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New TiBooks and New Video

Originally posted by jefhatfield
i am not a graphics guy so help me here, but i like laptops...i have 2

is the graphics card on the tibook made for photoshop more or for gaming and moving animation more?

and do you traditional non-moving graphics people find agp graphics better than older pci graphics for photoshop and illustrator?

and if so, by a lot?

at the gaming store in the mall, the gamers, many of whom are techies, talk about the cards as if the high tech industry are gearing them for motion related games and moving graphics only...
Click to expand...

Depends on which rev you're talking about. My rev A has the ATI Rage Mobility 128 (AGP 2X) w/ 8 MB of memory. Most 3D apps I've tried have been pretty poor performers. The rev Bs have the ATI Mobility Radeon (AGP 4X) w/ 16 MB. The rev Bs will you give much better performance on a game/animation.

I don't believe that Photoshop and other 2D graphics apps suffer on the older video chipset.

Who knows what the rev Cs will have? GeForce 4 Go w/ 32 or 64 MB...mighty tasty!
 
jefhatfield, Personally, I have found that the AGP graphics cards are far superior to the PCI ones. The fact that the AGP bus speed is anything from 2x to 4x (currently with talk of even faster ones soon) that of the PCI bus.

I tend to favor ATI graphics cards, but the nVidia ones should be pretty much in line with them. As for how they handle 2D and 3D images... I would say that any AGP card with a decent GPU will do both well enough. The better the GPU the better the overall performance will be. The more memory the card has, the better the performance as well. A 64MB Radeon 8500 will blow the doors off of a 16MB Rage 128, and thrash a 16MB or 32MB Radeon (pre-numbered units).

I found that the 8MB in my TiBook (Rage chipset, not Radeon) was severely beaten by the 32MB Radeon Mac edition in my G4 tower (AGP graphics, and before I sold it). Everything on the tower performed better with the card (I replaced the 16MB Rage 128 that came with the G4 500 with the Radeon) from Photoshop to games. With a better graphics card, applications for image and video editing won't tax the CPU as much, since the graphics card can take some of the rendering work load off of it.

In general, I have also found that games tax hardware more then normal applications. Games are always getting more involved, and more demanding of hardware (either chip speed, graphics cards, or memory amounts).

Not all applications will take advantage of better graphics cards, items such as office, but your quality of display, and available resolutions get better with the better/newer cards.
 
I find that the 8 MB in my TiBook works well in most cases...but screen redraws in PhotoShop are really slow when compared my work system (which is a slower processor & less ram)...

vector redrawing isn't as well either...

video runs better in X than it did in 9 though...but I can only imagine what 32 MB would do for it...
 
Attn: Alpha Tech and eyelikeart

i noticed that both of you said that you were going to get new TiBooks. as soon as they come out i'm going to get one as well. :D
i was just wondering if you're getting the low-end or high-end model. i'm thinking of getting the low-end model now and spending a bit more on the high-end model when it has more significant changes/upgrades. what do you guys think?
 
Originally posted by dukestreet


The War On Stupidity And Ignorance takes no prisoners. I totally agree, if you don't do your research or no what you're talking about, don't expect to get away without someone letting you know. People can make a mistake, but a fact like that is too easily turned up.
Click to expand...
Hmmm, Okay, how about this:
Shut your hole you pee brained maggot! When referring to knowledge the word is "know" and not "no" you worthless little twit!
Is that how I should respond?
 
Originally posted by SPG

Hmmm, Okay, how about this:
Shut your hole you pee brained maggot! When referring to knowledge the word is "know" and not "no" you worthless little twit!
Is that how I should respond?
Click to expand...

Actually, the expression is "pea-brained"...
 
you insult your way, I'll insult my way, okay Peebrain?
-just kidding.

