Power Macintosh G3

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Power Macintosh G3 / Macintosh Server G3
Power Macintosh G3 wordmark.svg
Power Macintosh G3 models.jpg
Power Macintosh G3 Mini Tower (left) and Power Mac G3 Blue and White (right)
Developer Apple Computer
Product family Power Macintosh
Type Desktop computer
Release dateNovember 10, 1997 (1997-11-10)
Lifespan1 year, 9 months
Introductory price US$1,599(equivalent to $3,035 in 2023)
DiscontinuedAugust 31, 1999 (1999-08-31)
CPU PowerPC G3 @ 233–450 MHz
Predecessor
Successor

The Power Macintosh G3 (also sold with additional software as the Macintosh Server G3) is a series of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer from November 1997 to August 1999. It represented Apple's first step towards eliminating redundancy and complexity in the product line by replacing eight Power Macintosh models (and the Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh) with three: Desktop and Mini Tower models for professional and home use, and an all-in-one model for education. The introduction of the Desktop and Mini Tower models coincided with Apple starting to sell build-to-order Macs directly from its web site in an online store, [1] [2] which was unusual for the time as Dell was the only major computer manufacturer doing this. Apple's move to build-to-order sales of the Power Macintosh G3 also coincided with the acquisition of Power Computing Corporation, which had been providing telephone sales of Macintosh clones for more than two years.

Contents

The Power Macintosh G3 is named for its third-generation PowerPC chip, and introduced a super fast and large Level 2 backside CPU cache, running at half processor speed. As a result, these machines benchmarked significantly faster than Intel PCs of similar CPU clock speed at launch, [3] which prompted Apple to create the "Snail" and "Toasted Bunnies" television commercials. [4] [5] [6] [7] Magazine benchmarks showed the G3/266 CPU outperforming the 350 MHz PowerPC 604ev chip in the Power Macintosh 9600 as well. [8]

Two generations of the Power Macintosh G3 were released. The first generation, known colloquially as "Beige" [9] was introduced at a special event on November 10, 1997. The second generation, known officially as "Blue and White", was introduced at MacWorld San Francisco on January 5, 1999. Its replacement, the Power Mac G4, was introduced in August of the same year.

Models

Beige

Power Macintosh G3 Desktop Macintosh G3 DT.jpg
Power Macintosh G3 Desktop

Apple sold three beige Power Macintosh G3 models: a horizontally-oriented desktop, a mini tower enclosure, and a version with a built-in screen called All-In-One ("AIO"). The All-In-One model was shaped like a human tooth, and thus earned the moniker Molar Mac. [10] Equipped with a 233, 266, 300, or 333 MHz PowerPC 750 (G3) CPU from Motorola, these machines use a 66.83 MHz system bus and PC66 SDRAM, and standard ATA hard disk drives instead of the SCSI drives used in most previous Apple systems. A Fast SCSI internal bus is still included with 10 MB/s speed, [11] along with the proprietary out-of-spec DB-25 external SCSI bus which had a top speed of 5 MB/s. [12] Each bus could support a maximum of 7 devices.

Apple also developed a prototype G3-based six-slot full tower to be designated the Power Macintosh 9700. [13] Despite demand from high-end users for more PCI slots in a G3-powered computer, Apple decided not to develop the prototype (dubbed "Power Express") into a shipping product, [14] leaving the 9600 as the last six-slot Mac Apple would make for over two decades, until the 2019 Mac Pro which has eight.

Initial units were shipped with Mac OS 8. The G3 officially supports up to Mac OS X 10.2, although some devices will not work under Mac OS X, such as the floppy drive, the video features of the "Wings" personality card, and the 3D graphics acceleration functions of the onboard ATI Rage series video. Support for newer versions is possible with the use of third party software solutions such as XPostFacto. Mac OS X 10.5 can be run only if a G4 processor upgrade is installed.

The Power Macintosh G3 was originally intended to be a midrange series, between the low-end Performa/LC models and the six-PCI slot Power Macintosh 9600. It is the earliest Old World ROM Macintosh model officially able to boot into Mac OS X, and one of only two Old World ROM models officially able to boot into Mac OS X, the other model being the second-generation (Wallstreet I/II) PowerBook G3.

Desktop

The Desktop model inherited its enclosure directly from the Power Macintosh 7300. The 233 and 266 MHz desktop models shipped with 4 GB hard drives, [15] and the 300 MHz with a 6 GB drive, all at 5400 RPM. This model, sometimes referred to as an Outrigger Macintosh due to its ease of access, was the last horizontally-oriented desktop model offered by Apple until the introduction of the Mac mini in 2005.

