Power Mac G4

From Mac Guides

The PowerMac G4 was introduced at the Seybold Conference, in San Francisco on August 31, 1999. Powered by the PowerPC 74xx series of processors, it introduced AltiVec, a feature Apple dubbed the "Velocity Engine," a vector processing unit which greatly accelerated software written to use it. Also new with the PowerMac G4 was a case boasting a new, refined 'graphite' professional look.

Contents 1 Mirrored Drive Doors 2003 2 FW 800 3 Mirrored Drive Doors 4 QuickSilver 2002 5 QuickSilver 6 Digital Audio 7 Cube 8 Gigabit Ethernet 9 AGP Graphics (Sawtooth) 10 PCI Graphics (Yikes!)

Mirrored Drive Doors 2003

Introduced in June 2003, this is the last model Power Macintosh made that uses a G4 processor. It was also the last model made capable of booting Mac OS version 9.22.

This model was was available with two different processor configurations: 1.25 GHz and dual 1.25 GHz.

Of note is the fact that it is actually inferior to the FW 800 model in many ways. Its wireless network interface is AirPort, not AirPort Extreme, and Bluetooth was not available as an internal option. Because of this, most believe that it was sold only to satisfy certain corporate customers that were unwilling to upgrade to Mac OS X.

This model was maintained well after the introduction of the PowerMac G5, when the FireWire 800 model was discontinued. This, again, was to placate those who wished to have an OS 9-bootable Power Mac.

FW 800

Introduced in January 2003, the Power Macintosh (FW 800) is an incremental speed increase to the Mirrored Drive Doors model. It was available with three different processor configurations: 1 GHz, dual 1.25 GHz, and dual 1.42 GHz.

This was the first model Power Macintosh to support

• FireWire 800
• AirPort Extreme
• Bluetooth

This was also the first model sold incapable of booting Mac OS version 9.22 (the last version of Mac OS Classic. It could only boot Mac OS X.)

Mirrored Drive Doors

Introduced in August 2002, the Mirrored Drive Doors Power Macintosh sported yet another major change to the case design. As the name implies, it has mirrored doors covering the optical drive bays. Unlike all previous case designs, the lower drive bay is full-size, allowing two internal optical drives.

This model was available in three processor configurations: dual 867 MHz, dual 1 GHz, and dual 1.25 GHz.

This model also re-introduced audio input hardware, which was missing since the Cube and Digital Audio models.

QuickSilver 2002

Introduced in January 2002, The QuickSilver 2002 Power Macintosh is an incremental speed increase to the original QuickSilver line. It was available with three different processor configurations: 800 MHz, 933 MHz, and dual 1 GHz.

This model was the first to include a hard drive controller that supports LBA-48 mode. This is required in order to access the full capacity of hard drives larger than 137 GB without software add-ons. (Apple does not officially recognize this capability, however. They only claim LBA-48 support in later models. Some Quicksilvers do not have LBA-48 support, in a hit-or-miss fashion, however the later the manufacturing date the more likely the support will be there)

QuickSilver

Introduced in July 2001, the QuickSilver Power Macintosh's most notable feature was its updated case design. It was available with three different processor configurations: 733 MHz, dual 800 MHz and 867 MHz.

Digital Audio

Introduced in January 2001, the Power Macintosh G4 (Digial Audio) was the successor to the Gigabit Ethernet model. The motherboard was bumped to a 133 MHz bus, the AGP slot was increased to 4x, and an additional PCI slot was added, bringing the total number of PCI slots to four.

It was available with five different processor configurations: 466 MHz, 533 MHz, dual 533 MHz, 667 MHz, and 733 MHz. A SuperDrive was now available as an optional component.

A noteworthy aspect of the Digial Audio model was the elimination of an analog audio-in jack, forcing users to buy third-party hardware (most commonly USB-based) for audio input. However, it also contained a built-in amplifier for use with Apple Pro Speakers or a breakout box.

Cube

The Power Macintosh G4 Cube was a unique model in Apple's product line.

Introduced at the time time as the Gigabit Ethernet Power Macintosh, It attempted to pack everything a user could want into a very small form factor. The whole system was a small cube that fit into a slightly-taller transparent stand. All cables attached at the bottom, hiding the connectors from users. It was available with two different processor configurations: 450 MHz and 500 MHz.

The cube employed a novel convection-based cooling system that required no fans. In order to make this work, all components were installed vertically, including the optical drive.

The cube sported several other features that became standard for years afterwards, including:

• The ADC connector for video output
• Digial-only audio (relying on a USB-based device for audio I/O)

Gigabit Ethernet

Introduced in July 2000, the Power Macintosh G4 (Gigabit Ethernet) was the first to sport dual processors. It was available with three different processor configurations: 400 MHz, dual 450 MHz, and dual 500 MHz. As the name implies, it was also the first model to support gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000Base-T). The internal firewire port introduced with the Power Mac G4 (Sawtooth) was removed with this revision.

AGP Graphics (Sawtooth)

Introduced in September, 1999, the Power Macintosh G4 (AGP Graphics - codenamed "Sawtooth") was the second PowerMac model to use the G4 processor. The Sawtooth G4 boasts the newer, more efficient, Unified Motherboard Architecture, offering greatly enhanced memory and bus throughput, along with an AGP dedicated graphics slot. Also new were the internal FireWire port, dual USB controllers, internal AirPort wireless networking slot, and improved memory controller which could handle 1.5 GB of SDRAM.

It was available with four different processor configurations: 350 MHz, 400 MHz, 450 MHz and 500 MHz.

PCI Graphics (Yikes!)

The first model of the Power Macintosh that used the G4 processor. Introduced in August 1999, the Power Macintosh G4 (PCI Graphics - codenamed "Yikes!") was essentially a Powermac G3 (Blue and White) motherboard with a G4 processor, minus the ADB port. It was available in two different processor configurations: 350 MHz and 400 MHz.