Apple MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2008) vs Apple PowerBook G4 17-inch (Early 2003)

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MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2008) compared with PowerBook G4 17-inch (Early 2003)

	AppleMacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2008)	ApplePowerBook G4 17-inch (Early 2003)
Overview
Released
Released	February 2008	March 2003
Display
Screen size
Screen size	17″	17″
Resolution
Resolution	1680 × 1050 (better)	1440 × 900
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	17-inch TFT widescreen display at 1680 × 1050, matte or glossy. Optional 1920 × 1200 LED-backlit display; exact panel technology and refresh rate unpublished.	17-inch TFT widescreen; exact panel technology, brightness and built-in refresh unpublished.
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2008) or Intel Core 2 Duo 2.6 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2008)	PowerPC G4 1 GHz (PowerBook 17-inch Early 2003)
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	1
Graphics
Graphics	NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT (512 MB GDDR3)	NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go (64 MB DDR)
Memory
Memory	2 GB or 4 GB (better)	512 MB or 1 GB
Storage
Storage	200 GB to 300 GB (better)	60 GB
CPU
CPU	Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.5 GHz or optional 2.6 GHz, with 6 MB shared L2 cache and an 800 MHz frontside bus.	1 GHz PowerPC G4 with Velocity Engine, 1 MB DDR SRAM L3 cache and 167 MHz system bus. Exact silicon supplier/SKU omitted.
GPU
GPU	NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512 MB GDDR3 video memory	NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go, AGP 4 × with 64 MB DDR video memory.
Memory type
Memory type	2 GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, configurable to 4 GB, in two SO-DIMM slots.	512 MB PC2700 DDR333 standard; two SO-DIMM slots and maker-supported maximum 1 GB. Unofficial 2 GB in EveryMac is excluded from configurations.
Storage type
Storage type	250 GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive; optional 200 GB 7200-rpm or 300 GB 4200-rpm drive with either processor. 8× SuperDrive with double-layer DVD writing.	60 GB 4200 rpm Ultra ATA/100 and slot-loading SuperDrive. Maker UK launch sheet specifies DVD-R 1 × write/8 × read, CD-R 8 × write, CD-RW 4 × write and CD 24 × read; later EveryMac 2 × DVD-R and Macworld 16 × CD-R figures differ, so launch maker specification retained.
Connections
Ports
Ports	3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack, MagSafe	2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	AirPort Extreme 802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g	AirPort Extreme 802.11b/g
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	2.1 + EDR	1.1
Webcam
Webcam	Built-in iSight camera	–
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	Three USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400 and FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, MagSafe, dual-link DVI, ExpressCard/34, separate combined optical digital audio input/line input and optical digital audio output/headphone output.	Two 12 Mbps USB 1.1 ports, one FireWire 400 and one FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, Type I/II PC Card/CardBus, DVI, S-video, line input and headphone output. Support table mislabels FireWire MBps; UK sheet explicitly states Mbps.
External displays
External displays	Supports an external display up to 2560 × 1600 pixels alongside the built-in display. DVI-to-VGA adapter included; other display adapters optional.	Dual display or mirroring up to 2048 × 1536 externally; DVI and included VGA/composite adapters.
Keyboard
Keyboard	Backlit keyboard with ambient light sensors and revised function keys; the previous embedded numeric keypad is removed.	Full-size keyboard with fibre-optic backlighting and ambient light control; 79 ISO keys and embedded numeric keypad.
Trackpad
Trackpad	Multi-Touch trackpad supports two-finger scrolling, pinch, rotate and three-finger swipe.	–
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in stereo speakers	Two built-in stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	Omnidirectional microphone beneath the left speaker grille.	Internal omnidirectional microphone under left speaker grille
In the box
In the box	MacBook Pro, removable battery, 85 W MagSafe Power Adapter with AC wall plug and power cord, DVI-to-VGA adapter, install/restore DVDs and documentation. Mac OS X Leopard and iLife ’08; Apple Remote sold separately. The retired SP4 spec sheet is unavailable, so maker launch notice and exact early-2008 user guide supply core specifications.	65 W power adapter, cord, modem cable, DVI-to-VGA and S-video-to-composite adapters. January announcement expected February; Macworld reported actual customer arrivals in March 2003. Month retained without inventing first delivery day.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	–	Up to 4.5 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	–	55 Wh
Weight
Weight	–	3.1 kg
Thickness
Thickness	–	26 mm
Width × depth
Width × depth	–	392 × 259 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Removable lithium-polymer battery. Capacity, life, metric weight and dimensions are omitted because the surviving maker launch notice and exact manual do not publish them. Macworld describes the model as 6.6 lb; this original unit is retained without conversion.	55 Wh lithium-ion, up to 4.5 hours maker claim. Published 3.1 kg includes battery and optical drive and varies by configuration/manufacturing process; closed metric dimensions 39.2 × 25.9 × 2.6 cm.
Charger
Charger	85 W MagSafe Power Adapter	–
Materials
Materials	Aluminium enclosure	Anodised aluminium enclosure
Colours
Colours	Silver	–