Observations from the Powerbook 800 Mhz

[anastasis]

I have now had the notebook for two days and have had a fair amount of time to get accustomed to it. I have had the privelage of using the 550 - 667 models that were just replaced and was subject to the constant running of the fan and the burnt fingertips. One thing I have noticed with the new revision is that the fan has only come on about twice and when it is on, it has not been anywhere near the temperature nor the noise level of the former models. The bottom stays fairly cool while running such programs as Virtual PC and iMovie. That is a major plus and one of the primary reasons as to why I waited for the new revisions.

Another observation is the new resolution screen. I recall the former models screen not being as brilliant as all of the other screens that Apple has to offer, such as the iBook and their LCD's. With the new screen resolution and brightness, it looks just as good as their other monitors and is as crisp as can be. Another huge plus that was originally keeping from the original model.

The new 32 MB DDR RAM ATI Radeon 7500 is simply awesome. I had a GeForce 2 MX 32 MB in my tower and was getting around 40 - 45 FPS in Unreal Tournament at a 1028 x 768 resolution. With the new video card in the TiBook my first tests have shown in the 50 - 60 range. Very impressive for a notebook even though a PC currently can get the 64 MB cards, but that is not why I bought a computer. games are just icing on the cake.

Finally, the 800mhz processor. I had the 733 Quicksilver (now on ebay) and it was nice, but the 800 with the L3 cahce added on is really blowing the socks off that tower. Overall I think that Apple did a great job with this new revision. They addressed the four things that kept me from buying a 667....

1.) Heat Issues
2.) Screen Brightness and resolution
3.) Video Card (the 16 MB was pidly)
4.) Faster Processor

Bravo! Apple. Keep up the good work. I can't wait to see what MWNY will bring, even though I won't be able to afford anything that they announce becuase of the price for on these puppies.

Give some feedback....

[krossfyter]

good observation. im still damn happy with my 667. dig it.

[Ensign Paris]

my PB500G4 just died (some problem with RAM) and I am going to prey they replace it.

Ensign

[edesignuk]

Sounds like Apple have done a really great job all in all then, I'm just waiting for that Ghz model :D

[anastasis]

Krossfyter: That is great that you are damn happy.

By the way, my cousins were raised in Kingsville, TX. I have been there many a time. I think their dad actually held some office there actually. Last name Rosse.

[jefhatfield]

A COOLER RUNNING CHIP - NOW, THAT IS AN IMPROVEMENT WHICH CAN TRANSLATE TO MORE BATTERY TIME ON THE ROAD

[mcrain]

Speaking of battery life... now that you've had your PB for a couple of days, have you noted how much battery life you are getting with typical use? Please let us know.

[eyelikeart]

Originally posted by Ensign Paris
my PB500G4 just died (some problem with RAM) and I am going to prey they replace it.

Ensign

what happened to it???

btw....I'm jealous as hell of anastasis.....hope u enjoy the new Ti!! :p

[Rower_CPU]

The heat/battery life issues were on my list of things to watch out for, too.

If this one performs like you say it does, I'm going to have to reconsider not getting one.

[krossfyter]

Originally posted by anastasis
Krossfyter: That is great that you are damn happy.

By the way, my cousins were raised in Kingsville, TX. I have been there many a time. I think their dad actually held some office there actually. Last name Rosse.


are you serious? man. thats interesting. you are the second person on here who not only knows about the podunk town called "kingsville" but has actually been here. thats cool. thanks for sharing. its to dang hot here and im tired of seeing so many huge trucks. some of the owners have parking problems.

if one is going to own a huge freking truck...one should know how to park it.

heh.

[Geert]

Must say I'm jealous at all you PB users. I crave for one myself, money issues still keep me from buying.

oh heck, maybe in the future when Apple releases a PB G5@1,5Ghz I will have the cash:D

[cb911]

on the subject of prices i was comparing the 800MHz TiBook to the old 667MHz TiBook. here in Australia the old 667's were $6995 and the old 500's before that were $6449. that's a fairly big price difference, so i was kinda surprised that the 800 is even more expensive- $7395. i can understand that new technology costs a bit, but the prices just keep going up! is Apple ever going to have a set price, or is the next TiBook going to cost $7700???:mad:

[anastasis]

The only time that I have a problem with heat is when I was trying out Tony Hawk Pro Skater. Other than playing games, the Ti has been just barely warm to the touch. Oh yeah, and even with tony HAwk going at full speed, I can still barely hear the fan.

If anyone has been worrying about heat issues, it is not an issue anymore. It does get hot when playing games, but that is about it.

