Apple Macintosh PowerBook 540 vs Apple PowerBook G4 (17-inch, 1.67GHz)

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Macintosh PowerBook 540 compared with PowerBook G4 (17-inch, 1.67GHz)

	AppleMacintosh PowerBook 540	ApplePowerBook G4 (17-inch, 1.67GHz)
Overview
Released
Released	May 1994	February 2005
Display
Screen size
Screen size	9.5″	17″
Resolution
Resolution	640 × 480	1440 × 900 (better)
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	9.5-inch active-matrix greyscale LCD with 64 grey levels at 640 × 480	17-inch TFT widescreen; panel technology and refresh unpublished.
Performance
Processor
Processor	Motorola 68LC040 66 MHz (PowerBook 540c)	PowerPC G4 1.67 GHz (PowerBook 17-inch Early 2005)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	1
Graphics
Graphics	–	ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 (128 MB DDR)
Memory
Memory	4 MB	512 MB or 2 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	240 MB	80 GB to 100 GB (better)
CPU
CPU	Motorola 68LC040 with 66 MHz internal processor speed and 33 MHz bus interface; 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
GPU	–	ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 with 128 MB DDR and dual-link DVI
Memory type
Memory type	4 MB on the logic board, expandable to 36 MB through one memory expansion slot	512 MB PC2700 DDR333 standard; two SO-DIMM slots, maximum 2 GB.
Storage type
Storage type	240 MB internal SCSI hard drive and Apple SuperDrive floppy drive	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)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 3 hours	Up to 4.5 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	–	58 Wh
Weight
Weight	3.2 kg	3.1 kg (better)
Thickness
Thickness	58 mm	–
Width × depth
Width × depth	292 × 246 mm	–
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Two high-capacity Type II nickel-metal hydride batteries supplied; Apple claims 1.5–3 hours on one battery or 3–6 hours on two	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
Charger	–	65 W power adapter
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	ADB, serial/LocalTalk, AAUI Ethernet, HDI-30 SCSI, external video, stereo sound input/output and power input; optional internal modem and processor-direct PCMCIA expansion module	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
External displays	Video output supports compatible external Apple displays through an adapter; built-in greyscale display can be upgraded to active-matrix colour with Apple's optional upgrade	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
Keyboard	–	Full-size illuminated fibre-optic keyboard with ambient light sensor; Apple states backlighting up to ten times brighter than previous generation.
Trackpad
Trackpad	Built-in solid-state trackpad	Two-finger scrolling/panning, tap, double-tap and drag support
Speakers
Speakers	Two built-in speakers and microphone with 16-bit stereo sound	Two stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	–	Internal omnidirectional microphone
In the box
In the box	Notebook, two batteries and power adapter; preinstalled PowerBook Mobility Bundle. Dimensions and metric weight come from Apple's October 1994 Apple Facts	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.