iBook G4 1.33 14" - the coolest G4?

[amagichnich]

Today i was - again - surprised by my 14" iBook, especially by the temperatures it develops. I was trying to install the newest possible version of Eclipse for Tiger (3.8.1) and had problems downloading it because the download process in TFF took about 80% of CPU. Then the iBook didn't react to anything else. As with Safari/Webkit I can't download anything encrypted, I thought "why not use curl or wget?" Only problem: TSL/SSL and curl on Tiger.
Solution: I installed Tigerbrew, downloaded an compiled wget.
Problem there: make depend and make test really need a long time for every dependency and CPU is constantly at 100% during compilation. 100% means a lot of heat. In theory. As many times before I wonder what Apple did right with the iBooks, especially in 2004. As a precaution I set the CPU-trigger in G4FanControl to 54°C. Now comes the "cool" part: the max temp the iBook's CPU reached was 56°C with the single small fan running at 47xxrpm (8108rpm max). Thats roughly half of what is possible. Most of the time with daily usage like web browsing (TFF), listening to music (Spotify or internet radio), Word or Excel open and GUI-less C coding the fan hardly ever turns on!
Now compare these results to other G4s! (From my experience AiBooks are mobile heaters, the TiBooks are as loud as a cheap vacuum cleaner, eMacs can sound like a starting Jumbojet and the G4 towers are well known for not being airflow optimized. I honestly don't know how the iMacs and Cubes behave.

The question coming to my mind is: why is this (cheap looking) heavy plastic monster with a single small fan as well quiet as cool under heavy duty?

As for the poll: I tried to differentiate it as much as possible, you are welcome to comment more precisely

 

[Dronecatcher]

I absolutely agree - my 12" 2005 iBook is head and shoulders above my 12" Powerbook in terms of heat control and fan noise - it is a few millimeters thicker but then the Powerbook has all that metal as a conductor?

 

[AphoticD]

PowerBook G4 17” SLSD 1.67Ghz has got to be the coolest running G4 in my regular use arsenal.

Second on the list is my 14” iBook G4 1.33ghz. I also have the 1.42ghz model with the 9550, but the GPU runs noticeably hotter than the 9200. Probably because Leopard is leveraging more of it than what it does with the 9200.

 

[amagichnich]

PowerBook G4 17” SLSD 1.67Ghz has got to be the coolest running G4 in my regular use arsenal.

Interesting! My early 2005 1.67 15" gets very hot due to the fans running 32xx rpm max. I realize they crippled the fans to run very slow compared to their size but i do not understand why they did that... Now I have a very cool looking but way to hot PB that I can't really place on my lap.
What is the diffrence to the 17" one?
[doublepost=1532534657][/doublepost]

it is a few millimeters thicker but then the Powerbook has all that metal as a conductor?

So be it, I don't care! It's absolutely ridiculous how thin they make todays laptops - keep in mind that they cripple their performance quite much. An i7 at 1.x Ghz? Why???
The metal works as a conductor! It conducts all the heat it can find to heat up the surface for you to grill one or two eggs

 

[AphoticD]

Interesting! My early 2005 1.67 15" gets very hot due to the fans running 32xx rpm max. I realize they crippled the fans to run very slow compared to their size but i do not understand why they did that... Now I have a very cool looking but way to hot PB that I can't really place on my lap.
What is the diffrence to the 17" one

I have a few 15” PowerBooks too and the DLSD seems to run substantially cooler than the earlier models. The 17” however has all other PowerBooks beat in terms of heat dispersion (dissipation?). It is a surprisingly cool running (and sexy) Mac.

 

[z970]

The metal works as a conductor! It conducts all the heat it can find to heat up the surface for you to grill one or two eggs

This has not been my experience since I replaced the thermal pads / paste, and adjusted G4FanControl.

 

[1042686]

So since I could, I voted twice. My coolest IMHO ppc macs are my 17SLSD powerbookg4 and my dual 1ghz Quickslilver powermacg4. The PMG4 has a cool asthetic especially with the acrylic ADC cinema display and that 17PBG4 on your lap is pretty darn nice feeling. Love the screen & palm real estate.

Just wish I could find a battery that is not stupid expensive so I could take it out for a coffee.

 

[z970]

So since I could, I voted twice. My coolest IMHO ppc macs are my 17SLSD powerbookg4 and my dual 1ghz Quickslilver powermacg4. The PMG4 has a cool asthetic especially with the acrylic ADC cinema display and that 17PBG4 on your lap is pretty darn nice feeling. Love the screen & palm real estate.

