Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Releases New PowerBooks

Status
Not open for further replies.
7200rpm drive issues

My first post: Well my 667Mhz TiBooK is on its last legs, after tons of professional, personal and academic use. So I'm about to purchase the new 15"PB, and am looking forward to the substantial upgrade.

Regarding the 7200RPM drive option: someone told me that 7200 drives are not as good if you move your laptop around much while its in use (or if you're using it in a moving environment, i.e. on a bumpy train or plane)-- that the higher speed drive is more susceptible to stalling or being upset from such movement. Is this really an issue with modern 7200 drives? Any opinions? I'm also interested in whether it'll run louder, hotter and what is the affect on battery life with the 7200 drive. Thanks for any help...
 
Battery issues answer

bothand said:
My first post: Well my 667Mhz TiBooK is on its last legs, after tons of professional, personal and academic use. So I'm about to purchase the new 15"PB, and am looking forward to the substantial upgrade.

Regarding the 7200RPM drive option: someone told me that 7200 drives are not as good if you move your laptop around much while its in use (or if you're using it in a moving environment, i.e. on a bumpy train or plane)-- that the higher speed drive is more susceptible to stalling or being upset from such movement. Is this really an issue with modern 7200 drives? Any opinions? I'm also interested in whether it'll run louder, hotter and what is the affect on battery life with the 7200 drive. Thanks for any help...
Click to expand...

I've seen this same question asked so many times and no answer. Here's the answer: it makes a negligible difference for pretty much everything. As far as battery life, heat, etc. go, it makes the tiniest of differences if any at all. Just for ***** and giggles, I googled for this, and came across this page:

http://www.kernelthread.com/mac/pb17/diskdrives.html

He's a pretty smart guy, so I trust him. I doubt that the numbers have changed much since he wrote that, and even if they did I bet they all changed relative to one another. Anyway, find some solace in that... BTW, I just ordered the 100GB 5400 - the 7200 wasn't worth an additional $100 to me.

-Justin
 
pigwin32 said:
The answer is "it depends". If you have lots of RAM then a faster hard drive may not be that big an advantage, but this also depends on what you're using the machine for. If you're doing video work then you need lots of RAM plus a fast and large HDD.

My personal experience, I put a 60GB Hitachi 7200RPM drive into my TiBook 667 and it honestly felt like a completely new machine. Of course the original drive was a 4200RPM drive so quite a leap up to 7200RPM. Going from the 5400RPM drive to 7200RPM you may not notice quite the same effect.

A faster drive will help when the disk access becomes the bottleneck. This will occur when the processor needs to go to the disk a lot because it can't keep sufficient data in memory.
Click to expand...

What might beat out the 7200rpm drive is the TravelStar 5400rpm with 16mb cache... that's probably something you want to get into.

rjc said:
This was my main question as well, and I'm not sure it was answered on this thread. There is a thread on forums.macnn.com with some details, but the gist of it is that switching to the 7200-rpm HD will end up using maybe 5 minutes of battery life. That seems like a reasonable cost for the performance boost, so I went ahead and ordered a 7200-rpm BTO.
Click to expand...

Check this site out if you want to see a 5400 vs. 7200 rpm drive.

http://www.barefeats.com/hard56.html

joe
 
Nice with the new screens and option for 7200 HD.
I was waiting for this upgrade to see if I would fork out the extra money for a PB, but now I will happily buy a 20" iMac and wait for the Intel switch for a new laptop.
The PB it´s just not worth it to me.
 
DaveClarkOne said:
Looks like one too...
Click to expand...

If you knew iGary, you'd know he isn't a troll. Nice try though, now try posting something more constructive instead of picking fights or stirring the pot. :cool:

Although the updates weren't as good as they could have been (i.e. 7448 upgrade) to me this just means that Intel PowerBooks are coming even sooner, so it's all good. :)
 
After days of researching and reading your posts, I did it. I bought my first Apple machine (moving from intel/linux setup). It wasn't cheap but I don't care.

