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Over the past few days I have been borrowing a PowerBook 5300cs from a friend to see how the
replacement to my PowerPC-upgraded 540c
stacked up - and to learn more about other Macs. Both PowerBooks
were about the same" 100 MHz PowerPC 603e, 16 MB RAM, 10Base-T
ethernet, etc. The only difference was System 7.5.3 on the 5300cs
and Mac OS 8.1 on my PPC-540c. Also, the screens are different:
10.4" dual-scan on the 5300cs and 9.5" active matrix on the
540c.
Will I decide to keep my 540c or opt to get a 5300c to replace
it after some use?
PowerBook Deathmatch
Upon turning on the 5300cs, it seems that it is much like the
PowerPC-upgraded 540c (pictured at right) I own. The 540c,
however, seems to sound much, much
better - it has two nice speakers, as opposed to the cheesy single
one on the 5300cs (pictured below). Speedwise, they were about the
same loading their OSes. The 5300cs loaded 7.5.3 a little faster,
but if they both had 8.1, I assume they'd be the same.
Using both Macs, they operated much the same. They have the same
keyboard, it's just mounted differently. The trackpad clicker on
the 5300cs seemed to be a little more like the PC laptops I
sometimes use (but don't own). The hard drive on the 540c seems
higher pitched than the IDE drive of the 5300cs, but that's just
because they're different mechanisms.
Anyway, getting into hardware, the 5300's latch seems to be
sturdier (it's metal, after all). The case itself seems flimsier, and there are lots more little taps,
buttons, and doors to be broken off. I do like the module that
allows storage of PC cards in the floppy bay. If I had a 5300, I'd
carry a stash of storage cards in there - they're much more useful
than floppies.
Ports seemed about the same, but the 5300 has no built-in
ethernet or modem. Those are on PC cards. The infrared port seems
to be a useful idea, but I haven't seen much implementation of
it.
Batteries and AC adapters seem about the same, except the 5300cs
does get slightly better battery life. The 5300cs also has "dumb"
batteries, as opposed to the 540c's "intelligent" batteries. This
avoids the errors and EMM problems that the 540c's battery
sometimes has. The 5300's battery does have to be reconditioned,
though.
In closing, both 'Books are about the same in physical size, and
shape. The 540c's flip-down feet are a lot more durable than the
5300's push-button feet. One thing that I wish Apple would do is to
have dual latches (like the IBM ThinkPads used to and might still
have), one on each side of the screen. This makes the computers
more durable when closed, rather than relying on one small central
latch. On both, the trackpad clickers are somewhat exposed.
The 5300 is not as nearly a bad machine as the press made it out
to be, although it does need some improvements in the reliability
and design departments.
PowerBook 540c (PPC) vs. 5300c - Top 10 Noticeable
Differences
This compares the differences between a PowerPC upgraded 540c
and a 5300c.
10: Gray case on 540c, black case on 5300c.
9: Flip-down feet on the 540c, push-button feet on the
5300c.
8: The 540c has to be hacked to run OS 8.5+; the 5300c
runs it naturally.
7: 5300c has to be sent to Apple Repair Program. ;-)
6: Onboard ethernet and modem on 540c (albeit slow).
5: Infrared on 5300c.
4: 9.5" screen on 540c, 10.4" screen on 5300c.
3: 2 speakers on 540c, 1 speaker on the 5300c.
2: SCSI on 540c, IDE on 5300c (internal hard drives)
1: Drive bay and PCMCIA slots on the 5300c.
These were hard to rank since both machines are about the same
in terms of power (since the 540c has a PPC card). Most of these
were my opinions, so that's how my rankings were for these. Yours
may differ.
Both computers are equally good; it really depends on what you
prefer. You can probably find a 540c cheap, but a PPC card would
require a little more dough, than, say, a 5300c. But you never know
when you may find a deal....
Mac of the Day: PowerBook 170, Oct. 1991 - At 25 MHz, the PB 170 was at the top of the original PowerBook line.
List of the Day: The iPhone List Low End Mac's forum for discussing and supporting Apple's iPhone.
August 30 in LEM history: 99: The truth about USB speed - 00: Could Eazel kill the Mac? - Mac OS 8.1 on a IIci and LC III - 01: Beyond MHz and GHz - Getting a handle on email - Thanks for the IBM PC, Dad - Apple's anniversaries - 02: Mac OS X v10.2 - iBook video out - 04: Things that freak out my students - 06: Nvu and SeaMonkey can't replace Home Page - 07: DVD-RAM support
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however, seems to sound much, much
better - it has two nice speakers, as opposed to the cheesy single
one on the 5300cs (pictured below). Speedwise, they were about the
same loading their OSes. The 5300cs loaded 7.5.3 a little faster,
but if they both had 8.1, I assume they'd be the same.
seems flimsier, and there are lots more little taps,
buttons, and doors to be broken off. I do like the module that
allows storage of PC cards in the floppy bay. If I had a 5300, I'd
carry a stash of storage cards in there - they're much more useful
than floppies.
