New PowerBooks - Finally

MacRumors · 05:55 AM

Apple updated their PowerBooks today, after much anticipation.

All three models were updated:

12" PowerBook, 1GHz PowerPC G4, 512K L2 Cache, 256MB PC2100 Memory, NVidia GeForce FX Go5200 (32MB), 40GB Hard Drive, Built-in Bluetooth, Airport Extreme Ready.
Combo Drive: $1599. SuperDrive: $1799.

15" PowerBook, 1.0GHz PowerPC G4, 512K L2 Cache, 256MB PC2700 Memory, ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 (64MB), 60GB HD, Combo Drive. Built-in Bluetooth. Airport Extreme Ready. $1999
15" PowerBook, 1.25GHz PowerPC G4, 512K L2 Cache, 512MB PC2700 Memory, ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 (64MB), 80GB HD, Super Drive. Built-in Bluetooth and Airport Extreme. Illuminated Keyboard. $2599

17" PowerBook, 1.33GHz PowerPC G4, 512K L2 Cache, 512MB PC2700 Memory, ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 (64MB), 80GB HD, SuperDrive, Built-in Bluetooth and Airport Extreme. Illuminated Keyboard. $2999

stoid · Sep 16, 2003, 05:51 AM

'bout time, but it's too bad we didn't get G5s

LOZ23 · Sep 16, 2003, 05:52 AM

About ****ing time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

maradong · Sep 16, 2003, 05:52 AM

so cool

bignumbers · Sep 16, 2003, 05:53 AM

The $2599 15" has a superdrive, not combo...

15" PowerBook, 1.25GHz PowerPC G4, 512K L2 Cache, 512MB PC2700 Memory, ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 (64MB), 80GB HD, Combo Drive. Built-in Bluetooth and Airport Extreme. Illuminated Keyboard. $2599

Chaszmyr · Sep 16, 2003, 05:53 AM

I really wanted the G5 powerbooks... And i atleast wanted backlit keyboard on the 12''...

I am a little disappointed, but it's not a bad update

joeyboy76 · Sep 16, 2003, 05:53 AM

.
i want the 15" superdrive!!! but i dont have any money... sigh....

coolbreeze · Sep 16, 2003, 05:55 AM

Hmm. The base 15" makes me want to eBay my iBook and make the leap....hmmm

m_gerbik · Sep 16, 2003, 05:56 AM

It's a slight price drop too isn't it? I might be wrong, but I thought they topped out at $3299 before this update.

mvc · Sep 16, 2003, 05:57 AM

A very long wait for very little results. I struggle to see why that took soo long to achieve.

I presume it was the supply issues with Rottenrola. The sooner we get G5s across the board the better.

red_wedge · Sep 16, 2003, 05:58 AM

Why did they dump the L3 cache? That's a major pain!

bdiddy · Sep 16, 2003, 06:00 AM

Ooooh, the 12'' has Mini DVI now

arby · Sep 16, 2003, 06:00 AM

Happy days!!! New Powerbooks!!!

I'm off to the Apple Store to put in my order for a brand new 15" PB, after month of waiting. Not a bad graphics card either.

elkoreano · 06:04 AM

well, let's see what the 12" powerbook got..

1) alittle teeny bit of speed
2) more memory expandability, but we could have upgraded to over 640 with the previous model anyway
3) dvi output (HOORAY!!)
4) diff 32mb video card

i was hoping for:
1. pcmcia card slot to expand to firewire 800 or other things later
2. the same monitor they use on the 15" and 17".. it doesn't look like they used the same once again for the 12".. if someone can dispute this, please make me happy and tell me otherwise.. i'm talking about the quality.
3. 5200 rpms please..
4. speed up the combo drive will ya?
5. L3 no? come on..
6. backlit keyboard? don't discriminate!!

wow, i think that'd be the perfect 12" with those mods.

Nicky G · Sep 16, 2003, 06:01 AM

The question is, does this particular iteration of the 7457 chip support DDR?

Very nice lineup, however -- the 12 finally got DVI, which is really slick. ATi 9600 in the 15 and 17. Not too much to complain about! However, I am surprised that there's no 1.33 in the 15.

