Power Mac G4 (AGP Graphics)

Introduced: September 1999
Terminated: July 2000

Description

Unlike the PCI G4 that preceded it, the AGP G4 was the Macintosh that truly ushered in the new G4 processor.  The AGP G4 was available in a two configurations: 450Mhz with a 20Gb hard drive and 128Mb of RAM and 500Mhz with a 27Gb hard drive and 256Mb of RAM.  Both configurations came with an internal Zip drive.  They also had AGP graphics, were compatible with AirPort and came with a DVD-ROM or RAM.  Ports included FireWire and USB.

History

The AGP G4 had supply problems following its release because Motorola was unable to manufacture enough 7400 chips.  Additionally, there was a problem with the 7400 chip that lowered the speed limits of the chip.  However, after these problems were dealt with, the AGP G4 would serve as the model for revising the entire Power Mac line.

Photos

Specifications

Processor: PowerPC 7400 v2.9 (G4)
Number of Cores: 1
Processor Speed: 350, 400, 450, or 500 MHz
Benchmarks: 350 MHz: 236, 400 MHz: 221, 450 MHz: 289, 500 MHz: 353
Cache: 64 KB L1, 1 MB backside (1:2) L2
System Bus: 100 MHz (up to 800-MBps data throughput)
Hard Drive: 10 GB 5400-rpm, 10, 20, or 27 GB 7200-rpm
Media: 32x CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or DVD-RAM
Peripherals: Apple USB Keyboard, Apple USB Mouse
Weight and Dimensions (US): 28.7 lbs., 17” H x 8.9” W x 18.4” D
Weight and Dimensions (Metric): 13 kg, 43.2 cm H x 22.6 cm W x 46.7 cm D
Original Mac OS: Mac OS 8.6 (Mac OS ROM 2.5.1)
Later Mac OS: Mac OS 9.0
Maximum Mac OS: Latest release of Mac OS X
Hardware Test: Not Supported
Firmware: Open Firmware
Firmware Update: Power Mac G4 Firmware Update 4.2.8
Firmware Update URL: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=120068
Logicboard RAM: None
Maximum RAM: 2.0 GB under Mac OS X, 1.5 GB under Mac OS 8.x/9.x
Type of RAM Slots: 4 - PC100 3.3v, unbuffered, 8-byte, non-parity 168-pin SDRAM
Minimum RAM Speed: 125 MHz (8 ns)
Interleaving Support: No
Graphics Card: ATI Rage 128 or Rage 128 Pro
ATI Card Model: ATY,Rage128 (Rage 128), ATY,Rage128Pro (Rage 128 Pro)
Graphics Memory: 16 MB VRAM
Built-in Display: None
Display Modes: Single display only
Display Connection: 1 - VGA, 1 - DVI-D
Expansion Slots: 3 - 64-bit 33 MHz PCI, 1 - 2x AGP
Expansion Bays: 4 - internal 3.5” ATA drive bays, 1 - optical drive bay, 1 - Zip 100/250 bay
Hard Drive Bus: Ultra ATA/66 (ATA-5)
Large Drive Support: No (Maximum of 128 GB per drive)
Optical Drive Bus: EIDE (ATA-3)
Backup Battery: 3.6 V 850 mAh Lithium (922-4028)
Max Watts: 200 W
Line Voltage: 115 - 230V AC
Liquid Cooling: None
AirPort: Optional AirPort card (802.11b)
Bluetooth: None
Ethernet: 10/100BASE-T (RJ-45)
Modem: Optional 56k
ADB: None
Serial: None
SCSI: None
USB: 2 - 12 MBit/s
FireWire: 3 - 400 MBit/s (1 internal) (15W total power)
Audio In: 1 - 3.5-mm analog input jack (16-bit 44.1 kHz sample rate)
Audio Out: 1 - 3.5-mm analog output jack, Built-in speaker (16-bit 44.1 kHz sample rate)

Timeline

The AGP G4 was announced in September 1999.  As a result of the problems with the 7400 chip, the speeds of the models were lowered 50Mhz in both models in October.  A 350Mhz configuration was released in November.  The line was bumped back up to the original speed configuration in February of 2000 and it was discontinued in July.

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