The Desktop model received an update in August 1998, [16] with the 233 MHz model being discontinued. Unlike the Mini Tower model, the Desktop model was not updated with 333 MHz or 366 MHz CPUs. Regardless, it was replaced by the Power Mac G4 Cube in 2000.

Mini Tower

The 233 MHz Mini Tower model's enclosure is similar to the Power Macintosh 8600. It shipped with a 4 GB drive, the 266 MHz with a 6 GB drive, and the 300 MHz variant shipped with two 4 GB drives in a RAID configuration; all models were 5400 RPM.

As with the Desktop model, the Mini Tower received an update in August 1998, [12] with the CPU updated to 333 MHz and 366 MHz. These models shipped with a 9.1 GB 7200 RPM SCSI drive, attached to a SCSI/PCI card, as well as 100BASE-TX Ethernet (as opposed to the other models' 10BASE-T), though this was in the form of a PCI card, which occupied another PCI slot. The Macintosh Server G3/300 MHz also shipped with a PCI Ultra Wide SCSI card and the 100BASE-T Ethernet PCI card. The 333 and the (canceled) 366 MHz model had only 6  MiB VRAM; [17] the 300 MHz model shipped with a 128-bit iXMicro PCI video card with 8 MiB VRAM.

Server

The Macintosh Server G3 is identical to the Mini Tower model, but was sold with additional server software and different specifications. [18] Software included AppleShare IP 5.0, Apple Network Administrator Toolkit, and SoftRAID.

Introduced March 1998: [19]

  • Good: 233 MHz, 512 KiB L2 cache, 64 MiB SDRAM, 6 GB IDE HDD. $2,919.
  • Better: 266 MHz, 512 KiB L2 cache, 64 MiB SDRAM, 4 GB Ultra/Wide SCSI. $3,609.
  • Best: 300 MHz, 1 MiB L2 cache, 128 MiB SDRAM, Two 4 GB Ultra/Wide SCSI. $4,969.

Introduced September 1998:

  • 333 MHz, 1 MiB L2 cache, 128 MiB SDRAM, Two 4 GB Ultra/Wide SCSI. $4,599. [19]

All-In-One

Power Macintosh G3 All-In-One Power Mac G3 AIO corrected.jpg
Power Macintosh G3 All-In-One

The All-In-One model was introduced in April 1998 as a replacement for the Power Macintosh 5400 and 5500, [20] and sold exclusively to the education market. The All-In-One model has a "molar"-like form factor, with its top and rear sections covered in a translucent plastic with machined holes (a design language reminiscent of the then-upcoming iMac). The model has several design features oriented towards the education market, including a slide-out tray for accessing the logic board, recessed rear I/O to make it easier to push the computer up against walls, and dual front headphone jacks for audio sharing. [21] [22]

The G3 AIO was available in two basic configurations, a 233 MHz version with a floppy drive and a 4 GB hard drive, and a 266 MHz version with a built-in Zip drive, floppy drive, and either a "Whisper" personality card or an All-In-One version of the "Wings" personality card. It was the last Macintosh to ship with an internal floppy disk drive. The machine is also noted for its considerable 60 lb (27 kg) weight. [22] [21] It shipped with Mac OS 8.1. [21]

When the iMac G3 was introduced, the G3 AIO and iMac were sold together to the education market until the G3 AIO was discontinued. [23]

Blue and White

Side view of Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White) Apple Yosemite.JPG
Side view of Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White)

The Power Mac G3 (Blue and White) (codenamed Yosemite) was introduced in January 1999, replacing the Beige Mini Tower model, with which it shared the name and processor architecture but little else. It is the first Power Macintosh model to include the New World ROM, and the last with ADB port. 300 MHz, 350 MHz and 400 MHz models were introduced with a price range of US$1,599 – US$2,999. [24]

Though still based on the PowerPC G3 architecture, the Blue and White was a totally new design. It was the first new Power Mac model after the release of the iMac, and shared the iMac's blue-and-white color scheme. Inside the enclosure, the logic board is mounted on a folding "door", which swings down onto the desk for tool-free access to all the internal components. [24]

The same keyboard and mouse designs as those first introduced with the iMac were sold with the system. These featured the same slightly different shade of blue from that of the Bondi Blue iMac to match the new G3 enclosure. The keyboard was criticized in MacWorld's review of the G3 as feeling "cheap compared with the huge Apple keyboard of old" and the removal of several keys. The Apple USB Mouse, previously included with the iMac, was also reviewed poorly, noting that "many users will find it unacceptable: because of the round design, it's impossible to tell the top of the mouse from the bottom by touch." [24]

The Blue and White line was revised in June 1999; the 300 MHz model was dropped and a new 450 MHz model was introduced at a US$2,999 price point. [25]

Early Blue and White units shipped with Mac OS 8.5.1, while later revisions shipped with 8.6. The latest version of Mac OS that can be run on this model is Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger.