15" PB, 1.67GHz with 512/80G and superdrive. Got it last night and I just love it. :D

If they had the 100G 7200RPM drive in store I would have opted for that but the store in Regent Street (London) didn't have it. After making the journey there, I couldn't wait any longer, I got the 80G version.

Taken the day off work so I can enjoy it. :D
 
DaveClarkOne said:
Looks like one too...
Click to expand...

I have over $10,000 worth of Apple hardware sitting in front of me, and no I'm not bragging. I'm as big an Apple nut as the next guy, but Apple doesn't have a portable that I can use to go mobile with my photography work and still remain efficient - why should I pay a premium for that?

No offense to anyone, but Apple's portables are beautiful and elegant, but lacking in performance compared to the rest of the market.

I'd buy a 17" PB in a heartbeat if it had what I needed. Until Intel, Apple remains behind.

Fact.

Troll indeed.
 
Hey guys, picked up one of the new 17" PBs yesterday and it's awesome - definitely a lot faster right now with the 512MB stick of RAM than my 15" 1GHz TiBook with 1GB. I ordered a 1GB stick off newegg for $77 after rebate (deal found on techbargains.com) so that should speed it up even more.

So far I'm real happy with it, love the screen - the fact that it was brighter was the seller for me over the 15". I think the 1680x1050 resolution is a perfect choice by Apple. My dad's Inspiron 9300 has 1920x1200 and stuff is way too small on screen, and the 1440x900 screens - things are a little too big.

Got to see the new Video iPod at the store too - it was great too, but I'm gonna hold off in hopes for an 80GB sometime in the not-to-distant future.
 
rinser said:
After days of researching and reading your posts, I did it. I bought my first Apple machine (moving from intel/linux setup). It wasn't cheap but I don't care.

15" PB, 1.67GHz with 512/80G and superdrive. Got it last night and I just love it. :D

If they had the 100G 7200RPM drive in store I would have opted for that but the store in Regent Street (London) didn't have it. After making the journey there, I couldn't wait any longer, I got the 80G version.

Taken the day off work so I can enjoy it. :D
Click to expand...

Wow, congrats!
Would you mind posting the specs of the harddisk, I (and maybe others too) would like to know the manufacturer and name.

Thanks a lot!
 
iGary said:
I have over $10,000 worth of Apple hardware sitting in front of me, and no I'm not bragging. I'm as big an Apple nut as the next guy, but Apple doesn't have a portable that I can use to go mobile with my photography work and still remain efficient - why should I pay a premium for that?

No offense to anyone, but Apple's portables are beautiful, elegant, but lacking in performance compared to the rest of the market.

I'd but a 17" PB in a heartbeat if it had what I needed. Until Intel, Apple remains behind.

Fact.

Troll indeed.
Click to expand...

I think you have a perfectly sound point. I don’t understand why people would be offended by your needs. There is nothing wrong with being pragmatic about purchasing a multi-thousand $$ piece of equipment. You have some nice equipment in your signature and there’s nothing wrong with wanting a portable system that will maintain or surpass your current standards. The offerings currently available from Apple don’t.

My Mac workstation at home is a 733MHz G4 @ 5 years old. :( The 1.67GHz PowerBook is faster than my 733MHz. The thing I was holding out for was a better screen and the boost to DDR2, 7200rpm Hard Drive, Double Layer SuperDrive, equate to an overall system upgrade and better software performance compared with what I’m currently dependent on using.

I ordered a 17" PB with 100meg 7200rpm HD, 2gigs of RAM, and Apple Care and can't wait to enjoy my first privately owned portable. :D

It’s all about making an informed decision based upon a combination of wants, needs, and budget. I think you’re making a good decision. :cool:
 
Well... I guess the PBs aren't what we all expected, but I decided to buy my PB15" too. I am going to start my PhD in physics, and my PowerBook G3 Lombard is STARTING to be left behind... ;)

Meanwhyle, I am going to work with video in my spare time. Do you think a 5400 drive is enough for that? I would like to record directly on the hard disk from my mini DV cam...

