Apple Macintosh PowerBook 170 vs Apple PowerBook G4 (12-inch, 1.33GHz)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleMacintosh PowerBook 170 | ApplePowerBook G4 (12-inch, 1.33GHz) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | October 1991 | April 2004 |
| Display | ||
| Screen size | 10″ | 12.1″ |
| Resolution | 640 × 400 | 1024 × 768 (better) |
| Touchscreen | No | No |
| Display type | 10-inch backlit active-matrix monochrome LCD, 640 × 400 pixels at 1-bit colour. Apple's 1991 product information rounds the diagonal to 10 inches; some later catalogues call it 9.8 inches. | 12.1-inch TFT XGA active-matrix display; panel technology and refresh unpublished. |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | 68030 25 MHz (PowerBook 170) | PowerPC G4 1.33 GHz (PowerBook 12-inch 2004) |
| CPU cores | 1 | 1 |
| Graphics | – | NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 (64 MB DDR) |
| Memory | 4 MB | 256 MB or 1.25 GB (better) |
| Storage | 40 MB | 60 GB to 80 GB (better) |
| CPU | 25 MHz Motorola 68030 and 25 MHz Motorola 68882 floating-point coprocessor; a Power Saver mode could run the processor at 16 MHz on battery. | 1.33 GHz PowerPC G4, 512 KB on-chip L2 and 167 MHz system bus. Exact silicon supplier omitted. |
| GPU | – | NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 with 64 MB DDR video memory and AGP 4×. |
| Memory type | 4 MB original configuration, comprising 2 MB on the logic board and a 2 MB expansion card; 8 MB maximum. Apple's later support sheet lists 2 MB as the minimum across its service configurations. | 256 MB PC2700 DDR333 standard, one open SO-DIMM slot; maximum 1.25 GB. |
| Storage type | Original 40 MB internal SCSI hard drive with a built-in 1.4 MB SuperDrive floppy drive. Apple's later support sheet lists 40–80 MB drives. | 60 GB 4200 rpm Ultra ATA/100 standard; 80 GB 5400 rpm build-to-order alternative. Combo DVD-ROM/CD-RW or 4× DVD-R SuperDrive. |
| Battery and size | ||
| Battery life (maker's claim) | Up to 3 hours | Up to 5 hours |
| Battery capacity | – | 50 Wh |
| Weight | 3.03 kg | 2.1 kg (better) |
| Battery life detail | Removable nickel-cadmium battery; Apple claimed 2–3 hours of use, with about 30 minutes more in its 16 MHz Power Saver mode. | 50 Wh lithium-ion, up to five hours. Published reference weight 2.1 kg with battery and optical drive; varies by configuration/manufacturing. Published dimensions: height 3.0 cm, width 27.7 cm, depth 21.9 cm. |
| Charger | – | 45 W power adapter |
| Materials | – | Aluminium enclosure |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | – | 2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack |
| Wi-Fi | – | AirPort Extreme 802.11g/b |
| Bluetooth | – | 1.1 |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Port detail | One Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) port, HDI-30 SCSI connector, two RS-422 serial ports, mono audio input and stereo output. A 2400-baud internal modem was standard. | Two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400, 10/100 Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, mini-DVI, audio input and headphone output. Mini-DVI-to-DVI and mini-DVI-to-VGA adapters included; television adapter separate. |
| External displays | – | Dual display and mirroring; external resolution up to 2048 × 1536. |
| Keyboard | Built-in keyboard with a centred 30 mm trackball below the keys. | Full-size keyboard with embedded numeric keypad |
| Trackpad | Built-in trackball. | Tap, double-tap and drag support |
| Speakers | – | Stereo speakers with midrange-enhancing third speaker |
| Microphones | – | Internal omnidirectional microphone |
| In the box | System 7.0.1, battery and AC adapter. Apple dates the model's introduction to 21 October 1991; the technical sheet does not state a separate first-sale day. | Apple UK confirms immediate availability on 19 April 2004; Mac OS X 10.3 Panther and iLife ’04 supplied. |
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