ibooks...

[Amadeus]

Here's what I'd like to know....

with all this talk about updating the powerbooks and new lines of processors (G5), doesn't that leave the poor ibook in the dust?

I mean, the imac is has a G4, why not the ibook??

--

I've been thinking about buying a laptop recently, but I'm torn..

The only Powerbook model I'd consider is the middle of the road $3000 apple store model... but that still costs way too much! I know its a good system and all, but I don't need that much from my laptop!

On the other hand, there is no way I'm settling for a g3 ibook in a g4 world.

Can't we just get a 500 g4 ibook w/ system bus @ 133MHz for $2200?

--

I'm finally be a contributer here!

 

[AmbitiousLemon]

i think the main reason we dont have a g4 in the ibook is heat issues. apple had HARD time getting that g4 in the powerbook, and its still has BIG overheating issues. getting that hot lil chip in a ibook is going to take some serious engineering. but i agree it should be a priority. steve has said openly that osx needs a g4 and yet he ships ibooks that boot into osx with a g3.

and if you really want that powerbook go ahead and consider that low end model. also consider by an older model. if new ones come out at tokyo in a week then maybe you can find a good deal on some of the current ones.

there is a ray of light at the end of the tunnel. if powerbooks get a speed bump there might be room for a g4 in an ibook. and with low energy low heat apollo processors available maybe the heat issue that has been holding apple back will go away. of course these chips havent even been put in a powerbook yet so seeing them in an ibook could be a ways off. and the ibook did just get an update.

 

[krossfyter]

im thinking ambitous lemon is right.

once they take care of that heat issue then it would be no problem. also i dont think a bunch of average conumers (one who usually go for the ibooks and imancs) would want to put up with toasty laps...being that the heat emmited from the powerbooks with the g4 can do that to you. the specialized people will deal with it so as long as it does what they specifically need it to do.. as i do. i dont mind it. i just care about the umph in the 667 for my projects.

 

[ftaok]

Just a question

From everything I've read, the PPC chips use a whole lot less power than Pentium chips. Therefore, I assume that they generate a whole lot less heat as well.

Then how is it that PC manufacturers can design notebook PCs with Ghz+ speeds that can disipate heat and Apple cannot? This has been a puzzling question that's been burning inside of me.

Anyone have an answer?

 

[Macmaniac]

Speed

A 500mhz G3 may sound slow to a PC user who has 1.2ghz chips in thier laptops but actuallty there is not that big of a difference. I think u all know that an AMD chip is faster than a Pentium chip per mhz, Just like a G3 chip is faster than a pentium chip. If you put the two side by side, they would be nearly identical in speed. Our Apple mhz is worth more than a Pentium mhz. We have alot of speed in those babies.

 

[krossfyter]

can you say "built different"
can you say "altivec- co processor"

??????

 

[oldMac]

I don't want a G4 in my iBook...

I'd much rather have a 1Ghz G3 and twice the battery life.

Seriously, can you imagine what a backpack rocket the iBook would be at 1Ghz? And what if they could extend the battery life to something closer to 6 hours? *And* keep it at the same price point.

Putting in a G4 just sounds clumsy to me. It's *such* a good machine now, let's just improve on it rather than trying to re-engineer it.

 

[menoinjun]

My friend has a 600 mhz ibook, and it runs OS X really well with 384 megs of ram. I doubt a 500mhz G4 would be that much better, Velocity Engine and all. I'd like to see either 733, or 800mhz based ibooks and 1gig powerbooks.

-Pete

 

[Grokgod]

heat issues

ftaok had a point that I would like fully addressed also!

I was also under the impression that Moto's chip ran cooler than an Amd which is plenty hot!

WHy cant we get laptops that run with less heat than the Ti 667, which was a toaster oven!

Does anyone know the exact heat or watts that the chips from both company. and the heat spec of te new 7445 with SOI?

 

[iMax]

I think the G4 ibook is a long long way off. IBM has continued the development of the G3 chip, I saw an article somewhere on here that they have them running at a ghz or faster, with a larger bus speed... I think that those are going to find their way into the ibooks before G4's do...

But at the same time, it might be a mistake for apple to go to a high mgz G3 if the ibook is to eventually become a G4... almost never does apple release a new model with a slower clockspeed... even from the G3 to G4 powerbooks, the processor speeds stayed the same, if I remember correctly.

I think that the ibook will run the rest of the life out of the G3, unless apple introduces a sub imac/ibook line of products, which, at this point, is unlikely. The G3 will hit 1 ghz eventually in the ibook, and the Tibook will eventually get a G5, say MWNY 2003... apple lineup, Jan 2004:

iMac 1.5 ghz G4
ibook: 1 ghz G4
Powermac: 2 ghz G5
Powerbook: 1 ghz G5

keeps inl line with moore's law, no? hopefully apple will exceed our expectations....

