Apple Reconfigures Power Mac G4 Processor Speeds to Match Chip Availability

CUPERTINO, California—Oct. 13, 1999—Apple® today announced that it has reconfigured the processor speeds in its Power Mac™ G4 line to match PowerPC G4 chip availability from Motorola. The new Power Mac G4 configurations will now include processors running at 350 MHz, 400 MHz and 450 MHz, and will be priced at $1,599, $2,499 and $3,499, respectively. The move is in response to Motorola’s delays in reaching volume production of its 500 MHz G4 processor chip, which is now scheduled for availability early next year.

“These new configurations will enable us to meet the tremendous demand for our new Power Mac G4 line,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s interim CEO. “Fortunately, the machines remain very, very fast—easily outperforming Pentium III-based PCs.”

Apple also announced today that IBM will begin manufacturing G4 processor chips in the first half of calendar 2000 for use in Apple products.

All Power Mac G4 models feature 1MB level 2 backside cache, dual Universal Serial Bus (USB) and 400 Mbps FireWire® ports, internal drives from 10GB to 27GB and removable storage including Zip drives, CD-ROM drives, DVD-ROM drives with video playback, and DVD-RAM drives. The top two standard models feature support for up to 1.5GB of fast industry-standard PC100 SDRAM, a 100MHz system bus that delivers up to 800 Mbps of data throughput, Rage 128 AGP/2X high performance graphics, an Ultra ATA/66 drive interface, and Apple’s breakthrough AirPort™ wireless networking (optional). The Power Mac G4 comes in a stunning translucent clear, silver and graphite minitower that has a side door that swings open to provide the industry’s easiest access to internal components.

The Power Mac G4 is available in the following standard configurations:

• Power Mac G4 350 MHz: With a suggested retail price of US$1,599, the Power Mac G4 350 MHz contains 64MB SDRAM, 1MB level 2 backside cache, RAGE 128 PCI with 16MB Video SDRAM, a 10GB Ultra ATA hard drive, a 24x-speed CD-ROM drive (maximum), FireWire and USB ports, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet and a built-in V.90 56K modem.
  
  
• Power Mac G4 400 MHz: With a suggested retail price of US$2,499, the Power Mac G4 400 MHz contains 128MB SDRAM, 1MB level 2 backside, cache, RAGE 128 AGP 2X with 16MB Video SDRAM, a 20GB Ultra ATA hard drive, a DVD-ROM drive, a ZIP drive, FireWire and USB ports, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet and a built-in V.90 56K modem.
  
  
• Power Mac G4 450 MHz: With a suggested retail price of US$3,499, the Power Mac G4 450 MHz contains 256MB SDRAM, 1MB level 2 backside cache, RAGE 128 AGP 2X with 16MB Video SDRAM, a 27GB Ultra ATA hard drive, DVD-RAM drive, a ZIP drive, FireWire and USB ports and 10/100BASE-T Ethernet.

Pricing and Availability
The new Power Macintosh® G4 systems are available immediately via The Apple Store™ (www.apple.com) and Apple Authorized Resellers, with over ten thousand build-to-order (BTO) configurations, including industry-first options for DVD-RAM optical storage.

Two new Macintosh® Server G4s with 350 and 400 MHz PowerPC G4 processor configurations and a new Macintosh Server G4 with Mac® OS X Server and a 450 MHz PowerPC G4 processor configuration are expected to be available in late November.

Apple Computer, Inc. ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II, and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is now recommitted to its original mission—to bring the best personal computing products and support to students, educators, designers, scientists, engineers, businesspersons and consumers in over 140 countries around the world.

Press Contacts:
Matt Hutchison
Apple Computer, Inc.
(408) 974-6877
hutchison@apple.com


Nathalie Welch
Apple Computer, Inc.
(408) 974-5430
welch@apple.com

NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple's PR web site (www.apple.com/pr/) or call Apple's Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042.

© 1999 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, Mac OS, and Power Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. AirPort, Power Mac and The Apple Store are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of the individual companies and are respectfully acknowledged.