Apple Macintosh PowerBook 5300/100 vs Apple PowerBook G4 (17-inch, Double-Layer SD)

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

Macintosh PowerBook 5300/100 compared with PowerBook G4 (17-inch, Double-Layer SD)

	AppleMacintosh PowerBook 5300/100	ApplePowerBook G4 (17-inch, Double-Layer SD)
Overview
Released
Released	August 1995	October 2005
Display
Screen size
Screen size	9.5″	17″
Resolution
Resolution	640 × 480	1680 × 1050 (better)
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	9.5-inch backlit FSTN passive-matrix LCD with 16 grey levels	17-inch TFT widescreen; panel technology, absolute brightness and refresh rate unpublished on maker sheet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	PowerPC 603e 100 MHz (PowerBook 5300c)	PowerPC G4 1.67 GHz (PowerBook 17-inch Late 2005)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	1
Graphics
Graphics	–	ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 (128 MB DDR)
Memory
Memory	16 MB	512 MB, 1 GB or 2 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	500 MB	100 GB to 120 GB (better)
CPU
CPU	100 MHz PowerPC 603e with a 33.3 MHz bus, 32 KB L1 cache and no L2 cache	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	–	ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 with AGP 4× support, 128 MB DDR video memory and dual-link DVI
Memory type
Memory type	Japanese bundled configuration has 16 MB, expandable to 64 MB; English support gives an 8 MB base configuration	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	500 MB internal IDE hard drive and removable 1.4 MB Apple SuperDrive floppy module	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
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 4.5 hours	Up to 5.5 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	–	58 Wh
Weight
Weight	2.8 kg (better)	3.1 kg
Thickness
Thickness	51.4 mm	26 mm (better)
Width × depth
Width × depth	293 × 217 mm	392 × 259 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Removable nickel-metal hydride battery; Apple claims 3–4.5 hours. Charging takes two hours while asleep or unused, four hours during use. Japanese maker 2.8 kg includes the floppy module; replacing it with the PC Card tray reduces weight by about 180 g	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	–	65 W power adapter with cable management system
Materials
Materials	–	Aluminium enclosure
Connections
Ports
Ports	–	2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	–	AirPort Extreme 802.11g/b
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	–	2.0 + EDR
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	Two Type I/II PC Card slots or one Type III, ADB, RS-422 serial/LocalTalk, HDI-30 SCSI, stereo sound input/output, external video, infrared and power input; Ethernet requires a PC Card	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	Video output supports 256 colours; third-party hardware can provide greater colour depth	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	–	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	Built-in solid-state trackpad	Solid-state trackpad with tap, double-tap, drag and scrolling support
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in speaker and omnidirectional microphone with 16-bit stereo audio input/output	Two built-in stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	–	Internal omnidirectional microphone
In the box
In the box	Japanese 16 MB/500 MB bundle includes nickel-metal hydride battery, power adapter, PC Card tray, KanjiTalk 7.5.2 CD-ROM and PowerBook Mobility Bundle	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