Apple Power Macintosh G4 500 Cube Specs
Identifiers: Power Mac G4 Cube - BTO/CTO - PowerMac5,1 - M7886 - 1844
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The Apple Power Macintosh G4/500 Cube, officially dubbed the "Power Mac G4 Cube", features a 500 MHz PowerPC 7400 or 7410 (G4) processor with the AltiVec "Velocity Engine" vector processing unit and 1 MB of backside cache. By default, it was configured with 128 MB of RAM, a 30 GB Ultra ATA/66 hard drive, a slot-loading 5X DVD-ROM drive, and a 2X AGP ATI Rage 128 Pro graphics card with 16 MB of SDRAM and sold for US$2299. AirPort (802.11b) as well as alternate hard drives and graphics cards were available by custom configuration.
Please note that the Power Macintosh G4/500 Cube only was available direct from Apple, but the Power Macintosh G4/450 Cube was available from resellers as well.
Due to its size, the Power Mac G4 Cube lacks PCI slots and a full-length AGP slot, has three RAM slots instead of four (and a single drive bay instead of four) like the "full-size" Power Macintosh G4 (Gigabit) models available at the time. It also lacks analog audio in and out (using USB for audio out), but otherwise packs comparable power in an attractive eight inch cube. For easy upgrading, the interior housing of the cube slides out from the bottom, providing access to internal components.
Unfortunately, the Power Mac G4 Cube was not financially successful, as it generally was viewed as too expensive compared to the other Power Macintosh G4 models, and Apple placed it on "indefinite hold" on July 3, 2001. However, it was largely credited as providing the inspiration for the Mac mini series.
Also see: What are the differences between the Power Mac G4 Cube models?
Despite the age of this system, site sponsor Other World Computing has RAM, hard drives, SSDs, and other upgrades available for this specific Mac while supplies last.
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| Introduction Date: |
July 19, 2000 |
Discontinued Date: |
July 3, 2001* |
| Details: |
The "Introduction Date" refers to the date a model was introduced via press release. The "Discontinued Date" refers to the date a model either was replaced by a subsequent system or production otherwise ended.
On July 3, 2001, Apple placed the Power Mac G4 Cube on "indefinite hold".
Also see: All Macs introduced in 2000. |
| Processors: |
1 |
Geekbench 2: |
323 |
| Details: |
This model only is compatible with the 32-bit Geekbench 2 benchmark. These numbers reflect an average of user provided 32-bit and 64-bit results as submitted to the Geekbench website. Higher numbers are better.
You also might be interested in reviewing all 32-bit Geekbench 2 user submissions for Macs with the PowerMac5,1 Model Identifier, which may include multiple models.
To dynamically compare Geekbench results from different Macs side-by-side, see EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Comparison. |
| Processor Speed: |
500 MHz |
Processor Type: |
PowerPC 7400* (G4) |
| Details: |
The PowerPC G4 includes the AltiVec "Velocity Engine" vector processor.
*Apple provides no official information beyond "G4", but later models have a PowerPC 7410 (G4) processor. |
| Processor Upgrade: |
AGP G4 Daughtercard |
FPU: |
Integrated |
| Details: |
The Power Macintosh G4 Cube models have the processor mounted on a custom 300-pin daughtercard. |
| System Bus Speed: |
100 MHz |
Cache Bus Speed: |
250 MHz |
| Details: |
This system has a 250 MHz backside bus and 1 MB of level 2 cache. |
| ROM/Firmware Type: |
Open Firmware |
ROM/Firmware Size: |
1 MB |
| Details: |
Boot ROM and around 1 MB, other instructions are loaded into RAM (NewWorld). |
| L1 Cache: |
64k |
L2/L3 Cache: |
1 MB (backside) |
| Details: |
The 1 MB of backside cache has a 250 MHz bus. |
| RAM Type: |
PC100 SDRAM |
Min. RAM Speed: |
100 MHz |
| Details: |
Officially supports 100 MHz PC100 SDRAM (3.3v, unbuffered, 64-bit-wide, 168-pin), but PC133 SDRAM is backwards compatible and may be used as well. Apple also noted that this model has "full 128-bit internal memory data paths". |
| Standard RAM: |
128 MB |
Maximum RAM: |
1.5 GB |
| Motherboard RAM: |
None |
RAM Slots: |
3 |
| Video Card: |
Rage 128 Pro* |
VRAM Type: |
SDRAM |
| Details: |
*Commonly configured with an ATI Rage 128 Pro graphics card with 16 MB of SDRAM. Also available with an ATI Radeon with 16 MB of SDRAM or a NVIDIA GeForce2 MX video card with 32 MB of SDRAM. The video card occupies a dedicated "short" 2X AGP slot.