As far as the battery goes, I have nothing to compare it to. I guess if I think about the time that I was using it at work, I was getting a 3 to 3.5 hour battery life. That is good enough for me becuase I am never in a place where I do not have power outlet. At work I have one, at home, in the car (I have a Matrix!!). So battery life is not that big of a problem.

Keep the questions coming and I will try my best to answer them.

[Geert]

so while playing games it heats, then it is really the graphics card that heats your baby, and not the G4 chip itself.
But if future X releases the graphics cards will be used more extensively to make the aqua (or whatever the sucessor will be) run smoother, heat will be an issue again.

Aren't carbon apps running fully on the processor (so not taking advantage of the graph card for graphics), and cocoa apps use the graph cards for graphics?
I thought I saw a thread some time ago that discussed this.

[mcrain]

I heard somewhere that there was a problem with the TiBooks with a Gig of Ram. I saw on your sig that you have 512. One chip or two? Obviously your not having problems, but has anyone else heard of any sort of compatibility problems with the PB's and a gig of Ram?

If and when I get one I want to max the ram, but I don't want that to be a problem.

Thanks for the heat and battery updates.

Have you had a chance to see the video out using the DVI?

[AlphaTech]

anastasis, good to hear some real world feedback about the new TiBook. I am about to pick up mine (within the next few days). I will have 768MB of RAM in it (using one 512 PC133 from before, and one of the two 256MB sticks that come in the unit. I will hold onto the spare 256 until I decide if I need to go to 1GB or not. If I don't, then I will be looking to sell the 256 chip.

BTW, peecee video cards are up to 128MB of DDR memory. ATI has one out, and I believe that nVidia has one as well, if not, then soon. ATI will be releasing a 128MB DDR card for Mac's, but I do not recall any details about when it will be here (411 from a person that has contacts).

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by krossfyter



are you serious? man. thats interesting. you are the second person on here who not only knows about the podunk town called "kingsville" but has actually been here. thats cool. thanks for sharing. its to dang hot here and im tired of seeing so many huge trucks. some of the owners have parking problems.

if one is going to own a huge freking truck...one should know how to park it.

heh.

so you live in a podunk town, too

i live in a suburb of monterey, ca which would be a completely unknown podunk town too except for the fact that we once made history with the monterey pop festival in 1967 when jimi hendrix burned his guitar

otherwise, nothing has happened here in the 20th century that is of any note

...and we have too many large trucks and SUVs which are not driven by the most skilled drivers

my theory on that is because monterey has 38,000 people and covers a large area, the density is so low that we never had to learn to drive really straight since there was so much elbow room

everybody has at least one dent on their vehicles due to other vehicles being driven by bad drivers, dents from shopping carts in parking lots, or from pine cones falling from trees which drop cones

the raised truck thing is very popular and the higher the truck, the younger and more inexperienced the driver and when i see these pre-pubes on the road, i get the heck out of the way;)

ps - i propose a new law in california...if you are not showing signs of facial or underarm hair, then you do not deserve a license

[nagromme]

When you play a Mac OS 9 game, like UT or Descent 3, does it

a) Fill the whole screen stretched

b) Leave black at the sides like older TiBooks

c) Have black margins ALL the way around

?

I've heard that it's c, but would like to know before I buy. Supposedly all 4:3 games run in a little 12" window in the middle of the screen! (Unless they explicitly support stretching--which is rare.) I hope that's not true.

See here for discussion of this important gaming issue, and links to relevant Apple tech docs:
http://www.insidemacgames.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3928

Thanks for any info!

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by jefhatfield
...and we have too many large trucks and SUVs which are not driven by the most skilled drivers

my theory on that is because monterey has 38,000 people and covers a large area, the density is so low that we never had to learn to drive really straight since there was so much elbow room

everybody has at least one dent on their vehicles due to other vehicles being driven by bad drivers, dents from shopping carts in parking lots, or from pine cones falling from trees which drop cones

the raised truck thing is very popular and the higher the truck, the younger and more inexperienced the driver and when i see these pre-pubes on the road, i get the heck out of the way;)

ps - i propose a new law in california...if you are not showing signs of facial or underarm hair, then you do not deserve a license

LOL!!! You should try Hawaii, where it's possible to get your license at 15 and 2 weeks! Truly a scary place to drive...:rolleyes:

[anastasis]

When you play a Mac OS 9 game, like UT or Descent 3, does it

a) Fill the whole screen stretched

b) Leave black at the sides like older TiBooks

c) Have black margins ALL the way around

?


It still leaves the black lines on the side.

[nagromme]

Quote:
It still leaves the black lines on the side.