Seriously though, I just thought the tone back there was a little harsh, especially against a newbie who had a valid question, even if he didn't quote the spec exactly. Those of us who have been around here a little while kinda have an idea who they can mess with and what they can say, but come on! That was a first post by someone who has already read through a couple pages of diatribe and just wanted to get in on it, not get attacked.
Play nice until you get to know them, then mock them, browbeat them, insult them, and ridicule them!
 
Originally posted by SPG
you insult your way, I'll insult my way, okay Peebrain?
-just kidding.

Seriously though, I just thought the tone back there was a little harsh, especially against a newbie who had a valid question, even if he didn't quote the spec exactly. Those of us who have been around here a little while kinda have an idea who they can mess with and what they can say, but come on! That was a first post by someone who has already read through a couple pages of diatribe and just wanted to get in on it, not get attacked.
Play nice until you get to know them, then mock them, browbeat them, insult them, and ridicule them!
Click to expand...

He (lunDisc) made an incorrect statement as to the current spec of the Tibook. Alpha corrected him in his own particular idiom.

I neither condemn, nor condone said correction...but the correction was neccessary regardless.

I'm looking forward to future...uh, shall we say "banter", with you. ;)
 
Re: Attn: Alpha Tech and eyelikeart

Originally posted by cb911
i noticed that both of you said that you were going to get new TiBooks. as soon as they come out i'm going to get one as well. :D
i was just wondering if you're getting the low-end or high-end model. i'm thinking of getting the low-end model now and spending a bit more on the high-end model when it has more significant changes/upgrades. what do you guys think?
Click to expand...

Provided I can find a buyer for my current PowerBook G4, I will be going for the fastest processor. I might reduce the hard drive size, since I have the 60GB IBM TravelStar that I can just transplant into the new system. Obviously, I will back up everything first, just in case I need to wipe the drive when I put it into the new laptop. I will go with whatever the standard issue RAM amount is, and consider increasing it later on.

Thanks for the comic relief Rower_CPU and SPG... I think I needed it today. :D I had to deal with more then a few 'people' with protruding brows today, and I think it spilled over to the newbie. Did I make it too harsh, maybe... but, as the saying goes, if you can't take the heat, get the f*ck out of the fire. Either that, or get fireproof shorts.
 
low or high end??

it all depends on my current financial position when I buy it....if I get it...

I'm about to settle up my 3 lease on my car and I may be buying something within the next month...plus I'm moving in August....so funds may be a bit tight...

but if u ask me what I want to do...I opted for the faster processor when I got my TiBook last year...if I know myself at all I'll likely do the same next time around...he he he :p
 
Re: Re: If you're going for 2d performance...

Originally posted by Rower_CPU


Does Matrox even make Mac video cards? :confused:
Click to expand...

I just did a search within macmall and found three Matrox card bundles (same card, different package contents). They are priced at $599, $799, and $1289. How many people (not doing broadcast video) can justify paying that much for a video card???

From the specifications listed, it is a PCI graphics card that appears to be dedicated for video production. I doubt that it would do as well as the cards offered by both ATI and nVidia for graphics professionals, as well as home users.

In all honesty, IF I was a video professional, I would probably get something of that nature for producing video. For everything else, I would use a card from either ATI or nVidia. All three have their strengths and weaknesses. You just need to decide which you need more, all around great performance, or dedicated video production. Then again, you can have both in the same system too. :D

In case anyone wants a look... ($599) http://www.macmall.com/macmall/shop/detail.asp?dpno=958658, ($799) http://www.macmall.com/macmall/shop/detail.asp?dpno=966030, and ($1289) http://www.macmall.com/macmall/shop/detail.asp?dpno=965539
 
Matrox for 2d? what the?

You guys tear up the newbie but let Catfish get away with this bizarre matrox
2d video statement, what madness.

Catfish> matrox makes cards for video editing, i know because i use it!
I suppose you could call video, 2d if you stretched the logic of the premise to the point where logic no longer mattered.

