Apple PowerBook G3 Series (September 1998) 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

PowerBook G3 Series (September 1998) compared with PowerBook G4 (17-inch, Double-Layer SD)

	ApplePowerBook G3 Series (September 1998)	ApplePowerBook G4 (17-inch, Double-Layer SD)
Overview
Released
Released	September 1998	October 2005
Display
Screen size
Screen size	14.1″	17″
Resolution
Resolution	1024 × 768 or 800 × 600	1680 × 1050 (better)
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	Active-matrix TFT; 14.1-inch XGA 1024 × 768 or later 12.1-inch SVGA 800 × 600; resolution scaling supports lower resolutions	17-inch TFT widescreen; panel technology, absolute brightness and refresh rate unpublished on maker sheet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 G3 233 MHz (PowerBook G3 Series September 1998), PowerPC G3 266 MHz (PowerBook G3 Series September 1998) or PowerPC G3 300 MHz (PowerBook G3 Series September 1998)	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	32 MB or 64 MB	512 MB, 1 GB or 2 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	2 GB to 8 GB	100 GB to 120 GB (better)
CPU
CPU	PowerPC G3 at 233, 266 or 300 MHz, 66 MHz system bus; 512 KB backside cache on 233 MHz or 1 MB on 266/300 MHz. Dedicated backside buses 117, 133 or 150 MHz; integrated FPU and 64 KB L1 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 RAGE LT PRO with 4 MB SGRAM on 14.1-inch or 2 MB on 12.1-inch TFT; earlier passive-matrix models remain in the original May entry	ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 with AGP 4× support, 128 MB DDR video memory and dual-link DVI
Memory type
Memory type	32 MB or 64 MB factory SDRAM in two 144-pin SO-DIMM slots; original maker expansion limit 192 MB	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	Removable 2 GB, 4 GB or 8 GB internal IDE drive. Expansion bays accept CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, optional floppy, battery and third-party modules; 20× CD-ROM or 1.5× DVD-ROM with up to 12× CD reading	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 3.5 hours	Up to 5.5 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	49 Wh	58 Wh (better)
Weight
Weight	3.5 kg	3.1 kg (better)
Thickness
Thickness	–	26 mm
Width × depth
Width × depth	–	392 × 259 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Removable 49 Wh lithium-ion battery; up to 3.5 hours with one or seven hours with two under maker normal-use conditions. Reference 3.5 kg includes modem, battery and CD-ROM; 12.1-inch reference is 3.3 kg. Maker sources give rounded dimensions and conflicting axis labels, so no unqualified dimensions adopted	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	45 W AC adapter	65 W power adapter with cable management system
Materials
Materials	–	Aluminium enclosure
Connections
Ports
Ports	Ethernet, headphone jack	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, HDI-30 SCSI, RS-422 serial, 10BASE-T Ethernet, RJ-11 K56flex/V.90 modem, 4 Mbps infrared, VGA-style video, S-video and stereo audio input/output. Two Type I/II or one Type III PC Card slots with CardBus; lower slot supports Zoomed Video. No built-in USB or FireWire	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	VGA-style and S-video output; DVD-Video requires the decoder PC Card supplied with DVD-ROM configurations or optional DVD-Video kit	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 keyboard with 76 US or 77 ISO keys, twelve function keys, inverted-T arrows and embedded keypad	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	Solid-state trackpad supports tap, double-tap and drag	Solid-state trackpad with tap, double-tap, drag and scrolling support
Speakers
Speakers	Two built-in stereo speakers	Two built-in stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	Internal omnidirectional microphone	Internal omnidirectional microphone
In the box
In the box	Mac OS 8.1, AC adapter and regional cables/adapters. AppleCare article 30895 retrospectively confirms September 1998 release; revised service manual introduces M7229 12.1-inch TFT on 1 October. October brochure lists both CD-ROM and DVD-ROM 300 MHz choices; optical-drive variants share the same CPU/RAM/disk configuration below	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