Hardware

Beige

Back of a tower G3. This unit is fitted with the Whisper personality card that lacks analog video capture facilities. PIC 0832 Power Macintosh G3.JPG
Back of a tower G3. This unit is fitted with the Whisper personality card that lacks analog video capture facilities.
Details of a tower G3 motherboard PIC 0835 Power Macintosh G3.JPG
Details of a tower G3 motherboard
A partially opened G3 minitower PIC 0836 Power Macintosh G3.JPG
A partially opened G3 minitower

Logic board

The Beige G3 uses Apple's new "Gossamer" logic board. As a compact and versatile motherboard, the Gossamer board was originally designed to be able to support both the high-end PowerPC 604e and the new PowerPC G3, but when initial testing found that the cheaper G3 outperformed the 604e in many benchmarks, this functionality was removed and Apple's 604e-based systems were discontinued.

Gossamer supports both onboard and external SCSI (from the custom MESH IC), ADB, 10BASE-T Ethernet, two MiniDIN-8 serial ports, and onboard ATI graphics (originally II+, later updated to Pro and then Rage Pro Turbo) with a slot for VRAM upgrades. An external serial port is included; this is the last Power Macintosh model to include one. Three 32-bit PCI slots and one internal modem slot are present, as well as three SDRAM slots.

ROM

Early G3s with Revision A ROMs do not support slave devices on their IDE controllers, limiting them to one device per bus (normally one optical drive and one hard disk). Additionally, they came with onboard ATI Rage II+ video. G3s with Revision B ROMs support slave devices on their IDE controllers, and had the onboard video upgraded to ATI Rage Pro. G3s with Revision C ROMs also support slave devices on their IDE controllers, but the most significant technical differences are the newer Open Firmware version than the previous two models (2.4 vs 2.0f1) and another onboard video upgrade, this time to ATI Rage Pro Turbo.

The Beige G3 was the last Power Macintosh with a 4 MiB ROM. The trend of increasingly large ROMs ended after the introduction of the New World ROM in the Blue and White G3.

Personality cards

These machines had no audio circuitry on the logic board; instead, a PERCH slot (a dedicated 182-pin microchannel connector; a superset of the PCI spec, but which does not accept PCI cards) was populated with a "personality card" which provided the audio circuitry. Several "personality cards" were available: [26]

  • Whisper was the personality card of the regular versions, providing the Screamer sound ASIC (with 16-bit, 44.1 kHz audio capabilities with simultaneous I/O) and no video facilities.
  • Wings or Audio/Video Input/Output Card was an A/V "personality card" which, in addition to the audio I/O, included composite and S-Video capture and output.
  • Bordeaux or DVD-Video and Audio/Video Card differed from the Wings card in that it did not include a DAV slot, used the Burgundy sound ASIC (which provided improved sound performance), incorporated a higher performance video capture IC, and included additional circuitry (C-Cube MPEG decoder chip) to support the playback of DVD movies. The All-In-One does not support the Bordeaux card, as it lacks the connectors for the AIO's front panel and RGB video cables. [27]

Upgradability

CPU: The processor module (a PowerPC 750 plus L2 cache) was overclockable, i.e. 333 MHz and even 366 MHz or 375 MHz with an 83.3 MHz bus (uncommon). [28] Upgrade kits were available from a number of companies, including Newer Technology, PowerLogix and XLR8, offering 400 MHz G3 processors in the US$1,500 – US$1,800 price range. [29] CPU upgrades as high as a 1.0 GHz G4 or 1.1 GHz G3 would eventually become available, although the user would not see much practical difference in performance on chips faster than 733 MHz due to the system bus limitations, which runs at 66.83 MHz unless overclocked. However, G4 chips running over 533 MHz do not allow the system bus to run faster than 66 MHz, so the bus cannot be overclocked if using one of these G4s. (G3s do allow it.)

