Speed difference between PC and Mac [Archive]

chameeeleon

Mar 2, 2004, 05:49 PM

jxyama

Mar 2, 2004, 06:15 PM

Right now I have a PC desktop that runs at 1.8 Ghz, with 768 MB of RAM. I'm looking into getting the 12" Powerbook Superdrive model with the RAM upgraded to 512 MB to compliment/replace my PC. However I'm wondering about its 1 Ghz speed. I read somewhere before that an 800 Mhz Mac was able to outpace a 1.5 Ghz PC, but is this the case in this instance - would the Powerbook feel slower, faster or about the same as my PC (I would be occassionally using Garageband, iMovie and iDVD but not enough to need the G5 I don't think)?

honestly, these questions come up a lot and the problem is that the question is kind of off base. first of all, running garageband, iMovie and iDVD - none of which are available for windows - how would you know if your PB is slower than your PC? it's also a completely different OS - and snappiness of the OS interface has very little to do with the processor speed.

that said, 1 GHz PB should run any apps you throw at it well. it won't be as fast as a G5, but i'd imagine you won't have much complaints coming from a 1.8 GHz PC.

abhishekit

Mar 2, 2004, 06:19 PM

yah..it all depends upon what you are running..if those apps are optimized for mac or not..you may find that some games wont be as good,...but leave games aside,,,in general for everyday tasks, it would be delightfully fast...
and anyways you can never replace the desktop power by a laptop..atleast not at present

cheers

richland

Mar 2, 2004, 06:26 PM

and anyways you can never replace the desktop power by a laptop..atleast not at present

cheers

Hi all, first post on this site :D

Just wanted to say of course you can, atleast on the x86 side.

abhishekit

Mar 2, 2004, 06:32 PM

Hi all, first post on this site :D

Just wanted to say of course you can, atleast on the x86 side.
welcome man....
yah u can replace on the x86 side,,but with big bulky revolting things called inspiron xps....thats more of a misplacement than replacement :D

Steven1621

Mar 2, 2004, 08:19 PM

welcome man....
yah u can replace on the x86 side,,but with big bulky revolting things called inspiron xps....thats more of a misplacement than replacement :D

ditto on that one. you can get an alienware that weighs almost 13 pounds that will have the power of a desktop AND you can work on your biceps while carrying it around.

apple is one of the best computer makers to combine speed with size. I would say the 1 GHz will be comparable, but be sure to up the RAM to what you have in your desktop. the real allure to apple isn't so much the power, but the ease of use.

richland

Mar 2, 2004, 08:26 PM

ditto on that one. you can get an alienware that weighs almost 13 pounds that will have the power of a desktop AND you can work on your biceps while carrying it around.

Nice, my girlfriend uses about that weight to work out her arms :D

You really don't know alienware though. Not all of their laptops are 13 pounds. You can get a top speed centrino that weighs in at 4.9 pounds and last over 5 hours :)

Stelliform

Mar 2, 2004, 10:15 PM

As a PC tech who switched, I have to say for general use, OS X feels much faster than a PC. Every once in a while there is a hang that doesn't make sense to a PC user, but surfing, checking mail, word all load faster and switch quicker on a lower Mhz Mac than on a faster PC. (Now a clean install of 2000/XP would be faster, but an install that is 6+ months old with a few critical updates on it is much more sluggish.) ...

Steven1621

Mar 2, 2004, 11:07 PM

Nice, my girlfriend uses about that weight to work out her arms :D

You really don't know alienware though. Not all of their laptops are 13 pounds. You can get a top speed centrino that weighs in at 4.9 pounds and last over 5 hours :)

the alienware centrino is a fine machine. i base my comment on my friend who lugs his desktop replacement around school all the day. he has one shoulder that has a permanant indent in it. he should have listened when i said get the centrino...

LethalWolfe

Mar 3, 2004, 01:00 AM

richland

Mar 3, 2004, 01:31 AM

Yeah, but that 4.9 pound centrino isn't going to out pace a top of the line desktop.

Lethal

True, but it will outpace a 2.6 p4, which is fast enough to be a desktop replacement.

Opteron

Mar 3, 2004, 01:39 AM

True, but it will outpace a 2.6 p4, which is fast enough to be a desktop replacement.

If you want true laptop power, get an AMD 64 mobile based system.

Dippo

Mar 3, 2004, 09:28 PM

True, but it will outpace a 2.6 p4, which is fast enough to be a desktop replacement.

If this is true, what is the clock speed of the Centrio?

I know it isn't 2.6Ghz!
(I think they max out at 1.7Ghz)

So if an intel can make a x86 chip at lower clock speed that can do as much as a 2.6Ghz desktop chip, then just think how much a RISC processor can do at 800Mhz!

richland

Mar 3, 2004, 09:37 PM

If this is true, what is the clock speed of the Centrio?

