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New PowerBooks - Finally

re : speed of the new ^powerbook

the speed equivalence (1,33 ghz = 2.3 ghz P4) is because of the new L2 cache !!!

for the "old" g4 (with L3 cache) you could consider adding 50-60 % so a 1.25 ghz (OLD MODEL WITH L3 CACHE) = approx. 1.9-2.0 ghz P4

so, in theory, and because more L2 cache at full processor speed is BETTER than L3 at ¼ the processor speed the new 1,25 ghz = approx. a 2.2-2.3 ghz P4 ...so adding about a 70-75 % to the speed of the G4 to obtain a good comparison.


Also, these guys had already do some test :

http://www.macgeneration.com/tribum...xrings.net/xrings/article.php3?id_article=239

Barefeats also post some test of the 1,25 ghz 15"
 
Dell sucks, enough said.
I have bought from dell before, and I will never do it again.
If you want to send the damn thing to repair every other week, just to chance the keyboard because some of the buttons stopped working, then dell is for you.

The thing you CAN compare is the acer travelmate 804lci which costs the same as the top of the line 15" pb with 80gb 5400rpm.
But you don't get osx..
I have got enough of windows, like two weeks ago I got this virus that made my internet connection stop working, and it took me 4 days until it was all good again.
Or when microsoft downloaded an update and installed itself automaticly and ever since it did, I get this "security warning", that it can be a virus on the page, and it comes up allmost everytime I am on the internet, and open up a new page.
Very annoying!
And I can't turn it off!

I'm just sick of windows.
 
Too Little

I think the updates are quite nice ....if they were six months ago but this is way too long of a wait for a minor improvment to the 15.

There have been no revisions for a long time and now only a minor update compared to the rest of the industry. I hope that there are future updates and product cycles that are accelerated. This is Job's, "Year of the laptop" isn't it?
 
Originally posted by SiliconAddict
Look at the Dell Latitude C400.

http://www.dell.com/us/en/bsd/products/model_latit_latit_x300.htm

Or The Widescreen Latitude D800

http://www.dell.com/us/en/bsd/products/model_latit_latit_d800.htm

Our company uses this model. (C400) Its a metal shell and sexy as heck. Actually all of the Latitude series systems have a metal shell. I agree with one thing. The Inspiron series blows. Gale force wind blowing.
Click to expand...


I have two Dell D800's sitting in front of me as well as a 17" PB. One of the machines has a metal case and two of the machines do not. Guess which one is metal? I will give you a hint... Both Dell machines are made out of grey plastic. Perhaps you should take a magnet to one of your company's D800 cases to see if it is really metal ;) BTW one of the D800's is going up on ebay if you want to personally buy some "Dell Metal" for your scrap yard.
 
Originally posted by rjstanford
It just seems to be that the light-up keyboard has real value for casual users (excuse the inference), but less for users who comfortably touch-type. Since you get "pro" users (defined by their power needs) who don't touch type (because they're artists/whatever), this is a good addition. It may be an even better addition to the iBook line though. At least Apple has long-since stopped putting the touch-type key-differentiators on the D and K keys. That was painfully annoying.

-Richard
Click to expand...

i think you meant the "f" and "j" keys...
 
Re: re : speed of the new ^powerbook

Originally posted by mspock
the speed equivalence (1,33 ghz = 2.3 ghz P4) is because of the new L2 cache !!!

...

Barefeats also post some test of the 1,25 ghz 15"
Click to expand...
LOL! No, seriously, this made me laugh out loud. I hadn't gone to the BareFeats site yet. So, because I'm trying to be fair, I did. I clicked on their featured story:

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

First, I'll agree with you (slightly). The 1.25ghz could have been expected to hit 241 seconds in the render test, and instead it took only 227 - a 6% improvement due, perhaps, to the cache (or the faster system bus, more likely).

Now, please, take a look at the top feature on this page, the one you quoted, put out by a Mac fan site. Their benchmark. The one showing the new 1.25ghz G4 15" being spanked by the 1.3ghz Pentium-M (60% faster, rendering in under 150 seconds, and the slowest shipping P-M chip). And, please, tell me why you quoted this site to prove that the G4 was so much faster than the P-M?

-Richard
 
Originally posted by Sun Baked
Yes it's a 7457 ...

Now I'm just waiting for the "but it's overclocked" spiel to start again.

