PB 12" - noise and wireless issues?

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
So how loud are they really? I'd be hooking it up to a flatscreen monitor at home.



I heard the Powerbooks have pretty bad wireless network reception. How bad is it really? Worth investing in a USB antenna?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    sandausandau Posts: 1,230member
    i'd say the noise on the powebook is mildly annoying but not too loud. not anywhere as quiet as the mini but still fairly quiet. I never had an issue with wireless reception, it was pretty good. however you won't get the range of the iBook since the antenna is under plastic on the ibook vs. under aluminum on the PB.
  • Reply 2 of 5
    jwink3101jwink3101 Posts: 739member
    with my 12" when i hook it up to my 17" Cinema Display, they fan turns on very soon. Using ThermographX i can see that the GPU (not CPU) runs a lot hotter.



    Pretty soon the fans are running full. This couldn't be good for the computer so i got a laptop cooler. It is louder than the fans but it really works and keeps the fans off most of the time.



    Also, if i open he lid (w/ the screen off), it doesn;t get as hot but the best solution is really the cooler
  • Reply 3 of 5
    bnoyhtuawbbnoyhtuawb Posts: 456member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Taustin Powers

    So how loud are they really? I'd be hooking it up to a flatscreen monitor at home.



    I heard the Powerbooks have pretty bad wireless network reception. How bad is it really? Worth investing in a USB antenna?




    Reception is pretty good, to me it seems to be better than for the 17" PB. My solution to the bad reception problem was to get an ZyXEL G-405, a "ethernet wireless adapter". It's even possible to run a while network (using a switch/hub) off the thing. So my solution is to be "wired" when I'm sitting on my desk and to be "wireless" when roaming. When you're on the "auto" profile there is no need to switch anything (e. g. switch off the wireless when ethernet is connected).



    The reception on that G-405 is way (!) better than with and laptop I'v ever used.
  • Reply 4 of 5
    I returned my 12" PowerBook which sounded like a hair dryer when hooked up to a 20" Dell monitor. This is after AppleCare replaced the logic board in an attempt to make it quiet down. 15" PowerBook has no such problems and is what I am now using.
  • Reply 5 of 5
    ipodandimacipodandimac Posts: 3,273member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Taustin Powers

    So how loud are they really? I'd be hooking it up to a flatscreen monitor at home.



    I heard the Powerbooks have pretty bad wireless network reception. How bad is it really? Worth investing in a USB antenna?




    my 12" pb is extremely quiet and my wireless is great. my friends come over with their dells and vaios and each one on its own sounds like a jet. mine is silent unless i'm rendering.
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