iBook vs. PB?

mike peel

I'm going to be in the market for a new laptop soon (my current PC one is bugging the hell out of me, and doing something nasty to my back...). The debate is; iBook or PowerBook?



It's going to be a 12" model, as I want the portability. I already have a fairly decent desktop that helps with the occasional DTP, and more frequent graphics work. I'm wanting a laptop for when I'm away from my desk, be it on holiday, in lectures or lab, or just out for the day. It'd be used mainly for note typing, but also watching DVDs, some Photoshopping, website work, and viewing/modifying a bit DTP, as well as being a second computer when I'm at the desk. Now, back to topic.



Looking at prices;

• iBook;
  
  800MHz PowerPC G4
  
  256MB DDR266 SDRAM - 2 SO-DIMMs
  
  60GB Ultra ATA drive
  
  DVD/CD-RW
  
  AirPort Extreme Card
  
  Keyboard & Mac OS
  
  AppleCare Protection Plan for iBook
  
  12-inch TFT display
  
  Two USB ports
  
  One FireWire port
  
  Power Adapter
  
  Battery
  
  Subtotal £1,186.99

• Powerbook;
  
  1GHz PowerPC G4
  
  256MB DDR266 SDRAM - 1 SO-DIMM
  
  60GB Ultra ATA drive (4200rpm)
  
  DVD/CD-RW
  
  AirPort Extreme Card
  
  Keyboard & Mac OS
  
  AppleCare Protection Plan for PowerBook
  
  12.1-inch TFT display
  
  NVIDIA GeForce FX GO 5200 - 32MB DDR
  
  56K internal modem
  
  Power Adapter
  
  Battery
  
  Subtotal £1,696.99

So, what justifies the £500 extra for the PB? The slightly faster processor, the different graphics chip, and less battery life? Oh, and a 0.1kg weight decrease...



Thanks in advance...

ganondorf

Also, I think the vcard in the ibook is better than the pbook's.

ichiban_jay

well, the nvidia is better for games in the powerbook, also, the powerbook has a 512kb L2 cache instead of 256 in the ibooks. looks better too Keyboard from what I hear is sturdier and can handle dual monitor processing. If your just wanting to do basic things such as typing, e-mail, get the ibook. If you are more of a gamer and heavier user, get the powerbook.

ganondorf

No way, the Radeon is way better than the GeForce



look here http://www.gamersdepot.com/hardware/...orcefx/001.htm

superkarate monkeydeathcar

i was going to get the 12" pb until the iBook revision, then i ended up getting the 14" iBook and airport extreme for the same amount of the 12" pb.

it was a no-brainer to me.

ichiban_jay

I got the PB instead of the ibook mainly because it looked better the apple logo really shines through the metal compared to a white plastic piece Also, I thought the speakers look a bit tacky on the ibook. it's all about the looks from what I remember HOM saying, cache is very important on a processor, the 256kb more cache can really make a difference, the 200mhz helps too the 14" screen on the ibook is the same res as the 12" so all it does is make the picture larger, you really don't get more space.



http://www.techstuff.ca/archives/455.html

Quote:

What does the PowerBook G4 have that the iBook G4 doesn't?





Bigger Screen - First, the obvious stuff: you can't buy a 15" or 17" iBook. There are only two options: 12" or 14". If you want a really big screen, you have to buy a PowerBook. (However, if you want a small screen, you can buy a 12" PowerBook.)





Bigger Brain - The G4 processor is the computer "brain" that does most of the computer's heavy lifting. The G4 processors inside the new iBooks range from 800 MHz to 1 GHz. The PowerBooks start at 1 GHz and go up to 1.33 GHz. Faster is better.





Bigger Pipes - Behind the scenes, the various "pipes" that transport data from place to place inside PowerBooks (e.g. the data "bus") have more capacity than the data pipes inside the iBooks. In other words, PowerBooks are designed to "think" more quickly. (Note that the 15" and 17" PowerBooks have more capacity than the 12".)





