15" TiBook vs. 17" AlBook?
Howdy-
I'm looking to replace my G4/733 tower with a Powerbook, and I'm wondering what the actual performance differences are between the current 15" Titanium Powerbook and the 17" Powerbook. I'm a print designer, and foremost in my mind is how fast Photoshop runs. According to the specs, the only differences (that seem to be relevant in this context- I plan to use a 2nd LCD in either case, and by the time Firewire 800 becomes a factor for me I'll be ready to upgrade) between the 1 GHz 15" and the 1GHz 17" are the RAM (DDR333 SDRAM vs. the older SDRAM) and the hard disk (Ultra ATA/100 vs. Ultra ATA/66). Do the DDR333 and the ATA/100 add up to enough of a speed boost to justify spending the extra $700?
I realize that the 15" revisions could be just around the corner, but "around the corner" speculations seem to run anywhere from next Tuesday to MWSF 04; the prices on the TiBooks look pretty darn good right now & I really can't wait too much longer...
(BTW, this is my first post & I wasn't sure if this post should be here in general discussions or in the current hardware section- since it is ultimately a buying advice issue, I thought I'd try it here first)
I'm looking to replace my G4/733 tower with a Powerbook, and I'm wondering what the actual performance differences are between the current 15" Titanium Powerbook and the 17" Powerbook. I'm a print designer, and foremost in my mind is how fast Photoshop runs. According to the specs, the only differences (that seem to be relevant in this context- I plan to use a 2nd LCD in either case, and by the time Firewire 800 becomes a factor for me I'll be ready to upgrade) between the 1 GHz 15" and the 1GHz 17" are the RAM (DDR333 SDRAM vs. the older SDRAM) and the hard disk (Ultra ATA/100 vs. Ultra ATA/66). Do the DDR333 and the ATA/100 add up to enough of a speed boost to justify spending the extra $700?
I realize that the 15" revisions could be just around the corner, but "around the corner" speculations seem to run anywhere from next Tuesday to MWSF 04; the prices on the TiBooks look pretty darn good right now & I really can't wait too much longer...
(BTW, this is my first post & I wasn't sure if this post should be here in general discussions or in the current hardware section- since it is ultimately a buying advice issue, I thought I'd try it here first)
Comments
I don't think there's a substantial difference between either laptop in terms of Photoshop performance. The faster RAM will allow I/O devices to communicate with RAM without starving the CPU, and it'll give Quartz Extreme a boost for the same reason, but for pixel-pushing the effect would be subtle, almost a "feel" issue.
If you're not interested in the 17"'s goodies (AirPort Extreme, Bluetooth, greatly improved wireless reception, backlit keyboard, larger screen) you might as well get the 15". It's a mature design and a good performer.
15 inch 1GHz Ti scores roughly low 80s
17 inch Al book scores roughly in low 90s
Originally posted by sushiism
15 inch is much sexier looking, the 17 is really quite ugly and lacks some of the design features i loved about the 15. Only thing I like about the 17 is the backlit keyboard, the bigger display does nothing for me
Look what you did, you made it cry. I hate it when something as downright seductive as my 17" Powerbook cries.
heres are the bench (PB 17/pb15)
Speedmark 3,2 142 / 107
photoshop 7 0,51/ 1,09
i movie rendering 0,39 / 10,1
i tunes : 0,41/1,10
quake 3 : 81/54
cinema 4D : 5,01/7,42
after effects 5,5 : 10,15/14,05
The 17 inch is much faster , in photoshop he is faster than a g4 933, and 35 % faster than the 15 inch. He produce less heat, have FW 800 : very interesting for high performance external HD.
I will not buy the current 15 inch. A update is due, and some big store do not sell it anymore. If you are interested in the 15 inch, wait for the next one. There is great chance to see him in the next coming months. September will be a good bet.
Plus, I'd imagine the improved AirPort reception would be worth it. To me, anyway. Still no iBook, but a nice improvement over the Titanium's poor reception.
Wait and you can have the best of both: 15" with 17" appearance/specs...for $700-1200 less than the 17" PowerBook!
I hope.
AlBook 1GHz (17 inch) Speedmark 3.2: 142, Photoshop 7.0.1: :51, iTunes: :44
TiBook 1 GHz (15 inch) Speedmark 3.2: 143, Photoshop 7.0.1: :53, iTunes: :43
Originally posted by OldCodger73
Powerdoc, I think the speed figures you gave for the 15:" TiBook are wrong. Macworld US lists the following:
AlBook 1GHz (17 inch) Speedmark 3.2: 142, Photoshop 7.0.1: :51, iTunes: :44
TiBook 1 GHz (15 inch) Speedmark 3.2: 143, Photoshop 7.0.1: :53, iTunes: :43
Yes it's strange, but the speeds figures i gave, where directly copied from the article, and the article emphathised the great difference in speed. However the benchmarks where realised by univers Macworld france and not by Macworld US.
This is weird.
France, ah that explains it. Seriously, though, I went back and checked Macworld June 2003 page 32 and found that the figures I gave weren't quite correct either. Here are the right ones.
AlBook 1GHz (17 inch) Speedmark 3.2: 142, Photoshop 7.0.1: :51, iTunes: :44
TiBook 1 GHz (15 inch) Speedmark 3.2: 140, Photoshop 7.0.1: :53, iTunes: :42
Essentially the differences are so small as not to matter.
Originally posted by OldCodger73
<< the benchmarks where realised by univers Macworld france >>
France, ah that explains it. Seriously, though, I went back and checked Macworld June 2003 page 32 and found that the figures I gave weren't quite correct either. Here are the right ones.
AlBook 1GHz (17 inch) Speedmark 3.2: 142, Photoshop 7.0.1: :51, iTunes: :44
TiBook 1 GHz (15 inch) Speedmark 3.2: 140, Photoshop 7.0.1: :53, iTunes: :42
Essentially the differences are so small as not to matter.
Yes it's clearly demonstrate how we can be confident in benchmarks
http://www.macspeedzone.com/html/har...all/index.html
according to these, the 15 is slightly faster at quite a few things, but really none of it is enough to matter dramatically. I'd say they are basically equal.
'course, it IS refurbished... and I guess MWNY is only 2 weeks away...