Apple PowerBook G4 (17-inch, SuperDrive)

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http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/laptops/0,39030093,39187388,00.htm

Reviewed 16 March 2005

Reviewed by Troy Dreier

With the latest version of its 17-inch widescreen PowerBook, Apple incorporates some nice upgrades but leaves out the one most of us were hoping for: a mobile version of the high-performance G5 chip. Still, the impressively designed 17-inch PowerBook G4 (Apple's prime desktop replacement) is equipped with a new and improved set of specs and features. These include a scrolling trackpad for easier navigation through documents and Web pages, and Sudden Motion Sensor technology to protect the hard drive.

Design
There's no denying the aesthetic beauty of the PowerBook G4, which puts any Windows laptops to shame. In terms of design the new incarnation isn't much different from the last. The 17-inch PowerBook G4 weighs 3.1kg, which is 0.5 to 1.3kg less than most other 17-inch laptops. It is 390 by 260 by 26 mm, making it somewhat bigger than a tray table on a plane. As such, this laptop is best suited to people who travel only occasionally.

The notebook has a sleek aluminium body and a large keyboard, which is set back from the front edge. When you're typing, your wrists rest on the notebook instead of hanging off the front, as with many smaller notebooks. It's not an uncomfortable arrangement, just something to be aware of. We like the way the keyboard automatically lights up in dim or dark environments. There's another new feature: you can scroll through Web pages or long documents by moving two fingers on the trackpad -- a distinctive Apple twist to the scrolling feature found on many PC notebook touchpads.

Features
The PowerBook G4's widescreen 17-inch display has a fine 1,440x900-pixel resolution that affords quite a lot of screen play space. It's equally great for watching films and working on documents side by side. The notebook's new Sudden Motion Sensor uses a tri-axis accelerometer to detect sudden drops; in midair, the PowerBook's hard drive heads will lift and lock to prevent damage. We tested it by dropping the PowerBook a few feet on to a pillow; the DVD we were playing stopped while falling and started back up when the PowerBook was safely at rest.

The G4 processor runs at 1.67GHz (up from 1.5GHz with the last version) and features a decent ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 graphics processor with dual-link DVI support for connecting to an external monitor. You also get Apple's SuperDrive -- an 8x DVD/RW/CD-RW burner (up from 4x with the last version) -- which looks a bit less super next to the double-layer DVD burners showing up on Windows laptops, such as the Dell Inspiron 9200. The 17-inch PowerBook G4 series isn't terribly configurable; 512MB of RAM comes as standard, which should be fine for basic use, but you can upgrade to 2GB. Hard drives are available in two capacities: 80GB, which pushes the price down, or 100GB.

Performance
We used iTunes and Photoshop CS to test the 17-inch PowerBook G4's processing power. Configured with the 100GB hard drive and 512MB of RAM, the notebook delivered a decent performance, handily defeating a 14-inch iBook running a slower 1.33GHz processor and with half the RAM, and keeping pace with a 1.25GHz G4 desktop with a faster, 7,200rpm hard drive and L3 cache. The 17-inch PowerBook G4 trounced the 14-inch iBook in our Unreal Tournament 2004 gaming test. However, if games are your primary interest, you're generally better off with a PC. In our DVD battery-drain test, the 17-inch PowerBook lasted only 176 minutes -- an hour short of the 14-inch iBook's 233 minutes, but fairly standard for a desktop-replacement laptop. That said, for in-flight movie-watching, the iBook is a better choice.

This PowerBook comes with a full range of connectivity features. Both AirPort Extreme (802.11g Wi-Fi) and Bluetooth 2.0 (Enhanced Data Rate) come as standard, and you also get 10/100/1000BaseT Gigabit Ethernet and a 56Kbps V.92 modem. There are only two USB 2.0 ports, but Apple makes up for this by including both an unpowered FireWire 400 and a powered FireWire 800 port. Also onboard are a DVI output, an S-Video output for connecting to a TV, optical digital audio input and output, and a PC Card slot. Apple throws in a strong software bundle that features iLife '05 as well as Art Directors Toolkit and QuickBooks New User Edition. Sadly, you won't find the iWork productivity suite, which would have been a useful addition.

Apple offers an industry-standard one-year warranty for parts and labour. After that, you'll have to go it alone with the printed user guide and the online forums and help resources that Apple provides on the support section of its site. The documents can be a bit much to wade through, but the forums are a great place to get help from other users. Extending your support options is expensive -- the £249 AppleCare Protection Plan gives you three years of phone support and repairs.

iTunes MP3 conversion
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

In seconds

Power Mac G4-1.25GHz

27 

PowerBook G4-1.67GHz 17-inch

30 

iBook G4-1.33GHz 14.1-inch

37 

PowerBook G4-667GHz 15-inch

67 

Photoshop CS
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

In minutes

Power Mac G4-1.25GHz

7.75 

PowerBook G4-1.67GHz 17-inch

8.83 

iBook G4-1.33GHz 14.1-inch

28.31 

PowerBook G4-667GHz 15-inch

36.7 

Unreal Tournament 2004
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

In frames per second

Power Mac G4-1.25GHz

22.49 

PowerBook G4-1.67GHz 17-inch

22.13 

iBook G4-1.33GHz 14.1-inch

12.78 

PowerBook G4-667GHz 15-inch

11.82 

DVD movie battery-drain test
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

In hours

iBook G4-1.33GHz 14.1-inch

3.9 

PowerBook G4-1.67GHz 17-inch

2.9 

PowerBook G4-667GHz 15-inch

2.8 

Edited by Justin Jaffe
Additional editing by Tom Espiner