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Vlade

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 2, 2003
966
4
Meadville, PA
What's hotter, a Intel 3.0GHZ CPU in a laptop, or a G5 in a laptop. Intel uses well over double the power than the G5's, so why can't we get one in a laptop case and they can? Am I missing something here?

:confused:
 

Wyrm

macrumors 6502
Jan 7, 2003
250
0
Toekeeyoe, Japan
Apple doesn't play by the same rules as the other manufacturers.

I have come to conclude that Apple believes:
a) A laptop should be low power.
b) A laptop's weight should be minimal for the form it provides.
c) A laptop should be portable.
d) A laptop should be quiet.

None of these seems to apply to a Desktop chip P4, massive fan, heavy, luggable 3.06 PC.

Putting a G5 in a laptop form, while technically feasible, violates Apple beliefs... and therefore is not Thinking terribly Different. :D

-Wyrm
 

stoid

macrumors 601
Apple is still warming up their Godly Massive Shoehorn of Processor Laptopage™ it takes awhile, and they shut it off after they got the G4 wedged in there because it was too costly to keeping running while they waited for a next generation chip. They should have it fully charged and running by the end of 2004 I would imagine.
 

Counterfit

macrumors G3
Aug 20, 2003
8,195
0
sitting on your shoulder
Originally posted by Wyrm
d) A laptop should be quiet.
That is one of the things I love about Apple laptops, so freakin quiet! When I'm in English class, the loudest part of my PB are the keys (loudest in the class too I think). But my keys are almost drowned out by the five or so PeeC laptops' fans! I hear them and think "Is that mine?" Then I put ear a little closer and realize "Oh yeah, it's near silent :)"
 

leet1

macrumors 6502
Nov 3, 2003
365
0
Originally posted by stoid
Yeah, my roommates laptop whirrs so loud it keeps me up at night. And he STILL has problems with it over heating!

If he has a laptop thats overheating, he should take it to get serviced, theres no reason for it to be doing that.


If you want a quiet x86 laptop, IBM makes some great ones, my dad's is silent as can be. My compaq isn't too quiet, but can't be heard 3 people away while in class and the fan doesn't even kick on when the processor is in mobile mode.
 

jefhatfield

Retired
Jul 9, 2000
8,803
0
Originally posted by chibianh
would u buy a powerbook G5 if it was thrown into a 3" thick enclosure? ;)

as a techie i would get one as a curiosity if i just happened to have the money then

but as an everyday user- let's say a junior high school student, frail senior citizen, or small teenage girl, i would not want to throw my back out !!:)

lightwieght is now expected of any apple portable and i suspect there will be a G5 laptop next spring and it will be under 7 pounds...maybe under 6 pounds...that would be sweet:D
 

cr2sh

macrumors 68030
May 28, 2002
2,554
3
downtown
The 3GHz pentium chip was released ~last october (i think) - they've had a year to get them into laptops. The g5 has been out for 2months.... this time next year we'll have a g5 powerbook. (crosses fingers) :)
 

stoid

macrumors 601
If you look at http://www.applehistory.com you will see that Apple took just over a year after the initial G4 release to get it into a laptop, I am guessing the same will happen here, I'm placing my better on the July MacWorld.

If the hamsters pedal really had they might get that ol' shoehorn powered up faster, but you know how reliable little furry rodents are.
 

lewdvig

macrumors 65816
Jan 1, 2002
1,416
75
South Pole
The 3.06GHz P4 in laptops is a standard P4. Not a P4M.

Any laptop that has one is refered to as a portable. They are not really made for travel unless 1hr battery life and a carry weight of over ten pounds (including power brick) is considered managable.

My (rather harsh) opinion on these things is that they are essentially cheap SFF PCs for people with poor taste and a desire to own commodity junk. These things are good for LAN parties. A few higher profile companies make these things now - Alienware, Voodoo, etc. Its sad to think that anyone would pay $3k for a $700 ECS desknote with a $50 paint job and $100 MAGP upgrade.

No the 3.06 GHz P4 has not been out a year, just a few months.

The P3M, P4M, Centrino were/are nice technologies. But these portable monsters are horrible.

I don't think that Apple users want all these compromises in a laptop. 1.33Ghz and an ATI 9600 is enough for almost any task.

I think the G5 could be used in a PB today. It would be a little hot and would have a short battery life. I don't buy the G5 is too hot claim either. My P4 is overclocked to 3.36 and it needs almost 100 watts. That is a lot of heat. I can't imagine that the G5 is as hot.

My guess is that the PB will use the same chip that is going into XBox 2. Cheap, less power hungry and cooler. It will be out when the G6 is announced - january 2005.
 

tazo

macrumors 68040
Re: In I can have a 3GHZ PC laptop, Why cant I have a powerbook G5?

