Apple PowerBook G4 17-inch (Early 2003) vs Apple PowerBook G4 (17-inch, Double-Layer SD)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| ApplePowerBook G4 17-inch (Early 2003) | ApplePowerBook G4 (17-inch, Double-Layer SD) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | March 2003 | October 2005 |
| Display | ||
| Screen size | 17″ | 17″ |
| Resolution | 1440 × 900 | 1680 × 1050 (better) |
| Touchscreen | No | No |
| Display type | 17-inch TFT widescreen; exact panel technology, brightness and built-in refresh unpublished. | 17-inch TFT widescreen; panel technology, absolute brightness and refresh rate unpublished on maker sheet |
| Display features | – | Millions of colours at native resolution; maker UK launch claims up to 46% brighter than preceding 17-inch model |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | PowerPC G4 1 GHz (PowerBook 17-inch Early 2003) | PowerPC G4 1.67 GHz (PowerBook 17-inch Late 2005) |
| CPU cores | 1 | 1 |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go (64 MB DDR) | ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 (128 MB DDR) |
| Memory | 512 MB or 1 GB | 512 MB, 1 GB or 2 GB (better) |
| Storage | 60 GB | 100 GB to 120 GB (better) |
| CPU | 1 GHz PowerPC G4 with Velocity Engine, 1 MB DDR SRAM L3 cache and 167 MHz system bus. Exact silicon supplier/SKU omitted. | 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 | NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go, AGP 4 × with 64 MB DDR video memory. | ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 with AGP 4× support, 128 MB DDR video memory and dual-link DVI |
| Memory type | 512 MB PC2700 DDR333 standard; two SO-DIMM slots and maker-supported maximum 1 GB. Unofficial 2 GB in EveryMac is excluded from configurations. | 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 | 60 GB 4200 rpm Ultra ATA/100 and slot-loading SuperDrive. Maker UK launch sheet specifies DVD-R 1 × write/8 × read, CD-R 8 × write, CD-RW 4 × write and CD 24 × read; later EveryMac 2 × DVD-R and Macworld 16 × CD-R figures differ, so launch maker specification retained. | 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) | Up to 4.5 hours | Up to 5.5 hours |
| Battery capacity | 55 Wh | 58 Wh (better) |
| Weight | 3.1 kg | 3.1 kg |
| Thickness | 26 mm | 26 mm |
| Width × depth | 392 × 259 mm | 392 × 259 mm |
| Battery life detail | 55 Wh lithium-ion, up to 4.5 hours maker claim. Published 3.1 kg includes battery and optical drive and varies by configuration/manufacturing process; closed metric dimensions 39.2 × 25.9 × 2.6 cm. | 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 | – | 65 W power adapter with cable management system |
| Materials | Anodised aluminium enclosure | Aluminium enclosure |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack | 2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack |
| Wi-Fi | AirPort Extreme 802.11b/g | AirPort Extreme 802.11g/b |
| Bluetooth | 1.1 | 2.0 + EDR |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Port detail | Two 12 Mbps USB 1.1 ports, one FireWire 400 and one FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, Type I/II PC Card/CardBus, DVI, S-video, line input and headphone output. Support table mislabels FireWire MBps; UK sheet explicitly states Mbps. | 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 | Dual display or mirroring up to 2048 × 1536 externally; DVI and included VGA/composite adapters. | 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 | Full-size keyboard with fibre-optic backlighting and ambient light control; 79 ISO keys and embedded numeric 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 | – | Solid-state trackpad with tap, double-tap, drag and scrolling support |
| Speakers | Two built-in stereo speakers | Two built-in stereo speakers |
| Microphones | Internal omnidirectional microphone under left speaker grille | Internal omnidirectional microphone |
| In the box | 65 W power adapter, cord, modem cable, DVI-to-VGA and S-video-to-composite adapters. January announcement expected February; Macworld reported actual customer arrivals in March 2003. Month retained without inventing first delivery day. | 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 |
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