Apple MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2008) vs Apple PowerBook G4 (17-inch, 1.33GHz)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleMacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2008) | ApplePowerBook G4 (17-inch, 1.33GHz) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | February 2008 | September 2003 |
| Display | ||
| Screen size | 17″ | 17″ |
| Resolution | 1680 × 1050 (better) | 1440 × 900 |
| Touchscreen | No | No |
| 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 Optional 1920 × 1200 LED-backlit display; exact panel technology and refresh rate unpublished. | 17-inch TFT widescreen; panel technology and refresh unpublished. |
| Performance | ||
| 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 1.33 GHz (PowerBook 17-inch 2003) |
| CPU cores | 2 | 1 |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT (512 MB GDDR3) | ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 (64 MB DDR) |
| Memory | 2 GB or 4 GB (better) | 512 MB or 2 GB |
| Storage | 200 GB to 300 GB (better) | 80 GB |
| 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. | 1.33 GHz PowerPC G4, 512 KB on-chip L2 and 167 MHz bus. Exact silicon supplier omitted. |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512 MB GDDR3 video memory | ATI Mobility Radeon 9600, 64 MB DDR video memory, AGP 4×. |
| 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, maximum 2 GB. |
| 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. | 80 GB 4200 rpm Ultra ATA/100 hard drive; 80 GB 5400 rpm build-to-order alternative. 2× DVD-R/CD-RW SuperDrive. |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack, MagSafe | 2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack |
| Wi-Fi | AirPort Extreme 802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g | AirPort Extreme 802.11g/b |
| Bluetooth | 2.1 + EDR | 1.1 |
| Webcam | Built-in iSight camera | – |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| 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 USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 400 and one FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, Type I/II PC Card slot, DVI, S-video, audio input and headphone output. |
| 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/mirroring; external resolution up to 2048 × 1536. DVI-to-VGA and S-video-to-composite adapters included; ADC adapter separate. |
| Keyboard | Backlit keyboard with ambient light sensors and revised function keys; the previous embedded numeric keypad is removed. | Full-size illuminated fibre-optic keyboard with ambient light sensor |
| Trackpad | Multi-Touch trackpad supports two-finger scrolling, pinch, rotate and three-finger swipe. | Tap, double-tap and drag support |
| Speakers | Built-in stereo speakers | Two stereo speakers |
| Microphones | Omnidirectional microphone beneath the left speaker grille. | Internal omnidirectional microphone |
| 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. | Apple UK states immediate 17-inch availability on 16 September 2003. Launch Mac OS X 10.2.7; retained whole-family sheet lists later Panther software. |
| Battery and size | ||
| Battery life (maker's claim) | – | Up to 4.5 hours |
| Battery capacity | – | 58 Wh |
| Weight | – | 3.1 kg |
| 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. | 58 Wh lithium-ion, up to 4.5 hours. Maker reference 3.1 kg includes battery and optical drive and varies by configuration/manufacturing. Published dimensions: height 2.6 cm, width 39.2 cm, depth 25.9 cm. |
| Charger | 85 W MagSafe Power Adapter | 65 W power adapter |
| Materials | Aluminium enclosure | Aluminium enclosure |
| Colours | Silver | – |
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