ibook g4 vs powerbook g4

[adamj575]

I have recently bought a 27 inch imac but found that even with the imac and my ipad i missed having a true laptop....i found a good deal on an ibook g4 (85.99 shipped on ebay) its a last gen 1.33 ghz with 1 gb of ram the 12 inch model....and actually im really enjoying it but was curious how much better a last gen powerbook g4 would perform in relation to the ibook....i like the 12 inch form factor but could possibly lean towards a 15 inch....

[76ShovelHead]

Keep your iBook. Those powerbooks/early macbook pros really show their age. My iBook is A LOT nicer than the intel macbook pro I was working on today.

[AQUADock]

Originally Posted by 76ShovelHead

Keep your iBook. Those powerbooks/early macbook pros really show their age. My iBook is A LOT nicer than the intel macbook pro I was working on today.

How so? Powerbooks generally are more powerful than iBooks.

[Zotaccian]

Backlit keyboard is one obvious benefit of PowerBooks. Aluminium case is also nice.

That iBook model you have has two finger scrolling enabled (it was present with some previous models also, Apple just disabled it) and it has graphics card with Core Image support like later PowerBooks, the graphics card is of course slower on the iBook but in basic use it does not matter. G4 is too slow to fully benefit from Radeon 9700's performance anyway, I once tried to play Quake 4 on PowerBook with 1.67GHz and 9700 128MB. It was pain.

In today's word G4 is considered as low performance processor so I think it does not matter that much whether or not you have 1.33Ghz or 1.67Ghz G4, later is of course faster but not noticeably. It was not a long time ago when I had iBook 1.33GHz and now I have 1.67GHz PowerBook.

15" PowerBook has better display resolution than iBook has, quite obviously, especially if it is the last generation which has 1400 x 900 or something like that, while earlier model like mine has 1280 x 850 or something.

DDR2 memory of last PowerBooks does not bring any performance advantage since the processor can only utilize 167MHz so even DDR333MHz is more than enough, last PowerBook models had 533MHz DDR2 RAM. The only benefit is that 1GB DDR2 533 sticks are generally cheaper than 1GB DDR 333 -sticks. With the iBook maximum ram is 1.5GB (only one slot and 512MB is built in) and with PowerBook it is 2GB.

[seveej]

Originally Posted by adamj575

I have recently bought a 27 inch imac but found that even with the imac and my ipad i missed having a true laptop....i found a good deal on an ibook g4 (85.99 shipped on ebay) its a last gen 1.33 ghz with 1 gb of ram the 12 inch model....and actually im really enjoying it but was curious how much better a last gen powerbook g4 would perform in relation to the ibook....i like the 12 inch form factor but could possibly lean towards a 15 inch....

The last gen Powerbooks would somewhat outperform the iBook - that should not come as a surprise. OTOH, by today's standards both are slow. Considering that you have the iBook, I'd keep it (unless you stumble on a good deal on a last gen 15" or 12").

RGDS,

[76ShovelHead]

Originally Posted by AQUADock

How so? Powerbooks generally are more powerful than iBooks.

Yes, they do come with a speed bump, but I'm kind of biased to the polycarbonate white iBooks/Macbooks

[adamj575]

Yeah, I keep an eye on some auctions on the bay... I'm really drawn to the ones with the original box and accessories...even though I know they're used and old as hell...I guess my main question is would a last gen 12 or 15 inch be speedier in general like moving around the os, launching apps, better for YouTube,and just general performance...I will not be doing any real work other than word processing on these machines...

[rjcalifornia]

Originally Posted by 76ShovelHead

Yes, they do come with a speed bump, but I'm kind of biased to the polycarbonate white iBooks/Macbooks

Second that. There's just something about having a 'white' apple laptop.

Ok, back to the topic. Keep the iBook. The Powerbooks are more powerful than an ibook, but the G4 processor is quite fast.

Keep in mind that iBooks/PowerBooks are faster and more powerful than netbooks, and there soooo many of them. G4 are just so underrated, like Maroon 5, very underrated but they are a totally awesome band.