Even though it's a 1300MHz part. :rolleyes:

Lack of L3 cache is a suprise.
Click to expand...

As we discussed in the PowerBook G5 debate, there's no such thing as a "1.3 GHz processor". All processors come off the same assembly line, and are then tested to see which speed they can safely clock at.

Originally posted by vancenase
is it cheaper to buy the RAM at crucial or another place? can you get it somewhere else?
Click to expand...

www.dealram.com

Originally posted by gloftis
Welcome to the fray. I suggest you tie yourself to something heavy!
Click to expand...

Like a Dell notebook!

Originally posted by tuc
Well I touch-type on the dvorak layout, but not on the qwerty layout that unfortunately comes standard on the AlBook I just ordered. On some machines I have actually exchanged the keycaps, but the backlighting may actually hinder that.
Click to expand...

Another Dvoraker! I, too, am anticipating whether or not I can rearranget he AlBook's key caps.

Originally posted by rjstanford
Crucial charges about $87 for 512mb of PC2700 memory - sounds pretty reasonable to me (and a lot less than the $300 from apple.com).

-Richard
Click to expand...

$98 for a 512MB SO-DIMM module, PC2700. Regular PC2700 won't fit.
 
Originally posted by Chisholm
Yup, I'm looking at my new apple keyboard right now and it still has the little bumps on the F and J keys. I'd be lost otherwise.
Click to expand...
Exactly. Older Apples used to put them on the D and K keys. It was most aggrevating if you used more than one type of computer. Thankfully, they finally saw the light.

-Richard
 
First post from a new switcher

...Well not really a true switcher. I have used Macs at the design firms I have worked at for years, but after going freelance last year I have been Wintel only (fiancee had no Mac experience).

The withdrawl symptoms never ceased so I just pulled the trigger on the new 1.33Ghz 17" PB. Now that I'm finally putting a Mac at the top of the food chain here the fiancee wants one too so I bought her a new 15" as well! Our wedding is in a month so I guess that's our wedding gifts to each other!

I can see how the new specs could be a bit disappointing for some existing PB users, but they make me MORE than happy for first time Macs at home. I think I'll be happy for a while, keep them in good shape and be ready to upgrade to G5 PBs once they get to the second or third rev (hopefully in maybe a year or so).

I did have a couple questions though. First since the new BlueTooth mouse/keyboard use RF, they cannot be used on a commercial airline flight, correct? I'll just buy a corded Logitech two button optical mouse then. I have gotten used to the two button/scrollwheel mouse while in purgatory.

Second I bought an Airport Extreme base station as well. Currently I have DSL that goes into an ethernet hub that two PCs are connected to. They share the DSL bandwidth and also are networked together. If I connect the DSL coming out of the modem to the WAN port on the APX, and a new cable out from the LAN port on the APX to my existing hub, will my current PC network connections still work as before, and will the two PBs be able to communicate and share files with the PCs (as well as each other)? Just curious as to what the best connection scheme should be.

(edit) fixed typos
 
Re: First post from a new swithcher

Originally posted by meniscus
I bought an Airport Extreme base station as well. Currently I have DSL that goes into an ethernet hub that two PCs ar connected to. They share the DSL bandwidth and also are networked together. If I connect the DSL coming out of the modem to the WAN port on the APX, and a new cable out from the LAN port on the APX to my existing hub, will my current PC network connections still work as before, and will the two PBs be able to communicate and share files with the PCs (as well as each other)? Just curious as to what the best connection scheme should be.
Click to expand...
That will work just fine. If you have multiple IP addresses, and aren't just sharing from one PC to the other, you'd do better to run the DSL into your hub, and hook the APX onto it (IIRC, it comes with the cables). If you only have one IP and use something like XP connection sharing, then yes, do it the way you described and disable the sharing on your Windows boxen.

-Richard
 
10 Months of Waiting Paid Off!

Phew! Man, 10 months of excruciating waiting for the new 15-inch Powerbooks has finally paid off! As of 6:23 am Cupertino time this morning I'm officially in the queue. I can't wait. Seriously. Running OS X on a G3/350 blue/white Powermac for the last year has not been fun... Honestly, I don't care if it's not a G5 PB, this is exactly what I wanted, and the backlit keyboard to boot! :)
 
Couldn't sleep last night....my TiBk 500 is tired and I've waited so long for this update. Couldn't quite decide between the 15 and 17. Went to the Apple store before they opened, first one there. The doors opened, I asked for a new PowerBook. They didn't have the 15s yet, but they did have the new 17s so my decision was made. I may have been the first customer in the U.S. to boot up a 1.33GHz PowerBook. Seal was right next to me - he bought two!