Besides wasnt this a laptop thread? And wasnt the question in the context of laptops? You came up with Matrox. The is NO matrox card in laptops, lamer.
That was my tiny flame of the day.

Let loose the dogs of war!
 
Hey AlphaTech

I have a few questions regarding your 60GB IBM TravelStar drive.
What's the rpm? Is is quieter than the stock TiBook drive? How much is one?
Is it easy to swap out the hard drive in a TiBook? I've done it in an older tower but never in a laptop. I'm comfortable opening something up to monkey with it but I'm not a tech. Is it something that can be done by a technically curious but somewhat inexperienced person? I'd appreciate any info you can share. Thanks.
 
AlphaTech

I just got most of the tech info from the IBM website. I am still curious if I could install this thing myself. The only scary thing is the recommended torque settings for the mounting screws. Is that something that has to be paid careful attention to and is there such a thing as a tiny torque wrench/screwdriver?
 
60GB hard drive sounds pretty good hey bonehead. when i get my TiBook i might try something like that with it. i'm not a tech but i think you'd be able to do it if you were careful. i think that AlphaTech is a tech as well, he does those sort of things alot.
 
Originally posted by bonehead
AlphaTech

I just got most of the tech info from the IBM website. I am still curious if I could install this thing myself. The only scary thing is the recommended torque settings for the mounting screws. Is that something that has to be paid careful attention to and is there such a thing as a tiny torque wrench/screwdriver?
Click to expand...

I've never used a torque wrench on my computer (any of them). I believe that what they mean is to not over-torque the screws. Make them snug, and maybe use a little dab of lock-tite on them before putting them in.

As for how easy is it to install the drive?? Not for the faint of heart, or mechanically inept. How do you feel about pulling the bottom off of your TiBook?? That is part of it. Then you need a few Torx head drivers (if I remember correctly, you will need a T7, T8, T9, and maybe a T10) so that you can remove the old drive. Don't forget to pull the two screws from the opposite side of the original hard drive.

Something else you will want to do, is export your favorites/bookmarks from your web browsers and back up everything from your old drive first. Then just initialize the new drive and start installing everything again. When I did mine, I only put OS X onto it, no 9.x at all. I noticed a speed boost when I did this. Oh, and I have just one partition (the entire drive).
 
hey AlphaTech, you work with Macs don't you? could you tell me if it is possible to buy replacement TiBook covers. i've had a look on the net and haven't found anything yet.
 
Thanks

Thanks AlphaTech for the tips. I have one other question. Aside from the greater capacity, is the IBM drive a better quality drive than the stock drive? Is is quieter, more reliable, etc.? If I'm going to void my warranty, which I think this would, I want to make sure it's worth it. Thanks.
 
cb911, I don't believe that you can buy replacement covers for the TiBook. The only way to get them is from Apple, and they don't sell them, they replace defective ones.

bonehead, the IBM drive is of higher quality then the Toshiba ones that come stock in TiBooks. Even though it spins faster, the IBM is not any louder then the stock TiBook drives. The only way to really know the reliability differences, is to check for the MTBF numbers for both drives. The one with the more hours will most likely last longer, under normal conditions. I noticed a performance increase when I went to the IBM drive compared to the stock drive from Apple.
 
Here's a question... assuming the new TiBooks are officially announced on Apr 30, how soon will we see them in physical stores?

Just curious, I'm in the market for a new laptop and I'll have to check these things out...

-dr
 
Originally posted by dr190
Here's a question... assuming the new TiBooks are officially announced on Apr 30, how soon will we see them in physical stores?

Just curious, I'm in the market for a new laptop and I'll have to check these things out...

-dr
Click to expand...

probably 4-6 weeks...it took me 7 nearly 7 weeks go receive mine once I ordered it (which was 2 days after it's announcement last year)...

Apple has to annouce them to pique the public's interest in knowing there's something new....then they jump upon the task of actually making them...

great products...awesome technology...just slow as hell on the production level!!
 
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