Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

PowerBook 12" 1.5Ghz and Leopard

PMR

PMR

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 29, 2007
324
8
Portugal (Google it)
Hi guys. I just want to post a quick question before an OS upgrade.
I've been searching the web for this and I just found some old info regarding 10.5 and 10.5.1

I have 3 macs and never tried a PPC one with Leopard.
So, does anyone here runs a 12" PB 1.5Ghz (or less) with 1.25GB of ram with 10.5.4? How does it run? A lot slower than Tiger? Problems with core image? Is Java slower? Scrolling through pages is a pain in the neck? Will the ram be enough for some PS and LightRoom? Should I expect lags in finder?

Again, I did a lot of research but the posts where from 10.5 and 10.5.1 and I'd like to hear recent information.

Thanks a lot for any input!
 
Vulcan

Vulcan

macrumors 65816
Jul 17, 2008
1,167
0
Pittsburgh, PA
I have Leopard on a Rev. A 15" PowerBook, 512MB RAM, 1 GHz Processor, and it is slower than Tiger, but considering you got a faster processor and more RAM, you should be fine.
 
alphaod

alphaod

macrumors Core
Feb 9, 2008
22,183
1,245
NYC
Not as fast of Tiger, but it works. It lags when it plays flash videos, but that may not be the OS.
 
CaptainChunk

CaptainChunk

macrumors 68020
Apr 16, 2008
2,142
6
Phoenix, AZ
I have an old 12" 1.5GHz that I still run 10.4.11 on and even that feels slow with newer applications and web-based media. Personally, I'd avoid Leopard on a G4 because it would only make things even slower.
 
panzer06

panzer06

macrumors 68040
Sep 23, 2006
3,282
229
Kilrath
CaptainChunk said:
I have an old 12" 1.5GHz that I still run 10.4.11 on and even that feels slow with newer applications and web-based media. Personally, I'd avoid Leopard on a G4 because it would only make things even slower.
Click to expand...

Just installed Leopard on the PB 1.33 12" and for general web browsing it's fine. For everything else its slower. Someone said I can turn off some of the glitzy graphics features to speed it up. Opening Word took longer but was fine once I was in.

I will keep playing around and let you know.

Cheers,
 
jaysinnva

jaysinnva

macrumors member
Aug 16, 2008
36
0
I had 10.5.3 on a 12" 1.5 with 1.25GB and it ran without a problem. Sure it wasn't screaming fast, but it never stuttered or locked up either.
 
M

mandojeremy

macrumors newbie
Dec 24, 2007
17
0
Mine is fine

I have the exact setup you are inquiring about and I installed Leopard at the beginning of this year and honestly can't tell if it's any slower than Tiger. Some things actually feel a little quicker to me but I really can't remember how well Tiger ran now. I can only say that I wasn't disappointed at all after the upgrade and I wouldn't switch back to Tiger. I say go for it.
 
California

California

macrumors 68040
Aug 21, 2004
3,885
90
Have the same 12" with a 250gb hd and superdrive and maxed 1.25gb ram.

I disabled Dashboard with Onyx while I still had it on Tiger.

Runs pretty great. Ran it as a desktop with Leopard with a 23" ACD, too.

JUST WISH WE COULD STUFF 2gigs of ram in those 12" powerbooks.

I just HAPPENED to read today that the 1.33ghz iBook G4 is the SAME LOGIC board as the 12" powerbook.

Guess what the difference is?

The 1.33ghz iBook logic board has 512mb of ram soldered in.

The 1.5ghz logic board for the powerbooks only has 256mb ram soldered in.

This is a project i want to figure out. How to get 1.5gigs of ram on a 12" powerbook!
 
PMR

PMR

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 29, 2007
324
8
Portugal (Google it)
Thanks for the input guys.

Leopard up and running with no slow downs! (maybe with a stopwatch I could see some) But it's a good trade since I missed some features that Tiger couldn't offer.

Ps: I just feel like taking a crap at Adobe's door (flash division offices)
Are you with me? :D
 
Mattym62

Mattym62

macrumors regular
Nov 27, 2003
237
74
Palm Beach, FL
I have a 12" Powerbook G4 1.5ghz with 1.25GB ram , 60GB HD and im running leopard 10.5.5. My laptop runs quickly and smoothly no problems. I am about to buy the scorpio 250GB HD for it.
Any questions, feel free to PM me
-Matt
 
E

Eddyisgreat

macrumors 601
Oct 24, 2007
4,851
2
PMR said:
Ps: I just feel like taking a crap at Adobe's door (flash division offices)
Click to expand...

Don't worry about getting to San Jose. Most of the Macromedia operations are still in San Francisco. Good luck getting into the building without an escort.

Besides, even Apple is supposedly dumping the powerpc architecture (for snow leopard). You can't expect legacy support forever :p
 
California

California

macrumors 68040
Aug 21, 2004
3,885
90
alphaod said:
Replace the soldered chips with higher density ones.
Click to expand...
Is this really possible?

Theoretically, could I pull the soldered 256mb chip off a 1.5ghz Powerbook Logic Board and replace it with a 1 gig chip of ram?


Anyone with a 12" Powerbook, I highly recommend getting the WD 250gb hard drive. It is just as fast as my previous 100gb 7200rpm hard drive.
 
alphaod

alphaod

macrumors Core
Feb 9, 2008
22,183
1,245
NYC
California said:
Is this really possible?

Theoretically, could I pull the soldered 256mb chip off a 1.5ghz Powerbook Logic Board and replace it with a 1 gig chip of ram?
Click to expand...

Well the issue is not theoretical, but rather technical. First you need to get the higher density chips in a quad flat package; then you need a hot air soldering kit to actually remove the old chips and put on the new ones without destroying the rest of the computer. Of course the biggest hurdle would be getting the computer to recognize the new chips. It's possible the original capacity is programmed into the old motherboard and all the memory preset to 1.25GB only.
 
ayeying

ayeying

macrumors 601
Dec 5, 2007
4,547
13
Yay Area, CA
California said:
Is this really possible?

Theoretically, could I pull the soldered 256mb chip off a 1.5ghz Powerbook Logic Board and replace it with a 1 gig chip of ram?


Anyone with a 12" Powerbook, I highly recommend getting the WD 250gb hard drive. It is just as fast as my previous 100gb 7200rpm hard drive.
Click to expand...

It's possible but its a hassle and really not worth your time. I have a friend who works for a OEM memory company and she said it was incredibly hard to remove the chip and replace with higher density. Not to mention the reprogramming of the little chip on the memory to recognize the higher density/telling it how to use it.
 
California

California

macrumors 68040
Aug 21, 2004
3,885
90
It's a matter of the best form factor I've ever seen in an Apple Laptop.

I love the 12" PB.

I suppose someone smart tech could figure it out, a thousand dollars later. All I can say is it sucks that the 12" PB only maxes out at 1.25 gbs of ram.

Since it is the same logic board as the 1.33ghz 12" ibook, which DOES have 512mb instead of 256mb soldered onto the board, might be interesting to see if someone could solder 1 gig onto the board.

Might be a fun waste of some bucks. But where to find the tech to do it?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom