TiBook G4 1 Ghz Vs. AlBook G4 1 Ghz

[fiercetiger224]

Is there any difference in speed and performance between the TiBook G4 1 Ghz and AlBook G4 1 Ghz?

Which has better value in the end?

I need to know before my sister decides to buy PowerBook G4......She wants me to do all the research :o I already have a Aluminum PowerBook G4 and she fell in love with the slick "Apple-ness" of it......

Yet......I've gotten another user to switch to Apple. :D

________________________________________________________________

Power Mac G4 Sawtooth 450 Mhz, 1 MB L2 Cache, 640 MB RAM
iBook G3 600 Mhz, 256K L2 Cache, 384 MB RAM
Aluminum PowerBook G4 1 Ghz, 512K L2 Cache, 768 MB RAM

[MacAztec]

Heres a comparison.

TiBook: L3 Cache, Cheaper...

AluBook: Stronger, no paint chipping, better airport reception, backlit keyboard, faster combo drive, brighter screen, airport extreme, firewire 2, USB 2, etc.

Get the AluBook.

[Opteron]

Al book has a better graphics chip.

[oingoboingo]

Is there any difference in speed and performance between the TiBook G4 1 Ghz and AlBook G4 1 Ghz?

Which has better value in the end?

I need to know before my sister decides to buy PowerBook G4......She wants me to do all the research :o I already have a Aluminum PowerBook G4 and she fell in love with the slick "Apple-ness" of it......


Wow, I seem to be re-pasting this December 2003 MacWorld article set of benchmarks a lot recently :-). It compares the 1GHz 12" AlBook, the 1GHz 15" AlBook, the 1.25GHz 15" AlBook, the 1.33GHz 17" AlBook, the 1.0GHz 17" AlBook, and finally the 1GHz 15" TiBook (phew).

Here they are:

SpeedMark 3.2 Overall Score (700MHz G4 eMac = 100, higher is better):
12" PB G4/1GHz: 142
15" PB G4/1GHz: 138
15" PB G4/1.25GHz: 159
17" PB G4/1.33GHz: 161
15" TiBook G4/1GHz: 144
17" PB G4/1Ghz: 143

Photoshop 7.0.1 Suite (time elapsed, lower is better):
12" PB G4/1GHz: 0:56s
15" PB G4/1GHz: 0:52s
15" PB G4/1.25GHz: 0:43s
17" PB G4/1.33GHz: 0:42s
15" TiBook G4/1GHz: 0:53s
17" PB G4/1Ghz: 0:53s

iMovie 2.1.2 Render (time elapsed, lower is better):
12" PB G4/1GHz: 0:53s
15" PB G4/1GHz: 0:52s
15" PB G4/1.25GHz: 0:43s
17" PB G4/1.33GHz: 0:41s
15" TiBook G4/1GHz: 0:51s
17" PB G4/1Ghz: 0:50s

iTunes MP3 encode (time elapsed, lower is better):
12" PB G4/1GHz: 0:45s
15" PB G4/1GHz: 0:43s
15" PB G4/1.25GHz: 0:35s
17" PB G4/1.33GHz: 0:33s
15" TiBook G4/1GHz: 0:42s
17" PB G4/1Ghz: 0:43s

Quake III frame rate (higher is better):
12" PB G4/1GHz: 64
15" PB G4/1GHz: 73
15" PB G4/1.25GHz: 86
17" PB G4/1.33GHz: 89
15" TiBook G4/1GHz: 74
17" PB G4/1Ghz: 79

Cinema 4D XL 7.303 3D Render (time elapsed, lower is better):
12" PB G4/1GHz: 7:00m
15" PB G4/1GHz: 6:54m
15" PB G4/1.25GHz: 5:33m
17" PB G4/1.33GHz: 5:12m
15" TiBook G4/1GHz: 6:55m
17" PB G4/1Ghz: 7:20m

MPEG-2 encode (time elapsed, lower is better):
12" PB G4/1GHz: 14:45m
15" PB G4/1GHz: 13:59m
15" PB G4/1.25GHz: 12:30m
17" PB G4/1.33GHz: 12:14m
15" TiBook G4/1GHz: 16:58m
17" PB G4/1Ghz: 14:09m

So as you can see from this set of benchmarks, there are some fairly minimal performance differences between the old 15" TiBook and the new 15" AlBook at the same CPU speed. The only major difference seems to be in the MPEG-2 encoding test where the TiBook lags all the other PowerBooks by quite a margin. I don't know enough about MPEG-2 encoding to explain this...a difference in hard drive speed maybe? All the testing was performed by Macworld with the systems configured to 512MB RAM and OS X 10.2.7.

Advantages of the new 15" AlBook over the older 15" TiBook are:
- You can't buy a new TiBook anymore :-), so you're going to be scouring eBay for one, which may or may not be under warranty.
- FireWire 800 port
- USB 2.0 ports
- Improved AirPort reception
- AirPort Extreme support
- Bluetooth support is standard
- 64MB Radeon 9600 (much improved 3D performance over old Radeon 9000)
- Backlit keyboard option
- larger hard drives available pre-installed from Apple

I'm not sure how battery life compares between the TiBook and the AlBook, but with a TiBook you will be getting a 2nd hand battery anyway and its charge holding capacity may already be reduced.

[Counterfit]

The L2 cache on the Alu is also twice as big and runs at the processor speed, so the CPU itself is faster too.

[0s and 1s]

Looking at the results, maybe I should have saved some more for the 1.25ghz 15" PB. I didn't think my 1ghz 15" PB would be THAT slow. :(

[wordmunger]

One reason to go for the TiBook over the AluBook: it's lighter--by about a half-pound, I think.

[krisjon]

One reason to go for the TiBook over the AluBook: it's lighter--by about a half-pound, I think.

But a half-pound vs. performance gains and all of the newer technology standards that can add years of use to a laptop in the future, i.e. USB 2.0, Firewire 800, etc...it's no contest.

[wordmunger]

But a half-pound vs. performance gains and all of the newer technology standards that can add years of use to a laptop in the future, i.e. USB 2.0, Firewire 800, etc...it's no contest.

Spoken like a true 17-inch PowerBook user ;)

[krisjon]

Spoken like a true 17-inch PowerBook user ;)

Haha...I guess you hit that one on the nose, but you know I'm not really wrong. :D

[jxyama]

Ti is a bit thinner too... you can still get refurbs with full apple warranty. (they were available last i checked...)

unless 15" screen is a must, i'd get 12" PB instead of 15" Ti, if money is an overwhelming concern...