Thanks
 
QuantumMac said:
Well... I guess the PBs aren't what we all expected, but I decided to buy my PB15" too. I am going to start my PhD in physics, and my PowerBook G3 Lombard is STARTING to be left behind... ;)

Meanwhyle, I am going to work with video in my spare time. Do you think a 5400 drive is enough for that? I would like to record directly on the hard disk from my mini DV cam...

Thanks
Click to expand...

The 7200 RPM will make everything feel faster. Even just your everyday non-intensive applications, when launching them, etc.
 
QuantumMac said:
Well... I guess the PBs aren't what we all expected, but I decided to buy my PB15" too. I am going to start my PhD in physics, and my PowerBook G3 Lombard is STARTING to be left behind... ;)

Meanwhyle, I am going to work with video in my spare time. Do you think a 5400 drive is enough for that? I would like to record directly on the hard disk from my mini DV cam...

Thanks
Click to expand...

I think you'll be fine recording directly to your hard disk from your miniDV with a 5400rpm drive. If you want a little more performance the 7200rpm is the way to go but since you're going to do video in your spare time, the 5400rpm is perfectly fine and an extra 20gigs disk space never hurt.

EDIT: oops, beat me to it. :eek:
 
Thanks! Here in Portugal the BTO options are limited, unless I want to wait a couple of months for my PB :(

I guess I will get a 7200 drive if I can. It doesn't hurt and it isn't so expensive ;)
 
Machine Name: Mac
Machine Model: PowerBook5,8
CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (1.5)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 1.67 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 512 MB
Bus Speed: 167 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 4.9.5f3
Serial Number: xxxxx
Sudden Motion Sensor:
State: Enabled

ATA Bus:

ST9808211A:

Capacity: 74.53 GB
Model: ST9808211A
Revision: 3.07
Serial Number: xxxxx
Removable Media: No
Detachable Drive: No
BSD Name: disk0
Protocol: ATA
Unit Number: 0
Socket Type: Internal
OS9 Drivers: No
S.M.A.R.T. status: Verified
Volumes:
Macintosh HD:
Capacity: 74.41 GB
Available: 42.86 GB
Writable: Yes
File System: Journaled HFS+
BSD Name: disk0s3
Mount Point: /

MATSHITADVD-R UJ-846:

Model: MATSHITADVD-R UJ-846
Revision: FAAG
Serial Number:
Detachable Drive: No
Protocol: ATAPI
Unit Number: 1
Socket Type: Internal

hope this helps!
 
QuantumMac said:
Thanks! Here in Portugal the BTO options are limited, unless I want to wait a couple of months for my PB :(

I guess I will get a 7200 drive if I can. It doesn't hurt and it isn't so expensive ;)
Click to expand...

Good choice. I too went with the 7200 drive :) :cool:

EDIT: Here in the States there's no price difference between the 120gig and 100gig drives. Is there a price difference in Portugal?
 
Are all the hard drives available for the 15"PB seagate drives? I can't find this info anywhere. I want the 100gig 7200RPM if its a seagate.
Cheers
 
iBook delays

I know this is a PowerBook thread, but iBooks are portables too. Just last Sunday I ordered a 12in iBook with a bigger hard drive. Now today I got the following email that says it's delayed until December. That's a crazy delay, what's going on?

Dear Valued Apple Customer,

Thank you for placing your Apple Store Order W15438xxx

We need your response to continue processing your order.

Due to an unexpected delay, we are unable to ship the following
item(s) by the last date you were quoted:

Z0C1089JU, IBOOK 12/512/60/CO/BT/AP/56K/LL
will now ship on or before 12/06/2005

...
​
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back