Hmmm... ONLY on the sides, no black at top/bottom? If so, Apple's tech docs are wrong, and in this case that is JUST what I want to hear.

Did you have to do anything to get to that mode? Or the games just naturally came up with no black at top/bottom? (Or had you previously applied a hack for these games on an older PowerBook, so that's still working now?)

Many thanks for the reports!

[anastasis]

As far as I remember there were only lines at the sides to fill in the screen. I had everything set to high quality and the resolution was at 1024 x 768, which theoretically should have put lines at the top and bottom. I will have to double check though. I was not using any hacks whatsoever.

[nagromme]

Sounds good so far... the bars at top and bottom would each be 43 pixels--I think you'd have noticed! perhaps Apple needs to update the docs...

[krossfyter]

Originally posted by jefhatfield


so you live in a podunk town, too

i live in a suburb of monterey, ca which would be a completely unknown podunk town too except for the fact that we once made history with the monterey pop festival in 1967 when jimi hendrix burned his guitar

otherwise, nothing has happened here in the 20th century that is of any note

...and we have too many large trucks and SUVs which are not driven by the most skilled drivers

my theory on that is because monterey has 38,000 people and covers a large area, the density is so low that we never had to learn to drive really straight since there was so much elbow room

everybody has at least one dent on their vehicles due to other vehicles being driven by bad drivers, dents from shopping carts in parking lots, or from pine cones falling from trees which drop cones

the raised truck thing is very popular and the higher the truck, the younger and more inexperienced the driver and when i see these pre-pubes on the road, i get the heck out of the way;)

ps - i propose a new law in california...if you are not showing signs of facial or underarm hair, then you do not deserve a license



hey im down with that law. it would make our streets less annoying.

[lou tsee]

can anyone please clear this one up for me:

what g4-types are used in the new pbs?

is it the 7455? on both models? or just on the 800 and
the 667 still using the V'Ger??

thanx for clearing this one....

[AlphaTech]

Anyone happen to know of a utility that will tell you which chip you have??? Gauge Pro can't handle my G4 733MHz (pre-Quicksilver). It gets confused on the chip and speed... go figure.

[Grokgod]

Anastasis~

How and where did you get your powerbook so quickly?
I went to the nearest place in my town that has apples and they said there was a wait! damn.

I am so happy to hear that there isnt a heat issue but i still want to know what chip is being used and if its SOI before I get one!
I refuse to buy a toaster! :)

I would love to hear more about the L3 cache and what kind of difference its making>

Also is the contrast ratio on the new screen better or is it just NITS?

Thanks for all the help and information

[chibianh]

I'm guessing it's the 7455 chip and not the 7445.. the 7445 doesn't support L3 cache.

I can't wait to get mine.. then I can start comparing it to the 550.

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by krossfyter




hey im down with that law. it would make our streets less annoying.

when i got my license at 17, i was a holy terror and so were my friends...it was the hormones baby:D

[anastasis]

Grokgod:

I have been waiting for the next revision to come out. I woke up Monday morning and went straight to the rumor boards before work and I saw that they had been released. Headed to work at 9 and called the Apple Store here in Memphis at 10. Asked them if they were going to be getting some in and the person said that he had no idea when they would be in. I called back an hour later to get someone else and ask them..... they are here. I freaked out and spead over to the store which is only about 5 minutes away. Told them that I wanted one and they went to the back and got one. I was going to test out the 667 to see if it was comporable, trying to save some money, but I thought, what the hell, I am not going to get another computer for another 3-4 years so lets go all out.

So that is my story that should have been only a one sentence reply.

My local Apple Store got them about 2 hours after they were announced.

[eyelikeart]

Originally posted by jefhatfield


when i got my license at 17, i was a holy terror and so were my friends...it was the hormones baby:D

I was 15...

now when I see 15 year olds...there's no way in hell I'd let my 15 year old have a driver's license....

well...if I had a child of my own that is... ;)

[cb911]

does anyone know if the TiBooks have problems with 1GB of RAM. that doesn't sound right, but i just wanted to check.

[agent302]

Originally posted by AlphaTech
Anyone happen to know of a utility that will tell you which chip you have??? Gauge Pro can't handle my G4 733MHz (pre-Quicksilver). It gets confused on the chip and speed... go figure.

If you have the Developer Tools installed, there's a little app called "Reggie" in /Developer/Applications. At the top, it tells me "CPU - 400MHz 750 v2.2," which I believe is the processor in my computer. So, check it out.

[AlphaTech]

Originally posted by agent302


If you have the Developer Tools installed, there's a little app called "Reggie" in /Developer/Applications. At the top, it tells me "CPU - 400MHz 750 v2.2," which I believe is the processor in my computer. So, check it out.

