15" Powerbook - 1ghz v 1.25ghz

666666
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
So, i've seen some peeps droppin' the benchmark action on the 1.25ghz powerbook, is it worth the extra money? Is it that much faster than the 1 ghz????
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 30
    *wind sweeps through the desert of responses*



    Look slike no-one knows



    I wanna know too...
  • Reply 2 of 30
    Well, I was checking the Apple Store, and if you up-spec the 1 Ghz Powerbook so that it includes all the same features as the 1.25 (ie, 512 MB of RAM, 80 GB, 4200 RPM Hard Drive, Airport Extreme Card, and Backlit Keyboard) the 1 Ghz ends up costing $2542. Basically, that means that if you want all the other added features of the 1.25 Ghz machine, then the extra 250 Mhz only cost you $57, which is definitely worth it.



    Coincidentally, if you do the same thing with the education discount, the extra 250 Mhz costs a whopping $11



    Oh, and you can add the backlit keyboard as a BTO option on the 15" 1 Ghz machine (but not, unfortunately, on the 12" Powerbook).
  • Reply 3 of 30
    My question was whether it would be worth the extra money to upgrade to the new PB 1.25? If I already have a 1 Ghz PB, would I notice any difference in speed, given similar specs: 1 GB RAM, etc.



    That's my question...



  • Reply 4 of 30
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    If you already have a 1 GHz Titanium, I think you should just stick with it for a while. It's still a kickass laptop that should last you a while. Maybe wait one or two more revisions before you go for the 15" AlBook. Or just wait until you're frustrated with the speed on the TiBook.
  • Reply 5 of 30
    The only way to go is up, my friend. And by that, I mean screen size, baby. Time for some seventeen-inch goodness. It includes, of course, a 1.33GHz processor, which should blow your 1GHz-respectin' pants off!



    ...



    The trick is to never be satisfied.
  • Reply 6 of 30
    Quote:

    Originally posted by agent302

    Well, I was checking the Apple Store, and if you up-spec the 1 Ghz Powerbook so that it includes all the same features as the 1.25 (ie, 512 MB of RAM, 80 GB, 4200 RPM Hard Drive, Airport Extreme Card, and Backlit Keyboard) the 1 Ghz ends up costing $2542. Basically, that means that if you want all the other added features of the 1.25 Ghz machine, then the extra 250 Mhz only cost you $57, which is definitely worth it.



    Coincidentally, if you do the same thing with the education discount, the extra 250 Mhz costs a whopping $11



    Oh, and you can add the backlit keyboard as a BTO option on the 15" 1 Ghz machine (but not, unfortunately, on the 12" Powerbook).




    On that note, I was pretty impressed with the Apple Educational discounts.



    I was at a college that didn't sell Apples for two years, but the University I'm at now does. The discounts are roughly 10%, which is very nice indeed. For example, prior to the refresh, the 12" G4 was selling for approx $2200 or so retail (CND), and $2000 CND for educational buyer.



    The iBook is the ultimate for students, as you can pick up the lowend for about $1350 CND, which is probably about $800-$900 US. Provided you don't want to do anything other than typing that is.
  • Reply 7 of 30
    Quote:

    Originally posted by cj3209

    My question was whether it would be worth the extra money to upgrade to the new PB 1.25? If I already have a 1 Ghz PB, would I notice any difference in speed, given similar specs: 1 GB RAM, etc.



    That's my question...







    I *almost* bought before this refresh, and if I had, I wouldn't have been too peeved. That's a roundabout way of saying I think you should hold off. The Tibook is still bitchin', and I think it will be Cube-like in it's long-term appeal. I'm sure I will still be caught occassionally making puppydog eyes at my stepdad's TiBook.



    The speedup is a bit more than linear (i.e. a bit less than 30%), according to the benchmarks now starting to float across the ether. That wouldn't be enough for me to long for an upgrade had I bought a TiBook around the first of the year. I generally use every last cycle of CPU I can get.



    Save up for the G5 books due out by Xmas '04 (surely that isn't too much to predict...).
  • Reply 8 of 30
    chagichagi Posts: 284member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by machem

    I *almost* bought before this refresh, and if I had, I wouldn't have been too peeved. That's a roundabout way of saying I think you should hold off. The Tibook is still bitchin', and I think it will be Cube-like in it's long-term appeal. I'm sure I will still be caught occassionally making puppydog eyes at my stepdad's TiBook.