I love it. Can't wait until tonight when the lights go down. It comes with some newer software loaded as well like OS X 10.2.7 and Safari 1.0 (v85.5). Still getting used to the surface texture of the silver keys, the sharper edges compared to the TiBk, the lack of gaps in the row of Function keys, and all the screen real estate (my TiBk is the 1152x768 model)! ...and of course the speed increase.

But with the tedium of transferring everything and configuring a whole new machine and the lack of sleep...I'm tired. I'd try to nap, but I know I'd just get right back up to play with "Big Al" again.

Gotta order some RAM...
 
yay randy!

i am in your boat (except i don't have a mac of my own; replacing a dell inspiron of yesteryear).

have you tried to carry around your 17"? is it a pain or bother to lug around?

i'm leaning towards the 17"! thinking about going down to the local durham superstore soon (well, maybe after the hurricane passes through).
 
I'd like to sound off. And say that i finally ordered my first mac

I ordered my 15 inch..


does anyone think it will have better battery life? or that it will run less hot? Due to the enclosure or the new chip. I am not comparing the new 17 or new 12 to the old one, but as a 15 inch user (my brother has a 15 that i borrow from time to time) there are alot of improvements i can't wait to find.


So does anyone know if steve mentioned anything about heat/power consumption.

Also i have not seen a complete list of things updated, actually comparing the old to the new 15. most people list the advertised features, but there are more that have been updated, most dont mention the 3 speakers , which is nice. So what are the actual full details?
 
when will we see panther on new power books?

I was just checking to see if anyone know when panther would be coming out installed on the new power books. Or if anyone has heard how much the upgrade will cost. It seems pretty sensless for me to buy a laptop and a few weeks later I have to spend $100 for the updated operating system. Its the only thing holding me back from purchasing a new 15" powerbook!

Any info would be helpful! Thanks:confused:
 
Originally posted by Abercrombieboy
I don't know if I would bet the farm the Moto is topped out on speed. Remember the 7455 made it to 1.42Ghz in the towers and maybe I am wrong, but I thought one advantage of the new processor was going to a better fab. to increase Mhz and lower heat and power. We might never see a 2Ghz G4 in a Powerbook, but we might see one in the iMac/eMac before they go to a G5. I think the 7457 or 7447, whatever it is should be a big improvement for scaling to higher speeds.
Click to expand...

look how long it took Moto to produce these 7447 chips and look how expensive they still are. Apple isnt going to wait another 10 months for a slight speed bump in the G4. There will not be another G4 based Powerbook, I'm sorry. Look for next June for G5 powerbooks. At least in the 15' and 17' models, maybe the 12' will get the 1.25 G4 while the 15 and 17 are at 1.4-8GHZ G5

Tyler
 
Re: re : speed of the new ^powerbook

I never want to say that the powerbooks are faster than the PC. What I want to do is establishing a comparison so people from the PC world than are thinking about switching can have a better idea of the performance (because for most people it's easy to find a PC to compare to...)

I dont work for apple and I dont care about people buying PC if they want to (actually I have a Dell 2.5 ghz with 512 rambus PC1066, nvidia ti420 64 mgb).

But a couple of week ago, i spend a lot of time with a 17" 1 ghz..doing intensive work with after effects, premiere and photoshop (at university /multimedia) and my job was getting done in less time than on my PC at home. Yes, rendering is slower on the mac..but you are not doing rendering all the time !


I used (and a lot of my friend pcguys too) to spend less time searching for my file and organizing them on the mac than on my PC.

Windows XP is not a bad OS but it's not OS X...and when Panther hits...the mac is gonna scream !

You see, the speed is about the last thing a pro should look at (dont get me wrong...i dont want to work in after effect 5.5 with a pentium 2 350 mhz) but the software and the accessory (FW800/400) and battery life and the weight are far more important...

so a mac computer that run equal to a 2.3 P4 is just enough for 99 % of the people and maybe 90 % of the so call PROSUMERS.

thats it !!


again sorry for my english
 
Re: yay randy!

