The biggest difference I have seen is high quality quicktime video: I recently worked with a 900mhz iBook and a 12in PB, and noticed that the iBook was unable to play an 800 x 600 version of the Matrix reloaded trailer without major frame skipping.
The PB on the other hand, chugged through the exact same vid with no problem at all.
It will be a powerbook for me!
[edit: These were both demo machines, with 256megs of RAM]
I have now gone through and made a list of software that I would be purchasing. I have noticed that many of the applications require a G4 processor. Often times I can find in the forum corresponding to the application that people can run the application on a G3, but it still makes me wonder.
It seems so bizzare to have a company (Apple) which is selling a product that is obsoleted according to a number of their business partners (software vendors). I question Apple's motive for not putting G4s in these machines.
So I've been looking at benchmarks (Can't remember the links). Most of the benchmarks I've seen show the iBook in the same performance range as the PowerBook, even being faster in some tasks...
Is this true or is there something I'm missing? Why should I pay more for a PowerBook, besides status symbol?
Thanks,
Kurt
That's funny. When Macworld benchmarked the iBook 800 and Powerbook 12" 867, the Powerbook's peformance in Photoshop and Cinema 4D XL was 250% of that of the iBook.
That's funny. When Macworld benchmarked the iBook 800 and Powerbook 12" 867, the Powerbook's peformance in Photoshop and Cinema 4D XL was 250% of that of the iBook.
Here is a link to the benchmarks I was talking about. Notice that the iBook (G3 at 900mhz) is actually faster than the PowerBook (G4 at 867mhz) at a number of tasks.
What about the basic stuff like file-copy? I'm into digital audio, so I wonder how much help Altivec is going to be for that. Somehow I suspect not alot!!!
But now you've got me defending the G3, when in fact I'm not going to buy one (despite the benchmarks) just because the software manufacturers discouraged me.
So now that I've been debating this for like a month, I've purchased more memory for my PC. I'm going to wait until I can get a 1.5Ghz or faster G4 or G5 for a reasonable price, and make the switch then. Theres no sense in jumping the gun and buying something thats only marginally faster than what I have (867 mhz G4 versus 600 mhz pentium)
Quote:
Originally posted by Placebo
What app that needs speed isn't Altivec-enabled? If Textedit isn't, that doesn't matter.
We have been looking for a few options for my wifes parents. One option is an iBook. I used to have a 12" iBook 500 combo and then traded up to the 12 PB.
I had never really paid attention to the newer iBooks that came out after the 500 and was shocked to see how much different the casing is. Gawd they are ugly imo. The 500 was less white and had a more hard rubber type smooth feel. What happened?
How about we step up the discussion and make it a little more realistic. My girlfriend needs a new laptop, and we are debating between the 900 ibook and the 12" powerbook. I have a Ghz powerbook, and she won't need things like spanning. However, we do want to get a machine that will last a while. The benchmarks cited above and linked to again below seem to show that the ibook is faster in most normal operations. Look at stuffit decode for instance. I do video work, but perhaps the thing I feel like makes me sit around the most in normal operation is decoding compressed files. The ibook appears to be faster.
While she will not be using the ibook to render 3D animations (like I do), it would be nice to get something that will do the jobs she needs and do them for a long time, 2-3 years. I will certainly want to use it as a server (various uses) sometimes and run some unix programs on it, but most of these should run faster on the ibook since they aren't altivec enhanced, right?
Does anyone have some good experience with both and can give a good answer?
PS, all of my storage is on about a 1/2 terabyte of firewire drives, so space is a non-issue.
Of course, the other question that comes up is whether or not we should wait for the 12" to be updated.
It will be half year before Apple catches up with this in terms of performance even on their high end powerbooks. For general purpose computing, nothing touches that!!!
Didn't I say I wanted to run unix programs on it and use it as a small server intermittently?
Oh, and obviously I am looking at 12" screens.
If you want to suggest a PC, at least start with something intelligent, like a thinkpad.
Sorry, I was attracted by its jaw-droppingly low price. Agreed that its not the ideal system. But for $699 I think I could live with it. Of course, the whole time I would be bitching about how its not OS-X. But you could partition it and put Linux on it. No, no matter what anybody said, Linux does not even come close to OS-X.
Did I mention that Dell sucks? Thats their way of getting you to buy before you change your mind. if you hesitate you will lose. Their deals start and stop all the time. I bet you could grab the code off the back of a magazine and still get it.
Comments
The PB on the other hand, chugged through the exact same vid with no problem at all.
It will be a powerbook for me!
[edit: These were both demo machines, with 256megs of RAM]
It seems so bizzare to have a company (Apple) which is selling a product that is obsoleted according to a number of their business partners (software vendors). I question Apple's motive for not putting G4s in these machines.
Originally posted by Jukebox Hero
So I've been looking at benchmarks (Can't remember the links). Most of the benchmarks I've seen show the iBook in the same performance range as the PowerBook, even being faster in some tasks...
Is this true or is there something I'm missing? Why should I pay more for a PowerBook, besides status symbol?
