Apple iMac G5/1.6 17-Inch

The Apple iMac G5/1.6 17-Inch, along with the simultaneously introduced iMac G5/1.8 17-Inch and iMac G5/1.8 20-Inch, features a revolutionary design with the entire computer placed behind the flat-panel display in an integrated all-in-one enclosure approximately two inches deep.

Like the aluminium-clad Apple Cinema Displays, the “non-iSight” iMac G5 models are suspended by an aluminum stand with an adjustable hinge, and support the “Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) mounting interface standard” which makes it easy to mount the system directly on a kiosk, wall, or articulating arm.

The Apple iMac G5/1.6 17-Inch shipped equipped with a 1.6 GHz PowerPC 970 (G5) processor with an optimized AltiVec “Velocity Engine” vector processing unit and a 512k on-chip level 2 cache, 256 MB of 400 MHz PC3200 DDR SDRAM, an 80 GB (7200 RPM) Serial ATA hard drive, a vertically-mounted slot-loading 8X DVD-ROM/CD-RW “Combo” Drive, NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra graphics with 64 MB of DDR SDRAM (AGP 8X), and built-in stereo speakers underneath the 17″ TFT Active Matrix LCD (1440×900) display designed to “bounce sound off the desk below”. Connectivity includes Firewire “400″ and USB 2.0, as well as support for AirPort Extreme (802.11g) and Bluetooth with optional cards.

The iMac G5 series is cooled by three “ultra-quiet blowers that draw cool air into the system” through the speaker grill and a slit in the top of the back of the case allows heat to dissipate.

August 31, 2004 May 3, 2005
Details: The “Introduction Date” refers to the date a model was introduced via press release. The “Discontinued Date” refers to the date a model either was replaced by a subsequent system or production otherwise ended.
1.6 GHz PowerPC 970 (G5)
Details: The PowerPC 970 “G5″ has 64-bit data paths and registers with native support for 32-bit application code. It additionally includes the AltiVec “Velocity Engine” vector processor and “two independent double-precision floating-point units”.
1 842
Soldered Integrated
Details: The processor is mounted directly to the motherboard.
533 MHz (3:1) 1.6 GHz (Built-in)
Details: 533 MHz frontside bus.
Open Firmware 1 MB
Details: Boot ROM and around 1 MB, other instructions are loaded into RAM (NewWorld).
32k/64k 512k
Details: 32k level 1 data cache, 64k level 1 instructional cache. The 512k on-chip level 2 cache runs at processor speed.
PC3200 DDR 400 MHz
Details: Supports 400 MHz PC3200 DDR SDRAM. If installing RAM in both slots, use matching memory for best performance.
256 MB 2.0 GB
None 2
Details: If non-matching RAM is installed, the 128-bit memory bus will operate as a 64-bit bus.
GeForce FX 5200 Ultra DDR SDRAM
Details: NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra with 64 MB of DDR SDRAM (AGP 8X support).
64 MB 64 MB
Details: Video cannot be upgraded.
17.0″ TFT 1440×900
Details: This model has a 17.0″ TFT active matrix display with a 16:10 aspect ratio and a native resolution of 1440×900. In the 16:10 aspect ratio, it also supports 1152×720, 1024×640, and 800×500, and in the 4:3 aspect ratio it supports 1024×768, 800×600, and 640×480. Apple additionally reports a “typical” brightness of 200 cd/m, contrast ratio of 350:1, and viewing angle of 120 degrees horizontal and 90 degrees vertical.
Mirroring Only* 1024×768*
Details: Apple reports that this system has a “VGA output port for video mirroring on an external display or projector”, and supports output resolutions of “640 x 480 pixels at 60Hz, 800 x 600 pixels at 75Hz and 1024 x 768 pixels at 75Hz”.
80 GB (7200 RPM) Serial ATA (1.5 Gb/s)
Details: This model supports hard drives larger than 128 GB.
8X “Combo Drive” None
Details: Apple reports that the slot-loading 8X DVD-ROM/CD-RW “Combo” drive “reads DVDs at up to 8x speed, writes CD-R discs at up to 24x speed, writes CD-RW discs at up to 16x speed, [and] reads CDs at up to 24x speed.”
56k v.92 10/100Base-T
Details: Internal modem and 10/100Base-T Ethernet standard.
802.11b/g (Optional) 1.1 (Optional)
Details: This model could be configured with AirPort Extreme (802.11b/802.11g) and Bluetooth at the time of purchase for additional cost.
3 (2.0) 2 (400)
Details: Apple advertised that this system had a “total of five USB ports” counting three USB 2.0 ports on the system and two USB 1.1 ports on the keyboard. Two Firewire “400″ ports are shared – 8 watts.
AP/BL None
Details: Internal AirPort Extreme (802.11b/802.11g) and Bluetooth support.
Apple Keyboard Apple Mouse
Details: N/A
All-in-One iMac G5
Details: Integrated all-in-one “ice white” enclosure approximately two inches deep supported by an aluminum stand.
M9248LL/A iMac G5
Details: The Apple order number should be unique to this system.
A1058 (EMC 1989) PowerMac8,1
3.6V Lithium N/A
Details: N/A
X 10.3.5 (7P35) X 10.5.8
Details: This system cannot run versions of MacOS X more recent than 10.5.8.
Classic Mode Only* Emulation Only
Details: *This model is capable of using MacOS 9 applications within the MacOS X “Classic” environment provided with MacOS X 10.4.11 “Tiger” and lower (“Classic” is not supported starting with MacOS X 10.5 “Leopard”). It cannot boot into MacOS 9.
16.9 x 16.8 x 6.8 18.5 lbs. (8.4 kg)
Details: In inches – height by width by depth, (43 cm, 42.6 cm, 17.3 cm).
US$1299 US$350-US$400
Details: Please note that on average the estimated current retail pricing of used systems is updated twice a year (please refer to the date on the bottom of the page for the date last updated).