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Before or after Xmas

L

lunasol

macrumors newbie
Original poster
I am looking into purchasing a tibook in the very near future,
however have couple concerns regarding that purchase.
Can you guys help me figure out what would be best.....

1)Should I wait after Xmas to buy the tibook?

2) Knowing that I am a beginner in Final Cut pro,
is 512 RAM enough????

Thanks for helping me out...
🙂
 
512mb would be ok to run FPC but its not optimal. if you were to order the 1ghz tibook before 12/31 you can double your ram for 40 bucks and have a full 1gb.

THe biggest problem with FPC and the tibook is the hard drive speed. Its only a 4200 rpm hard drive. I put a 5400rpm drive in mine and noticed a performance boost.
 
Originally posted by Thirteenva
THe biggest problem with FPC and the tibook is the hard drive speed. Its only a 4200 rpm hard drive. I put a 5400rpm drive in mine and noticed a performance boost.
Click to expand...

Wow, when I bought mine (Rev B.) I got the custom build option and got the 50 Gig 5400rpm drive, I wonder why Apple doesn't have that option any more?

512 Megs fo ram should be fine - but as for waiting or not to wait, it all depends on whether you need it now or can wait. We just got a speed bump, so you probably won't have a new revision until Feb/March 03 at the earliest.

D
 
Yeah this round of tibooks no longer has the 5400rpm HD option. I think it has something to do with the availability of the 5400 rpm drive.

I have a rev A. but ordered it through school and did not have the option of upgrading the HD. But thats ok, i got a good deal on my 40gb 5400rpm.

I would imagine that maybe the next revision would have a 5400 rpm drive standard. At least in the top model. It really does boost performance of the machine. I was impressed.
 
Originally posted by lunasol
How do you find out about rpm....can I get the upgrade
when I buy the laptop????
Click to expand...

No, the way it stands now you'd have to buy it separately and install it and the OS and Software yourself. Not too difficult if you know what you're doing, but its an extra couple hundred dollars for the drive, depending on where you get it.

D
 
In answer to....

1) Why wait till after xmas?? they won't get cheaper in the sales and there is no way that Apple will be releasing a new PowerBook for another 6 months or so!! And has been stated Apple is doing the double the RAM offer.... well worth it, as you can never have enough memory!!

2) 512MB will run it with no problem, that's what my Rev A TiBook currently has installed an I do a fair amount of DV and Post work!! But as above, the more memory the better!!

As regards to the HD and why the current TiBook drive is slower and the 5400rpm was removed as option, according to Apples web site, these new drives are significantly better performing than the previous 5400rpm, hence why the option was removed!!
 
Originally posted by lunasol
How do you find out about rpm....can I get the upgrade
when I buy the laptop????
Click to expand...

No worries about that... the new HD's are better than the old ones.... from Apples site!!

Faster and Larger Hard Drives
The PowerBook G4 uses the latest in portable hard drive technology, enabling video professionals to quickly transfer large video files in real time directly from a DV camcorder. Data is packed even more densely onto this new generation of hard drives, enabling both the 4200RPM 40GB and 60GB hard drives to have fast raw transfers of up to 298 Mbps (megabits per second) which is equivalent to an average of 26MB/sec sustained transfer rate at the OD. This is a performance increase over the older generation 5400RPM hard drives which have a lower data density and thus had a raw data rate of only 262Mbps (22 MB/sec sustained transfer rate at the OD).
Click to expand...
 
Originally posted by iGAV


No worries about that... the new HD's are better than the old ones.... from Apples site!!

Click to expand...

Ah, that makes sense, thanks for the update there iGAV - I really was wondering why Apple would use a slower RPM drive. Where on the site did you find this?

D 😀
 
Originally posted by dukestreet


Ah, that makes sense, thanks for the update there iGAV - I really was wondering why Apple would use a slower RPM drive. Where on the site did you find this?

D 😀
Click to expand...

It's on the PowerBook page on Apples site.....

www.apple.com/powerbook

It's at the bottom of the page!! I did all my checking before I ordered, and when I saw that I released I didn't need to worry about the HD!!
 
Originally posted by iGAV

It's at the bottom of the page!! I did all my checking before I ordered, and when I saw that I released I didn't need to worry about the HD!!
Click to expand...

Hmm, I'm wondering why they didn't make more of a deal about it, because if anyone read the specs on the drive just at the ordering section they might get misled, like I was until you pointed it out. Weird. Hopefully they come out with a 5400rpm drive of the same type that's got even higher data transfer.

ThirteenVA - what Rev. TiPB do you have?

D
 
from apples site.
Faster and Larger Hard Drives

....Data is packed even more densely onto this new generation of hard drives, enabling both the 4200RPM 40GB and 60GB hard drives to have fast raw transfers of up to 298 Mbps (megabits per second) which is equivalent to an average of 26MB/sec sustained transfer rate at the OD. This is a performance increase over the older generation 5400RPM hard drives which have a lower data density and thus had a raw data rate of only 262Mbps (22 MB/sec sustained transfer rate at the OD).
Click to expand...

