The Power Mac G4 is a series of
personal computer
A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...
s designed, manufactured, and sold by
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...
from 1999 to 2004 as part of the
Power Macintosh
The Power Macintosh, later Power Mac, is a family of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer as the core of the Macintosh brand from March 1994 until August 2006.
Described by ''MacWorld'' as "the most important te ...
line. Built around the
PowerPC G4
PowerPC G4 is a designation formerly used by Apple and Eyetech to describe a ''fourth generation'' of 32-bit PowerPC microprocessors. Apple has applied this name to various (though closely related) processor models from Freescale, a former part of ...
series of
microprocessor
A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circu ...
s, the Power Mac G4 was marketed by
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
as the first "personal supercomputers", reaching speeds of 4 to 20
gigaFLOPS
In computing, floating point operations per second (FLOPS, flops or flop/s) is a measure of computer performance, useful in fields of scientific computations that require floating-point calculations. For such cases, it is a more accurate meas ...
. This was the first existing Macintosh product to be officially shortened as "Mac", and is the last Mac able to boot into
classic Mac OS
Mac OS (originally System Software; retronym: Classic Mac OS) is the series of operating systems developed for the Macintosh family of personal computers by Apple Computer from 1984 to 2001, starting with System 1 and ending with Mac OS 9. The ...
.
The enclosure style introduced with the
Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White) was retained through the entire five-year production run of the Power Mac G4, albeit with significant changes to match Apple's evolving industrial design and to accommodate increasing cooling needs. The G4 and its enclosure were retired with the introduction of the
Power Mac G5
The Power Mac G5 is a series of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from 2003 to 2006 as part of the Power Mac series. When introduced, it was the most powerful computer in Apple's Macintosh lineup, and ...
.
1st generation: Graphite
![Apple G4 400 Mhz 6895](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Apple_G4_400_Mhz_6895.jpg)
The original Power Mac G4 was introduced at the Seybold conference in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
on August 31, 1999. There were two variants, officially titled Power Mac G4 (PCI Graphics), with and configurations available, and Power Mac G4 (AGP Graphics), with , , and configurations. Colloquially, this first generation of Power Mac G4 is referred to as "Graphite". This is due to the color scheme of the case, which officially debuted with the Power Mac G4 (predating the graphite iMac DV Special Edition by 2 months).
Apple originally planned to ship the configuration in October 1999, but they were forced to postpone this because of poor yield of the CPUs. In response, Apple reduced the clock speed of the processor in each configuration by (making the options , and ), which caused some controversy because they did not lower the original prices accordingly.
The early (later )
PCI
PCI may refer to:
Business and economics
* Payment card industry, businesses associated with debit, credit, and other payment cards
** Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, a set of security requirements for credit card processors
* Pro ...
-based version used a
motherboard
A motherboard (also called mainboard, main circuit board, mb, mboard, backplane board, base board, system board, logic board (only in Apple computers) or mobo) is the main printed circuit board (PCB) in general-purpose computers and other expand ...
identical to the one used in
Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White) computers including the use of Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) processors sockets (minus the
ADB port), in a "graphite" colored case and with the new
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...
PowerPC
PowerPC (with the backronym Performance Optimization With Enhanced RISC – Performance Computing, sometimes abbreviated as PPC) is a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA) created by the 1991 Apple Inc., App ...
7400 (G4) CPU. The higher-speed models, code name "Sawtooth", used a greatly modified motherboard design with
AGP 2x graphics (replacing the PCI slot).
The PCI variant was discontinued at the end of 1999.
The machines featured
DVD-ROM
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
drives as standard. The and versions had
Zip drive
The Zip drive is a removable floppy disk storage system that was introduced by Iomega in late 1994. Considered medium-to-high-capacity at the time of its release, Zip disks were originally launched with capacities of 100 MB, then 250 ...
s as standard equipment, and as an option on the Sawtooth. This series had a
system bus
A system bus is a single computer bus that connects the major components of a computer system,
combining the functions of a data bus to carry information, an address bus to determine where it should be sent or read from, and a control bus to dete ...
and four
PC100
Synchronous dynamic random-access memory (synchronous dynamic RAM or SDRAM) is any DRAM where the operation of its external pin interface is coordinated by an externally supplied clock signal.
DRAM integrated circuits (ICs) produced from the ...
SDRAM
Synchronous dynamic random-access memory (synchronous dynamic RAM or SDRAM) is any DRAM where the operation of its external pin interface is coordinated by an externally supplied clock signal.
DRAM integrated circuits (ICs) produced from the ...
slots for up to of
RAM
Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to:
Animals
* A male sheep
* Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish
People
* Ram (given name)
* Ram (surname)
* Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director
* RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch
* ...
( under
Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9 is the ninth major release of Apple Inc., Apple's classic Mac OS operating system which was succeeded by macOS, Mac OS X (renamed to OS X in 2011 and macOS in 2016) in 2001. Introduced on October 23, 1999, it was promoted by Apple as "T ...