Wow, very nice machines, though -- I like how they are available today! Motorola finally put out.

And the prices?! Is this the cheapest the lineup's ever been? Best value, definitely -- I can't believe the 17" is $3K, with Superdrive and 512MB! Holy Cow!!!

Lotsa people buyin' Powerbooks today, fo' sho'.

Tiauguinho · Sep 16, 2003, 06:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by red_wedge
Why did they dump the L3 cache? That's a major pain!

Completly agree with you. It might have 512k Cache L2 but the L3 gives a push too. They should add at least 1MB of L3. Oh well.

coolbreeze · Sep 16, 2003, 06:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by red_wedge
Why did they dump the L3 cache? That's a major pain!

Yeah, reading the tech specs, I don't see L3 cache? That's a step forward in technology? Please tell me I'm misled or somthing... (referring to the 15").

I have been at work since 1am, so I could have missed it...

thebt · Sep 16, 2003, 06:04 AM

The 12" also has USB2, so that's new too!

true777 · Sep 16, 2003, 06:04 AM

So... do the 12' models also have the new xx57 processor??

I'm wondering, since the 12" 1 Ghz uses PC 2100/266 DDR memory w/ 133 bus speed, and the 1 Ghz 15" has PC 2700/333 DDR w/ 167 bus. Seems to point to different architecture, no?

I wanted to look up processor specs at apple.com, but the links from the powerbook model pages to the processor spec pages for the various models are broken. Weird, they're usually so careful about broken links. What could that mean?

sacrilicious · Sep 16, 2003, 06:05 AM

That site is freakin' lagged. It's almost as bad waiting to get the site to work as it is to wait for the update itself.

3-5 business days for me, an EDU American, for the 512x2 RAM. With a 1gig SO it was 4-6 weeks.

crees! · 06:10 AM

So on the 15" you can have a 4200rpm 80Gig or a 5400rpm 80Gig drive. How much hotter and wear on the battery life do you all expect the faster drive will have?

PS - And the buy a bundle and save a bundle deals are still in effect. The rebate date is based on your purchase date and not received date right? I don't want to buy the iPod then not get the rebate because it didn't come in time.

peteMG · Sep 16, 2003, 06:07 AM

Thank goodness they're not G5s. Now I don't have to get one. External DVD-R plus my tibook is good enough, though i am still itching for:[list=1][*]a non-scratching paint job[*]a non-flexing case[*]80G internal (but I can get that by itself, weeee[/list=1]

Titian · Sep 16, 2003, 06:07 AM

Why don't we forget Paris and start discussing about next year?

chazmox · Sep 16, 2003, 06:09 AM

So... does anyone know if increasing the L2 and dropping the L3 is an improvement???

Is this the 7457 or the 7447...

gloftis · Sep 16, 2003, 06:09 AM

So far, nobody seems to have noticed that the WiFi Ghz gap has closed.

The Wintel notebooks with the "New Technology" Centrino processor comes in about 1.4 Ghz, with the bogus hyperthreading system to "accelerate" its effective clock speed.

The PB 17 is now nominally just .67Ghz off that figure with a proven ability to blow the doors off a P4 at 1 Ghz.

I doubt we'll see a PB G5 because of the heat issue, but alll you whiners do a search on the IBM PPC 750VX, which, by some estimations, could reach clock speeds of 3Ghz+