Originally posted by Vlade
What's hotter, a Intel 3.0GHZ CPU in a laptop, or a G5 in a laptop. Intel uses well over double the power than the G5's, so why can't we get one in a laptop case and they can? Am I missing something here?

:confused:

Because Apple does stuff right, and if ya dont want a 5 inch thick laptop you will have to wait until this summer for a G5 laptop
 

cr2sh

macrumors 68030
May 28, 2002
2,554
3
downtown
Originally posted by lewdvig
No the 3.06 GHz P4 has not been out a year, just a few months.

I mispoke, the 2.8GHz p4 has been out a year, while the 3GHz p4 shipped nearly 7 months ago.

Either way, his complaint is invalid.
 

mac15

macrumors 68040
Dec 29, 2001
3,099
0
yeah apple could bundle G5s into the powerbooks but who the hell wants 45mins battery life like on the P4s
 

leet1

macrumors 6502
Nov 3, 2003
365
0
Originally posted by mac15
yeah apple could bundle G5s into the powerbooks but who the hell wants 45mins battery life like on the P4s


alienware 3.0 gets 2 hours, not 45 ;)
 

manitoubalck

macrumors 6502a
Jul 17, 2003
815
0
Adelaide, Australia
It will happen, and probably sooner than you think. There seems to be a misconception thta the heat sink must be of a fantastic size:rolleyes: The fact that the heatsink's in the desktop models are extremly large is to allow for a larger surface area, therefor a more passive approach can be taken to cooling, hence quieter.

The G5 laptop chips will no doubt be clocked around 1.2 or 1.4 GHz or maybe even as low as 1GHz to begin with with gradual speed increases as technology permits.
 

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solvs

macrumors 603
Jun 25, 2002
5,684
1
LaLaLand, CA
Originally posted by leet1
alienware 3.0 gets 2 hours, not 45 ;)

Funny, my Stepmom's Dell also claims to get around 2 hours. It actually get about an hour (if she's lucky). It also cuts the CPU speed nearly in 1/2, dimms the screen way down, is as heavy as a brick, hot enough to not be called a "Laptop" (let's just say, don't put it on a glass surface), etc.

I've seen the Alienwares. They ain't cheap, and I ain't impressed. But if that's what floats your boat, go ahead and buy it.

There's a reason Apple doesn't do this, not many would buy it.
 

leet1

macrumors 6502
Nov 3, 2003
365
0
Originally posted by solvs
Funny, my Stepmom's Dell also claims to get around 2 hours. It actually get about an hour (if she's lucky). It also cuts the CPU speed nearly in 1/2, dimms the screen way down, is as heavy as a brick, hot enough to not be called a "Laptop" (let's just say, don't put it on a glass surface), etc.

I've seen the Alienwares. They ain't cheap, and I ain't impressed. But if that's what floats your boat, go ahead and buy it.

There's a reason Apple doesn't do this, not many would buy it.


My $900 compaq amd 2400M gets 3h with power management off. What kind of Dell does she have?

I would take a Sager notebook over Alienware though, they are cheeper. 3Ghz/UXGA/dvd/cdwr/ect, for less than $2,000.

I guess 9 pounds is kind of heavy, but its not bad when your getting top of the line performance.
 

jefhatfield

Retired
Jul 9, 2000
8,803
0
Originally posted by stoid
That's what hurts Apple. In some ways, Apple has raised the bar so high that if they produce a product that is anything less than stellar and perfect, they get flamed for it.

so we are a year behind in the clock speed for portables

really, who cares?

the quality of mac portables speak for themselves and for most of us, they are plenty fast enough
 

jxyama

macrumors 68040
Apr 3, 2003
3,735
1
Originally posted by leet1
I guess 9 pounds is kind of heavy, but its not bad when your getting top of the line performance.

goodness, 9 lbs! that's twice as heavy as the 12" PB. most of it is probably the battery as it would take a very large one to get a decent battery life...

if you want "top of the line performance," wouldn't a desktop make more sense? at least to me, 9 lbs is not compatible with mobile computing. are there that many people who are so power/performance hungry that they'd tolerate lugging a 9lbs "laptop" around to do some work on the road? amazing...

p.s. my gf's dell gets 1 1/2 hours. it's a year old and the battery says it will last 3 hours, but doesn't.
 

jefhatfield

Retired
Jul 9, 2000
8,803
0
my antiquated PC laptop is over 7 1/2 pounds and it hurts carrying that thing around

i would hate to add 1 1/2 more pounds to my luggable computer load
 

leet1

macrumors 6502
Nov 3, 2003
365
0
Originally posted by jefhatfield
my antiquated PC laptop is over 7 1/2 pounds and it hurts carrying that thing around

i would hate to add 1 1/2 more pounds to my luggable computer load


It hurts to carry 7 1/2 pounds around? :rolleyes: lol
 
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