I marched back, returned it all, and got a shiny new 15" and an iCurve.
Personal opinion of course, but I certainly would not be able to substitute that 15" for any standard 17" CRT/LCD or larger. Buying an iCurve to simulate it being a monitor is... well it's just too small.
Ok, I admit I am weak. I pulled the trigger at the Apple store for education and have a 12" with superdrive and 80GB hard drive in the works. I also have a 512MB stick of memory from Crucial waiting to pop in there.
I had visited the Apple store in Farmington and that is what pushed me over the edge.
All these different graphics cards are confusing to me. How much better is the ATi 9700 than the Nvidia5200? I assume they are both fast enough to play modern games. What kinds of Games are going to need the 9700? You think Doom 3 will play okay on the 5200?
All these different graphics cards are confusing to me. How much better is the ATi 9700 than the Nvidia5200? I assume they are both fast enough to play modern games. What kinds of Games are going to need the 9700? You think Doom 3 will play okay on the 5200?
The 5200 is much like Radeon 9200. Many people think Apple should have chosen the 9200 for 12" Powerbook in the first place.
The Mobility Radeon 9700 is related to the desktop 9600, in another words, pretty good, at least twice as fast as the 9200's and the better chip gains even more ground at large resolutions. Looking at the benchmarks it would seem the MR 9600 era was the first time laptop graphics have been in the same ballpark with what gamers actually use on new desktops. The MR 9700 is mostly the same chip as MR 9600 but clocked substantially faster, and the result is likewise faster (about 20-50%).
I'm guessing any new 3D shooter, including and especially Doom3, is best left to the 9600/9700's.
Okay, just completed my order through the Apple store for a 15" 1.5 ghz 128 video, 5400 HD, 512 in one dimm. Shipping says 1 to 3 days. That means it should be here by next Tuesday?
How much difference is there between the 9200 the 9000 radeon cards?
So basically the 12" is going to be substantialy slower at new Games than the 12" just cause of the graphics card, especially if one BTO the 128MB VRAM.
Ok, so here is the latest in my new Powerbook saga... Having spent 3 days with my new 12" and 17" LCD, I went back to the Apple store and turned them both in for a 15" 1.33ghz. The reason? Simple...everyone who saw the 12" either said, "oh, it is just like my iBook, only silver" or "the screen is not as big and bright as my Dell, are you able to see it ok?". That was all it took, call me 'Mr Superficial' of you like, but I just lost it. I marched back, returned it all, and got a shiny new 15" and an iCurve.
And let me tell you, I love the bloody thing! Forget the size of the screen, but the sheer quality of it puts the 12" to shame.
What was I thinking, portability without sex appeal is like shock without awe; simply a waste of everybody's time.
Happier than a clam, I am.
Wait till you've owned a 17" Powerbook Wait
It attracts more attention than i would like but if your into that then this is your machine.
I wouldn't say so. nVidia cards are known to be strong in OpenGL. And that's what xbench lets you understand. For example, look at the OpenGL results for a 12" Powerbook 867 MHz, with a Geforce4 Go, and a 15" Powerbook 1.25 GHz with the much more powerful Radeon Mobility 9600:
OpenGL Graphics Test on 12": 88.10
OpenGL Graphics Test on 15": 101.96
Not that much of a difference for a such more powerful graphics chip. However, the Radeon shows its power in the Quartz test:
I wouldn't say so. nVidia cards are known to be strong in OpenGL. And that's what xbench lets you understand. For example, look at the OpenGL results for a 12" Powerbook 867 MHz, with a Geforce4 Go, and a 15" Powerbook 1.25 GHz with the much more powerful Radeon Mobility 9600:
OpenGL Graphics Test on 12": 88.10
OpenGL Graphics Test on 15": 101.96
Not that much of a difference for a such more powerful graphics chip. However, the Radeon shows its power in the Quartz test:
Quartz Graphics Test on 12": 94.33
Quartz Graphics Test on 15": 165.53
ok cool
but which do you use in the real world the most???
plus im reallly stuck between the 12inch superdrive of the 15 inch
I wouldn't say so. nVidia cards are known to be strong in OpenGL. And that's what xbench lets you understand. For example, look at the OpenGL results for a 12" Powerbook 867 MHz, with a Geforce4 Go, and a 15" Powerbook 1.25 GHz with the much more powerful Radeon Mobility 9600:
OpenGL Graphics Test on 12": 88.10
OpenGL Graphics Test on 15": 101.96
Not that much of a difference for a such more powerful graphics chip. However, the Radeon shows its power in the Quartz test:
Quartz Graphics Test on 12": 94.33
Quartz Graphics Test on 15": 165.53
What are those benchmarks testing? Doesn't Quartz Extreme use OpenGL? I'm sure MacOS X doesn't use DirectX, so all the video drivers must be OpenGL.
Comments
Originally posted by ipodandimac
and dont forget their complaints about a short battery life and a .1" increase in thickness.
Originally posted by maninmac
I marched back, returned it all, and got a shiny new 15" and an iCurve.
Personal opinion of course, but I certainly would not be able to substitute that 15" for any standard 17" CRT/LCD or larger. Buying an iCurve to simulate it being a monitor is... well it's just too small.
Did you purchase an extra keyboard and mouse?
I had visited the Apple store in Farmington and that is what pushed me over the edge.