[skateny]

Originally Posted by adamj575

Yeah, I keep an eye on some auctions on the bay... I'm really drawn to the ones with the original box and accessories...even though I know they're used and old as hell...I guess my main question is would a last gen 12 or 15 inch be speedier in general like moving around the os, launching apps, better for YouTube,and just general performance...I will not be doing any real work other than word processing on these machines...

I love both the iBook G4s and the last gen PowerBooks. All things being equal, and if I didn't own either, I'd get the PowerBook. Only reason I got the iBook three years ago was that the PowerBooks' asking prices were considerably higher than the iBooks. Plus I got a gently used iBook in pristine condition.

Since you've already got a capable iBook, I think you'd be disappointed with the speed differential were you to get a PowerBook. For the tasks you've described, the iBook will do just fine.

[adamj575]

Originally Posted by skateny

I love both the iBook G4s and the last gen PowerBooks. All things being equal, and if I didn't own either, I'd get the PowerBook. Only reason I got the iBook three years ago was that the PowerBooks' asking prices were considerably higher than the iBooks. Plus I got a gently used iBook in pristine condition.

Since you've already got a capable iBook, I think you'd be disappointed with the speed differential were you to get a PowerBook. For the tasks you've described, the iBook will do just fine.

This was what I was looking for....thanks....I may still try to find me a cheap powerbook but I wont drive myself crazy thinking im missing out...lol...

[robvas]

We have a 1.33GHz or 1.25GHz Powerbook and we also have an original Core Duo Macbook Pro

The Powerbook is -painful- to use. It's just so slow. I was using it once in a while if I forgot my laptop, for testing network ports, configuring routers over web interfaces.

Even though my i5 Air is probably 3-4x faster than the 2006 Macbook Pro, it's pretty usable and way, way better than the Powerbook.

[adamj575]

Well like I said this is just a "play around machine" for me...my imac and ipad take care of all my needs...I'm also thinkin bout getting a black MacBook but really can't justify it...lol

[robvas]

Originally Posted by adamj575

Well like I said this is just a "play around machine" for me...my imac and ipad take care of all my needs...I'm also thinkin bout getting a black MacBook but really can't justify it...lol

If you could find a later-model black MacBook, it's still a pretty good machine with an SSD and the memory maxed out. But a G4 would be pretty painful and it doesn't have recent browsers etc.

[blesscheese]

Originally Posted by 76ShovelHead

Yes, they do come with a speed bump, but I'm kind of biased to the polycarbonate white iBooks/Macbooks

The knock on the Powerbook was that, due to the metal casing, it interfered with wireless connectivity. You had a stronger signal with the plastic casing...and you still would today.

"Back in the day" the differences between the Powerbook vs. iBook were meaningful. In today's terms, both are going to be equally slow and difficult keeping up with modern internet browsing.

But, with love, they still can get meaningful work done. Wait...does anybody do work with a computer anymore? I thought everybody just surfed the web...

[Ariii]

Originally Posted by rjcalifornia

Second that. There's just something about having a 'white' apple laptop.

Ok, back to the topic. Keep the iBook. The Powerbooks are more powerful than an ibook, but the G4 processor is quite fast.

Keep in mind that iBooks/PowerBooks are faster and more powerful than netbooks, and there soooo many of them. G4 are just so underrated, like Maroon 5, very underrated but they are a totally awesome band.

Most netbooks can outbench later PowerPC notebooks at most tasks...

For the design, general user experience, and Mac OS X, they're still worth it though .

The later 12"G4 PowerBook seems perfect and you'll have better performance on Leopard, though the difference won't be /that/ extreme, honestly.

[rjcalifornia]

Originally Posted by Ariii

Most netbooks can outbench later PowerPC notebooks at most tasks...

For the design, general user experience, and Mac OS X, they're still worth it though .

The later 12"G4 PowerBook seems perfect and you'll have better performance on Leopard, though the difference won't be /that/ extreme, honestly.

Actually I don't see a benefit on netbooks, rather than the insane battery lifetime (up to 6 hours)

For the task I do (HD video making, Photoshop, Making websites apps, etc) the ibook G4 seems to be quite powerful.