 

[King Cobra]

Why the iBook will remain a G3 for a long time

There are several reasons for why the iBook will continue to support the 750, 750CX, etc. chip and will refuse to advance to the level to the G4:
(1) A G4 in the iBook of equal speeds compared with the Powerbook G4 does coincide with a modist heat issue.
(2) A G4 . . . will reduce the already impressive battery life in the iBook for any single charge.
(3) A G4 . . . will significantly raise the price of the iBook, causing the bottom of the line consumer portable Mac to be overpriced.
(4) A G4 in an iBook will kill sales for the Powerbook, especially if the G4 processor has very high speeds.
(5) If I am not mistaken, Apple wants to keep the iBook as a tool for the education market. The video demonstration for the iBook 500 (upon debut) showed this. I will assume that Apple will continue to support the educational market with an affordable portable computer.

I think that if the G5 becomes standard in the Powermacs (which better happen soon) AND in the Powerbooks, then and only then will Apple remove the G3 processor from the iBook and replace it with a low-cost, power-saving G4.

I hate to disappoint, but I am afraid that we will not see a G4 iBook until 2004, or late 2003.
________________________

Bad PC Advertiser: All you need to upload pictures from your camera is a PC and some expensive software.

KC: Well I have a Mac, and the software I use is free. Does that make me better than you?

 

[dualburn001]

Originally posted by iMax
I think the G4 ibook is a long long way off. IBM has continued the development of the G3 chip, I saw an article somewhere on here that they have them running at a ghz or faster, with a larger bus speed... I think that those are going to find their way into the ibooks before G4's do...

But at the same time, it might be a mistake for apple to go to a high mgz G3 if the ibook is to eventually become a G4... almost never does apple release a new model with a slower clockspeed... even from the G3 to G4 powerbooks, the processor speeds stayed the same, if I remember correctly.

I think that the ibook will run the rest of the life out of the G3, unless apple introduces a sub imac/ibook line of products, which, at this point, is unlikely. The G3 will hit 1 ghz eventually in the ibook, and the Tibook will eventually get a G5, say MWNY 2003... apple lineup, Jan 2004:

iMac 1.5 ghz G4
ibook: 1 ghz G4
Powermac: 2 ghz G5
Powerbook: 1 ghz G5

keeps inl line with moore's law, no? hopefully apple will exceed our expectations....

ahhhhh
I disagree....
it'll be more like
imac: 1.7 g4
ibook i agree with the 1ghz thier
powermac: dual 2.2 g5
powerbook: 1.4 g4/5 (thiers no way an ibook and a powermac will have the same amount of mhz even if one is a g4 and the other a g5.

 

[AmbitiousLemon]

I think king cobra came up with the best list of reasons as to why the ibook will not get a g4 any time soon. the interesting thing though is these are all the same arguments that were made 3 months ago as to why the imac would never get a g4 in it. im not saying i think a g4 ibook is coming any time soon, but apple surprised us all with the g4 imac AND steve has made it quite clear that OSX NEEDS a g4 processor.

the only odd thing is if apple drops the g3 where does that leave ibm and the aim alliance. of all the members of the alliance moto should be the one to take its leave not ibm. people have been calling for an apple buyout of moto's processor division but id like to see an ibm buyout. let someone else do the costly dirty work.

 

[mischief]

It's too obvious to mention.

Watch the flames:

The G5 will not be a Moto MPC8xxx chip. It will be an IBM PPC 750 variant.

Go ahead.......list all the reasons Apple should use a nonexistant Moto chip line.....

 

[me hate windows]

Re: Just a question

Originally posted by ftaok
From everything I've read, the PPC chips use a whole lot less power than Pentium chips. Therefore, I assume that they generate a whole lot less heat as well.

Then how is it that PC manufacturers can design notebook PCs with Ghz+ speeds that can disipate heat and Apple cannot? This has been a puzzling question that's been burning inside of me.

Anyone have an answer?

Look how big their laptops are and how loud they are(fans), and how many air vents that they have. But Pentium laptops are still really hot, the 500 MHz ones are even super hot.

 

[AmbitiousLemon]

Re: It's too obvious to mention.

Originally posted by mischief
Watch the flames:

The G5 will not be a Moto MPC8xxx chip. It will be an IBM PPC 750 variant.

Go ahead.......list all the reasons Apple should use a nonexistant Moto chip line.....

only way that will happen is if ibm buys rights to altivec or uses a similiar variant. i would much rather see the pro models in ibm's hands but with all of apple's software so dependant on altivec something big will need to happen before we see ibm making any pro chips.

still an ibm acquisition of altivec a variant of their own or the whole damn moto department isnt all too unlikely. it would be fun to see ibm take control of the chip design again.

 

[Chris Fam]

Originally posted by ptrauber
My friend has a 600 mhz ibook, and it runs OS X really well with 384 megs of ram. I doubt a 500mhz G4 would be that much better, Velocity Engine and all. I'd like to see either 733, or 800mhz based ibooks and 1gig powerbooks.

-Pete

I am thinking of buying an iBook. Yesterday I went to a Apple retailed shop to experienced thier 14" demo iBook, frankly I am quite not happy with the performance. I did a simple test, I play a QT movie at 320x240 and iTunes simultaneously in OS X, then the icons on Dock became respondless when I mouse-over them. they acted like "hang". I noticed that the movie playback almost use all the processor power via CPU monitor... I am shocked when seeing a latest iBook can't run the lastest OS X smoothly in above case.

any thought? are you happy with your iBook 600 in OS X?