{"id":22954,"date":"2025-12-06T10:40:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T15:40:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/?page_id=22954"},"modified":"2026-01-15T20:11:52","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T01:11:52","slug":"vin177","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/vintage-computing\/item\/vin177\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple iMac G5"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Apple iMac G5<\/h2>\n<p>[Vin177]<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/first-place-400x400-1.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-21940\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/first-place-400x400-1-160x160.png\" alt=\"First Ever icon\" width=\"128\" height=\"128\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/first-place-400x400-1-160x160.png 160w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/first-place-400x400-1-240x240.png 240w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/first-place-400x400-1-200x200.png 200w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/first-place-400x400-1-360x360.png 360w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/first-place-400x400-1.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 128px) 100vw, 128px\" \/><\/a>The Apple iMac G5 (2004\u20132006) was notable for integrating a full PowerPC G5 desktop-class processor into an ultra-thin, all-in-one LCD form factor, a radical engineering achievement at the time that foreshadowed modern slim desktop design. Its claim to fame was bringing 64-bit PowerPC performance and quiet, fan-zoned thermal design to mainstream users and educational institutions, making it a common sight in university labs and classrooms. Historically, it represents both the peak of Apple\u2019s PowerPC era and a transitional milestone just before the shift to Intel, and it was extremely popular, selling in large numbers and serving as Apple\u2019s flagship consumer Mac during its production run.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Manufacturer<\/strong>: Apple<\/li>\n<li><strong>Type<\/strong>: Desktop computer<\/li>\n<li><strong>Release Date<\/strong>: 2004<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cost at release<\/strong>: Canadian suggested retail prices ranged roughly from $3,500 (adjusted for inflation) for a 17\u2033 1.6 GHz model up to $5,000 (adjusted for inflation) for a 20\u2033 1.8 GHz model.<\/li>\n<li><strong>MIPS<\/strong>: 4,600-6,000 (4.6 &#8211; 6.0 GIPS)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"TextRun SCXW36078203 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW36078203 BCX0\">Hardware Specifications<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>CPU: IBM PowerPC G5 (PowerPC 970 family), 64-bit RISC architecture, Clock speeds: 1.6 GHz, 1.8 GHz, 2.0 GHz, 1.9 GHz, 2.1 GHz (model dependent)\n<ul>\n<li>Memory (RAM): Standard: 256 MB or 512 MB DDR \/ DDR2 SDRAM<\/li>\n<li>Maximum: 2 GB\u20132.5 GB (revision dependent)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Storage: 80 GB to 250 GB Serial ATA (SATA), 7200 RPM hard drives<\/li>\n<li>Graphics:\n<ul>\n<li>NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64 MB)<\/li>\n<li>ATI Radeon 9600 \/ X600 Pro \/ X600 XT (128 MB)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Display:\n<ul>\n<li>17-inch LCD: 1440 \u00d7 900 resolution<\/li>\n<li>20-inch LCD: 1680 \u00d7 1050 resolution<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Optical Drive:\n<ul>\n<li>Slot-loading DVD-ROM\/CD-RW Combo Drive<\/li>\n<li>or SuperDrive (DVD\u00b1R\/RW), model dependent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Ports &amp; Connectivity: USB 2.0 \u00d73, FireWire 400 \u00d72, Ethernet (10\/100 or Gigabit on later models), 56k V.92 modem, Audio in\/out, Optional AirPort Extreme (802.11b\/g) and Bluetooth<\/li>\n<li>Camera (late models): Integrated iSight webcam (2005\u20132006 revisions)<\/li>\n<li>Weight:\n<ul>\n<li>17-inch models: ~15.5\u201318.5 lb (7.0\u20138.4 kg)<\/li>\n<li>20-inch models: ~22\u201325.2 lb (10.0\u201311.4 kg)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"TextRun SCXW136206418 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW136206418 BCX0\">Operating System &amp; Programming Languages<\/span><\/span><span class=\"EOP SCXW136206418 BCX0\" data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559685&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Operating System<\/strong>: Mac OS X 10.3 Panther<\/li>\n<li><strong>Supported Languages<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>Apple \/ Native Development\n<ul>\n<li>C, C++ (GCC toolchain)<\/li>\n<li>Objective-C (Cocoa, Carbon frameworks)<\/li>\n<li>AppleScript<\/li>\n<li>Java (Apple-supplied JVM, Java 1.4\u20131.5 era)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Scripting &amp; Interpreted Languages\n<ul>\n<li>Python<\/li>\n<li>Perl<\/li>\n<li>Ruby<\/li>\n<li>PHP<\/li>\n<li>Shell scripting (bash, zsh, sh)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Academic &amp; Scientific\n<ul>\n<li>Fortran (via GCC)<\/li>\n<li>MATLAB (PowerPC versions available)<\/li>\n<li>R (early PowerPC builds)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Web &amp; Application Development\n<ul>\n<li>HTML, CSS, JavaScript<\/li>\n<li>Server-side development using Apache, PHP, Perl, Python<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Notables<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>One of the first mass-market desktops to place all components directly behind a flat LCD, establishing the modern all-in-one layout.<\/li>\n<li>Desktop-class CPU in a thin chassis: Used a full 64-bit PowerPC G5, previously found only in large Power Mac towers, an unusual engineering feat for 2004.<\/li>\n<li>Introduced independent cooling zones with multiple fans, influencing later quiet-PC and Apple thermal designs.<\/li>\n<li>The last PowerPC-based iMac, marking the close of Apple\u2019s IBM\/Motorola CPU lineage before the 2006 Intel transition.<\/li>\n<li>Widely deployed in education and design labs, valued as an affordable UNIX workstation.<\/li>\n<li>Informally called the \u201ciMac Slab\u201d or \u201cFlat iMac\u201d by collectors and technicians.<\/li>\n<li>Early models became known for capacitor failures, now a common restoration talking point in vintage computing circles.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Donated by<\/strong>: Dr Paul Van Oorschot<\/p>\n<div class=\"content__video\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"imac G5 commercial - with Black Eyed Peas\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yvt368JqQnY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Apple iMac G5 [Vin177] The Apple iMac G5 (2004\u20132006) was notable for integrating a full PowerPC G5 desktop-class processor into an ultra-thin, all-in-one LCD form factor, a radical engineering achievement at the time that foreshadowed modern slim desktop design. Its claim to fame was bringing 64-bit PowerPC performance and quiet, fan-zoned thermal design to mainstream [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"parent":19704,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Apple iMac G5 - 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