PCI cards: Gossamer has three full-length (12") PCI slots, making it capable of taking any PCI cards that have Macintosh drivers available for them (for example, some RealTek-based network adapters, a lot of USB, ATA/IDE [or SATA] and FireWire cards). Common PCI card upgrades include FireWire cards, USB cards and FireWire/USB combo cards (especially after the release of the first generation iMac, which caused many vendors to start releasing USB peripherals for the Macintosh), 100BASE-TX or 1000BASE-T (gigabit Ethernet) network adapter, video cards (e.g. ATI Radeon 7000 and 9200), ATA/EIDE, Serial ATA and Ultra SCSI cards. Television tuner and radio cards are also often chosen to supplement the AV features on a Wings personality card, or to provide A/V input for models with the Whisper personality card. The All-In-One can be modified to use a PCI video card with the internal monitor. [30]

Personality cards: Some users have upgraded the Whisper personality card with a "Wings" Personality card (which is plugged into the same PERCH slot), and some have upgraded the ROM to a newer version (Revision A boards to Revision B or Revision C boards).

Hard drives: For storage, the G3 is capable of taking any ATAPI/IDE hard disks, provided that the drive's size is within the 28-bit LBA limit. This means ATA hard disks of up to 137  GB (228 blocks of 512 bytes each) are supported. This limitation can be overcome by using an IDE or SATA PCI-compatible card (e.g. Acard or Sonnet) to enable the use of 2 drives over the 137 GB limit.

Removable storage: The ATAPI/IDE CD-ROM drive can also be replaced with a CD-RW, DVD-ROM or DVD-RW drive, although care must be taken while purchasing the upgrade as the Mac is incompatible with some drives and may refuse to boot at all if an incompatible drive is installed. Also, many third-party optical drives cannot be used as boot devices with the G3, though they work correctly for normal use, and burning on many third party CD-RW and DVD-RW drives requires either commercial drivers or is unsupported even though reading and booting from the drive may still work. It is also capable of taking SCSI storage devices, and with the presence of the right PCI cards, SATA, USB and FireWire storage devices.

SCSI: The presence of an onboard SCSI controller (the SCSI controller is codenamed MESH — Macintosh Enhanced SCSI Hardware) and connectors permits the use of Mac-enabled SCSI scanners and storage devices, though this runs at only 5 MB/s.

Memory: Apple's spec sheets specify a maximum memory limit of 192 MiB, but independent testers have reported being able to use 3x256 MiB SDRAM chips, for a total of 768 MiB. [31] Incompatibility has been reported with some DIMM modules in certain configurations- for example, newer single-sided PC‑133 RAM modules will not be detected correctly if they will be detected at all and if the machine can boot with them in place, and the desktop and all-in-one units required the use of low-profile RAM due to space constraints. It should be able to take 168-pin SDRAM of any speed, though it will run at PC66 speeds. The onboard video RAM can be upgraded from 2 MiB to 6 MiB with a 4 MiB SGRAM module (which runs at 83 MHz on Rev. A machines, and 100 MHz on Rev. B and C machines).

Blue and White

The inside of the Power Mac G3 (Blue and White) 1Open Power MacG3.JPG
The inside of the Power Mac G3 (Blue and White)

The faster models (not the 300 MHz model) use the new copper-based PowerPC G3 CPUs made by IBM, which use about 25% of the power of the Motorola versions clock for clock. The line ranged from 300 to 450 MHz. Despite its 100 MHz system bus and PC100 SDRAM, the 300 MHz B&W G3 performed worse than its 300 MHz Beige predecessor, because it has 512 KiB L2 cache, half of the 300 MHz Beige. [24] The logic board has 4 PCI slots: 3 64-bit 33 MHz slots, and one 32-bit 66 MHz slot dedicated for the graphics card, an ATI Rage 128 with 16 MiB SGRAM. Four 100 MHz RAM slots accept PC100 SDRAM modules, allowing the installation of up to 1 GiB of RAM with the use of 256 MiB DIMMs. The onboard ATA was upgraded to Ultra ATA/33 (an extra UDMA-33 controller was also added), but SCSI was no longer present, having been replaced by 2 FireWire ports, a new standard (IEEE1394) running at 400  Mbit/s (50  MB/s) — faster in theory than even the ATA/33 (33 MB/s) hard drive controller. The serial ports were replaced with USB 1.1 ports (12 Mbit/s), and the floppy disk drive was removed altogether. The ADB port remained, as did the option for an internal modem. 100BASE-TX Ethernet became standard, and audio was moved back to the logic board. A Zip Drive remained an option, and some configurations included a DVD-ROM drive and a DVD-Video decoder daughtercard for the graphics card, allowing hardware-assisted DVD video playback.