Just wish I could find a battery that is not stupid expensive so I could take it out for a coffee.

I'm really coming to regret getting a 12" the more I hear about the larger versions.

How much easier a better GPU, slightly faster CPU, more memory, slightly larger screen, and simplicity to open up and service would have been... Not to mention a lit keyboard to boot.

 

[amagichnich]

2 votes for the 12" PB - is the title of the poll misleading? coolest running like in cold (or at least not hot) , not like in "Brad Pit running in a park", even though he may look very cool while running (compared to me)

 

[MBAir2010]

Had to throw my MacBook g4 away in 2016: the keys kept popping off besides not having the exact OS X to reboot, therefore the iMac g4!
Yipppie!

 

[California]

I absolutely agree - my 12" 2005 iBook is head and shoulders above my 12" Powerbook in terms of heat control and fan noise - it is a few millimeters thicker but then the Powerbook has all that metal as a conductor?

I thought these were carbon fiber, not plastic?

Since they can be maxed out in the 2005 version to more ram than the Powerbook 12" (1.5 gigs in the iBooks) maybe this has something to do with it? The aluminum casing is the heatsink in the powerbooks...
[doublepost=1532563395][/doublepost]

Interesting! My early 2005 1.67 15" gets very hot due to the fans running 32xx rpm max. I realize they crippled the fans to run very slow compared to their size but i do not understand why they did that... Now I have a very cool looking but way to hot PB that I can't really place on my lap.
What is the diffrence to the 17" one?
[doublepost=1532534657][/doublepost]
So be it, I don't care! It's absolutely ridiculous how thin they make todays laptops - keep in mind that they cripple their performance quite much. An i7 at 1.x Ghz? Why???
The metal works as a conductor! It conducts all the heat it can find to heat up the surface for you to grill one or two eggs

When I complained to Apple about the heat of my 1st Titanium Powerbook laptop, the Apple rep kept correcting me when i described it as a "laptop" They repeatedly said Apple calls them portable computers because they are not to be used in your lap because of the heat. It had actually melted plastic underneath it on the desk.

They said you must keep this little rubber feet balanced underneath the "portable" computer in order for proper airflow.

Mind you, this was 2001.

 

[AphoticD]

When I complained to Apple about the heat of my 1st Titanium Powerbook laptop, the Apple rep kept correcting me when i described it as a "laptop" They repeatedly said Apple calls them portable computers because they are not to be used in your lap because of the heat. It had actually melted plastic underneath it on the desk.

They said you must keep this little rubber feet balanced underneath the "portable" computer in order for proper airflow.

Mind you, this was 2001.

Now there’s the Apple we all fell for... “It’s not the product, you’re just using it the wrong way”.

@z970mp no, the 12” is still my favourite PowerBook regardless of the sexiness of the 17” and the no-nonsense practicality of the 15”.

My PBG4 12”ers have all made a full thermal turnaround since redoing the paste and pads. They run cool in my opinion and certainly cooler than my MacBooks (A1181 and A1278).

 

[z970]

@z970mp no, the 12” is still my favourite PowerBook regardless of the sexiness of the 17” and the no-nonsense practicality of the 15”.

My PBG4 12”ers have all made a full thermal turnaround since redoing the paste and pads. They run cool in my opinion and certainly cooler than my MacBooks (A1181 and A1278).

I disagree. I think this:

is cooler (better) than this:

But then again, that could be the fact that mine has two broken off keys, no staying feet, a heavily scratched case, and is slower than I'd like it to be, even with all the tweaks one could apply.

I need to stop buying small laptops.

 

[1042686]

They certainly come with a price. 17” anything and the batteries cost more than the unit itself is worth.

I am a fan of the 12” PowerBook small footprint. While I don’t think they’re the coolest out there, their small size is quite practical & I admire that about them - especially considering their era. I wish mine hadn’t gone belly up truthfully.

 

[weckart]

After hearing all the horror stories about toasty 12” PBs, I found my 1.5GHz model to be surprisingly moderate in its heat output.

The first version, 867Mhz, is supposedly the worst. Apple tweaked the internal design after that.

 

[California]

After hearing all the horror stories about toasty 12” PBs, I found my 1.5GHz model to be surprisingly moderate in its heat output.

The first version, 867Mhz, is supposedly the worst. Apple tweaked the internal design after that.

I used blue ice packs on my 12" Powerbooks back in the day and they are still the best looking laptop, IMHO