How about something that runs in OS 9.x??? I will give that a try later, on the new TiBook, but I would like something from OS 9 as well. That way, I can run it on any system I come across, since none at work, besides mine, are running OS X at all.

[mcrain]

Originally posted by cb911
does anyone know if the TiBooks have problems with 1GB of RAM. that doesn't sound right, but i just wanted to check.

Powerpage.com had an article the other day which made me a bit (insert 3 stooges voice here:-->) Noivus. So, I asked whether anyone had experienced this problem. Here is the link the story I had read:

http://www.powerpage.org/story.lasso?newsID=8320

[AlphaTech]

well, I have mine too now... and it is sweeeeeet. The new screen resolution is good, any higher and I think things would be too small. I might try attaching my external lcd to it later, via the DVI-VGA adapter and see how it looks. I also look forward to installing all my Mac games onto it. It will be very nice to be able to create gibs in real time once again.

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that the internal speakers sound much better then the rev. a TiBook??

It's the little things that make you smile even wider. :D

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by AlphaTech
well, I have mine too now... and it is sweeeeeet. The new screen resolution is good, any higher and I think things would be too small. I might try attaching my external lcd to it later, via the DVI-VGA adapter and see how it looks. I also look forward to installing all my Mac games onto it. It will be very nice to be able to create gibs in real time once again.

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that the internal speakers sound much better then the rev. a TiBook??

It's the little things that make you smile even wider. :D

Droooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooollllllll...

How hot does it get? I'm going to try to get to the local Apple Store and check out a demo model.

I just can't swing one right now. :(

[AlphaTech]

Originally posted by Rower_CPU


Droooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooollllllll...

How hot does it get? I'm going to try to get to the local Apple Store and check out a demo model.

I just can't swing one right now. :(

Muahahahahahahahahaaaa... I haven't run it too much yet, and I am about to leave the office, so that I can load it up when I get home (after dinner of course). It looks like there is an extra plate on the bottom, near where the processor should be. That might be part of a passive heat exhange system, so that the fan doesn't need to run as much if there is sufficient air flow under it. Fortunately I have one of the powerbook pivot/podium pad thingies that I can use. I intend to game with this sweet puppy very soon (when not on the motorcycle this weekend that is).

I will report more later, so you might want to either get a mop and bucket, several towels, or a spare pair of shorts handy :D

[eyelikeart]

Originally posted by AlphaTech
I will report more later, so you might want to either get a mop and bucket, several towels, or a spare pair of shorts handy :D

settle down beavis!!! :D ;)

[AlphaTech]

Originally posted by eyelikeart


settle down beavis!!! :D ;)

ummmmm... NO!! LMAO!!

I just notice, I have passed the 1400 mark.. cool beans.

Ok butthead... heh heh heeheh...

[eyelikeart]

well then congrats on 1400...he he he :p

[crassusad44]

Why are you all gettin' a new PB 800, and I'm not?????

Unfair!!!!

I still like my DP 800, but I would really like a TiBook to go as well. If I only had the cash.... Oh, well, maybe I'll be braggin' about my new GHz TiBook in six months time.... :) :D (wish, wish, wish, wish)

[agent302]

Originally posted by AlphaTech
well, I have mine too now... and it is sweeeeeet. The new screen resolution is good, any higher and I think things would be too small. I might try attaching my external lcd to it later, via the DVI-VGA adapter and see how it looks. I also look forward to installing all my Mac games onto it. It will be very nice to be able to create gibs in real time once again.

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that the internal speakers sound much better then the rev. a TiBook??

It's the little things that make you smile even wider. :D

Very cool. Mine is at a Fedex facility in Taiwan right now... so a little more waiting for me. Did you check to see what CPU is in it?

[King Cobra]

For some reason, Apple seems to have a new high price on their Powerbook products. I thought Apple was doing nicely with their $3000 maximum price products. But Apple jacked up the price on the Rev. C powerbooks?

Why would that happen?
__________________

Any time is a great time for iPod.

[AlphaTech]

Originally posted by King Cobra
For some reason, Apple seems to have a new high price on their Powerbook products. I thought Apple was doing nicely with their $3000 maximum price products. But Apple jacked up the price on the Rev. C powerbooks?

Why would that happen?
__________________

Any time is a great time for iPod.

It all depends on where you buy it :D... I got mine for $1500 when I traded in my Rev. A (with 512MB/20GB and AppleCare plan). They even knocked a few $$ off the base station price, but I still get the $100 rebate. :D

[AlphaTech]

Originally posted by agent302


Very cool. Mine is at a Fedex facility in Taiwan right now... so a little more waiting for me. Did you check to see what CPU is in it?