The Blue and White G3 uses a modified version of the memory/PCI controller, the Motorola MPC106 (codenamed "Grackle"); it used the MPC106 v4. The I/O "Heathrow" had been replaced by "Paddington" (adding 100 Mbit Ethernet and power save features), the audio chip "Screamer" (on the beige G3's "Whisper" and "Wings" personality cards) had been replaced by "Burgundy" (from the "Bordeaux" personality card), and other controllers for Firewire (Texas Instruments PCI-Lynx), for USB etc. were added.

This is also the first Power Macintosh with the "New World" architecture which contained a small (approximately 1 MB) boot ROM. When booting the Mac OS, the Mac OS Toolbox and any other ROM patches installed are loaded into RAM (the former Beige G3 however was the first Mac with this ROM-in-RAM capability). Initially, many buyers chose to buy the older "Platinum" G3s instead, in order to maintain compatibility with existing peripherals.

Early "Revision 1" units have IDE controller problems related to the ATA/33 hard drive controller that made it impossible to connect two hard drives and prevented the use of newer drives. Using newer ATA drives in those units resulted in data transmission errors if the drives were connected to the on-board ATA/33 controller, the severity of the problem varying according to the particular make and model of the drive. Workarounds include replacing motherboards and employing the use of SCSI, Ultra ATA or SATA PCI controller cards. Stable operation can be achieved if the drive can be limited to Multi-Word DMA Mode 2 (disabling UDMA), although this limits throughput to 16 MB/s. Some hard drives support disabling UDMA in firmware through manufacturer-supplied utilities (generally DOS-based). Alternatively, the transfer mode can be limited to Multi-Word DMA Mode 2 through the use of third-party driver software such as FWB Hard Disk Toolkit.

The secondary ATA channel has also been reported to have issues with respect to flash upgrading certain DVD burners. Otherwise, it is generally held to be relatively stable.

Mac OS X attempts to avoid the UDMA issue by disabling UDMA on all affected G3 motherboards, but xlr8yourmac.com reported that reader Tim Seufert still found issues with single drives under Mac OS X. He reported that as of January 23, 2002, the fix would not be activated under Mac OS X when no slave drive was present. [32]

The "Revision 2" units fixed the hard drive controller problem with an improved (UDMA-33) IDE controller that supported the standard IDE master/slave two-drive arrangement. This controller worked flawlessly with any drive within the 28-bit LBA constraint. Most Rev. 2 units shipped with a hard disk bracket designed for two drives (in fact Rev. 1 can hold up to three drives side-by-side, while Rev. 2 can hold up to four drives in two stacks, each with two drives) and also included a slightly updated version of the Rage 128 graphics card. The easiest way to tell if the unit is a Rev.2 is by looking at the CMD chip located on the logic board. The CMD chip on Rev. 1 logic boards is PCI646U2 and on Rev. 2 logic boards is 646U2-402. [33]

Revision 2 350, 400, and 450 MHz units use the same motherboard as the first "Yikes" version of Power Mac G4 systems at 350 and 400 MHz ("Sawtooth" AGP-based G4s used a different board) and processor cards for these models are interchangeable. Note that if a G3's firmware has been upgraded (a required update for installing Mac OS 9), it won't accept G4 CPUs until patched with a third-party replacement firmware. A Blue and White G3 that has been upgraded to a G4 is able to run Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.

Enclosure

The blue and white G3's enclosure design was widely praised at the time for being easy to open up and work on. [34] The entire right side of the case is a door that hinges down by pulling a recessed latch at the top. No components need to be removed or unplugged, and the computer can remain running while opened. The logic board is positioned in the door, providing access to all components. Hard drives are mounted in a bracket affixed with one screw on the floor of the case. There is room for four internal hard drives and an internal fan is positioned at the side of the case to blow cooling air over them. Removable drives are in a more conventional position at the top of the case.

Technical specifications

According to Apple, all of these models are obsolete. [a] [35]