). The AGP Power Macs were the first to include an
AirPort
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
slot and
DVI
Digital Visual Interface (DVI) is a video display interface developed by the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG). The digital interface is used to connect a video source, such as a video display controller, to a display device, such as a comp ...
video port. The computers could house a total of three hard drives, two 128 GB ATA hard drives and up to a single 20 GB SCSI hard drive, with the installation of a SCSI card.
The version was reintroduced on February 16, 2000, accompanied by and models.
DVD-RAM
DVD-RAM (DVD Random Access Memory) is a DVD-based disc specification presented in 1996 by the DVD Forum, which specifies rewritable DVD-RAM media and the appropriate DVD writers. DVD-RAM media have been used in computers as well as camcorders an ...
and Zip drives featured on these later and versions and were an option on the 400 MHz.
The Power Mac G4 (Gigabit Ethernet) model was introduced at
Macworld Expo
Macworld/iWorld was an information technology trade show with conference tracks dedicated to the Apple Macintosh platform. It was held annually in the United States during January. Originally ''Macworld Expo'' and then ''Macworld Conference & Expos ...
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
on July 19, 2000; the new revision included dual-processor and versions, and a low-end single CPU model. It was also the first
personal computer
A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...
to include
gigabit Ethernet
In computer networking, Gigabit Ethernet (GbE or 1 GigE) is the term applied to transmitting Ethernet frames at a rate of a gigabit per second. The most popular variant, 1000BASE-T, is defined by the IEEE 802.3ab standard. It came into use i ...
as standard. Most people saw this revision as a stopgap release, because higher clocked G4s were not available; the G4's Motorola XPC107 "Grackle" PCI/Memory controller prevented the G4 from hitting speeds higher than . The dual models featured
DVD-RAM
DVD-RAM (DVD Random Access Memory) is a DVD-based disc specification presented in 1996 by the DVD Forum, which specifies rewritable DVD-RAM media and the appropriate DVD writers. DVD-RAM media have been used in computers as well as camcorders an ...
optical drives. Zip drives were optional on all models. These models also introduced Apple's proprietary
Apple Display Connector
The Apple Display Connector (ADC) is a proprietary modification of the DVI connector that combines analog and digital video signals, USB, and power all in one cable. It was used in later versions of the Apple Studio Display, including the final ...
video port.
Graphite model variations
2nd generation: Digital Audio/Quicksilver
![Apple PowerMac G4 M8493 QuickSilver front](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Apple_PowerMac_G4_M8493_QuickSilver_front.jpg)
A new line with a revamped motherboard but retaining the familiar "Graphite" case debuted on January 9, 2001. Known officially as the Power Mac G4 (Digital Audio), it is in effect a Quicksilver design inside the Graphite enclosure.
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...
had added a seventh pipeline stage in the new
PowerPC G4
PowerPC G4 is a designation formerly used by Apple and Eyetech to describe a ''fourth generation'' of 32-bit PowerPC microprocessors. Apple has applied this name to various (though closely related) processor models from Freescale, a former part of ...
design to achieve faster clock frequencies. New features included a fourth PCI slot, a 133 MHz system bus, an improved 4X AGP slot, and a new "digital audio" Tripath
Class T amplifier
Class T was a registered trademark for a switching (class-D) audio amplifier, used for Tripath's amplifier technologies (patent filed on Jun 20, 1996). Similar designs have now been widely adopted by different manufacturers.
Amplifier
The cover ...
sound system. The models were offered in , , dual , and configurations, the latter two using a newer PowerPC 7450 processor. The number of RAM slots was reduced to three, accommodating up to 1.5
Gigabyte
The gigabyte () is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. The prefix ''giga'' means 109 in the International System of Units (SI). Therefore, one gigabyte is one billion bytes. The unit symbol for the gigabyte is GB.
This defini ...
s of
PC133
Synchronous dynamic random-access memory (synchronous dynamic RAM or SDRAM) is any DRAM where the operation of its external pin interface is coordinated by an externally supplied clock signal.
DRAM integrated circuits (ICs) produced from the ea ...
SDRAM
Synchronous dynamic random-access memory (synchronous dynamic RAM or SDRAM) is any DRAM where the operation of its external pin interface is coordinated by an externally supplied clock signal.
DRAM integrated circuits (ICs) produced from the ...
.
The model was the first
Macintosh
The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...
to include a built-in
DVD-R
DVD recordable and DVD rewritable are optical disc recording technologies. Both terms describe DVD optical discs that can be written to by a DVD recorder, whereas only 'rewritable' discs are able to erase and rewrite data. Data is written ('burne ...
or Apple-branded
SuperDrive, the rest of the line became the first Macs to ship with
CD-RW
CD-RW (Compact Disc-Rewritable) is a digital media, digital optical disc data storage device, storage format introduced in 1997. A CD-RW compact disc (CD-RWs) can be written, read, erased, and re-written.