I know it isn't 2.6Ghz!
(I think they max out at 1.7Ghz)

So if an intel can make a x86 chip at lower clock speed that can do as much as a 2.6Ghz desktop chip, then just think how much a RISC processor can do at 800Mhz!

Huh?

macktheknife

Mar 3, 2004, 10:04 PM

You can read a full review of Centrino here (http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.html?i=1800&p=1).

If this is true, what is the clock speed of the Centrio?

I know it isn't 2.6Ghz!
(I think they max out at 1.7Ghz)

So if an intel can make a x86 chip at lower clock speed that can do as much as a 2.6Ghz desktop chip, then just think how much a RISC processor can do at 800Mhz!
here (http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.html?i=1800&p=1)

Westside guy

Mar 4, 2004, 12:25 AM

I've got a 15" Powerbook 1.25GHz w/ 512MB RAM (my first Mac). We've also got a 2.4GHz Dell desktop box w/ 256MB RAM running Windows XP and Red Hat Linux. This Powerbook doesn't "feel" any slower - I'm sure if there were a good way to benchmark it would probably test out somewhat slower than the Dell, but that's not really the point here IMO. Apps seem just as snappy on this machine as on XP. Also, OS X does a noticeably better job managing multiple open apps than XP; to some degree this is due to the extra RAM, but XP really lags in this area compared to RH Linux as well.

I don't think you're gonna feel the difference, really. Probably some apps you're familiar with will seem faster on OS X, while others will feel faster on XP - but that has more to do with the skills of the programmers, methinks.

Opteron

Mar 4, 2004, 07:43 AM

Yeah, but that 4.9 pound centrino isn't going to out pace a top of the line desktop.

Lethal

Then again neither is any apple laptop.

If you want to feel the power get an AMD 64-bit mobile processor based laptop.
If you want something to show off at the local coffe shop, surf the web do some image editing... get a Power book.

Me though I don't like laptops, more trouble than they're worth in my opinion.

Mantat

Mar 4, 2004, 09:55 AM

I have the exact model that you want and let me tell you that its fast enough for 95% of the things I do. My only speed related complains are about Garage band and FCE but I guess it's 'normal' since these apps need a lot of power.

Office is a little bit slow but its more related to the MS port than the machine. With the coming of a native Mac version, I guess it will be superfast. And you can always use openOffice which is very fast once started.

The ability of the PB to use dual screen is a real plus and make sure that you buy a 19" monitor for the times you use it as a desktop. Aiport card is also nice, you will be surprised at the number of wireless network in you area!

Finaly, the real speed gain for the mac is more related to the workflow: less downtime, inspiring GUI and hardware and no virus (2 new critical virus for windows this week alone...). Since I got my mac, I can feel that I am more productive and my relation to computer is less painfull...

Good luck with the switch!

blackfox

Mar 4, 2004, 11:01 AM

You didn't mention anything else about your PC system...the processor is not everything...what hurts the PB line so much is the age of the system architecture...I am sure your PC has a bus faster than 167(which is what I think the PB has)...If I were you, I'd wait for a PB revision...you may not get a G5 PB(especially w/ the 12"), but I would think Apple will soon address this performance limitation, even if they stayed w/ a G4 only marginally faster...a PB w/ even a 333-400 bus speed would be very fast for a laptop...probably best your PC for sure...that said, current PB run very respectable, not as fast as your PC desktop, but fast enough not to annoy...I would wait till the summer and see, but good luck w/whatever you decide...

1macker1

Mar 4, 2004, 12:27 PM

I have a 800Mhz iMac, and it's plenty fast. I never have any problems with speed. iDvD is the only program where you will see lag, but i haven't bought the new iLife package, they might have improved on that issue.
Right now I have a PC desktop that runs at 1.8 Ghz, with 768 MB of RAM. I'm looking into getting the 12" Powerbook Superdrive model with the RAM upgraded to 512 MB to compliment/replace my PC. However I'm wondering about its 1 Ghz speed. I read somewhere before that an 800 Mhz Mac was able to outpace a 1.5 Ghz PC, but is this the case in this instance - would the Powerbook feel slower, faster or about the same as my PC (I would be occassionally using Garageband, iMovie and iDVD but not enough to need the G5 I don't think)?
But i really dont think a PB laptop can keep up with your PC desktop. Neither could a PC laptop keep up with a desktop Mac.

jxyama

Mar 4, 2004, 12:43 PM

If I were you, I'd wait for a PB revision...you may not get a G5 PB(especially w/ the 12"), but I would think Apple will soon address this performance limitation, even if they stayed w/ a G4 only marginally faster...a PB w/ even a 333-400 bus speed would be very fast for a laptop...

don't hold your breath on it... there's a reason even G4 PowerMac never got faster than 166 MHz on the bus...

unless PB goes G5, bus won't get any faster than it is now.