SuperDrive - This is one of the least obvious but most important differences between iBooks and PowerBooks: you can't buy an iBook with a built-in DVD recorder.





iBooks ship with a "Combo drive" that can play DVD movies and record on CD. PowerBooks can be configured with aSuperDrive that records ("burns") on CD and on DVD disks. (For a cheaper Mac with built-in SuperDrive, check out theeMac.)





More memory capacity - The iBook G4 can be upgraded to 640 MB of memory (RAM), but that's the limit. The PowerBook G4 can use up to 2 GB of RAM. If you're working with professional quality audio or video stuff, this matters. (The RAM that ships inside PowerBooks is also better (faster) than iBook RAM.)





Better short-term memory - Programs that temporarily store stuff in "cache" memory will perform better on a PowerBook. The PowerBook G4 has a bigger L2 cache (512k vs. 256k). You may never notice the difference, but it's there.





Faster Networking - iBooks support standard Ethernet network connections (10/100BASE-T Fast Ethernet). The 15" and 17" PowerBooks support Gigabit Ethernet connections, which are ten times faster.





Firewire 800 - The iBook G4 has a standard FireWire connector. 15" and 17" PowerBooks add support for Firewire 800, which is twice as fast.





More Video - An iBook can connect to an external computer monitor. PowerBooks can also be connected to digital monitors (via DVI or miniDVI connectors). PowerBooks can "span" video images across more than one screen, which is especially useful for video pros (and anyone else who needs lots of screen real estate). Note also that iBooks are limited to "mirroring" the image that appears on their own screens (up to their maximum resolution of 1,024 x 768 pixels).





More Audio - iBooks have headphone and speaker jacks to send audio out. PowerBooks also have a line in jack so you can record from an external source without any additional hardware. (Add-on USB audio input devices are available that work with iBooks.)





PC Card Slot - 15" and 17" PowerBooks have one. iBooks (and 12" PowerBooks) don't.





Summary:

iBooks are still primarily for students and home users; PowerBooks are still aimed primarily at professionals. Consider all the facts before you make your purchase.

gon

Someone described the difference between the 12" books accurately in another thread:



Get an iBook, unless you absolutely need one of these:

- Superdrives

- audio in

- 20% more processing power



Personally I like iBook's looks more. Both could have a lot better keyboard.

The graphics cards are pretty equal in power, but I'd take the ATi if given a choice. They tend to be better mobile chips.

Dual monitor is a factor for me, but since the iBook can be hacked to do that in under five minutes, I wouldn't count this as a difference between the two machines.

mike peel

I found a third alternative: buy a second-hand 15" TiBook. DVD burner, 1GHz, 512MB RAM... And £1200 exc. AppleCare. Slightly more expensive than the iBook, but it's very justified... Plus, compared to my old laptop it's a lot more portable (i.e. about half the thickness!)



Thanks for the comments. If the third option hadn't come up, I was going to get the iBook. (PB won't be worth it until they update, and reduce the cost etc/improve the specs dramatically.)

matsu

The powerbook is just that much nicer. Much better case -- slimmer and lighter, yet stronger -- supported spanning, faster, and better drive options. Faster too. Better video, 20% faster clock rate and double the L2, should make it about 30% faster overall. Not huge at portable speeds, but enough to notice.



The iBooks just don't look as good as the original chicklets. Yes, they fixed the keyboard/bezel area over the awful white of the first "opaque" but the opaque exterior still looks cheap compared to the very first iBook.



Still, the iBooks aren't bad at all, just not as good as PBs, which could stand a little bump/price drop.



I say this. As your main machine, get the PB. As your secondary machine, get the iBook.

chinney

Regardless, all of this points the way for the need for PB update, and soon. Apple is no longer adequately distinguishing these products.



The G5 PowerBook is what is really needed, but the latest rumours on these boards seem to indicate that we'll have to wait some time for that. What is Apple likely to do in the meantime?