Sep 16, 2003, 05:50 AM	#1
MacRumors macrumors bot Join Date: Apr 2001	New PowerBooks - Finally Apple updated their PowerBooks today, after much anticipation. All three models were updated: 12" PowerBook, 1GHz PowerPC G4, 512K L2 Cache, 256MB PC2100 Memory, NVidia GeForce FX Go5200 (32MB), 40GB Hard Drive, Built-in Bluetooth, Airport Extreme Ready. Combo Drive: $1599. SuperDrive: $1799. 15" PowerBook, 1.0GHz PowerPC G4, 512K L2 Cache, 256MB PC2700 Memory, ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 (64MB), 60GB HD, Combo Drive. Built-in Bluetooth. Airport Extreme Ready. $1999 15" PowerBook, 1.25GHz PowerPC G4, 512K L2 Cache, 512MB PC2700 Memory, ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 (64MB), 80GB HD, Super Drive. Built-in Bluetooth and Airport Extreme. Illuminated Keyboard. $2599 17" PowerBook, 1.33GHz PowerPC G4, 512K L2 Cache, 512MB PC2700 Memory, ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 (64MB), 80GB HD, SuperDrive, Built-in Bluetooth and Airport Extreme. Illuminated Keyboard. $2999 Last edited by arn : Sep 16, 2003 at 05:55 AM.

Sep 16, 2003, 05:51 AM	#2
stoid macrumors 68040 Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: So long, and thanks for all the fish!	'bout time, but it's too bad we didn't get G5s __________________ Get Salted!

Sep 16, 2003, 05:55 AM	#8
coolbreeze macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: PA	Hmm. The base 15" makes me want to eBay my iBook and make the leap....hmmm __________________ rev.C Macbook Air 2.13 w/128GB SSD 24" ACD iPhone 3gs

Sep 16, 2003, 05:56 AM	#9
m_gerbik macrumors member Join Date: May 2003 Location: The Big Scrapple	It's a slight price drop too isn't it? I might be wrong, but I thought they topped out at $3299 before this update. __________________ There's a war on for your mind.

Sep 16, 2003, 05:57 AM	#10
mvc macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Outer-Roa	Less is less A very long wait for very little results. I struggle to see why that took soo long to achieve. I presume it was the supply issues with Rottenrola. The sooner we get G5s across the board the better. __________________ If Apple really wanted to secure their OS to their own hardware, they might have tried something stronger than limmericks

Sep 16, 2003, 05:52 AM	#3
LOZ23 macrumors newbie Join Date: Aug 2003	About ****ing time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sep 16, 2003, 05:52 AM	#4
maradong macrumors 65816 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Luxembourg	so cool

Sep 16, 2003, 05:53 AM	#5
bignumbers macrumors regular Join Date: May 2002	The $2599 15" has a superdrive, not combo... 15" PowerBook, 1.25GHz PowerPC G4, 512K L2 Cache, 512MB PC2700 Memory, ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 (64MB), 80GB HD, Combo Drive. Built-in Bluetooth and Airport Extreme. Illuminated Keyboard. $2599

Sep 16, 2003, 05:53 AM	#6
Chaszmyr macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Boulder, CO	I really wanted the G5 powerbooks... And i atleast wanted backlit keyboard on the 12''... I am a little disappointed, but it's not a bad update

Sep 16, 2003, 05:53 AM	#7
joeyboy76 macrumors newbie Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Singapore	. i want the 15" superdrive!!! but i dont have any money... sigh....

Sep 16, 2003, 05:58 AM	#11
red_wedge macrumors newbie Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Lapland, Finland	Why did they dump the L3 cache? That's a major pain!

Sep 16, 2003, 06:00 AM	#12
bdiddy macrumors newbie Join Date: Aug 2003	Ooooh, the 12'' has Mini DVI now

Sep 16, 2003, 06:00 AM	#13
arby macrumors newbie Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Ireland	Happy days!!! New Powerbooks!!! I'm off to the Apple Store to put in my order for a brand new 15" PB, after month of waiting. Not a bad graphics card either.

Sep 16, 2003, 06:01 AM	#14
elkoreano macrumors newbie Join Date: Sep 2003	NOTHING GREAT on 12" well, let's see what the 12" powerbook got.. 1) alittle teeny bit of speed 2) more memory expandability, but we could have upgraded to over 640 with the previous model anyway 3) dvi output (HOORAY!!) 4) diff 32mb video card i was hoping for: 1. pcmcia card slot to expand to firewire 800 or other things later 2. the same monitor they use on the 15" and 17".. it doesn't look like they used the same once again for the 12".. if someone can dispute this, please make me happy and tell me otherwise.. i'm talking about the quality. 3. 5200 rpms please.. 4. speed up the combo drive will ya? 5. L3 no? come on.. 6. backlit keyboard? don't discriminate!! wow, i think that'd be the perfect 12" with those mods. Last edited by elkoreano : Sep 16, 2003 at 06:04 AM.

