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iMac G4 Q&A - Updated January 20, 2009

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What are the differences between the final "USB 2.0" iMac G4 "Flat Panel" models?

Please note that the final "USB 2.0" iMac G4 "Flat Panel" models were introduced on September 8, 2003 and discontinued on July 1, 2004.

The final "USB 2.0" iMac G4 models -- the iMac G4/1.0 15-Inch "FP" (USB 2.0), G4/1.25 17-Inch "FP" (USB 2.0), and G4/1.25 20-Inch "FP" (USB 2.0) -- have G4 processors, a 167 MHz system bus, PC2700 DDR SDRAM, an Ultra ATA/100 hard drive, and NVIDIA GeForce4 MX or GeForce FX 5200 Ultra graphics packaged in an attractive 10.6" half-sphere, ice white case with a chromed stainless steel neck that supports a 15 inch, 17 inch, or 20 inch TFT Active Matrix LCD display.

These models support Bluetooth 1.1 -- like the previous iMac G4/1.0 17-Inch (Flat Panel) -- but also add support for AirPort Extreme (802.11b/g) and USB 2.0 to the iMac line for the first time.

When shipped, these models were configured with MacOS X 10.2.3 pre-installed and they cannot boot into earlier versions of the MacOS. Each can run MacOS 9 applications within the "Classic Environment" provided by MacOS X 10.4.11 and earlier, however.

The major differences between the "USB 2.0" models are summarized below for your convenience:

iMac G4 "FP"

G4/1.0 15"

G4/1.25 17"

G4/1.25 20"

Processor:

1.0 GHz

1.25 GHz

1.25 GHz

System Bus:

167 MHz

167 MHz

167 MHz

On-chip L2:

256k

256k

256k

Memory Type:

PC2700 DDR

PC2700 DDR

PC2700 DDR

Std. RAM:

256 MB

256 MB

256 MB

Max. RAM:

1 GB*

1 GB*

1 GB*

Display:

15.0" TFT

17.0" TFT

20.0" TFT

Resolution:

1024x768

1440x900

1680x1050

Video Card:

GeForce4 MX

FX 5200 Ultra†

FX 5200 Ultra†

Video RAM:

32 MB

64 MB

64 MB

Hard Drive:

80 GB

80 GB

80 GB

Optical Drive:

"Combo Drive"

"SuperDrive"

"SuperDrive"

AP Extreme:

Optional

Optional

Optional

Bluetooth 1.1:

Optional

Optional

Optional

Expansion:

AP/BL

AP/BL

AP/BL

Model No:

M9285LL/A

M9168LL/A

M9290LL/A

Orig. Price:

US$1299

US$1799

US$2199

* Officially, these models support 1 GB of RAM, but unofficially they can be upgraded to 2 GB.

† These systems have a "NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra graphics processor with AGP 4X support".

Please refer to the Ultimate Mac Comparison feature to compare any iMac G4 model to any other G3 or later Mac.



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