numb said:
thank you.
Could someone point me to a comparison between the 12" and 15" powerbooks? besides the obvious screen size, what else is different? for example, what is the difference between a mini-DVI port and a DVI port?
Briefly, the differences between the 12" PB and the 15" PB are:
- CPU: 15" available with faster 1.5GHz G4; 12" only available at 1.33GHz (note that CPU FSB and RAM speed are now identical between 12", 15" and 17" models. Prior to Rev. C, the 12" used a slower 133MHz FSB and slower DDR266 RAM).
- Video: 15" equipped with the superior 64MB or 128MB ATI Radeon 9700 Mobility GPU; 12" has 64MB nVidia GeForceFX 5200 Go, a much slower graphics chip (although really only of concern if you are into 3D gaming or running OpenGL apps).
- FireWire: 15" has both FireWire 400 and FireWire 800 ports; 12" has only FireWire 400
- Ethernet: Gigabit ethernet standard on 15"; gigabit ethernet not available on 12" (only 10/100 ethernet on 12").
- Expansion: 15" has a single PCMCIA/PC Card slot; 12" has no slot.
- RAM expansion: 15" has two user-accessible RAM slots; 12" has only a single user accessible RAM slot, with 256MB being permanently soldered onto the motherboard
- Video I/O: 15" has full-sized DVI and S-Video out ports; 12" has only a mini DVI port.
- Keyboard backlighting: Available on 15"; not available on 12"
I think that's just about it, apart from the obvious one of the 15" being physically larger, heavier, and having a higher resolution LCD panel. Basically the tradeoff the 12" PowerBook makes for being so portable is sacrificing a some future expandability.
The mini DVI port on the 12" PowerBook is an Apple-specific connector, which is used instead of a full-sized DVI connector because of space restrictions. Apple supplies as standard in the 12" PowerBook box two adapters which plug into the mini-DVI port: a mini-DVI to VGA adapter, and a mini-DVI to DVI adapter, meaning that you can connect up your 12" PowerBook to either a VGA or DVI screen without needing to purchase anything extra. If you want to connect your 12" PB to a television set or a VCR, you will need to purchase the optional mini-DVI to video out adapter, which contains both composite-RF and S-Video outputs. This adapter is quite cheap from Apple (I paid $35 Australian), and works very well.