I haven't installed the dev tools yet... I would prefer it if I didn't have to install all that just for the one tool. I will probably do that later, or during the week (if I get a lull in the work load). We just got a shipment of RAM in today, which will keep me busy for about a week total. I will have to arrange with the users that are getting the extra memory to make sure I dodn't interrupt their work too much. Besides which, it will give me a chance to install some updates, and run all the utilities.

One thing of note. When I was picking up my Rev C TiBook, I was told by the tech there (also Apple Certified :D ) that it is a good idea to run Speed Disk as soon as possible on the drive. Seems that they have seen heavy fragmentation on drives right from Apple. Optimized drives do give better performance, in both OS 9.x and OS X. Just ask eyelikeart. :D

[jaykk]

Alpha, can you name any of the online selllers where I can trade-in my old powerbook? if the prize is right, i may trade-in my Ti 550Mhz for an 800 Mhz

[Rower_CPU]

Yes! More info on the trade-in please! :D

[Grokgod]

I want to buy one of these Ti boks but not one that runs hot like the 667
Come on ALPHA give us the heat and chip story!

[AlphaTech]

Try calling these guys... http://www.computerloft.com/ that is where I got mine today.

Now I need to decide if I leave the 40GB drive inside the TiBook, or put the 60GB back in.

[britboy]

I just received the latest ADC newsletter from apple. It included a link with more details about the new tibook. Anyway, one of the links in there was this one (http://e-www.motorola.com/webapp/sps/site/taxonomy.jsp?nodeId=01M98653).

Judging from that, The processor being used is either the 7450 or the 7451. It can't be the 7455, as that one doesn't run at 667Mhz.

Still a 50/50, but it narrows the possibilities down.

[agent302]

Originally posted by britboy
I just received the latest ADC newsletter from apple. It included a link with more details about the new tibook. Anyway, one of the links in there was this one (http://e-www.motorola.com/webapp/sps/site/taxonomy.jsp?nodeId=01M98653).

Judging from that, The processor being used is either the 7450 or the 7451. It can't be the 7455, as that one doesn't run at 667Mhz.

Still a 50/50, but it narrows the possibilities down.

Could be a downclocked 733 mhz 7455.

Alpha: I take it then that the dev tools are not preinstalled. Are they at least included on a CD?

[AlphaTech]

agent302, doesn't look like it. I have them on the cd that came with the retail version of OS X (10.1) that has the dev tools on it.

I was down for a bit, since I wanted to try putting my 60GB drive into the new TiBook. It didn't work too well. I guess they did something different where it caused a kernal panic when I put the old drive in. I put the one that came with it in, and it booted up just fine. Oh well. I will be getting an enclosure this coming week to give me access to the 60GB drive as external storage. I will probably strip the OS off it it then, and use the files that are on it as I need to. I just need to find my college bud's email address so that I can get him to icq me.

[Grokgod]

So, I would love to hear more about heating issues and speed from you on the Tibook.
Puhlease!~

Anastasis, if your out there, Please help with more information on these subjects.

!, Heating and fan, any more info you can share any idea what chip it is.

2. Speed, does it more along nicely or the usual kinda beachball.

3. Screen, much brighter, clearer wider angles of viewing?

4. Video caard seem fast or same , any render tests?

The store in my area is getting two units in this week and I want to buy one
but the heat issue and fan noise is really something i want to hear about.

[AlphaTech]

Grokgod,

I think I heard the fan briefly, since that is the only thing that faint noise could have been. I could barely hear it, which is a serious shift from my rev a.

The screen is brighter and much, much crisper then my rev a, with none of the issues that plagued my rev a (people might remember the thread I had running when I had to send it to Apple the first time).

Startup speed is much, much faster then my 500MHz was.

I will be installing more onto my new TiBook over the weekend, and will give more info as I can. I will see about installing the dev tools at some point, along with as many games as I have time for. I want to run some in both OS 9.x and OS X, when possible. I will also be installing my graphics apps so that I have them available. I especially look forward to being able to scan with my new TiBook, since I haven't since I sold my tower.

[Grokgod]

I am pleased to hear the good news.
I take it that since the fan isnt turning on much, that the base of the Ti isnt getting all that hot?
Installing graphic apps, I take it that means photoshop?
Would love to hear some information on speed during this test!

Happy to hear that the screen is brighter, I was always shocked buy the dim
screen on the older 667.
I hope that the viewing angle is 160 like the desktop units.