What are the primary differences between the "Late 2005" or "Dual Core" Power Mac G5 models?: EveryMac.com

Power Macintosh G5 Q&A - Updated December 17, 2006

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What are the primary differences between the "Late 2005" or "Dual Core" Power Mac G5 models?

Please note that the "Late 2005" Power Macintosh G5 series was introduced on October 19, 2005 and discontinued August 7, 2006.

The "Late 2005" Power Macintosh G5 models -- the Power Macintosh G5 Dual Core (2.0), Dual Core (2.3), and "Quad Core" (2.5) -- are the first and last Power Macintosh G5 models to use dual core PowerPC 970MP (G5) processors, which have two independent processor "cores" on a single silicon chip. The "Quad Core" has two dual core processors (four cores total).

The major differences are summarized below in this handy chart:

"Late 2005" G5	Dual (2.0)	Dual (2.3)	"Quad" (2.5)
Processor:	2.0 GHz x2†	2.3 GHz x2†	2.5 GHz x4†
System Bus:	1.0 GHz	1.15 GHz	1.25 GHz
Level 2 Cache:	1 MB	1 MB	1 MB
Memory Type:	PC2-4200	PC2-4200	PC2-4200
Std. RAM:	512 MB	512 MB	512 MB
Max. RAM:	16.0 GB	16.0 GB	16.0 GB
Video Card:	6600 LE††	6600††	6600††
Video RAM:	128 MB	256 MB	256 MB
Hard Drive:	160 GB*	250 GB*	250 GB*
SuperDrive:	6X DL	6X DL	6X DL
AP Extreme:	Optional	Optional	Optional
Bluetooth 2.0:	Optional	Optional	Optional
Expansion:	3 PCIe**	3 PCIe**	3 PCIe**
Model No:	M9590LL/A	M9591LL/A	M9592LL/A
Orig. Price:	US$1999	US$2499	US$3299

†The low-end and middle model have a single "dual core" processor. The high-end model has two "dual core" processors.

††The low-end model has a NVIDIA GeForce 6600 LE with 128 MB of GDDR SDRAM and the middle and high-end models have a NVIDIA GeForce 6600 with 256 MB of GDDR SDRAM.

*All hard drives are 7200 RPM.

**Each also has an expansion slot for AirPort Extreme (802.11g) and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR.

Please refer to the Ultimate Mac Comparison feature to dynamically compare any Power Macintosh G5 model to any other G3 or later Mac.

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