667 MHz TiBook (DVI) - First Impressions
I?ve seen several of these out on the web, but no one here has posted any kind of a review of their new Ti Book (that I can see, anyway) so I thought I?d post a few of my impressions of it.
Build Quality
I have noted that most reviewers comment on a ?tighter? machine this time around, and I dismissed those claims, to be honest. Seems to me that I read those same words with each Ti Book revision. I had always just figured that buddy with the new Ti was just in awe of the machine in general and was going to gush over every feature no matter what.
With this new 667 in my lap though, I can definitely say that it is indeed a much improved build quality. I am comparing this to 400 and 550 MHz models, both of which I have owned. Especially on my 550, when the lid is closed, there was a very noticeable gap between the outer rim of the LCD and the palm rests when it was closed, and there was a 1-1.5 mm difference in this gap from left to right. With this new machine, it?s as flush as you could get it, completely even on both sides. Very nice.
The keyboard also feels a lot firmer to me. Took a little getting used to after being on a Pro Keyboard for so long (OK, a few different Pro Keyboards?
) but I am really happy with the keyboard.
Heat
I?ve been running this pretty much straight since last night, and I?ve yet to hear the fan come on. Not that it hasn?t ? in all likelihood the first stage fan has come on at least ? but with some music playing in iTunes quietly, I haven?t heard it come on. HUGE difference from my 550, which would kick into Hoover mode very quickly. It?s warm to the touch on the bottom of course, but way cooler than my last PowerBook. If anyone is worried about heat issues ? don?t (on the 667, anyway)
Speed
Haven't run any benchmarks or anything, but I'm very happy with the speed with 512 MB of RAM. It's definately "Snappy®".
I can only imagine what an 800 would be like - damn fast for a laptop, that's for sure. It seems WAY faster than my 550.
Optical Drive
Man, I love this new drive. I was always worried that the old slot loading drives were going to wear out, the way it pulls and pushes the CDs in and out. This new drive though, you basically slide the CD in all the way by yourself, and it?s only at the very end that the drive grabs it and drops it into place. It?s louder initially, but I think it?s probably a lot easier on the drive. You can pop CDs in much more quickly too, you?re not waiting for the slow drive to pull your CD in. Thumbs up.
Oh, and I played the Tarzan DVD for my daughter last night, and it ran like a dream.
Airport Range
In a word, awesome. Maybe not iBook awesome, but it definitely is so compared to old Ti Books. Just my own very unscientific testing, but here?s what I find: base station is in the same place as before on my bookshelf ? obviously getting 4 bars at the desk, which is 5 feet away. I?d take the Ti Book into the bedroom and get 3 bars (sometimes slipping to 2), now I?m stuck at 4 most of the time, it slipped down to 3 once. Downstairs in the office I always sat at 3 with the old Ti, and I?m there right now with the new one, at 4 bars. There were a couple of deadspots down here with the old one too, where it would get 2 bars all the time, and cut out once in a while. In these same spots now I get the full 4 bars. This is a big relief, I don?t have any worries now about range in the new house when we move in.
Screen
LOVE it. The extra resolution is great, and I don?t find anything too small at all. Having this much screen real estate in a portable really is amazing. Palette-intensive apps can now kiss my *** .
Thankfully too, no dead pixels!
Hard Drive
Ah, the hard drive. You were beginning to think this was a love-fest, free from criticism, weren?t you? Sorry to disappoint you.
I?ve got the 60 GB 5400 RPM drive in here, and it?s loud. I can?t recall exactly how loud my previous drive was, and I have nothing here to compare it to, but it definitely audible. Can?t complain about the whirring, as it?s quiet, but let?s just say you will have no trouble hearing drive accessing. I haven?t decided if it?s loud enough for a trip to the dealer to listen (he has the same drive in his 800), but it?s there. Maybe I?m being too picky, I don?t know. What I am really happy about is having 60 freakin? gigabytes of internal storage in a laptop!! Unreal. Absolutely everything I have now goes with me wherever I go. Gotta love that.
Hinges
Obviously haven?t had it long enough to tell if they will last longer or anything, but they?re definitely tighter than I?ve had in the past. My 550 made this little creak sometimes when I opened and closed it, but this 667 feels very solid. I don?t have to hold my breath when opening this one.
Haven?t used it enough to comment on battery life, so I won?t go into that. Still have to try using an external display too. And yes, I got the DVI=>VGA adapter.
I guess that?s about it. Just thought I?d give my impressions of the new beast. Now all I have to do is find myself a good bag for it?
Build Quality
I have noted that most reviewers comment on a ?tighter? machine this time around, and I dismissed those claims, to be honest. Seems to me that I read those same words with each Ti Book revision. I had always just figured that buddy with the new Ti was just in awe of the machine in general and was going to gush over every feature no matter what.
With this new 667 in my lap though, I can definitely say that it is indeed a much improved build quality. I am comparing this to 400 and 550 MHz models, both of which I have owned. Especially on my 550, when the lid is closed, there was a very noticeable gap between the outer rim of the LCD and the palm rests when it was closed, and there was a 1-1.5 mm difference in this gap from left to right. With this new machine, it?s as flush as you could get it, completely even on both sides. Very nice.
The keyboard also feels a lot firmer to me. Took a little getting used to after being on a Pro Keyboard for so long (OK, a few different Pro Keyboards?