ModelDesktop [36] Mini Tower [20] All-In-One [10] Blue and White [37]
Codename"Gossamer""Artemis""Yosemite"
TimetableReleasedNovember 10, 1997March 17, 1998November 10, 1997 [20] March 17, 1998 [20] August 12, 1998 [20] March 31, 1998January 5, 1999June 1, 1999
DiscontinuedAugust 12, 1998December 14, 1998July 7, 1998 [20] August 12, 1998 [20] December 14, 1998 [20] September 1, 1998June 1, 1999August 31, 1999
Color  Beige  Blue
Ordering info.Model identifierPowerMacintosh510PowerMac1,1
ModelM3979M4405M4787M5183
Order numberM6141M6202M7105M6431M6142M6572M7107M6319M6321M6670M6668 (64 MB 6 GB 5xDVD)M6666 (128 MB 12 GB 32xCD Zip)M6665M7556 (64 MB 6 GB 32xCD)M7555 (64 MB 6 GB 5xDVD)M7554 (128 MB 12 GB 32xCD Zip)M7553
Built-In-Display —15-inch (38 cm) RGB multiple scan CRT display
1024 × 768 pixel resolution		—
Performance Processor PowerPC 750 (G3)
Clock speed233 MHz266 MHz300 MHz233 MHz266 MHz300 MHz333 MHz233 MHz266 MHz300 MHz350 MHz400 MHz350 MHz400 MHz450 MHz
L1 Cache 64 KB
L2 Cache backside512 KB1 MB512 KB1 MB512 KB1 MB
Front side bus 66.83 MHz (Configurable to 70 MHz, 75 MHz or 83.3 MHz)100 MHz
Graphics ATI 3D Rage II+, ATI 3D Rage Pro, or ATI 3D Rage Pro Turbo with 2 MB of 83 MHz SGRAM
Expandable to 6 MB SGRAM memory		ATI 3D Rage II+ or ATI 3D Rage Pro with 2 MB of 100 MHz SGRAM
Expandable to 6 MB SGRAM memory		ATI Rage 128 GL with 16 MB of SDRAM graphics memory
Memory 32 MB or 64 MB Low Profile PC66 SDRAM
Expandable to 768 MB		64 MB or 128 MB PC66 SDRAM
Expandable to 768 MB		32 MB Low Profile PC66 SDRAM
Expandable to 768 MB		64 MB or 128 MB of unbuffered 100 MHz PC-100 SDRAM
Upgradable to 1 GB
Storage Hard drive
(Up to 128 GB supported)		4 GB or 6 GB4 GB, 6 GB, 8 GB, or 9 GB4 GB or 6 GB6 GB, 9 GB, 12 GB, 20 GB, or 27 GB Ultra ATA hard disk drive
Upgradable to 128 GB
Media 24x CD-ROM
DVD-ROM
1.44 MB floppy
optional Zip		24x CD-ROM
1.44 MB floppy
optional Zip		24x or 32x CD-ROM
5x DVD-ROM
optional Zip
ConnectionsExpansion slots3 – PCI (32-bit), 1 – PERCH: Either "Whisper", "Wings A/V", or "Bordeaux".3 – PCI (32-bit), 1 – PERCH: Either "Whisper" or "Wings A/V".3x 64bit 33 MHz PCI slots
1x 66 MHz PCI slot (dedicated to video)
Expansion baysTwo – for 3.5-inch SCSI devicesAddition of 5.25-inch or 3.5-inch SCSI or ATA devices supported—
Connectivity10 BASE-T Ethernet
optional 56k modem		10/100 BASE-T Ethernet
optional 56k modem
Input / Output1 ADB port
2 × mini-DIN-8 RS-422 serial port (printer/modem Geoport
AppleTalk)
1 DB-25 SCSI port
built-in mono speaker
16-bit audio input with optional RCA jacks
16-bit audio output with optional RCA jacks
DA-15 Video display port.		1 ADB port
2 × mini-DIN-8 RS-422 serial port (printer/modem Geoport
AppleTalk)
1 DB-25 SCSI port
built-in stereo speakers
built-in microphone
1 – 16‑bit audio input
3 – 16-bit audio output
10BASE-T Ethernet
optional 56k modem
external DA-15 Video display port.		1 ADB port
2x USB 1.1
2x Firewire 400
Built-in mono speaker
Audio input mini-jack
Audio output mini-jack
Operating systemMinimum Mac OS 8.0 Mac OS 8.1 Mac OS 8.5.1 Mac OS 8.6
Maximum Mac OS X 10.2.8 "Jaguar" and Mac OS 9.2.2
Unofficially can run Mac OS X 10.4.11 "Tiger" on these systems with help of XPostFacto, or Mac OS X 10.5.8 "Leopard" if a G4 processor upgrade is also installed. See "Upgradability" above.		 Mac OS X 10.4.11 "Tiger" and Mac OS 9.2.2
Unofficially can run Mac OS X 10.5.8 "Leopard" with third party software and a G4 processor upgrade.
Weight22.0 lb (10 kg)33.1 lb (15 kg)59.5 lb (26.8 kg)27.8 lb (13 kg), 17" H × 8.9" W × 18.4" D (432×226×467 mm)

