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1.33ghz iBook or PowerBook G4???

Mr. Bubbles

Mr. Bubbles

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 23, 2007
47
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I'm in the market for a used a lappletop and my budget is about $550-ish

So...for $500 i can go with a 12" aluminum 1.33 PB with max ram 80gb HD or the exact same specs only its an iBook and costs $50 more.

I intend to install leopard and want the smoothest performance...especially for the eye candy.

I've heard that leopard actually increase some app's loading time over tiger on G4s...BUT I've also heard that coverflkow quicklook and 3d dock can be a bit choppy on the PB's fx 5200.
I really want to choose the PB because its slightly smaller and cheaper, but mostly because the iBook looks like the powerbook's poor little cousin with downs syndrome when compared aesthetically. Just my opinion.

I know that the iBook's 9550 is supposed to run circles around the fx5200 in benchmarks or something..but can anyone tell me if there is a noticeable real-world difference between the two in rendering leopard effects?

Thanks!
 
I've owned both of those portables-- but unfortunately, didn't get a chance to run Leopard on either of 'em. Both 12"ers, both 1.33GHz G4 processors.

Yes, the PB is undeniably sexier. Undeniably slick.

But, for me, the fact that the iBook had better battery life, MUCH better wifi reception, and ran way cooler to the touch? Made it a winner. Despite it being slightly bulkier and less pretty to look at.

Sorry I can't help you in terms of Leopard's performance on either one, though. :eek:
 
Thanks for the advice!! I think I'll probably go with the iBook. As much as I love the look and feel of the PB, the iB seems to have a better chance of surviving another few years because of its better cooling, more reliable wi-fi reception, and video card. Thanks again! I was so close to getting the PB but now realize that looks aren't everything.
 
KOOBCAMUK would be able to give you some good advice about Leopard on the PowerBook. He now owns my old 12" 1.33Ghz PowerBook.

When I had it, I did run Leopard on it at one point, and I found the performance to be excellent. I think I only had 768MB RAM at the time too, so more memory would have made it even better.

I like the PowerBook over the iBook for a lot of things, but the differences are negligible. The PowerBook uses the slightly faster 64MB NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 graphics, whilst the iBook uses the 32 MB ATI Mobility Radeon 9550. The PowerBook also has a slightly faster system bus and is capable of hooking up to a second (dual) display as well as mirroring. The iBook can only mirror its display to an external one.

That being said, the iBook is more expandable (up to 1.5GB RAM vs. 1.25GB RAM (at least officially)).

In the end, there really ain't much between them spec wise also having a dual display setup is important.

I prefer the build and look of the PowerBook, but as always plastic is more resilient than aluminium, although it does scratch more easily. I also preferred the keyboard on the PowerBook so that would be my choice in the end I think.

David
 
Do not buy iBook

Don't buy an iBook or at least the last series (late 2005) affected by so called Airport Kernel Panic: defective motherboard with aiport card slipping out of its slot.

My friend bought PowerBook, and a year after I bought iBook. For several years, and for both of us, these were our main computers because we were on the move: changing flats, changing towns, changing country. His PB is still fine, mine iBook - must be at home, works only with ethernet cable, no WI-FI, and likes switching off suddenly without warning. Then you must wait few hours to let it cool down, and you pray it can swich on again (sometimes trying many times to wake it up).

So - one year older PowerBook still a working machine. IBook - just a toy for my girlfriend to play PacMan and surf the web.
 
"Don't buy an iBook or at least the last series"
Oops..too late. Already ordered.

I was actually just reading about the airport card kernal panic before I read your post. Does this affect EVERY iBook with these specs I wonder? Is there any fix except for the replacement of the logic baord? (probably not if I know Apple :( ) Still, the iBook i'm buying is supposed to be functioning perfectly including wi-fi. wi-fi isn't a dealbreaker or maker for me either way...whatever.

