specs pages for the Power Macintosh G4 "MDD" and the Xserve, respectively.
Continue to Part 2...
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