    The speedup is a bit more than linear (i.e. a bit less than 30%), according to the benchmarks now starting to float across the ether. That wouldn't be enough for me to long for an upgrade had I bought a TiBook around the first of the year. I generally use every last cycle of CPU I can get.



    Save up for the G5 books due out by Xmas '04 (surely that isn't too much to predict...).




    Knowing Apple, they will probably announce beginning of 2004, ship Spring 2004.



    A low power version of the G5 in a Powerbook is going to be VERY interesting.
  • Reply 9 of 30
    I saved over $400 with edu discounts. Saved $300 on the 1.25 powerbook then saved $110 on applecare saved $30 on a ipod (so after the $200 rebate i got an ipod for $70)



    I had a 550 Ti and I noticed that the hard drive in the new 1.25 is a lot quieter then my old one. (I have the 80gb standard not the 5400)
  • Reply 10 of 30
    Quote:

    Originally posted by howyoudoin

    I saved over $400 with edu discounts. Saved $300 on the 1.25 powerbook then saved $110 on applecare saved $30 on a ipod (so after the $200 rebate i got an ipod for $70)



    I had a 550 Ti and I noticed that the hard drive in the new 1.25 is a lot quieter then my old one. (I have the 80gb standard not the 5400)




    You have it already? Oh yes, I already told you how I feel about you over there *points*.



    Anyway, I'm happy for you. I also happily took the EDU price. Have to get the iPod another time, dagnabit.
  • Reply 11 of 30
    Quote:

    Originally posted by cj3209

    My question was whether it would be worth the extra money to upgrade to the new PB 1.25? If I already have a 1 Ghz PB, would I notice any difference in speed, given similar specs: 1 GB RAM, etc.



    That's my question...







    From the few reports that have been published it looks like the new PB will be about 25% faster at some tasks. If you routinely run jobs that take something like 10 minutes then you will save a couple of minutes. Most of the time you will hardly notice it.



    The real reason to consider an upgrade is if the total package makes sense. The new book is a little faster. The more important features are FW800, bluetooth, larger memory capacity, airport extreme, better airport reception, backlit keyboard, much better graphics chip.



    Personally, unless money means little to you I would keep what you have for another generation or two. You can add FW800, USB 2.0 via the PC card slot. You can upgrade the HD. You can add an external antenna to improve airport reception.



    I upgrade every couple of years. I'm still running a Pismo 500 and I have decided that now is the time to upgrade. For me this will be a huge upgrade.



    G5 powerbooks are likely to come next year. Can you survive with the Ti PB another six to twelve months?
  • Reply 12 of 30
    hi howyoudoin,



    did you replace a Ti550 for the new alu? I have a Ti550 and wonder to do the same, as i'm a little sick of the low performance, heat and fan noise of my powerbook.



    What differences do you notice most? how about battery life? Do the fans come on/as noisy as the Ti550?

    Is the upgrade a good move/worth it?



    I'm kind of a power user who'd probably need a dualG5 (i'll get one next summer), but doubt whether to upgrade my Ti in the meantime (to the 1ghz model, not the 1,25)



    thanks in advance
  • Reply 13 of 30
    escherescher Posts: 1,811member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by neutrino23

    I'm still running a Pismo 500 and I have decided that now is the time to upgrade. For me this will be a huge upgrade.



    neutrino23: Is it safe to assume that you've already ordered your new 15-inch PowerBook, probably the 1.25Ghz high-end with glow-in-the-dark keyboard?



    Personally, I'm all torn. Do I order an inexpensive 12-inch Combo sight unseen? Or do I step up to the luxury of a 15-incher despite my historic preference for small and light laptops? I want to wait a few more weeks before I decide (and ideally get Pather pre-loaded). But DC is more or less shut down today in anticipation of the passage of hurrican Isabel. So I don't know whether I will get weak all barricaded up inside my house for the next two days.



    Escher
  • Reply 14 of 30
    Hold on to it. I have seen some disturbing info http://forums.appleinsider.com/showt...threadid=30728 on battery life with the new PB. That is why I am holding off until I get some solid data.
  • Reply 15 of 30
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Steve

    The only way to go is up, my friend. And by that, I mean screen size, baby. Time for some seventeen-inch goodness. It includes, of course, a 1.33GHz processor, which should blow your 1GHz-respectin' pants off!



    ...



    The trick is to never be satisfied.




    Too big!
  • Reply 16 of 30
    Thanks for all the responses, everyone. These are the kind of high quality responses I expected from this superb forum.







    "...in the process of completely changing over to Mac from Dell/Microsoft..."









