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Apple Releases New iBooks
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I think the updates are great IMO.
Just what I wanted.
Bought mine earlier tonight, and I'm glad i waited.
As I don't see really ANY difference between the 2 lines, the iBook is just better. simple. [IMO]
Just what I wanted.
Bought mine earlier tonight, and I'm glad i waited.
As I don't see really ANY difference between the 2 lines, the iBook is just better. simple. [IMO]
Don't know who has said what, we rack up too many posts in one day, but anyway. Now it appears that the Mac Mini is weaker than the iBook. Or was it like that before, I'm not sure. I am content with the iBook upgrades, no widescreen, meh. The important things were RAM and price break. The addition of the scrolling trackpad is really nice too. Does anyone know what the difference is with the new graphics card compared to the old?
Well my reign of playing the ass of the thread today has ended and I have a confession to make... even tho the iBooks are underpowered compared to PCs... I still want one haha. Just thought I would let that out 
In all reality I am not completely against windows. I have a Dell Dimension 9000 and it is a great machine. It runs Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 like a champ. It is fast, reliable and fun but for portable power it is hard to argue with the iBook
In all reality I am not completely against windows. I have a Dell Dimension 9000 and it is a great machine. It runs Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 like a champ. It is fast, reliable and fun but for portable power it is hard to argue with the iBook
New iBook as desktop?
I am thinking of buying the new iBook and use it as my desktop computer. Is it a feasible thing?
Thanks for any insights/suggestions.
I am thinking of buying the new iBook and use it as my desktop computer. Is it a feasible thing?
- Can an iBook connect to a CRT monitor? Does it have the dim video problem like the mac mini?
- Is it stable enough to be keep powered on for an extended time (e.g. I may keep the computer on for a week)?
- Would the keyboard too hot to be used for an extended time?
Thanks for any insights/suggestions.
macrumors12345 said:
Your "criterion" is weird. Scrolling trackpad and slot-loading optical-drive are a "must have" for you? They are nice things to have, sure. But they are not the defining features of a laptop.
Abercrombieboy said:
My point was that there are better G4's just waiting to be used. The post I was replying to claimed that Apple can't do better on the CPU-front since Motorola (sic) doesn't have better CPU's available. I merely pointed out that he was wrong. There ARE better CPU's avaialble from Freescale, Apple just decided not to use them. So don't blame Freescale, blame Apple.
The main problem of the G4 is the FSB. And Freescale has a G4 that improves on that front. Note: it doesn't fix the problem entirely, but it helps quite a bit. Doubling the L2-cache and increasing the FSB to 200MHz would help quite a bit. And don't get me started on the next-gen PPC-stuff from Freescale, with integrated mem-controllers and gigabit-ethernet (both save FSB-bandwidth, espesially the mem-controller) and 533Mhz FSB....
This update was exactly what I was looking for. I bought a 14" iBook with my educational discount tonight, bagging a free printer and a free ipod mini. They lowered the price and raised the specs. I won't use the Bluetooth, but I'm glad I held off for the updated processor, ram, and video card. Primo.
This will be my first Mac. I'm excited.
I'm just very poor now. I've been working all summer for this money. Hopefully it's worth it!
This will be my first Mac. I'm excited.
I'm just very poor now. I've been working all summer for this money. Hopefully it's worth it!
davidwong said:
- Yes the iBook can connect via it's mini-VGA adapter to a CRT monitor, and you shouldn't have a dim video problem.
- I've had my iBook booted-up without restart for weeks, that shouldn't be a problem at all, OS X is exceptionally stable. I would say, though, that lower RAM configurations of the iBook might tend to experience a "slow-down" the longer its kept running without restart.
- iBook is passively cooled via a heat diffusing plate on the underside of the computer and through the keyboard, but unless you are doing really processor-heavy stuff (Photoshop, DVD authoring, etc.) it shouldn't get too hot.
I essentially have my iBook set up as a desktop computer right now. I purchased the Griffin iCurve stand for it, which is excellent and moves the monitor to the height of a normal stand-alone monitor. So in conjunction with the iCurve and wireless keyboard and mouse via built-in BT it makes a pretty good deskptop system while I'm at home, and of course is easily taken to class and wherever else I may be going.
mklos said:
As I already said elsewhere, that is not the case. There are G4's avalaible RIGHT NOW with twice as much L2-cache and faster FSB. If Apple wanted to, they could be using it yesterday. But they choose not to. Why they do this, I have no idea. But the CPU's are available, and they are pin-compatible with the current G4's.