) but I am really happy with the keyboard. Heat
I?ve been running this pretty much straight since last night, and I?ve yet to hear the fan come on. Not that it hasn?t ? in all likelihood the first stage fan has come on at least ? but with some music playing in iTunes quietly, I haven?t heard it come on. HUGE difference from my 550, which would kick into Hoover mode very quickly. It?s warm to the touch on the bottom of course, but way cooler than my last PowerBook. If anyone is worried about heat issues ? don?t (on the 667, anyway)
Speed
Haven't run any benchmarks or anything, but I'm very happy with the speed with 512 MB of RAM. It's definately "Snappy®".
I can only imagine what an 800 would be like - damn fast for a laptop, that's for sure. It seems WAY faster than my 550.Optical Drive
Man, I love this new drive. I was always worried that the old slot loading drives were going to wear out, the way it pulls and pushes the CDs in and out. This new drive though, you basically slide the CD in all the way by yourself, and it?s only at the very end that the drive grabs it and drops it into place. It?s louder initially, but I think it?s probably a lot easier on the drive. You can pop CDs in much more quickly too, you?re not waiting for the slow drive to pull your CD in. Thumbs up.
Oh, and I played the Tarzan DVD for my daughter last night, and it ran like a dream.
Airport Range
In a word, awesome. Maybe not iBook awesome, but it definitely is so compared to old Ti Books. Just my own very unscientific testing, but here?s what I find: base station is in the same place as before on my bookshelf ? obviously getting 4 bars at the desk, which is 5 feet away. I?d take the Ti Book into the bedroom and get 3 bars (sometimes slipping to 2), now I?m stuck at 4 most of the time, it slipped down to 3 once. Downstairs in the office I always sat at 3 with the old Ti, and I?m there right now with the new one, at 4 bars. There were a couple of deadspots down here with the old one too, where it would get 2 bars all the time, and cut out once in a while. In these same spots now I get the full 4 bars. This is a big relief, I don?t have any worries now about range in the new house when we move in.
Screen
LOVE it. The extra resolution is great, and I don?t find anything too small at all. Having this much screen real estate in a portable really is amazing. Palette-intensive apps can now kiss my *** .
Thankfully too, no dead pixels!
Hard Drive
Ah, the hard drive. You were beginning to think this was a love-fest, free from criticism, weren?t you? Sorry to disappoint you.
I?ve got the 60 GB 5400 RPM drive in here, and it?s loud. I can?t recall exactly how loud my previous drive was, and I have nothing here to compare it to, but it definitely audible. Can?t complain about the whirring, as it?s quiet, but let?s just say you will have no trouble hearing drive accessing. I haven?t decided if it?s loud enough for a trip to the dealer to listen (he has the same drive in his 800), but it?s there. Maybe I?m being too picky, I don?t know. What I am really happy about is having 60 freakin? gigabytes of internal storage in a laptop!! Unreal. Absolutely everything I have now goes with me wherever I go. Gotta love that.
Hinges
Obviously haven?t had it long enough to tell if they will last longer or anything, but they?re definitely tighter than I?ve had in the past. My 550 made this little creak sometimes when I opened and closed it, but this 667 feels very solid. I don?t have to hold my breath when opening this one.
Haven?t used it enough to comment on battery life, so I won?t go into that. Still have to try using an external display too. And yes, I got the DVI=>VGA adapter.
I guess that?s about it. Just thought I?d give my impressions of the new beast. Now all I have to do is find myself a good bag for it?
Comments
|
|
Showing off
Just look at some of the 4 line sigs there with all their hardware - makes you sick.
[ 05-25-2002: Message edited by: murbot ]</p>
and btw I think you just convinced me to get a 667 instead of an iBook
How long do you think this one will last?... U think I could get t when you are done?
I could hook my 667 up to my Cinema Display at work.
The fan in mine is also VERY quiet, quieter than the Radeon fan in my Cube at home. You actually have to put your ear down to the keyboard to hear it; otherwise you'd swear it was silent. I've only had it kick into high speed once.
I'll be babying this unit, that's for sure.
BRussel, that really sucks man, I was pretty worried about that until it arrived... I'm sure you've heard this a million times... have you tried rubbing those pixels out? I did have one on my Pismo in the corner that went red on me about once a month. I'd rub it a little and it would go away. Worth a try.
<strong>BRussel, that really sucks man, I was pretty worried about that until it arrived... I'm sure you've heard this a million times... have you tried rubbing those pixels out? I did have one on my Pismo in the corner that went red on me about once a month. I'd rub it a little and it would go away. Worth a try.</strong><hr></blockquote>I did try that, but nothing changed.
I'm not that bummed about it, because it's really a work computer, rather than a personal purchase. Nothing like spending someone else's money!
And I really don't notice it very often. It's like having a spot on your windshield - normally you're looking through it rather than at it, so you don't notice it unless you actually look at it.
I've got a 17" LCD too, and there don't appear to be any "pixel anomalies" with it at all.
There is perhaps a very slight blue tinge to the LCD, but it's not nearly as bad as my 500. That thing was so blue I had to take it in for counseling.
One irritant though, the delete key arrived broken and continues to pop off. Anyone have a fix that doesn't involve a phone call to 800-SOS?
<strong>Does the screen have a strong blue bias?</strong><hr></blockquote>Mine doesn't.
<strong>Does the screen have a strong blue bias?</strong><hr></blockquote>
The ones that I've seen at the Apple Store don't.
<strong>Got my Ti800 a week or so ago, and I've got three pixels that always seem to stay on red.</strong><hr></blockquote>
If it's worth anything mate...I got an 800 myself and the first thing I did was scour the screen for dead pixels....and found 2...like yours...both red. No massaging can get those fvckers out...(and I'm very good at massage too!!
So I know how you feel!!
<img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" />