Apple Macintosh PowerBook 520 vs Apple PowerBook G4 (17-inch, 1.67GHz)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleMacintosh PowerBook 520 | ApplePowerBook G4 (17-inch, 1.67GHz) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | May 1994 | February 2005 |
| Display | ||
| Screen size | 9.5″ | 17″ |
| Resolution | 640 × 480 | 1440 × 900 (better) |
| Touchscreen | No | No |
| Display type | 9.5-inch backlit FSTN passive-matrix greyscale LCD with 16 shades of grey | 17-inch TFT widescreen; panel technology and refresh unpublished. |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | Motorola 68LC040 50 MHz (PowerBook 520) | PowerPC G4 1.67 GHz (PowerBook 17-inch Early 2005) |
| CPU cores | 1 | 1 |
| Graphics | – | ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 (128 MB DDR) |
| Memory | 12 MB | 512 MB or 2 GB (better) |
| Storage | 240 MB | 80 GB to 100 GB (better) |
| CPU | Motorola 68LC040 running internally at 50 MHz with a 25 MHz bus; 8 KB L1 cache and no floating-point unit | 1.67 GHz PowerPC G4, 512 KB on-chip L2 and 167 MHz bus. Exact silicon supplier omitted. |
| GPU | – | ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 with 128 MB DDR and dual-link DVI |
| Memory type | 4 MB on the logic board, expandable to 36 MB; Apple's Japanese configurations supplied 12 MB | 512 MB PC2700 DDR333 standard; two SO-DIMM slots, maximum 2 GB. |
| Storage type | Internal SCSI hard drive and 1.4 MB Apple SuperDrive floppy drive; Apple lists 160–240 MB drives in its English support sheet and 240/320 MB Japanese configurations | 100 GB 5400 rpm Ultra ATA/100 standard with Sudden Motion Sensor. Retained maker build-to-order list offers 80 GB or 100 GB on 15/17-inch models; 80 GB alternative represented without changing the 100 GB stock specification. 8× DVD±RW/CD-RW SuperDrive. |
| Battery and size | ||
| Battery life (maker's claim) | Up to 3.5 hours | Up to 4.5 hours |
| Battery capacity | – | 58 Wh |
| Weight | 2.9 kg (better) | 3.1 kg |
| Thickness | 57 mm | – |
| Width × depth | 292 × 245 mm | – |
| Battery life detail | Removable nickel-metal hydride intelligent battery; Apple claimed 3.5 hours per battery, with room for a second battery | 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 | – | 65 W power adapter |
| Materials | – | Aluminium enclosure |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | – | 2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack |
| Wi-Fi | – | AirPort Extreme 802.11g/b |
| Bluetooth | – | 2.0 + EDR |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Port detail | ADB, RS-422 serial/LocalTalk, HDI-30 SCSI, AAUI Ethernet, mini-15 video and stereo audio input/output; an optional PCMCIA module supported two Type II or one Type III card | Two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400 and 800, Gigabit Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, DVI, S-video and PC Card/CardBus slot. Combined optical-digital/analogue input and output minijacks. |
| External displays | Built-in video output supports mirroring or an extended desktop with an optional Apple video adapter cable | DVI dual-link: external display up to 2560 × 1600, including 30-inch Cinema HD display; VGA, S-video and composite supported with listed adapters. |
| Keyboard | – | Full-size illuminated fibre-optic keyboard with ambient light sensor; Apple states backlighting up to ten times brighter than previous generation. |
| Trackpad | Built-in solid-state trackpad in place of a trackball | Two-finger scrolling/panning, tap, double-tap and drag support |
| Speakers | Two built-in stereo speakers and a microphone | Two stereo speakers |
| Microphones | – | Internal omnidirectional microphone |
| In the box | Apple's Japanese 12 MB/240 MB configuration included one battery, power adapter and PowerBook Mobility Bundle software | Apple announced 31 January 2005 with availability planned later that week. Ken Mingis’s 10 February Computerworld report says his unit shipped the previous week and arrived Monday; February precision retained without a verified first shipping day. Launch Mac OS X 10.3 Panther and iLife ’05. |
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