Sep 16, 2003, 06:01 AM	#15
Nicky G macrumors regular Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Baltimore, Maryland, USA	The question is, does this particular iteration of the 7457 chip support DDR? Very nice lineup, however -- the 12 finally got DVI, which is really slick. ATi 9600 in the 15 and 17. Not too much to complain about! However, I am surprised that there's no 1.33 in the 15. Wow, very nice machines, though -- I like how they are available today! Motorola finally put out. And the prices?! Is this the cheapest the lineup's ever been? Best value, definitely -- I can't believe the 17" is $3K, with Superdrive and 512MB! Holy Cow!!! Lotsa people buyin' Powerbooks today, fo' sho'.

Sep 16, 2003, 06:04 AM	#18
thebt macrumors member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Belgium	The 12" also has USB2, so that's new too!

Sep 16, 2003, 06:04 AM	#19
true777 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Palo Alto, CA	Broken link on Apple's new PB page So... do the 12' models also have the new xx57 processor?? I'm wondering, since the 12" 1 Ghz uses PC 2100/266 DDR memory w/ 133 bus speed, and the 1 Ghz 15" has PC 2700/333 DDR w/ 167 bus. Seems to point to different architecture, no? I wanted to look up processor specs at apple.com, but the links from the powerbook model pages to the processor spec pages for the various models are broken. Weird, they're usually so careful about broken links. What could that mean? __________________ -true

Sep 16, 2003, 06:05 AM	#20
sacrilicious macrumors regular Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Portland, OR	That site is freakin' lagged. It's almost as bad waiting to get the site to work as it is to wait for the update itself. 3-5 business days for me, an EDU American, for the 512x2 RAM. With a 1gig SO it was 4-6 weeks. __________________ politicals.com \| 1.25Ghz 15" PB G4, 80Gb 5400rpm, 1Gb RAM, SuperDrive

Sep 16, 2003, 06:06 AM	#21
crees! macrumors 68000 Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Springfield, VA	15" HD's So on the 15" you can have a 4200rpm 80Gig or a 5400rpm 80Gig drive. How much hotter and wear on the battery life do you all expect the faster drive will have? PS - And the buy a bundle and save a bundle deals are still in effect. The rebate date is based on your purchase date and not received date right? I don't want to buy the iPod then not get the rebate because it didn't come in time. Last edited by crees! : Sep 16, 2003 at 06:10 AM.

Sep 16, 2003, 06:07 AM	#22
peteMG macrumors member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: San Francisco, CA	Re: New PowerBooks - Finally Thank goodness they're not G5s. Now I don't have to get one. External DVD-R plus my tibook is good enough, though i am still itching for:[list=1][]a non-scratching paint job[]a non-flexing case[*]80G internal (but I can get that by itself, weeee[/list=1]

Sep 16, 2003, 06:07 AM	#23
Titian macrumors member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Switzerland	Why don't we forget Paris and start discussing about next year?

Sep 16, 2003, 06:09 AM	#24
chazmox macrumors regular Join Date: Feb 2003	So... does anyone know if increasing the L2 and dropping the L3 is an improvement??? Is this the 7457 or the 7447... __________________ We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. T.S. Elliot

Sep 16, 2003, 06:09 AM	#25
gloftis macrumors member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Florida	New P-Books So far, nobody seems to have noticed that the WiFi Ghz gap has closed. The Wintel notebooks with the "New Technology" Centrino processor comes in about 1.4 Ghz, with the bogus hyperthreading system to "accelerate" its effective clock speed. The PB 17 is now nominally just .67Ghz off that figure with a proven ability to blow the doors off a P4 at 1 Ghz. I doubt we'll see a PB G5 because of the heat issue, but alll you whiners do a search on the IBM PPC 750VX, which, by some estimations, could reach clock speeds of 3Ghz+ __________________ Gary the Writer

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