PowerBook G3

Essentials

Family: PowerBook G3/G4

Codename: Kanga

Gestalt ID: 313

Minimum OS: 8.0

Maximum OS: 9.1

Introduced: November 1997

Terminated: May 1998

Processor

CPU: PowerPC 750 "G3"

CPU Speed: 250 MHz

FPU: integrated

Bus Speed: 50 MHz

Data Bus Width: 64-bit

Address Bus Width: 32-bit

Level 1 Cache: 32 kB data, 32 kB instruction

Level 2 Cache: 512 kB backside, 1:2.5

ROM: 4 MB

RAM Type: unique

Minimum RAM Speed: 60 ns

Onboard RAM: 32 MB

RAM slots: 1

Maximum RAM: 160 MB

Expansion Slots: 2 Type II or 1 Type III PC Card

Video

Screen: 12.1" active matrix

Max Resolution: 16 bit 800x600

Video Out: HDI-15

Storage

Hard Drive: 5.0 GB

Floppy Drive: 1.4 MB SuperDrive

Optical Drive: 20x CD-ROM

Input/Output

ADB: 1

Serial: 1 Mini DIN-8

SCSI: HDI-30

Audio Out: stereo 16 bit mini

Audio In: stereo 16 bit mini

Speaker: stereo

Microphone: mono

Networking

Ethernet: 10Base-T

Miscellaneous

Power: 45 Watts

Dimensions: 2.4" H x 11.5" W x 9.5" D

Weight: 7.5 lbs.

The PowerBook G3 was the first PowerBook to use the PPC 750, a third generation Motorola/IBM processor. The 750, or "G3" as it had been nicknamed before, was the first PPC processor designed to use a high speed, "backside" cache which could interact with the processor at much faster speeds than a standard L2 cache, which was restricted by the motherboard speed. The PowerBook G3 was similar to the PowerBook 3400, with the addition of a 750 processor running at 250 MHz, and a 512 kB backside cache running at a 2.5:1 processor to cache ratio (100 MHz). The Power of the 750, combined with the high speed cache, made the PowerBook G3 the fastest notebook in the world, bar none (It clocked speeds nearly as fast as the 9600/300). It was replaced in May 1998 by the new PowerBook G3 series.

Picture Credits:
John Greenleigh/Flipside Studios