Originally posted by Algol
All these different graphics cards are confusing to me. How much better is the ATi 9700 than the Nvidia5200? I assume they are both fast enough to play modern games. What kinds of Games are going to need the 9700? You think Doom 3 will play okay on the 5200?
The 5200 is much like Radeon 9200. Many people think Apple should have chosen the 9200 for 12" Powerbook in the first place.
The Mobility Radeon 9700 is related to the desktop 9600, in another words, pretty good, at least twice as fast as the 9200's and the better chip gains even more ground at large resolutions. Looking at the benchmarks it would seem the MR 9600 era was the first time laptop graphics have been in the same ballpark with what gamers actually use on new desktops. The MR 9700 is mostly the same chip as MR 9600 but clocked substantially faster, and the result is likewise faster (about 20-50%).
I'm guessing any new 3D shooter, including and especially Doom3, is best left to the 9600/9700's.
I'm pumped!!
Joe
So basically the 12" is going to be substantialy slower at new Games than the 12" just cause of the graphics card, especially if one BTO the 128MB VRAM.
Originally posted by maninmac
Ok, so here is the latest in my new Powerbook saga... Having spent 3 days with my new 12" and 17" LCD, I went back to the Apple store and turned them both in for a 15" 1.33ghz. The reason? Simple...everyone who saw the 12" either said, "oh, it is just like my iBook, only silver" or "the screen is not as big and bright as my Dell, are you able to see it ok?". That was all it took, call me 'Mr Superficial' of you like, but I just lost it. I marched back, returned it all, and got a shiny new 15" and an iCurve.
And let me tell you, I love the bloody thing! Forget the size of the screen, but the sheer quality of it puts the 12" to shame.
What was I thinking, portability without sex appeal is like shock without awe; simply a waste of everybody's time.
Happier than a clam, I am.
Wait till you've owned a 17" Powerbook Wait
It attracts more attention than i would like but if your into that then this is your machine.
Oh and its a really good computer too
Originally posted by Gon
The 5200 is much like Radeon 9200. Many people think Apple should have chosen the 9200 for 12" Powerbook in the first place.
.
So basically the nvidia cards are shite????
are they bad enough to not bother with the 12 inch and go straight to the 15???
Originally posted by PLAN-B
So basically the nvidia cards are shite????
I wouldn't say so. nVidia cards are known to be strong in OpenGL. And that's what xbench lets you understand. For example, look at the OpenGL results for a 12" Powerbook 867 MHz, with a Geforce4 Go, and a 15" Powerbook 1.25 GHz with the much more powerful Radeon Mobility 9600:
OpenGL Graphics Test on 12": 88.10
OpenGL Graphics Test on 15": 101.96
Not that much of a difference for a such more powerful graphics chip. However, the Radeon shows its power in the Quartz test:
Quartz Graphics Test on 12": 94.33
Quartz Graphics Test on 15": 165.53
Originally posted by PB
I wouldn't say so. nVidia cards are known to be strong in OpenGL. And that's what xbench lets you understand. For example, look at the OpenGL results for a 12" Powerbook 867 MHz, with a Geforce4 Go, and a 15" Powerbook 1.25 GHz with the much more powerful Radeon Mobility 9600:
OpenGL Graphics Test on 12": 88.10
OpenGL Graphics Test on 15": 101.96
Not that much of a difference for a such more powerful graphics chip. However, the Radeon shows its power in the Quartz test:
Quartz Graphics Test on 12": 94.33
Quartz Graphics Test on 15": 165.53
ok cool
but which do you use in the real world the most???
plus im reallly stuck between the 12inch superdrive of the 15 inch
the 12 looks so cool
but the 15 can give you 128vram for
50 bucks
Originally posted by PB
I wouldn't say so. nVidia cards are known to be strong in OpenGL. And that's what xbench lets you understand. For example, look at the OpenGL results for a 12" Powerbook 867 MHz, with a Geforce4 Go, and a 15" Powerbook 1.25 GHz with the much more powerful Radeon Mobility 9600:
OpenGL Graphics Test on 12": 88.10
OpenGL Graphics Test on 15": 101.96
Not that much of a difference for a such more powerful graphics chip. However, the Radeon shows its power in the Quartz test:
Quartz Graphics Test on 12": 94.33
Quartz Graphics Test on 15": 165.53
What are those benchmarks testing? Doesn't Quartz Extreme use OpenGL? I'm sure MacOS X doesn't use DirectX, so all the video drivers must be OpenGL.
Originally posted by nguyenhm16
What are those benchmarks testing? Doesn't Quartz Extreme use OpenGL? I'm sure MacOS X doesn't use DirectX, so all the video drivers must be OpenGL.
I believe it is a general Quartz test. Quartz Extreme is simply the hardware implementation (through OpenGL) of the Quartz Compositor only.
Quartz Graphics Test: 159.95
Open GL Graphics Test: 131.41
Originally posted by Krassy
my 12" powerbook in xbench: 122.97 overall
Quartz Graphics Test: 159.95
Open GL Graphics Test: 131.41
Jeeps. That beats the 1.25GHZ 15inch in OpenGL. Which test is more indicative of game performance?
Originally posted by SonOfSylvanus
Jeeps. That beats the 1.25GHZ 15inch in OpenGL. Which test is more indicative of game performance?
Hehehe - yes my 12" Powerbook is a MONSTER !!!!