Please note that Apple does not support upgrading the video in the Power Mac G4 Cube. |
| Standard VRAM: |
16 MB |
Maximum VRAM: |
16 MB |
| Details: |
Commonly configured with an ATI Rage 128 Pro graphics card with 16 MB of SDRAM. Also available with an ATI Radeon with 16 MB of SDRAM or a NVIDIA GeForce2 MX video card with 32 MB of SDRAM. Apple does not support upgrading the video in the Power Mac G4 Cube. |
| Display Support: |
Single Display |
Resolution Support: |
1920x1200 |
| Details: |
Apple advertised that this system can support "up to 1920 by 1200 pixel resolution at 32 bits per pixel (millions of colors)". |
| 2nd Display Support: |
None |
2nd Max. Resolution: |
N/A |
| Standard Storage: |
30 GB* HDD |
Std. Storage Speed: |
5400 RPM |
| Storage Dimensions: |
3.5" (25.4 mm) |
Storage Interface: |
Ultra ATA/66 (ATA-5) |
| Details: |
Onboard support for a single 3.5" Ultra ATA/66 (ATA-5) hard drive. Drives larger than 128 GB are not natively supported. |
| Standard Optical: |
5X DVD-ROM* |
Standard Disk: |
None |
| Details: |
Originally configured with a 5X DVD-ROM, CD-RW drive of unspecified speed also available starting February 22, 2001. The optical drive uses a EIDE (ATA-3) bus. |
| Standard Modem: |
56k v.90 |
Standard Ethernet: |
10/100Base-T |
| Details: |
Internal modem and 10/100Base-T Ethernet standard. Gigabit Ethernet promoted as a build-to-order upgrade but it never shipped. |
| Standard AirPort: |
802.11b (Optional) |
Standard Bluetooth: |
None |
| Details: |
AirPort (802.11b) was available as a build-to-order addition. |
| USB Ports: |
2 (1.1) |
Firewire Ports: |
2 (400) |
| Details: |
USB 1.1 ports are dual channel. |
| Expansion Slots: |
AP* |
Expansion Bays: |
1** 3.5" |
| Details: |
*In the default configuration, this model has an open AirPort (802.11b) expansion slot. The graphics card occupies a dedicated "short" 2X AGP slot that Apple does not intend to be upgraded.
**It has a single 3.5" drive bay occupied by the hard drive. The system also has a 5.25" drive bay occupied by the optical drive. |
| Incl. Keyboard: |
Apple Pro Keyboard |
Incl. Input: |
Apple Pro Mouse |
| Case Type: |
Cube |
Form Factor: |
Power Mac G4 Cube |
| Apple Order No: |
BTO/CTO |
Apple Subfamily: |
Power Mac G4 Cube |
| Details: |
As this model only was offered as a custom configuration of the Power Macintosh G4/450 Cube, it does not have its own order number. |
| Apple Model No: |
M7886 (EMC 1844) |
Model ID: |
PowerMac5,1 |
| Details: |
Please note that these identifiers refer to more than one model.
Also see: All Macs with the M7886 Model Number, the 1844 EMC Number, and the PowerMac5,1 Model Identifier.
For more about these identifiers and how to locate them on each Mac, please refer to EveryMac.com's Mac Identification section. |
| Battery Type: |
3.6V Lithium |
Battery Life: |
N/A |
| Pre-Installed MacOS: |
9.0.4, 9.1* |
Maximum MacOS: |
X 10.4.11 |
| Details: |
*Models shipped starting February 22, 2001 had Mac OS 9.1 pre-installed. This system is not supported running versions of Mac OS X more recent than 10.4.11.
Also see: Is there a "hack" to make Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" run on unsupported Power Mac G4 models? |
| MacOS 9 Support: |
Boot/Classic Mode |
Windows Support: |
Emulation Only |
| Details: |
This Power Macintosh G4 model is capable of booting Mac OS 9 and using Mac OS 9 applications within the Mac OS X "Classic" environment. |
| Dimensions: |
9.8 x 7.7 x 7.7 |
Avg. Weight: |
14.0 lbs. (6.4 kg) |
| Details: |
In inches - height by width by depth, (24.8 cm, 19.5 cm, 19.5 cm). |
| Original Price (US): |
US$2299 |
Est. Current Retail: |
US$200-US$500 |
| Details: |
Photo Credit: Apple Computer. |
Ten of the most popular Q&As about the Power Macintosh G4 models follow.
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1 VGA, 1 ADC 
None 
None 
None 
None
None
2 (1.1)
2 (400)
1 (RJ-45)
None
None
None
None
None*
1*
1
N/A
1
N/A