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Looking to buy or sell or fix your Powerbook G4, confused about words like Titanium, Aluminum, VGA or DVI, screen size, hinge problems.
Titanium Series Powerbook G4 Aluminum Series Powerbook G4
This guide shows all Titanium Series G4 Powerbook models, should you be looking for information about a Aluminum Series Powerbook G4 then click here.
Should the pictures above not be enough to identify your Powerbook G4, look underneath your machine and find the Apple Family Number and check the guides for which one it is. Or much easier if your powerbook has all the ports on the rear it's a Titanium, if the ports are on the side it's an Aluminum.
Titanium Series Family Numbers: M5884, M8407, A1001, A1025
Aluminum Series Family Numbers: A1010, A1104, A1046, A1095, A1106, A1138, A1013, A1052, A1085, A1107, A1139
MacBook Pro Family Series: A1150, A1151, A1211, A1212 (MacBook Pro has Intel Chipset and not G4 PPC but because it look similar to the Aluminums I added it)
Titanium Series and Aluminum Series Powerbooks all have an ID tag in the battery compartment with it's specs, except for M8407 it only says Powerbook G4.
On Titanium Series Powerbooks if you flip up the keyboard to access the memory slots there should be a sticker with the serial number of your Powerbook and the Mhz rating, use it to look below to see which generation Titanium Series Powerbook you have.
Titanium Series Powerbooks were ONLY made with a 15.2 inch screen ! Hence, if you have a 12 or 17 inch screen, then it is an aluminium and not a titanium!
Once you have the serial number of your Powerbook, you can also go to the Apple website and under the Support Tab enter the serial number in the lower right hand corner where it says "About Your Support Coverage", once you click enter it will give you. Model of your machine and if you are still covered under Apple Care Service. Short guide on this
1st Generation know as "Mercury"(M5884)
- 400 or 500 Mhz
- came standard with DVD/CD drive, optional combo drive upgrade available from apple
- PC 100 ram (1gb max, 2 x 512mb)
- VGA Screen 1152 x 768 resolution
- 550 or 667 Mhz
- came standard with DVD/CD drive and then later during production cycle was offered with combo drive
- PC 100 for the 550 Mhz model, PC 133 for the 667 Mhz model (1 gb max, 2 x 512mb)
- VGA Screen 1152 x 768 resolution
First and Second generation Powerbooks share the same VGA screen and inverter, but the magnet in the screen that triggers the reed switch when you close the display is located in different places between the 1st and 2nd Generation models. So yes the screen is the same but you should get the one for the correct model so that when you close your display the sleep function works properly.
3rd Generation known as "DVI" or "Ivory"(A1001)
- 667 or 800 Mhz
- both came standard with combo drive
- PC 133 ram( 1gb max, 2 x 512mb )
- DVI Screen 1280 x 854 resolution
- 867 Mhz or 1 Ghz
- combo drive or super drive
- PC 133 ram( 1gb max, 2 x 512mb )
- DVI Screen 1280 x 854 resolution
Third and Fourth generation Powerbooks Titanium share the same DVI screen and inverter, the magnet for the reed switch location is the same in all DVI models and not an issue unlike with the VGA models
I wrote a special guide for Titanium Powerbook Displays and Inverters please click here for more information on keeping your displays apart.
Titanium Series Powerbooks logic board replacement needs to be done within the same generation, except for the 3rd and 4th generation which can be replaced and interchanged among models. Please note that a second cooling fan is required for the faster machines and needs to be installed in the area between the d/c power jack and the superdrive, it is powered of the logic board.
Titanium Series Powerbooks all suffer from Hinge failure problems that are caused by frequent opening and closing of the display. Failure is mostly catastophic and often leads to cut cabling to the display. While fixing this problem is possible by buying replacement hinges, I have seen very rarely someone do a very nice job at installing new hinges. I recommend replacing the entire display with one of the correct kind, either VGA or DVI.
Titanium Series Powerbooks G4's all have an airport card slot for the original 802.11b Apple Airport Card , they are famous for the extremely poor reception by these cards as the Titanium happens to act as a very good shield for these kind of transmissions. I suggest an aftermarket PCMCIA 802.11g card which in OS X over 10.2.5 if fully compatible with Apple's Airport Software in the Menu Bar.
Titanium Series Powerbooks use the following batteries regardless of their Mhz rating. M6091, M8511, A1012, M8244G. Battery Life is nutoriously poor compared to earlier Powerbook G3's.
Think I missed a key point on Titanium Series please feel free to contact me and suggest discuss this with me.
Please Rate this Guide, your rating makes this guide mean something. If you believe I should correct or edit my guide in any way feedback is always welcome.
Guide created: 12/05/05 (updated 11/05/09)
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