Originally posted by vancenase
i am in your boat (except i don't have a mac of my own; replacing a dell inspiron of yesteryear).

have you tried to carry around your 17"? is it a pain or bother to lug around?

i'm leaning towards the 17"! thinking about going down to the local durham superstore soon (well, maybe after the hurricane passes through).
Click to expand...

i only carried it home so far and i was in kind of a euphoric daze, so it's hard to say. i do need to shop around for a new bag since it's too tight a squeeze to fit into the bag i have for the 15. i really don't think it'll be a big deal to carry it around.... i'm mostly stationary with it anyway, and the huge screen is well worth any extra bulk.

oh, and i'm still trying to figure out the deal with the built-in speakers. the specs on the apple site say that there are two speakers. it specifically mentions two in addition to using the term "stereo" - the 15 just says stereo speakers. i'm wondering if there are actually two drivers per side because the sound is waaay better than on the 15. it does sound to me like there are bass drivers in there, but maybe it's just the extra size of the case that's enhancing the bass. whatever it is... me likey!
 
Re: Re: First post from a new swithcher

Originally posted by rjstanford
That will work just fine. If you have multiple IP addresses, and aren't just sharing from one PC to the other, you'd do better to run the DSL into your hub, and hook the APX onto it (IIRC, it comes with the cables). If you only have one IP and use something like XP connection sharing, then yes, do it the way you described and disable the sharing on your Windows boxen.

-Richard
Click to expand...

Thanks Richard. The two existing PCs are desktops, one running XP Home the other running 2000 Pro. I hardly ever even boot up the one with 2000. I mainly wanted to hook the APX up so that it's hardware firewall was protecting the entire network with the hub behind it, and that both PowerBooks could read files from the XP machine (mainly media files) and vice versa. I'm pretty sure there is only one IP, but I don't know for sure. I simply made some logical connections through the hub and used Win XP network wizards (oxymoron) to establish the network.
 
Re: 10 Months of Waiting Paid Off!

Originally posted by RedMacMan
Phew! Man, 10 months of excruciating waiting for the new 15-inch Powerbooks has finally paid off! As of 6:23 am Cupertino time this morning I'm officially in the queue. I can't wait. Seriously. Running OS X on a G3/350 blue/white Powermac for the last year has not been fun... Honestly, I don't care if it's not a G5 PB, this is exactly what I wanted, and the backlit keyboard to boot! :)
Click to expand...

Ouch, however did you manage? My mom's got the 400mhz version and it's poky slow.

-Dual 1Ghz MDD, 2GB, 240GB HD, Superdrive/Combodrive, Nvidia Geforce4Ti, Apple 17" LCD.
 
@rjstanford

you can't compare cinebench on mac with cinebench on a pc.
The Mac version of Cinebench isn't very fast. Far away from being optimized well.

I hope you'll get 1 or 2 of those "brilliant" Dell plastic toys called notebooks and be happy with 'em.
Of course, the value from those Dell plastics will drop 10% every month but hey: YOU LOVE THEM :D
Oh, and have fun with windows too!


I was a pc user for over 15 years but now I don't want to work with windows XP again.
The only thing apc is good for are games. Nothing as games!
 
Richard-

i guess all i intended on my "gosh, this PC vs. PB business is so stupid" post is that for most people, hardware specs only go so far. (btw, i was not one of those screaming how PBs kick arse over any PC laptops.)

if PC users come here, wanting find out more about PBs, i imagine nit-picking specs, prices, benchmarks and comparisons (ex. oh, this dell i spec'ed out as close to this PB as possible and is such and such dollars cheaper... P4M will run this program at so and so speed while G4 will do this and that...) to be probably not very useful. it's sounding more and more like the usual "arguments" between PC and Mac inclined members of MR, claiming how g4 GHz should be multiplied by X factor to match P4M and dell spec'ed out would be $5 cheaper, look how ugly non-PB is... etc.

if a PC user is serious about switching, he/she must get in front of a Mac him/herself. hardware specs and benchmarks will only tell you so much. OS X is great for me but may not be good enough to convince some PC users. therefore, i imagine a thread discussing more general merits of PB update and perhaps some loose comparisons to PC laptops would be far more useful than proclamation about tiny differences in benchmarking.

i could be completely wrong, but i don't find much use for such a thread - it's been done before and it's just a rehash as a result of an upgrade.
 
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