Apple Macintosh PowerBook 540c vs Apple PowerBook G4 (17-inch, 1.5GHz)

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

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Macintosh PowerBook 540c compared with PowerBook G4 (17-inch, 1.5GHz)
AppleMacintosh PowerBook 540cApplePowerBook G4 (17-inch, 1.5GHz)
Overview
ReleasedMay 19942004
Display
Screen size9.5″17″
Resolution640 × 4801440 × 900 (better)
TouchscreenNoNo
Display type9.5-inch backlit active-matrix colour LCD; 256 colours at 640 × 480 or 32,768 colours at 640 × 40017-inch TFT widescreen; panel technology and refresh unpublished.
Performance
ProcessorMotorola 68LC040 66 MHz (PowerBook 540c)PowerPC G4 1.5 GHz (PowerBook 17-inch 2004)
CPU cores11
Graphics–ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 (64 MB DDR) or ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 (128 MB DDR)
Memory12 MB512 MB or 2 GB (better)
Storage320 MB to 500 MB80 GB (better)
CPUMotorola 68LC040 running internally at 66 MHz with a 33 MHz bus; 8 KB L1 cache and no floating-point unit1.5 GHz PowerPC G4, 512 KB on-chip L2 and 167 MHz bus. Exact silicon supplier omitted.
GPU–ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 with 64 MB DDR; 128 MB video-memory build-to-order option.
Memory type4 MB on the logic board, expandable to 36 MB; Apple's Japanese configurations supplied 12 MB512 MB PC2700 DDR333 standard; two SO-DIMM slots, maximum 2 GB.
Storage typeInternal SCSI hard drive and 1.4 MB Apple SuperDrive floppy drive; Apple lists 240–500 MB in English support and 320/500 MB Japanese configurations80 GB 4200 rpm Ultra ATA/100 hard drive; 80 GB 5400 rpm build-to-order alternative. 4× DVD-R/CD-RW SuperDrive.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)Up to 3 hoursUp to 4.5 hours
Battery capacity–58 Wh
Weight3.3 kg3.1 kg (better)
Thickness57 mm–
Width × depth292 × 245 mm–
Battery life detailTwo removable nickel-metal hydride intelligent batteries were supplied in Japan; Apple claimed three hours per battery. Published 3.3 kg weight includes both batteries.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–1.1
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Port detailADB, 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 cardTwo USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 400 and one FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, Type I/II PC Card slot, DVI, S-video, audio input and headphone output.
External displaysBuilt-in video output supports mirroring or an extended desktop with an optional Apple video adapter cableDual display/mirroring; external resolution up to 2048 × 1536. DVI-to-VGA and S-video-to-composite adapters included; ADC adapter separate.
Keyboard–Full-size illuminated fibre-optic keyboard with ambient light sensor
TrackpadBuilt-in solid-state trackpad in place of a trackballTap, double-tap and drag support
SpeakersTwo built-in stereo speakers and a microphoneTwo stereo speakers
Microphones–Internal omnidirectional microphone
In the boxApple's Japanese 12 MB/320 MB configuration included two batteries, power adapter and PowerBook Mobility Bundle softwareApple announced 19 April 2004 and expected the 17-inch model in early May. Actual first on-sale month unestablished after a bounded search; year precision retained. Mac OS X 10.3 Panther and iLife ’04 supplied.

More comparisons