OK, You're advice is needed: I am seriously thinking of buying the 12 in / 80 gig / 5400 rpm powerbook, but two things are holding me back: ONE, battery life in real life situations (I will be designing websites, using itunes and final cut pro express for small projects) and TWO - heat. This will be in my lap for hours at a time. Just how uncomfortable can it get?
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powerbook 12 in / heat / battery life
- Thread starter bigcreek
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Well, I can't speak specifically for the 12" powerbook, but I know with my brother's 14" iBook, the battery normally lasts about 4:30 hours using iTunes, iChat, Safari, and Airport Extreme. For heat, I'm not sure. I've heard that, the Rev B at least, got extremely hot, to the point of being unable to keep it on a lap.
My 12" only averages about 3 hrs of REAL use.
As for heat, I don't notice it too much because I am using Targus Coolpad most of the time. It doesn't get burning hot, but it does get uncomfortable just like every other laptop. I strongly recommend a coolpad for $30 to extend the life of your PB.
As for the 14" iBook comparison to 12"PB, I don't think you could relate the two. Too many different components and battery size.
As for heat, I don't notice it too much because I am using Targus Coolpad most of the time. It doesn't get burning hot, but it does get uncomfortable just like every other laptop. I strongly recommend a coolpad for $30 to extend the life of your PB.
As for the 14" iBook comparison to 12"PB, I don't think you could relate the two. Too many different components and battery size.
i'm sat with the model you're thinking about sat on my lap now (same disk option too)
battery life when screen dimmed and bluetooth off but airport extreme on is around 4 hours. i've had 5 with all the networks off etc.
in terms of heat, due to the alu body it's never gonna be cool but i've never found it unbearable.i borrowed a 1Ghz 12" from work and this is way cooler and the fan hardly ever comes on (it did a lot with 10.3 and the 1 ghz).
i'm well pleased with the thing.
battery life when screen dimmed and bluetooth off but airport extreme on is around 4 hours. i've had 5 with all the networks off etc.
in terms of heat, due to the alu body it's never gonna be cool but i've never found it unbearable.i borrowed a 1Ghz 12" from work and this is way cooler and the fan hardly ever comes on (it did a lot with 10.3 and the 1 ghz).
i'm well pleased with the thing.
i normally put something in between my lap and my pbook, like a book or something to keep it elevated and away from my skin; tehre was a recent thread here about people getting slow burns from laptops resting on their legs for extended periods of time, not a mac specific problem but still something you may want to avoid 
good luck with your purchase
good luck with your purchase
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1074788100200&skuId=6211752&type=product
I strongly recommened the cooling pad above. It has fans and does a lot more than just elevated platforms under your PB. It fits so well with 12" and keeps it significantly cooler.
I strongly recommened the cooling pad above. It has fans and does a lot more than just elevated platforms under your PB. It fits so well with 12" and keeps it significantly cooler.
I own an 867 12" PowerBook
It doesn't get terribly hot on the bottom, but the top can get hot to the point that you need to pull your arm up for a few seconds. I have 1.12GB of RAM and it significantly affect the battery life. I get about 2:30-2:45 on a charge. great little machine, but now I am Jonesin' for a 15".
It doesn't get terribly hot on the bottom, but the top can get hot to the point that you need to pull your arm up for a few seconds. I have 1.12GB of RAM and it significantly affect the battery life. I get about 2:30-2:45 on a charge. great little machine, but now I am Jonesin' for a 15".
bigcreek said:
First: I have to say if you are designing anything you'll want more screen space; go for a 15" pb.
Second: You could easily fry eggs on my 12" pb, I wouldn't want it sitting in my lap for more than 45min.
got kids?
I do NOT recommend you working hours-long with the laptop on your lap frankly because you skyrocket the chances of a drastic reduction in the quality of your sperm and some would argue cancer. Unless you already have kids leave it on the desk.
This has been proven as a fertility problem even for people who constantly have their car seat heaters on.
This is also why your testicles are not 'inside' the body. 30 degrees C is the optimal temperature for sperm production and 37 is your body temperature - hence external of the body. the powerbook... well mine gets a LOT hotter than that on the bottom (mine's a rev a).
KRohde
I do NOT recommend you working hours-long with the laptop on your lap frankly because you skyrocket the chances of a drastic reduction in the quality of your sperm and some would argue cancer. Unless you already have kids leave it on the desk.
This has been proven as a fertility problem even for people who constantly have their car seat heaters on.
This is also why your testicles are not 'inside' the body. 30 degrees C is the optimal temperature for sperm production and 37 is your body temperature - hence external of the body. the powerbook... well mine gets a LOT hotter than that on the bottom (mine's a rev a).
KRohde
Ha. Seriously though.krohde said:
Mine gets hot (uh... 70 celsius +), but it's mainly the GPU. Why? The cooling is totally inadequate for the newer generations. The CPU is routinely 10 degrees cooler under load, because that has slightly less appalling heat dissipation. A coolpad would be wonderful, but I can't get one over here
Basically... Don't leave it crunching numbers unless you've got a recent backup and Applecare.
Battery life is good. 4 hours real-life usage, at ~60% CPU. I've only had to use my spare battery once in 2 months...
i don't think anyone was suggesting put the machine on your nads.
when you sit a computer on your lap it usually sits nearer your knees
when you sit a computer on your lap it usually sits nearer your knees
Folding@Home isn't really a good idea either with a 12" PB. It can get insanely hot from that.
From all the laptops I have used they all get hot on the bottom. I had a 150 MHz Compaq laptop and it got as hot as the bottom of my 12" PB. The 12"PB on the other hand gets hotter then the 15" and 17" which some people do not like. The biggest problem with the heat of the 12"PB is that it also rises up through the left palm rest which makes your hand sweat, but this is only when you do cpu intensive task like games and so on. During typical everyday task like going online and using iTunes the laptop doesn't get uncomfortably hot. My laptop right now is running at 36 degrees Celsius and that is after bringing it out of sleep. If you do cpu intensive task then the temperature can easily reach 60 degrees Celsius. Again, it is all in how hard you are going to run your computer.
As for battery life, I get about 4:30 hours of battery life with airport and bluetooth turned off and the screen dimmed really low. I did play Quake 3 on battery power and I got about 2 hours (this is a very rough estimate). It all falls back on how hard are you going to run your laptop.
(I'm running at 38 degrees Celsius at the end of typing this post, but it should stay around that temp.)
What are you guys using as a thermometer?
And added RAM really decreases battery life? How much difference is there between 768mb and 1.256 in terms of battery life, heat, and performance. Obviously the 768mb is a ton cheaper too, but I was thinking the gig of ram would be the best all around. Maybe not?
Sorry, I kind of derailed this thread
And added RAM really decreases battery life? How much difference is there between 768mb and 1.256 in terms of battery life, heat, and performance. Obviously the 768mb is a ton cheaper too, but I was thinking the gig of ram would be the best all around. Maybe not?
Sorry, I kind of derailed this thread
I have a rev. B... my battery went bad, and apple gave me a new one. Now I probably get 3.5 hours battery life with full brightness, airport, and a few applictions. Well over 4 hours if it's just Word at half brightness or something. It does get hot, but not to the point that it's painful or otherwise a problem.