Thanks,
Kurt
That's funny. When Macworld benchmarked the iBook 800 and Powerbook 12" 867, the Powerbook's peformance in Photoshop and Cinema 4D XL was 250% of that of the iBook.
Originally posted by Placebo
That's funny. When Macworld benchmarked the iBook 800 and Powerbook 12" 867, the Powerbook's peformance in Photoshop and Cinema 4D XL was 250% of that of the iBook.
Here is a link to the benchmarks I was talking about. Notice that the iBook (G3 at 900mhz) is actually faster than the PowerBook (G4 at 867mhz) at a number of tasks.
http://macspeedzone.com/html/hardwar...ok/index.shtml
Anything that takes advantage of the new Altivec is going to be faster... Those two applications are likely candidates.
Originally posted by Jukebox Hero
Those two applications are likely candidates.
What app that needs speed isn't Altivec-enabled? If Textedit isn't, that doesn't matter.
But now you've got me defending the G3, when in fact I'm not going to buy one (despite the benchmarks) just because the software manufacturers discouraged me.
So now that I've been debating this for like a month, I've purchased more memory for my PC. I'm going to wait until I can get a 1.5Ghz or faster G4 or G5 for a reasonable price, and make the switch then. Theres no sense in jumping the gun and buying something thats only marginally faster than what I have (867 mhz G4 versus 600 mhz pentium)
Originally posted by Placebo
What app that needs speed isn't Altivec-enabled? If Textedit isn't, that doesn't matter.
iBook 12" 900 with 384 ram and 60 gb hd and aiport=1405
PB 12" 867 with 384 ram and 60 gb HD and aiport extreme=1578
less than 200 bucks gets you the G4 and bluetooth and spanning
sweet
g
I had never really paid attention to the newer iBooks that came out after the 500 and was shocked to see how much different the casing is. Gawd they are ugly imo. The 500 was less white and had a more hard rubber type smooth feel. What happened?
http://macspeedzone.com/html/hardwar...ok/index.shtml
While she will not be using the ibook to render 3D animations (like I do), it would be nice to get something that will do the jobs she needs and do them for a long time, 2-3 years. I will certainly want to use it as a server (various uses) sometimes and run some unix programs on it, but most of these should run faster on the ibook since they aren't altivec enhanced, right?
Does anyone have some good experience with both and can give a good answer?
PS, all of my storage is on about a 1/2 terabyte of firewire drives, so space is a non-issue.
Of course, the other question that comes up is whether or not we should wait for the 12" to be updated.
$699
Intel® Celeron® Processor,2.0GHz,14.1 XGA
256MB 266MHz 2 DIMMS
30GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive
24X CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive
Internal 56K Modem
WordPerfect? Productivity Pack
1 Year Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-In Service
http://www.dell.com/us/en/dhs/offers..._inspn1100.htm
Nothing touches that!!!
Originally posted by Jukebox Hero
Heres your system:
$699
Intel® Celeron® Processor,2.0GHz,14.1 XGA
256MB 266MHz 2 DIMMS
30GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive
24X CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive
Internal 56K Modem
WordPerfect? Productivity Pack
1 Year Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-In Service
http://www.dell.com/us/en/dhs/offers..._inspn1100.htm
It will be half year before Apple catches up with this in terms of performance even on their high end powerbooks. For general purpose computing, nothing touches that!!!
Originally posted by Jukebox Hero
Nothing touches that!!!
Mac OS X certainly doesn't.
Originally posted by Jukebox Hero
Heres your system:
$699
Intel® Celeron® Processor,2.0GHz,14.1 XGA
256MB 266MHz 2 DIMMS
30GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive
24X CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive
Internal 56K Modem
WordPerfect? Productivity Pack
1 Year Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-In Service
http://www.dell.com/us/en/dhs/offers..._inspn1100.htm
Nothing touches that!!!
Didn't I say I wanted to run unix programs on it and use it as a small server intermittently?
Oh, and obviously I am looking at 12" screens.
If you want to suggest a PC, at least start with something intelligent, like a thinkpad.
Originally posted by giant
Didn't I say I wanted to run unix programs on it and use it as a small server intermittently?
Oh, and obviously I am looking at 12" screens.
If you want to suggest a PC, at least start with something intelligent, like a thinkpad.
Sorry, I was attracted by its jaw-droppingly low price. Agreed that its not the ideal system. But for $699 I think I could live with it. Of course, the whole time I would be bitching about how its not OS-X. But you could partition it and put Linux on it. No, no matter what anybody said, Linux does not even come close to OS-X.
Originally posted by Jukebox Hero
Sorry, I was attracted by its jaw-droppingly low price.
Except it's $849 today.
Originally posted by JLL
Except it's $849 today.
Did I mention that Dell sucks? Thats their way of getting you to buy before you change your mind. if you hesitate you will lose. Their deals start and stop all the time. I bet you could grab the code off the back of a magazine and still get it.
Originally posted by RANSOMED
make sure your 3d apps support altivec... 8)
As for 3D apps and AltiVec
Sad true is. AltiVec is close to useless for 3D apps. The renderers rely on double precision FPU not AltiVec.
AV only can do single precision.
Maxon claims Cinema is altiVec aware. But the performance gain is close to 0