Apple MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2008) vs Apple PowerBook G4 (17-inch, Double-Layer SD)

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MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2008) compared with PowerBook G4 (17-inch, Double-Layer SD)

	AppleMacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2008)	ApplePowerBook G4 (17-inch, Double-Layer SD)
Overview
Released
Released	February 2008	October 2005
Display
Screen size
Screen size	17″	17″
Resolution
Resolution	1680 × 1050	1680 × 1050
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 Optional 1920 × 1200 LED-backlit display; exact panel technology and refresh rate unpublished.	17-inch TFT widescreen; panel technology, absolute brightness and refresh rate unpublished on maker sheet
Display features
Display features	–	Millions of colours at native resolution; maker UK launch claims up to 46% brighter than preceding 17-inch model
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 1.67 GHz (PowerBook 17-inch Late 2005)
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	1
Graphics
Graphics	NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT (512 MB GDDR3)	ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 (128 MB DDR)
Memory
Memory	2 GB or 4 GB (better)	512 MB, 1 GB or 2 GB
Storage
Storage	200 GB to 300 GB (better)	100 GB to 120 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.	1.67 GHz PowerPC G4 with Velocity Engine, 512 KB on-chip L2 SRAM and 167 MHz system bus; exact silicon supplier/process omitted
GPU
GPU	NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512 MB GDDR3 video memory	ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 with AGP 4× support, 128 MB DDR video memory and dual-link DVI
Memory type
Memory type	2 GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, configurable to 4 GB, in two SO-DIMM slots.	512 MB PC2-4200 DDR2 SDRAM running at 333 MHz standard in one SO-DIMM; two slots, maximum 2 GB, with 512 MB and 1 GB module options
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.	120 GB 5400 rpm Ultra ATA/100 standard or 100 GB 7200 rpm build-to-order, with Sudden Motion Sensor. Slot-loading 8× DVD±R SuperDrive supports 2.4× double-layer DVD+R, 4× DVD±RW, 24× CD-R and 16× CD-RW; optional DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo drive
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 802.11g/b
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	2.1 + EDR	2.0 + EDR
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 USB 2.0 ports at up to 480 Mbps, FireWire 800 and 400, Gigabit Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, DVI, S-video and Type I/II PC Card slot; combined optical-digital/analogue input and output minijacks; Kensington lock slot
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.	Simultaneous native 1680 × 1050 internal and up to 2560 × 1600 external display with millions of colours; dual-link DVI, including 30-inch Cinema HD display; mirroring, VGA with included DVI adapter, composite with included S-video adapter
Keyboard
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; 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys, inverted-T arrows and embedded keypad
Trackpad
Trackpad	Multi-Touch trackpad supports two-finger scrolling, pinch, rotate and three-finger swipe.	Solid-state trackpad with tap, double-tap, drag and scrolling support
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in stereo speakers	Two built-in stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	Omnidirectional microphone beneath the left speaker grille.	Internal omnidirectional microphone
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.	Power adapter, AC wall plug, power cord, lithium-ion battery, modem cable, DVI-to-VGA and S-video-to-composite adapters; Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger and iLife ’05 supplied. Apple UK confirms immediate availability on 19 October 2005
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	–	Up to 5.5 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	–	58 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.	58 Wh lithium-ion with charge indicator LEDs; maker up to 5.5 hours depends on configuration and use. Maker reference 3.1 kg includes battery and optical drive and varies by configuration/manufacturing. Metric dimensions are maker centimetres expressed in millimetres
Charger
Charger	85 W MagSafe Power Adapter	65 W power adapter with cable management system
Materials
Materials	Aluminium enclosure	Aluminium enclosure
Colours
Colours	Silver	–