Graphite (1999-2001) The original Power Mac G4 was introduced at the Seybold conference in
San Francisco on August 31, 1999. While marketed as a single, unified product line, there were two variants of the machine. The first, cheaper configuration, the Power Macintosh G4 (PCI Graphics), served as an intermediate step between the Power Mac G3s and the G4 processors, used a G4 processor on a modified version of the Blue-and-white G3's logic board, making them very similar to their predecessors. The higher-end configuration, Power Mac G4 (AGP Graphics), featured a new logic board and faster memory bandwidth, and swapped the PCI graphics-card slot for a faster
Advanced Graphics Port slot. 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-based version used a
motherboard 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 PowerPC 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 drives as standard. The and versions had
Zip drives as standard equipment, and as an option on the Sawtooth. This series had a
system bus and four
PC100 SDRAM slots for up to of
RAM ( under
Mac OS 9). The AGP Power Macs were the first to include an
AirPort slot and
DVI 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 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 New York 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 to include
gigabit Ethernet 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 optical drives. Zip drives were optional on all models. These models also introduced Apple's proprietary
Apple Display Connector video port.
Digital Audio/QuickSilver (2001-2002) 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).
Motorola had added a seventh pipeline stage in the new
PowerPC G4 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 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
Gigabytes of
PC133 SDRAM. The model was the first
Macintosh to include a built-in
DVD-R or Apple-branded
SuperDrive, the rest of the line became the first Macs to ship with
CD-RW drives. At
Macworld Expo New York 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
MacWorlds 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. The Quicksilver case went through shifts in hardware features and design up until production was due to start, resulting in a mismatch between the color of the plastic on the machine's front doors and the rest of the case. Designer Doug Satzger recalled Steve Jobs was adamant that the issue be fixed before it shipped, despite pushback. Ive wanted special polished stainless steel screws in the handle of the case, which
Jon Rubinstein vetoed as too expensive and delaying. Ive went around Rubenstein and got Jobs to approve the screws, though it created a widening rift between Ive and Rubinstein as Ive refused to compromise on his design vision. 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.
Mirrored Drive Doors (2002-2003) Another generation of Apple Power Mac G4s, officially named
"Mirrored Drive Doors" (MDD), was introduced on August 13, 2002, featuring both a new
Xserve-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 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 and
I/O systems. The early dual processor models generated more heat, and required more fans and larger heat sinks; the power supply fans were criticized for the increased noise, with third parties producing noise-reduction cases to dampen the sound in audio-sensitive environments. Apple released a firmware update to reduce fan noise and offered a fan and power supply exchange program. 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, and optional integrated
AirPort Extreme. These were also the first Power Macs that could not boot into
Mac OS 9. With the launch of the
Power Mac G5 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 9, 2004, and the remaining inventory was liquidated, its discontinuation ending the 20-year legacy of Classic Mac OS support. ==Technical specifications==