Some rumours - again those that I have read here on AI - indicate that Apple considers that there is a future in an (IBM) G4, but I just can't see them investing in this if everyone is really waiting for a G5.

gon

Quote:

Originally posted by Matsu

The powerbook is just that much nicer. ... Better video, ...

Do you have any measurements to show that? The benchmark Ganondorf posted shows a clear lead for the ATi chip, and other benchmarks I've seen (sorry, don't remember the source) showed pretty even results.

matsu

Probably should have just rolled it into my comment on supported spanning. That alone makes it a better video system. I didn't really mention GPU's, did I? Just video, and with its DVI-out plus spanning the PB is well ahead of the iBook there. But even in terms of GPU performance, how two GPU's perform on a mac can't be precisely dictated by directX heavy benchmarking. For QE and OpenGL purposes, there probably isn't much at all to distinguish ATI from nVidia.

gon

Quote:

Originally posted by Matsu

Probably should have just rolled it into my comment on supported spanning. That alone makes it a better video system. I didn't really mention GPU's, did I? Just video, and with its DVI-out plus spanning the PB is well ahead of the iBook there. But even in terms of GPU performance, how two GPU's perform on a mac can't be precisely dictated by directX heavy benchmarking. For QE and OpenGL purposes, there probably isn't much at all to distinguish ATI from nVidia.

Very good points about the DVI and the applicability of PC benchmarks! Thanks for pointing these out. I suppose the key factor here is general OpenGL performance, not QE at all (chips of this level shouldn't be a bottleneck in anything Aqua does).



When it comes to the screen spanning, I still think there's not much of a difference between a supported feature and a simple hack that has worked on iBooks for three generations.

nofeer

pb the dvi out is great....if you really need it, if not go ibook



ibook much better battery life

also ibook comes with more software



i got the 14 933 and love the 5.5 hrs (no joke) battery life



ibook case more durable than the aluminum???



bottom line---ibook especially if you have a backup desktop

keilwerthreborn

How many of you Powerbook users use video spanning and DVI output and simply couldn't live without it?



I'm just curious.



Oh, and does the spanning hack void the warranty?

matsu

I would imagine that Apple would use it as an excuse not to give AppleCare if it was directly related to some affected area. Messing the firmware is never a good idea. The real problem with it is that you can never be certain how a given update will affect your hack, and whether Apple will purposely try to break it.



I don't have DVI-out my book, but I use spanning quite a bit at home and at the office, very nice feature, particularly Apple's implementation.



As for heat and battery-life, I think that the 14" iBook might have the best battery life of all the Apple portables, because it has a bigger battery. iBooks are still using the .18u G4, like my PB, it isn't super hot, but the new powerbooks will be cooler than mine (and the iBooks too)

murbot

I didn't notice this old thread being brought up again. I remember almost moving it last time, but it slipped off the page so I left it...



It is purchasing advice though, and belongs in General Discussion. Moving now.

mike peel

Hmm, current hardware always seems to be so quiet... You can't put purchase advice there, new tech always seems to be in future hardware for half its' life, problems with current tech go in the genius bar... Poor current hardware forum!



On-topic: Personally, I dislike the bigger iBook. If it's going to have a bigger screen, it should have a bigger screen resolution... But I suppose it's useful for the "older" people whose eyesight is starting to deteriorate... *ducks*

guest

Actually, the 12" is smaller than the 14", so the resolution should shrink down to 800 x 600. Then I could use it without getting a headache, you young whippersnapper!

altivec_2.0

I'd actually get the Powerbook. It more performance than the ibook. It's a better buy.

mike peel

Quote:

Originally posted by guest

Actually, the 12" is smaller than the 14", so the resolution should shrink down to 800 x 600. Then I could use it without getting a headache, you young whippersnapper!

But who actually uses 800x600 nowadays? 8) For that matter, only one computer of mine uses 1024x768 now - and that's due to be sold soon...