    Quote:

    Originally posted by neutrino23

    From the few reports that have been published it looks like the new PB will be about 25% faster at some tasks. If you routinely run jobs that take something like 10 minutes then you will save a couple of minutes. Most of the time you will hardly notice it.



    The real reason to consider an upgrade is if the total package makes sense. The new book is a little faster. The more important features are FW800, bluetooth, larger memory capacity, airport extreme, better airport reception, backlit keyboard, much better graphics chip.



    Personally, unless money means little to you I would keep what you have for another generation or two. You can add FW800, USB 2.0 via the PC card slot. You can upgrade the HD. You can add an external antenna to improve airport reception.



    I upgrade every couple of years. I'm still running a Pismo 500 and I have decided that now is the time to upgrade. For me this will be a huge upgrade.



    G5 powerbooks are likely to come next year. Can you survive with the Ti PB another six to twelve months?




  • Reply 17 of 30
    Quote:

    Originally posted by jindrich

    hi howyoudoin,



    did you replace a Ti550 for the new alu? I have a Ti550 and wonder to do the same, as i'm a little sick of the low performance, heat and fan noise of my powerbook.



    What differences do you notice most? how about battery life? Do the fans come on/as noisy as the Ti550?

    Is the upgrade a good move/worth it?



    I'm kind of a power user who'd probably need a dualG5 (i'll get one next summer), but doubt whether to upgrade my Ti in the meantime (to the 1ghz model, not the 1,25)



    thanks in advance






    Yea this was a replacement from the Ti550. Battery life is a little lower then the Ti550 (but it makes up for it by doing everything faster). Remember how loud the Ti fan is when it gets really hot? The fan in the Alu never gets in high gear (if there even is one) and its much cooler then the Ti.



    The only problem I have with the Alu is my latch is faulty (it was broke as soon as i got it) so the wonderful apple store is giving me a brand new alu tomorrow. 2 powerbooks in 2 days, i'm good



    P.S. A big plus is the airport reception, the reception sucked on Ti (wasn't built in the screen) and the Alu is almost as good as my friends ibook.



    Josiah
  • Reply 18 of 30
    howyoudoin,



    thanks for the info. As you'll be in the privileged position of having first hand experience on 2 units of the new powerbooks (so you'll know about possible different behaviour due to manufacturing process -if any), would you mind confirm your experiences regarding Heat and Fan Noise? (also HD noise. And please tell how it does in terms of heat-noise like when watchig a DVD)



    i'm almost sold on the new alus, but have to be sure noise will be low (i'm doing audio work, which needs silence when recording) and heat being under tolerable measures.



    Oh, and how fast is it compared to the Ti550 (i need a BIG noticeable improvement, Centrinos looking very appealing ).

    And.. batt life. On the ti550 i get around 3 hours (some tens minutes up or down depending on cpu -and fan- usage)



    thanks again.
  • Reply 19 of 30
    Quote:

    Originally posted by jindrich

    howyoudoin,



    would you mind confirm your experiences regarding Heat and Fan Noise? (also HD noise. And please tell how it does in terms of heat-noise like when watchig a DVD)



    i'm almost sold on the new alus, but have to be sure noise will be low (i'm doing audio work, which needs silence when recording) and heat being under tolerable measures.



    Oh, and how fast is it compared to the Ti550 (i need a BIG noticeable improvement, Centrinos looking very appealing ).

    And.. batt life. On the ti550 i get around 3 hours (some tens minutes up or down depending on cpu -and fan- usage)



    thanks again.




    jiindrich, I just played a DVD. Fan noise was very low except for a slight pulsating vibrating sound. Heat was warm to the touch, but not as hot as a TiBook.



    I got 2 hours of battery with the display on 3/4 brightness and all ports turned off. Battery life is my primary concern with this PBook. As this is my first PBook, how does 2 hours on a DVD stack up to a TiBook. I've gotten 2 1/2-3 hours with more aggressive energy settings and normal computing.
  • Reply 20 of 30
    Quote:

    Originally posted by jwolfe9

    jiindrich, I just played a DVD. Fan noise was very low except for a slight pulsating vibrating sound. Heat was warm to the touch, but not as hot as a TiBook.



    I got 2 hours of battery with the display on 3/4 brightness and all ports turned off. Battery life is my primary concern with this PBook. As this is my first PBook, how does 2 hours on a DVD stack up to a TiBook. I've gotten 2 1/2-3 hours with more aggressive energy settings and normal computing.




    I would guess that you were probably hearing the DVD drive, judging from your description.
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