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The PowerBook G3/300 represents the "high end"
of Apple's most recent PowerBook lineup. The original high
end machine was a 292MHz model which was offered with either
a 13" or 14 " screen. With the latest round of G3
PowerBooks Apple has standardized on the 14" screen.
While the current processor is a whopping 8MHz faster than
its predecessor the system bus is slower, 66MHz as opposed
to 83MHz on the older PowerBook/292. The result is pretty
much a wash in terms
of performance but I guess 300MHz sounded better than 292MHz.
The hard drive is a respectable 8GB IDE which is large enough
to keep you going for quite some time. There are currently
two variations of the PowerBook G3/300. The original configuration
comes with a DVD-ROM drive and MPEG PC card for decoding DVD
movies. For roughly $500 less you can buy the 300MHz 'Book
(sans DVD and MPEG card) with a 20x CD-ROM drive instead.
In all other respects the two are the identical.
Like its 233MHz and 266MHz siblings the PowerBook/300 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 which host the CD/DVD
drive can also take a Zip 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 welcomed 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. Unlike the PowerBook G3/292 which was limited to
a 1024 x 768 resolution, the PowerBook G3/300 is capable of
two other resolutions, 640 x 480 and 800 x 600. If you are
viewing a DVD movie avoid these lower resolutions as the results
are not great. 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
G3/300/1MB 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 |
| G3/300 |
750 |
66 |
64
(192) |
1MB
Backside@150Mhz |
4MB |
2 PC |
8.0 IDE |
20X or
DVD
|
56K Flex
10 BT Ethernet |
14.1" TFT |
|
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