Saying stuff like "Apple is doing the best it can with the CPU's that are available to it" is flat-out wrong. There are better CPU's available, but they choose not to use them.
I don't think anyone is expecting that. But they could give iBook the CPU PB's have, and move PB's to 7448 with 1MB of L2-cache and 200Mhz FSB. The FSB-problem would not be fixed by that, but it's severity would be lessened. And 7448 has beefier Altivec-unit than the current G4 has. This way both product-lines would receive a nice speed-boost, and the product-differentiation would still be there.
Apple could do this RIGHT NOW. But they do not.
Well, between this disappointing upgrade* and the Mac mini's disappointing upgrade* it looks like I'm going to be waiting for Intel.
Pretty much sucks. I'm posting this on the Indigo iBook, which is certainly adequate for all of my needs and seems minimally slower than the iBook G4 1GHz I had for about nine months. But yeah, I'd appreciate better screen real estate than 800x600, and I'd like to be able to boot off CDs again.
Maybe I'll buy a refurbished iMac.
* By "disappointing upgrade," I am complaining about the general lack of improvement in the features of both lines. As compared with, you know, the competition. Wintel. Not compared with Powerbooks, or with what rumor sites said. I dunno why it's so abhorrent to desire post-2001 technology in a 2005 laptop.
Pretty much sucks. I'm posting this on the Indigo iBook, which is certainly adequate for all of my needs and seems minimally slower than the iBook G4 1GHz I had for about nine months. But yeah, I'd appreciate better screen real estate than 800x600, and I'd like to be able to boot off CDs again.
Maybe I'll buy a refurbished iMac.
* By "disappointing upgrade," I am complaining about the general lack of improvement in the features of both lines. As compared with, you know, the competition. Wintel. Not compared with Powerbooks, or with what rumor sites said. I dunno why it's so abhorrent to desire post-2001 technology in a 2005 laptop.
The 14'' is certainly tempting. I bought a rev A 1.25 mac mini 2 months ago and if I can sell that and the free ipod mini I get with the ibook I will probly get the 14'' ibook. The portability will be sweet for commuting to college and such and its quite a bit better than my current set up. Decisions, decisions, do I really wanna drop 500 bucks more? *Devil on my shoulder nods yes*
Radeon 9550 vs Nvidia FX5200?
Looking at the comparison between Radeon 9550 and Nvidia FX5200 posted at:
http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews/955055005200/index.htm
It seems that Radeon 9550 kicks ass comparing to the FX5200. But, the site above posts comparisons between Radeon 9550 at 128 Mb with Nvidia FX5200 at 256 Mb.
Does this comparison apply to Radeon 9550 with 32MB vs. FX5200 with 64MB?
Does this mean that the new graphics card in the Ibook is better than the one currently in the Powerbook??
Gee, I'm happy seeing the performance of the Radeon 9550 in Enemy Territory...
Looking at the comparison between Radeon 9550 and Nvidia FX5200 posted at:
http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews/955055005200/index.htm
It seems that Radeon 9550 kicks ass comparing to the FX5200. But, the site above posts comparisons between Radeon 9550 at 128 Mb with Nvidia FX5200 at 256 Mb.
Does this comparison apply to Radeon 9550 with 32MB vs. FX5200 with 64MB?
Does this mean that the new graphics card in the Ibook is better than the one currently in the Powerbook??
Gee, I'm happy seeing the performance of the Radeon 9550 in Enemy Territory...
Are there? Because though they've been announced, I don't think they are actually shipping in quantity yet. The G4s you see over 1.67GHz from upgrade cards are too hot for the PowerBook, let alone the iBook, and are usually actually overclocked. Contrary to popular belief, Apple does not use overclocked chips. We'd all love to get dual core 2GHz G4s running at 17W in our iBooks, but it ain't happening. Just like with those dual core and low power G5s.Evangelion said:
Once again, that's why we're moving to Intel.
Cautionary note, if you intend to hold onto your ibook for a few years:
Widescreen LCD prices are dropping fast and their market share is increasing. Next year more laptops will be sold with widescreen displays than regular and the cost price (to include them into laptops) of a widescreen display will be less than the price of a regular display.
In one year or less your new iBook will not only be outdated in terms of chipset but also form factor (for those of you who care about such things).