Supported operating systems

Supported macOS releases
OS releaseDesktop and Mini Tower (Beige)All-in-OneBlue and White
Late 1997Early 1998Mid 1998Mid 1998Early 1999Mid 1999
Mac OS 8 Check-green.svgCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svg8.18.58.6
Mac OS 9 Check-green.svgCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svg
10.0 Cheetah Check-green.svgCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svg
10.1 Puma Check-green.svgCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svg
10.2 Jaguar Check-green.svgCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svg
10.3 Panther patchpatchpatchpatchCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svg
10.4 Tiger patchpatchpatchpatchCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svg
10.5 Leopard With G4 processor upgrade

Timeline

Timeline of Power Macintosh, Pro, and Studio models
Mac ProMac StudioMac ProMac StudioMac ProMac ProMac ProPower Mac G5Power Mac G5Power Mac G4Power Mac G5Power Mac G4Power Mac G4 CubePower Mac G4Power Macintosh G3#Blue and WhitePower Macintosh 9600Power Macintosh G3Power Macintosh 8600Power Macintosh 9500Power Macintosh 8500Power Macintosh 8100Power Macintosh G3Power Macintosh 7600Power Macintosh 7300Power Macintosh 4400Power Macintosh 7500Power Macintosh 7200Power Macintosh 7100Power Macintosh 6500Power Macintosh 6400Power Macintosh 6200Power Macintosh 6100Power Macintosh G3Twentieth Anniversary MacintoshPower Macintosh 5500Power Macintosh 5400Power Macintosh 5260Power Macintosh 5200 LCPower Macintosh G3
See also: List of Mac models

Notes

  1. ↑ Apple products that have been discontinued for 7 years and no longer receive hardware support nor spare parts

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The PowerBook is a family of Macintosh laptop computers designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from 1991 to 2006. It was targeted at the professional market; in 1999, the line was supplemented by the home and education-focused iBook family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SuperDrive</span> Floppy disk or optical disk drive made by Apple Inc.

SuperDrive is the product name for a floppy disk drive and later an optical disc drive made and marketed by Apple Inc. The name was initially used for what Apple called their high-density floppy disk drive, and later for the internal CD and DVD drive integrated with Apple computers. Though Apple no longer manufactures computers that feature built-in SuperDrives, the name is still used when referring to Apple's external CD and DVD drive accessory (pictured).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Power Mac G4</span> Series of personal computers

The Power Mac G4 is a series of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer from 1999 to 2004 as part of the Power Macintosh line. Built around the PowerPC G4 series of microprocessors, the Power Mac G4 was marketed by Apple as the first "personal supercomputers", reaching speeds of 4 to 20 gigaFLOPS. This was the first existing Macintosh product to be officially shortened as "Mac", and is the last Mac able to boot into classic Mac OS with the introduction of MacOS X.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PowerBook G3</span> Line of laptop Macintosh computers by Apple Computer

The PowerBook G3 is a series of laptop Macintosh personal computers that was designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer from 1997 to 2001. It was the first laptop to use the PowerPC G3 (PPC740/750) series of microprocessors, and was marketed as the fastest laptop in the world for its entire production run. The PowerBook G3 was succeeded by the PowerBook G4.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macintosh TV</span> Computer/Television designed by Apple Inc.

The Macintosh TV is a personal computer with integrated television capabilities released by Apple Computer in 1993. It was Apple's first attempt at computer-television integration. It shares the external appearance of the Macintosh LC 500 series, but in black. The Macintosh TV is essentially a Performa 520 that can switch its built-in 14" Sony Trinitron CRT from being a computer display to a cable-ready television. It is incapable of showing television in a desktop window, although it can capture still frames to PICT files.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old World ROM</span>

Old World ROM computers are the Macintosh (Mac) models that use a Macintosh Toolbox read-only memory (ROM) chip, usually in a socket. All Macs prior to the iMac, the iBook, the Blue and White Power Mac G3 and the Bronze Keyboard (Lombard) PowerBook G3 use Old World ROM, while said models, as well as all subsequent models until the introduction of the Intel-based EFI Models, are New World ROM machines. In particular, the Beige Power Mac G3 and all other beige and platinum-colored Power Macs are Old World ROM machines. In common use, the "Old World" designation usually applies to the early generations of PCI-based "beige" Power Macs, but not the older Motorola 68000-based Macs; however, the Toolbox runs the same way on all three types of machines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macintosh Quadra 950</span> Personal computer by Apple Computer

