How does the G4 1GHz processor compare?

[lazymuoio]

I'm switching to mac and i have a question about processor speed. How does the speed of a 1GHz G4 processor compare to that of a Pentium 4 2.4 GHz processor?

[invaLPsion]

I'm switching to mac and i have a question about processor speed. How does the speed of a 1GHz G4 processor compare to that of a Pentium 4 2.4 GHz processor?

Does the 2.4GHz P4 have a 533MHz FSB or 800MHz FSB? What applications do you want to compare? :confused:

[javabear90]

well it gets schooled in most cases :( It does fine in almost everything though, it'll run UT2K4 decently, However why are you looking at a 1 ghz processor, I bought one 2 1/2 years ago.

[lazymuoio]

800Mhz FSB and i just want to compare basic apps like word prosessors and Instant messengers and other basics, 1Ghz becasue im looking at new ibooks

[invaLPsion]

800Mhz FSB and i just want to compare basic apps like word prosessors and Instant messengers and other basics, 1Ghz becasue im looking at new ibooks

Well if you are comparing basic apps like that the differences will be minute, almost unnoticeable, we're talking 1-3 seconds. The P4 2.4 will be faster, but the 1GHz G4 will do just fine.

[Horrortaxi]

800Mhz FSB and i just want to compare basic apps like word prosessors and Instant messengers and other basics, 1Ghz becasue im looking at new ibooks
For those kinds of things a G3 233 will get you by. A 1ghz G4 is plenty. More than enough. Overkill for basic stuff.

Comparing Pentium and PPC processor speeds is more complicated than just looking at which number is higher. Personally, I'm a believer in the megahertz myth, which states that a bigger number doesn't necessarily mean faster. Speed isn't the most important thing in the world though. You can do more on a slower computer that's stable than on a faster one that isn't.

[dbauer]

This may or may not be what you are looking for but one app I use on both platforms is iTunes. When I import from a CD I look at the import rate that I get from my 2.0Ghz IBM Thinkpad T30 (Pentium M) and the rate I get from my G4 1Ghz PowerMac.

T30 = 8-9x
G4 = 11-12x

This is importing the CD into AAC 128kbs so you results may vary. I have 512MB of RAM in both. Importing is a pure CPU intensive operation so I believe this to be a good indication of processor speed although I guess the CDROM could be a factor as well. I don't think it is in this case because the T30 uses a 16x DVD drive and the G4 uses a 52X CDRW. Transfer rates should be similar for both.

As for the other apps, you shouldn't notice much difference but if you do, its going to be when you have multiple apps open at the same time. My Thinkpad chokes much quicker than my G4 but it also has a slower HDD, but so will the iBook. As a comparision, my wife has a G3 900 iBook and she never complains about slowdowns. Of course she is just happy that the thing wakes from sleep instantly and has never had a problem. To her that is more important than if the web browser comes up in 3 or 4 seconds. I wish I could say the same for my Thinkpad, but work provided it so I can't really complain.

[madmaxmedia]

This may or may not be what you are looking for but one app I use on both platforms is iTunes. When I import from a CD I look at the import rate that I get from my 2.0Ghz IBM Thinkpad T30 (Pentium M) and the rate I get from my G4 1Ghz PowerMac.

T30 = 8-9x
G4 = 11-12x


Well, all such tests have limitations anyway, so that's a pretty interesting one. Ripping CD's is probably the most CPU intensive task a 'typical' user might do. I guess the question is whether the Mac iTunes has more efficient code than the Windows iTunes, I'm going to assume from your results that there is.

The reason I assume so is that the comparison is between a 2.0 Ghz Pentium M and a 1 Ghz G4 (if I have my nomenclature right- is yours a 'Centrino'?) The Pentium M processors run at lower clockspeeds, but are as fast as higher clockspeed regular Pentium 4 CPU's.

[quote]Though their clock speeds are lower than desktop processors, they give higher Instructions per Cycle. This ensures that a 1.6 GHz Pentium M delivers performance comparable to a 2.4 GHz Pentium 4. /[quote]

(from here (http://www.pcquest.com/content/topstories/wireless/103081104.asp))

If the iTunes ripping was equally efficient on both platforms, it would suggest that your 1 Ghz G4 is approximately equal to a ~3 Ghz Pentium 4! (of course there are other hardware considerations like RAM, etc.)

I think a 3rd party software comparison would be very interesting as well, like a Photoshop filter. I know this stuff is all over the web, but it's particularly interesting here because I would like an iBook as well! ;-)

[locovaca]

This may or may not be what you are looking for but one app I use on both platforms is iTunes. When I import from a CD I look at the import rate that I get from my 2.0Ghz IBM Thinkpad T30 (Pentium M) and the rate I get from my G4 1Ghz PowerMac.

T30 = 8-9x
G4 = 11-12x

This is importing the CD into AAC 128kbs so you results may vary. I have 512MB of RAM in both. Importing is a pure CPU intensive operation so I believe this to be a good indication of processor speed although I guess the CDROM could be a factor as well. I don't think it is in this case because the T30 uses a 16x DVD drive and the G4 uses a 52X CDRW. Transfer rates should be similar for both.

As for the other apps, you shouldn't notice much difference but if you do, its going to be when you have multiple apps open at the same time. My Thinkpad chokes much quicker than my G4 but it also has a slower HDD, but so will the iBook. As a comparision, my wife has a G3 900 iBook and she never complains about slowdowns. Of course she is just happy that the thing wakes from sleep instantly and has never had a problem. To her that is more important than if the web browser comes up in 3 or 4 seconds. I wish I could say the same for my Thinkpad, but work provided it so I can't really complain.

The easiest way to eliminate the CDROM variable is to rip to wave and then encode it from your hdd. The hard drive will most certainly not be a bottleneck and you will know for certain.

To answer the original question, you won't really notice a difference between the two systems you've suggested (depending on the difference between RAM/HDD speed, which is always more important than CPU speed). Web sites, Java, Word, they'll all feel the same speed on both- just fine. It's kind of like what they're saying about dieting now- you shouldn't weigh yourself every day and go by that, but rather judge your progress on how you feel and your appearance. You'll always be able to find some benchmark which makes one platform better than the other.