Apple MacBook Pro (17-inch, Late 2006) vs Apple PowerBook G4 17-inch (Early 2003)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleMacBook Pro (17-inch, Late 2006) | ApplePowerBook G4 17-inch (Early 2003) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | November 2006 | March 2003 |
| Display | ||
| Screen size | 17″ | 17″ |
| Resolution | 1680 × 1050 (better) | 1440 × 900 |
| Brightness | 300 nits | – |
| Touchscreen | No | No |
| Display type | Widescreen TFT display; optional glossy finish with millions of colours. Exact panel technology and refresh rate unpublished in the maker sources read. | 17-inch TFT widescreen; exact panel technology, brightness and built-in refresh unpublished. |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo 2.33 GHz (MacBook Pro Late 2006) | PowerPC G4 1 GHz (PowerBook 17-inch Early 2003) |
| CPU cores | 2 | 1 |
| Graphics | ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 (256 MB GDDR3) | NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go (64 MB DDR) |
| Memory | 2 GB or 3 GB (better) | 512 MB or 1 GB |
| Storage | 100 GB to 200 GB (better) | 60 GB |
| CPU | Dual-core Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.33 GHz, with 4 MB shared L2 cache and 667 MHz frontside bus. The record retains the maker’s clock and model without an unverified Intel SKU. | 1 GHz PowerPC G4 with Velocity Engine, 1 MB DDR SRAM L3 cache and 167 MHz system bus. Exact silicon supplier/SKU omitted. |
| GPU | ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 (256 MB GDDR3) | NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go, AGP 4 × with 64 MB DDR video memory. |
| Memory type | 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM in two SO-DIMM slots; 2 GB standard, configurable to 3 GB. | 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 | 160 GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive, configurable to 100 GB at 7200 rpm or 200 GB at 4200 rpm. 8× SuperDrive with 4× double-layer DVD+R 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. |
| Battery and size | ||
| Battery life (maker's claim) | Up to 5.5 hours | Up to 4.5 hours |
| Battery capacity | 68 Wh (better) | 55 Wh |
| Weight | – | 3.1 kg |
| Thickness | – | 26 mm |
| Width × depth | – | 392 × 259 mm |
| Battery life detail | Removable 68 Wh lithium-polymer battery; up to 5.5 hours in Apple’s test. Apple publishes 6.8 lb and a 15.4 × 10.4 × 1.0-inch enclosure; weight varies by configuration. Unpublished metric fields omitted. | 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 | 85 W MagSafe Power Adapter | – |
| Materials | Aluminium enclosure | Anodised aluminium enclosure |
| Colours | Silver | – |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack, MagSafe | 2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack |
| Wi-Fi | AirPort Extreme 802.11g; 802.11n requires the optional software enabler | AirPort Extreme 802.11b/g |
| Bluetooth | 2.0 + EDR | 1.1 |
| Webcam | Built-in iSight camera | – |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Port detail | 3 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 combined optical digital audio output/headphone output, and Kensington lock slot. VGA adapter included; composite/S-video adapter optional. | 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 | One external display up to 2560 × 1600 alongside the built-in screen through dual-link DVI; included VGA adapter, optional composite/S-video adapter. | Dual display or mirroring up to 2048 × 1536 externally; DVI and included VGA/composite adapters. |
| Keyboard | Full-size backlit keyboard with ambient light sensors, 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys and four arrow keys; embedded numeric keypad | Full-size keyboard with fibre-optic backlighting and ambient light control; 79 ISO keys and embedded numeric keypad. |
| Trackpad | Scrolling trackpad with a separate button; two-finger scrolling, tap, double-tap and drag. | – |
| Speakers | Built-in stereo speakers | Two built-in stereo speakers |
| Microphones | Built-in omnidirectional microphone under the left speaker grille | Internal omnidirectional microphone under left speaker grille |
| In the box | MacBook Pro, removable battery, 85 W MagSafe Power Adapter with AC wall plug and power cord, install/restore DVDs and documentation. Apple Remote and DVI-to-VGA adapter included. Mac OS X 10.4.8 Tiger and iLife ’06. Apple’s 24 October announcement says this model would ship the following week, crossing the month boundary; Macworld’s contemporary laboratory report confirms that actual shipping began in November. An exact first-sale day is unestablished. | 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. |
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