I am really unimpressed with the build quality on apple notebooks after reserching them lately.. I still think I will be happier with the ibook though for the reasons that I listed.
I also found out that leopard causes the Powerbook to run even hotter and louder than under tiger. From my time with powerbooks I know that they can get extremely loud and hot, so I hope this is better with the iB.

Whatever happens, I'll let ya'll know when it arrives on wednesday. Thanks for all the input!
 
I hope you'll be fine with your iBook, if it really doesn't show any aiport card issues an kernel pannics. . After all it's just one component and you can still use USB for a wi-fi connection. I will still use my kernel-panicked-damaged-airport-card iBook and it should do well : 1) web browsing 2) small games (pacman) 3) as a holiday portable disk and a movie player: I make lots of pictures so at the end of each day I just transfer them to the iBook. Leaving it in a hotel is not a stress as would be with MBP for example.

Summing it up: after buying a proper, new mac, my old iBook, even with slightly disfunctional motherboard, will still be at work for some time. It's still a lovely machine with its design far superior than the design of its succesor white MacBook, IMHO, of course ;)
 
"I hope you'll be fine with your iBook, if it really doesn't show any airport card issues an kernel panics"

I think I will be ok with the iBook. it's kind of ironic, because I as looking at the same model powerbook, and it has a massive problem of its own with wi-fi reception lol. Huge thread on apple discussions about splotchy wi-fi on the PB's. Apple never recognized the problem, of course.

I was looking for solutions to the airport card problem and found that some people had inserted a piece of paper in a certain place to apply pressure to it and it worked for them.
This sounds almost like the dreaded video card failure with the older iBooks where you'd have to put pressure on the left side to boot lol!

And yet, despite all of these problems, I would agree that it is still a better designed notebook than the MB! Amazing!
When will Apple build a notebook that can actually last more than 12 months without needing a logic board replacement?!? Is it intentional negligence or planned obsolescence? Or are they just not smart enough to design some quality hardware? in other words, are they evil and greedy, just plain dumb, or both?

Remember, this model of iBook has the airport card SOLDERED to the logic board! Great design choice! If one minor part (the airport card fails) (probably right after the warranty expires) the lucky consumer will have to replace the whole logic board just to have wireless functionality! what a bright idea! Way to cripple your product! Sorry to go off on a rant like this, but it seems like Apple could really stand to get some decent quality control.

I'm not saying that it's possible to design a perfect product with no problems, but when you've been in the market for 25 years, charge consumers exorbitant amounts of money for the same hardware that dell sells for half the price, and STILL churn out products with ridiculous hardware failure rates (core duo MacBook random shutdown anyone?) you should learn you're lesson.

Sorry to go off on this anti-:apple: rant. I'm just so
shocked at the build quality on their notebooks.

Still, they can't be beat for aesthetic design and ease of use, so they will continue to rope in suckers like me for many years to come. :)
 
Regarding Leopard running hot on PBs, my PB runs Leopard just fine, no overheating or anything. I do not miss the new intel machines one bit - mine does everything I need just as fast (I am talking real world performance, of course, not benchmarks, on which the intel machines will run circles around my PB).

The specs are 1.5Ghz 1Gb, 80Gb Hdd, 15'', 64Mb Video RAM.
 
I just got to typing on the ibook. I'm loving so far. It feels SO much sturdier than the PB for some reason. It just feels solid and "right". It's running cool and silent under tiger right now. I'll update yall on leopard performance once I get it. The only thing I'm really worried about is the weak 32 mbs of VRAM.
I'm loving the experience so far, (does this thing have pretty exceptional battery life or is it just me?)

P.S. can anyone tell me how to enable two finger right click on this model of iBook. It's not in the sytem preferences and i can't use iscroll2. Thanks!
 
I love my Late 2005 iBook too. Never heard about any logic board or airport problems with that model. And never had any.

Good machine. I run Leopard on mine, and it does a decent job. I have the RAM maxed at 1.5gb. Good luck!
 
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