CD-RWs, as opposed to CDs, require ...
drives.
At
Macworld Expo
Macworld/iWorld was an information technology trade show with conference tracks dedicated to the Apple Macintosh platform. It was held annually in the United States during January. Originally ''Macworld Expo'' and then ''Macworld Conference & Expos ...
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
on July 18, 2001, a new line debuted featuring a cosmetically redesigned case known as Quicksilver, and various upgrades to the specifications. It was available in , and dual configurations. The model was notable for not having a level three cache. The SuperDrive was offered on the mid-range model, and UltraATA/100 hard drives were offered on all models. The internal speaker received an upgrade, using a
Harman/Kardon speaker.
The Quicksilver line received criticism in ''MacWorld''s review for removing the "eject" button and the manual eject pinhole, as well as the pass-through monitor power plug, and for the base specification of RAM as being insufficient for running
Mac OS X
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. Within the market of ...
.
Updated Quicksilver machines, officially named Power Mac G4 (Quicksilver 2002), were introduced on January 28, 2002, with , and dual configurations. This was the first Mac to reach . Again, the low-end model did not include any level three cache. The graphics in Updated Quicksilver machines were provided by an Nvidia
GeForce4 Ti/MX or
ATI Radeon 7500 graphics card. Some of these models have
ATA controllers with 48-bit
LBA to accommodate hard drives larger than 128 GB.
Digital Audio/Quicksilver model variations
3rd generation: Mirrored Drive Doors/FireWire 800
![Apple PowerMac G4 M8570 MDD sideopen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Apple_PowerMac_G4_M8570_MDD_sideopen.jpg)
Another generation of Apple Power Mac G4s, officially named "Mirrored Drive Doors" (MDD), was introduced on August 13, 2002, featuring both a new
Xserve
Xserve is a line of rack unit computers designed by Apple Inc. for use as servers. Introduced in 2002, it was Apple's first designated server hardware design since the Apple Network Server in 1996. In the meantime, ordinary Power Macintosh G3 a ...
-derived DDR motherboard architecture and a new case design. All models were available in dual processor configurations running at , or . As with the Xserves, the
PowerPC
PowerPC (with the backronym Performance Optimization With Enhanced RISC – Performance Computing, sometimes abbreviated as PPC) is a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA) created by the 1991 Apple Inc., App ...
7455 CPU used does not have a DDR
frontside bus, meaning the CPU of the 133 MHz
frontside bus models could use at most only 50% of the new system's theoretical memory bandwidth, providing no improvement over previous models. The rest was available to the
graphics card
A graphics card (also called a video card, display card, graphics adapter, VGA card/VGA, video adapter, display adapter, or mistakenly GPU) is an expansion card which generates a feed of output images to a display device, such as a computer moni ...
and
I/O systems. A single processor model would be the last Power Mac G4 the company offered to the public after the announcement of the new Power Mac G5, introduced in June 2003.
The last real update to the Power Mac G4 line came on January 28, 2003, offering dual 1.42 GHz PowerPC 7455 processors, with features not seen in previous DDR models: a built-in FireWire 800 connector, optional integrated
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...
, and optional integrated
AirPort Extreme
The AirPort Extreme is a residential gateway combining the functions of a router, network switch, wireless access point and NAS as well as varied other functions, and one of Apple's former AirPort products. The latest model, the 6th generatio ...
. These were also the first Power Macs that could not boot into
Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9 is the ninth major release of Apple Inc., Apple's classic Mac OS operating system which was succeeded by macOS, Mac OS X (renamed to OS X in 2011 and macOS in 2016) in 2001. Introduced on October 23, 1999, it was promoted by Apple as "T ...
.
With the launch of the
Power Mac G5
The Power Mac G5 is a series of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from 2003 to 2006 as part of the Power Mac series. When introduced, it was the most powerful computer in Apple's Macintosh lineup, and ...
on June 23, 2003, Apple re-introduced the August 2002 Power Mac G4 because of perceived demand for Mac OS 9 machines. Between that, its low price-tag, and the delayed availability of Power Mac G5s, it proved a strong seller, albeit for a relatively short time. Production stopped on June 27, 2004, and the remaining inventory was liquidated, its discontinuation ending the 20-year legacy of Classic Mac OS support.
Mirrored Drive Doors/FireWire 800 model variations
Timeline
See also
*
Power Mac G4 Cube
The Power Mac G4 Cube is a Macintosh personal computer sold by Apple Computer, Inc. between July 2000 and 2001. Designed by Jonathan Ive, the Cube was conceived by Apple chief executive officer (CEO) Steve Jobs, who held an interest in a power ...
Notes
{{Apple hardware since 1998
Macintosh towers
G4
G4