Now guys, a small observation regarding this. Even though the new 4200 rpm drives can transfer the info faster, the 5400 rpm drive should still locate the data on the drive faster, and make it available sooner. Even if it doesnt transfer it quite as fast as the 4200rpm drive. Or am I missing something here?
😕

Now couple that with the fact that OS X doesn't get defragged and bits of files can be scattered on the drive. It seems like the 5400rpm would come out on top performance wise due to its ability to get to the data on the drive faster.
 
Originally posted by Thirteenva


Now guys, a small observation regarding this. Even though the new 4200 rpm drives can transfer the info faster, the 5400 rpm drive should still locate the data on the drive faster, and make it available sooner. Even if it doesnt transfer it quite as fast as the 4200rpm drive. Or am I missing something here?
😕

Now couple that with the fact that OS X doesn't get defragged and bits of files can be scattered on the drive. It seems like the 5400rpm would come out on top performance wise due to its ability to get to the data on the drive faster.
Click to expand...

Because the data is packed quite a bit more densely, the disk does not have to rotate as many times to read/write the same amount of data. So the effective throughput is actually higher.

Hmmm.. I wonder if Apple will have to start a marketing campaign to debunk the RPM myth?😀
 
since rpm seems to be such an issue on tibooks....
wouldn't it be easier to edit from an external drive with
a higher rpm than the tibook offers....
can you really edit with you tibook internal drive?
 
also less RPMs means less heat which is important considering that they now can have an SD in them.

Apple knows what it is doing. just trust them, like 20 million of 25million mac users do.

and buy now, apple wont release again within 6 months and they pretty good now. alos get the first model with 64MB of video memory, you'll be thankfull for it. but if you paln to get a 1Ghz then who cares?

get the best you can buy, with maxed out RAM. more video memory and RAM will make your pb one very happy fast notebook system.
 
Originally posted by dukestreet

ThirteenVA - what Rev. TiPB do you have?
Click to expand...

Rev A. 500 mhz, 512mb ram, self installed ibm 40gb GNX 5400rpm HD, airport, and a logitech mouse 😉.

Still seems quick to me even a year later, and i routinely have Photoshop 7, Dreamweaver MX, image ready, itunes and chimera or IE open all at once for working.

I can't even comprehend what the ghz tibook must be like. <sigh> dreaming away</sigh>
 
Do I really need a 1ghz (knowing price is an issue)
+ I am really just a beginner....
I will probably only edit video, since I am not a graphic designer....
I am just scared of buying a very powerful machine
without even needing it or more without being able
of making full use for it...
On the other hand if you think that computer could
run nicely for at least 3 years.... maybe it is worth the investment
 
Originally posted by lunasol
Do I really need a 1ghz (knowing price is an issue)
+ I am really just a beginner....
I will probably only edit video, since I am not a graphic designer....
I am just scared of buying a very powerful machine
without even needing it or more without being able
of making full use for it...
On the other hand if you think that computer could
run nicely for at least 3 years.... maybe it is worth the investment
Click to expand...

No you don't need a ghz tibook at all. You could run final cut pro on a 500mhz tibook, people here do it daily.

The ghz book just seems like a nice buy because you can get a full gig of ram for just 40 bucks extra. Not a bad deal at all.

The 867 would be fine for many things. I Multitask like crazy on my 500mhz tibook with no problems. I routinely have about 6 programs(most of them design programs) open at once. So i would imagine the 867 is very much up to the task...
 
Originally posted by Thirteenva


No you don't need a ghz tibook at all. You could run final cut pro on a 500mhz tibook, people here do it daily.

The ghz book just seems like a nice buy because you can get a full gig of ram for just 40 bucks extra. Not a bad deal at all.

The 867 would be fine for many things. I Multitask like crazy on my 500mhz tibook with no problems. I routinely have about 6 programs(most of them design programs) open at once. So i would imagine the 867 is very much up to the task...
Click to expand...

I totally agree....... 😉 I still find the PowerBook G4 500MHz zippy enough, and it certainly has no real problems running Final Cut Pro or After Effects etc etc! so the 867 must make life so tough! heh heh!

I can't wait to see the new 1GHz one demolish my current TiBook in After Effects renders though.... I'll be lucky enough to have them side by side for several days so I'll be doing alittle comparison checks between the 2 on full blown renders just to see the difference netween the 2!!

lunasol, as for buying which speed....... the 867 is still a fast machine...... don't be led to believe by some on this board that the G4 is dead and buried and only good for emailing and surfing!! It can still more than hold it's own for a portable..... and personally I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the performance..... I've been reading some very encouraging numbers in MacUser magazine!!

Yes you can edit directly from the TiBooks internal drive with no problems..... and it would seem that the new drives are even better for this...... if you're that concerned (and I feel you really shouldn't be) then purchase a 120GB Maxtor 7200RPM Firewire drive...... I have one and it's great!! I also have an 80GB Maxtor Firewire drive that is slightly slower but still easily handles DV!!

But buy now..... max the RAM to 1GB on the double your RAM offer...... and you'll be a happy bunny right through the festive period!!

Ho! Ho! Ho!
 
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