The Macintosh Quadra 950 is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from March 1992 to October 1995. It replaced the Quadra 900 that was introduced several months earlier, increasing the CPU clock rate of its 68040 CPU from 25 MHz to 33 MHz, and improving the graphics support. The two computers were otherwise identical, including the price. With a Macintosh Processor Upgrade Card installed, this computer is known as the Power Macintosh 950.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Power Macintosh 6100</span> First PowerPC-based personal computer by Apple Computer

The Power Macintosh 6100 is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from March 1994 to March 1996. It is the first computer from Apple to use the new PowerPC processor created by IBM and Motorola. The low-profile ("pizza-box") case was inherited from the Centris/Quadra 610 and 660AV models, and replaced the Macintosh Quadra series that used the Motorola 68040 processor, Apple's previous high-end workstation line.

The Apple Network Server (ANS) was a line of PowerPC-based server computers designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from February 1996 to April 1997. It was codenamed "Shiner" and originally consisted of two models, the Network Server 500/132 and the Network Server 700/150, which got a companion model, the Network Server 700/200 with a faster CPU in November 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macintosh Quadra 605</span> Personal computer by Apple Computer

The Macintosh Quadra 605 is a personal computer designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer from October 1993 to July 1996. The model names reflect a decision made at Apple in 1993 to follow an emerging industry trend of naming product families for their target customers – Quadra for business, LC for education, and Performa for home. Accordingly, the Performa 475 and 476 was sold in department stores and electronics stores such as Circuit City, whereas the Quadra was purchased through an authorized Apple reseller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Power Macintosh 9500</span> Personal computer by Apple Computer

The Power Macintosh 9500 is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from June 1995 to February 1997. It is powered by a PowerPC 604 processor, a second-generation PowerPC chip which is faster than the PowerPC 601 chip used in the Power Macintosh 8100. The 180MP and 200 MHz models, introduced August 1996, use the enhanced PowerPC 604e processor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Power Macintosh 4400</span>

The Power Macintosh 4400 is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from November 1996 to February 1998. It differs from prior desktop Macintosh models in that it was built with industry-standard components such as an IDE hard drive and an ATX-like power supply.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Power Macintosh 6200</span> Series of personal computers by Apple Computer

The Power Macintosh 6200 is a series of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer from May 1995 to July 1997. The 6200 is the PowerPC-based replacement for the Quadra 630, with the same form factor and price range. In early 1997, the rather different Power Macintosh 6300/160 / Performa 6360 based on the Power Macintosh 6400 was introduced. The whole line was discontinued when the desktop model of the Power Macintosh G3 was released.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Power Macintosh 7300</span> Personal computer by Apple Computer

The Power Macintosh 7300 is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from February 1997 to November 1997. It was introduced with 166, 180 and 200 MHz CPUs in February 1997 alongside the Power Macintosh 8600 and 9600. The 7300 replaced both the Power Macintosh 7200 and 7600, replacing the only remaining first-generation PowerPC system in Apple's lineup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Power Macintosh 9600</span> Personal computer by Apple Computer

The Power Macintosh 9600 is a personal computer that is a part of Apple Computer's Power Macintosh series of Macintosh computers. It was introduced in February 1997 alongside the Power Macintosh 7300 and 8600, and replaced the Power Macintosh 9500 as Apple's flagship desktop computer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macintosh Quadra 630</span> Personal computer by Apple, Inc.

The Macintosh Quadra 630 is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from July 1994 to March 1996. It was introduced as the replacement for the Quadra 610, and was the least-expensive computer in the Macintosh lineup with prices starting at $1,199 USD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PowerBook 1400</span>

The PowerBook 1400 is a notebook computer that was designed and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1996 to 1998 as part of their PowerBook series of Macintosh computers. Introduced in October 1996 at a starting price of $2,499, it was the first new PowerBook after the controversial PowerBook 5300. After the introduction of the more powerful PowerBook 3400c in February 1997, the 1400 took on the role of Apple's entry level notebook and remained there until its discontinuation in May 1998. Its successor, the PowerBook G3 Series, would ultimately go on to replace and consolidate not only the 1400, but the 2400c and 3400c as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Target Disk Mode</span> Boot mode on certain Macintosh computers

Target Disk Mode is a boot mode unique to Macintosh computers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Power Macintosh 5500</span> Personal computer by Apple Computer

The Power Macintosh 5500 is a personal computer designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer from February 1997 to March 1998. Like the Power Macintosh 5260 and 5400 that preceded it, the 5500 is an all-in-one design, built around a PowerPC 603ev processor operating at 225, 250 or 275 megahertz (MHz).

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