Asustek will probably make the widescreen iBook for apple, they already do a iBook-a-like laptop, and they already are making their own widescreen laptops.
iBook is aimed at a younger market than the rest of apples lines, this market is most likely to want to watch DVDs on the move than work on presentations and spreadsheets and the like.
Point is that they could have put it in now, and should have, but didn't. And they didn't even bother to compensate by including DVI-out.
I'm disappointed as I was waiting for this update to be good.
Widescreen LCD prices are dropping fast and their market share is increasing. Next year more laptops will be sold with widescreen displays than regular and the cost price (to include them into laptops) of a widescreen display will be less than the price of a regular display.
In one year or less your new iBook will not only be outdated in terms of chipset but also form factor (for those of you who care about such things).
Asustek will probably make the widescreen iBook for apple, they already do a iBook-a-like laptop, and they already are making their own widescreen laptops.
iBook is aimed at a younger market than the rest of apples lines, this market is most likely to want to watch DVDs on the move than work on presentations and spreadsheets and the like.
Point is that they could have put it in now, and should have, but didn't. And they didn't even bother to compensate by including DVI-out.
I'm disappointed as I was waiting for this update to be good.
budugu said:
The P-M started with 1MB of L2 cache, which was doubled with Dothan (first 2 Ghz chips) or just with the last announcement to 2MB, I am not sure. The G4 (7455) in my 1Ghz Ti-book has 256K of L2 cache (plus 1MB of L3 cache which ran at half the processor speed), this was doubled in the next (I think) revision to 512K L2 cache and the L3 cache was dropped.
Already at the start of the P-M, the G4 was behind and it has stayed behind, but it has not fallen back further. It simply took a while for everybody, Mac and PC-users, to realise how good the P-M is. This created the impression that Apple is falling back further, in fact they were in the corner the day the a decent number of P-M based laptops were available.
Everything I have read states that the 7448 won't be available in large quantities until October at the earliest. The 7448 is currently only 'sampling' right now. If you have access to information not generally available, please say so.
Evangelion said:
arrizaba said:Looking at the comparison between Radeon 9550 and Nvidia FX5200 posted at:
http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews/955055005200/index.htm
It seems that Radeon 9550 kicks ass comparing to the FX5200. But, the site above posts comparisons between Radeon 9550 at 128 Mb with Nvidia FX5200 at 256 Mb.
Does this comparison apply to Radeon 9550 with 32MB vs. FX5200 with 64MB?
Does this mean that the new graphics card in the Ibook is better than the one currently in the Powerbook??
Gee, I'm happy seeing the performance of the Radeon 9550 in Enemy Territory...
That review is pitting a severely underclocked FX5200 against the standard clocked 9550. See these reviews for the standard clocked 5200 and 5200 Ultra against the 9600 (radeon 9600 = slightly faster 9550, same memory speed but faster core speed)
http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20041004/vga_charts-05.html
Check the following pages for more games
http://www.insidemacgames.com/features/view.php?ID=280&Page=1
A mac review: FX5200 ultra vs. faster 9600 Pro
http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NDkw
Radeon 9200 vs. FX 5200 (non-ultra)
With that said, I'm still not sure what clocks Apple uses on the 5200 in the 12" pbook or what they will use in the new ibook. Overall, I'd say the 9550 has the edge in raw gpu power over the 5200, but with double the vram and a faster cpu, the 12" pb will be a noticeable step above in gaming performance. Too bad, since the 9550 has more than enough power to handle even some recent games at a decent resolution and detail, but the lack of vram will no doubt prevent you from playing anything at 1024x786 at high detail and using AA/AF isn't an option at all.
Question on free iPod offer
Does the new 12" ibook qualify? The rebate coupon disqualifies the "12-inch iBook with with CD-ROM drive". Since there is no such model, I'm wondering if the disqualification applies to the low-end model, whatever that might be.
Thanks
Does the new 12" ibook qualify? The rebate coupon disqualifies the "12-inch iBook with with CD-ROM drive". Since there is no such model, I'm wondering if the disqualification applies to the low-end model, whatever that might be.
Thanks
Evangelion said:
I think that's exactly what will happen, the question is when. I think the powerbook will be updated sometime in the next 3 months, and then the iBooks can get their better hard drives and video cards with another update around December/January.
It's true that the 12" iBook is _super_ close to the 12" powerBook. Oh well, I love my powerBook and it was the right choice back in January. I don't begrudge the persistance of time.