Yes, it won't be as fast as a netbook but there's something about the G4 I like...

In the end, it is all about optimization. Netbooks came with an 'optimized' windows 7 version (starter) without the heavy pretty looks. Why couldn't Apple do the same for the PPC?

[skateny]

Originally Posted by rjcalifornia

Netbooks came with an 'optimized' windows 7 version (starter) without the heavy pretty looks. Why couldn't Apple do the same for the PPC?

Because Apple wants you to buy new hardware.

[blesscheese]

Originally Posted by rjcalifornia

In the end, it is all about optimization. Netbooks came with an 'optimized' windows 7 version (starter) without the heavy pretty looks. Why couldn't Apple do the same for the PPC?

Important to note, as crappy as the Atom processor was/is, it had H.264 decoding built into the chip, so, it definitely outstripped the G4's. In fact, I ran GeekBench on my old MSI netbook, and I thought it far surpassed by G4, but I may be wrong.

And yes...Apple wants to sell you new hardware, and make a tidy profit. You may shake your fist at them, but they aren't in a financial mess like the other manufacturers. And their quality is so much better. The mouse/trackpad on the netbook sucked!

[rjcalifornia]

Originally Posted by blesscheese

Important to note, as crappy as the Atom processor was/is, it had H.264 decoding built into the chip, so, it definitely outstripped the G4's. In fact, I ran GeekBench on my old MSI netbook, and I thought it far surpassed by G4, but I may be wrong.

And yes...Apple wants to sell you new hardware, and make a tidy profit. You may shake your fist at them, but they aren't in a financial mess like the other manufacturers. And their quality is so much better. The mouse/trackpad on the netbook sucked!

I don't know about that, but none of those could play a 720p or 1080p video.

Also, most netbooks didn't pass the "standard PowerPC Test": Viewing Youtube videos

Note: The test is a joke, many people seem to use 'Youtube' as a test

[76ShovelHead]

Originally Posted by rjcalifornia

Second that. There's just something about having a 'white' apple laptop.

Ok, back to the topic. Keep the iBook. The Powerbooks are more powerful than an ibook, but the G4 processor is quite fast.

Keep in mind that iBooks/PowerBooks are faster and more powerful than netbooks, and there soooo many of them. G4 are just so underrated, like Maroon 5, very underrated but they are a totally awesome band.

I understand what you mean, though I don't listen to Maroon 5.

Originally Posted by blesscheese

The knock on the Powerbook was that, due to the metal casing, it interfered with wireless connectivity. You had a stronger signal with the plastic casing...and you still would today.

"Back in the day" the differences between the Powerbook vs. iBook were meaningful. In today's terms, both are going to be equally slow and difficult keeping up with modern internet browsing.

But, with love, they still can get meaningful work done. Wait...does anybody do work with a computer anymore? I thought everybody just surfed the web...

Yes. Me

Actually I use my iBook more than my way-more-powerful-mountain-lion-running-hackintosh. I use this iBook for everything. Including typing this

My workflow includes using safari (which can handle several tabs and several windows of tabs) for my online classes (and soon I will be going to a physical college, where my iBook will follow me), older version of Spotify for Frank Sinatra (Enjoyed with some wine, of course), older version of Evernote for notes obviously, I also have entourage and soho running in the background with stickies. I have spaces enabled, time machine, dashboard, and use iWork Pages/Keynotes for school docs.

iTunes works fine. iPhoto can slow down but picks up. I've had pixelmator crash before on me when generating starshine, to be expected on this little trooper.

Once I earn my degree this thing will be following me into the classroom if I don't have a new one by then as I'm not really looking to upgrade. If I do it will be a late polycarbonate unibody Macbook, I don't like the aluminums. Despite that I take care of my stuff, I have seen some bad ones warped with dents on them that really kinda turned me off. Maybe I'll get a 13 inch Pro in the future if they ever put a good graphics chip in. Or 13 in Air if they don't by the time I'm in the market.

OP: Sorry to hijack your thread! I hope you were able to decipher that I am really happy with my iBook, and that they are very capable machines still, so there is no need to rush out and upgrade unless you want to!