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The PowerBook G3/266 represents the new "mid-range"
of Apple's PowerBook lineup. The original mid-range machine
was a 250MHz model which was offered with different screen
sizes. With the latest round of G3 PowerBooks Apple has standardized
on the 14" screen. While the current processor is 16MHz
faster than its predecessor the system bus is slower, 66MHz
as opposed to 83MHz on the older PowerBook/250. The result
is pretty much a wash in terms of performance. The hard drive
is 4GB which in my mind should be considered the minimum.
Owners of the PowerBook/233 will find their 2GB drives quickly
filling up with today's bloated apps.
Like its 233MHz and 300MHz siblings the PowerBook/266 offers
great built in connectivity options. The built in 10Base-T
Ethernet connector offers a 10Mbps transfer rate, handy for
plugging to the school or office network. For the home user
there is an internal 56k modem with support for both flex
and the v.90 standard. Last and I would guess least utilized
is the infrared port offering 4Mbps wireless networking. The
two hot-swappable side bays allow you to plug in two batteries
for up to 7 hours use. The same bays can also take a Zip,
CD/DVD-ROM or floppy drive. The floppy drive is not standard
on this machine but is available as an add on.
  The
14" active matrix (TFT) screen is the largest Apple has
put on a PowerBook to date and has been welcome by those who
need the real estate and reviled by others who complained
that it contributes to this machine's overall bulk. Powering
that screen is a ATI RAGE LT PRO graphics controller with
4MB SGRAM. On the backside of the PowerBook you will find
both S-video and VGA connectors. This is handy for connecting
to projection systems or an external monitor. The 4MB of SGRAM
will support millions of colors on a 20" monitor.
MacBench Scores
Below you will find MacBench 4.0 scores comparing the PowerBook
G3/266/1MB to several other current and discontinued models.
MacBench 4.0 yields scores that are relative to a Power Mac
6100 which is assigned a score of 100. For more information
on MacBench click here.
| Model/Mhz |
Processor |
Bus Speed
(Mhz) |
RAM
(MAX) |
L2
Cache |
VRAM |
Expansion
Slots |
Hard
Drive |
CDROM
Drive |
Modem |
Monitor |
| G3/266 |
750 |
66 |
64
(192) |
1MB
Backside@117Mhz |
4MB |
2 PC |
4.0 IDE |
20X |
56K Flex
10 BT Ethernet |
14.1" TFT |
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