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PowerBook and iBook Developer Notes
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iBook RAM
Adam, who is suggesting that there is 3rd party RAM made especially for the iBook? A retailer? Which one?
That is totally inconsistent with my understanding of how RAM specs work, and I'm very skeptical.
The iBook requires a 200 pin SO-DIMM, PC2100 at 266MHz DDR SDRAM.
The following are the RAM prices for 512 SO-DIMMS for the iBook I've been given in Toronto:
Apple C$260
North Star Computers C$229 (Shikatronics)
CDW (Formerly MacWarehouse) C$249 (Kingston)
Computer Systems Centre C$239 (Kingston)
On the net, I found Crucial.com selling for US$123 (i.e., C$160 + shipping)
I have heard good things about Crucial RAM on these boards, so depending on what they want for shipping to TO, I might go with them.
Does anybody have better prices than that?
And can anybody confirm/deny that "specially designed for the iBook" is a crock of $h!t?
Ken
Adam, who is suggesting that there is 3rd party RAM made especially for the iBook? A retailer? Which one?
That is totally inconsistent with my understanding of how RAM specs work, and I'm very skeptical.
The iBook requires a 200 pin SO-DIMM, PC2100 at 266MHz DDR SDRAM.
The following are the RAM prices for 512 SO-DIMMS for the iBook I've been given in Toronto:
Apple C$260
North Star Computers C$229 (Shikatronics)
CDW (Formerly MacWarehouse) C$249 (Kingston)
Computer Systems Centre C$239 (Kingston)
On the net, I found Crucial.com selling for US$123 (i.e., C$160 + shipping)
I have heard good things about Crucial RAM on these boards, so depending on what they want for shipping to TO, I might go with them.
Does anybody have better prices than that?
And can anybody confirm/deny that "specially designed for the iBook" is a crock of $h!t?
Ken
Threnody said:
NatronB said:
well now that'd be disappointing...
assumed it was always two, and maybe my friend did too. oh well...
Threnody said:
Check out Crucial or Other World Computing. They have excellent memory prices and great service. Though I've never dealt with Crucial myself, I've heard good things about them from others on these boards. OWC, on the other hand, I have dealt with, extensively. They guaranty their memory 100%. I had them send me a replacement before I sent back the dead module once, when I was pressed for time. Their service is absolutely outstanding!
3rd speaker update
checked the developer notes from the previous 12"PB and you're right, there's always been a third speaker.
checked the developer notes from the previous 12"PB and you're right, there's always been a third speaker.
I think it's actually just a mistake on my part. I was looking at Canada RAM and they have a special section for iBook G4 ram. Just me jumping to conclusions *blush*.
Klanda and Snowy River, thanks for the suggestions. I'll give OWC and Crucial a look.
I know there are a lot of issues floating around here, but I'd be really curious to know if someone could figure out the battery situation.
i.e. Are these newer batteries likely to give rev B (which i bought exactly nine days before the new ones came out from a store.. )s longer life? Or is apple just fiddling numbers as suggested earlier?
(ps. 12inch rev b PB)
i.e. Are these newer batteries likely to give rev B (which i bought exactly nine days before the new ones came out from a store..
)s longer life? Or is apple just fiddling numbers as suggested earlier?(ps. 12inch rev b PB)
I've bought ghetto ram from all kinds of places and never had problems in the past. Even bought some on eBay, though now used ram on eBay costs just as much if not more than new!Threnody said:
One place i have never bought ram is the Apple store.
Klopsi69 said:I know there are a lot of issues floating around here, but I'd be really curious to know if someone could figure out the battery situation.
i.e. Are these newer batteries likely to give rev B (which i bought exactly nine days before the new ones came out from a store..
(ps. 12inch rev b PB)
Assuming they're not fiddling numbers, the increase should be proportional to the increase in operatin time. Example:
46 kWh Battery @ 2 hours or 2.61 min. per kWh
50kWh-46kWh = 4 kWh x 2.61 min = 10.43 min additional use time.
17" sound crippled?
Is this a mistake? I hope so or I'll change my order.... The 17" audio is billed as 16 bit audio capable only.
"The sound circuitry handles audio data as 16-bit samples at a 44.1 kHz sample rate."
Compared to for the 15"
"The sound circuitry handles audio data as 44.1 kHz 24-bit samples."
and one additional input is listed:
"sound signals from the communication (modem) slot"
The headphone output on the 17"
"signal-to-noise (SNR) 90 dB unweighted (typical)"
On the 15"
"signal to noise ratio (SNR) greater than 100 dB A-weighted"
Is this true? Totally different audio capabilities? Why should the 17" buyer get lower specs if so?
Is this a mistake? I hope so or I'll change my order.... The 17" audio is billed as 16 bit audio capable only.
"The sound circuitry handles audio data as 16-bit samples at a 44.1 kHz sample rate."
Compared to for the 15"
"The sound circuitry handles audio data as 44.1 kHz 24-bit samples."
and one additional input is listed:
"sound signals from the communication (modem) slot"
The headphone output on the 17"
"signal-to-noise (SNR) 90 dB unweighted (typical)"
On the 15"
"signal to noise ratio (SNR) greater than 100 dB A-weighted"
Is this true? Totally different audio capabilities? Why should the 17" buyer get lower specs if so?
Klopsi69 said:I know there are a lot of issues floating around here, but I'd be really curious to know if someone could figure out the battery situation.
i.e. Are these newer batteries likely to give rev B (which i bought exactly nine days before the new ones came out from a store..
(ps. 12inch rev b PB)
If you bought it from the apple store I believe you are entitled to an exchange... If you bought it used or from an alternate retailer I have no idea
I don't see anything about the 12" being able to be put to sleep with the battery removed and unplugged from the mains and stay asleep for 3 mins while a new battery is being inserted, the bigger PB have this but i don't know if the 12" has?
Anybody know?
Anybody know?
AndrewMT said:
Basically, because this revision uses only drop-in, pin-compatible new CPUs and graphics chips. Apple sees them as a last revision and has shifted manpower to developing the PowerBook G5. So they cut corners here and did not redesign the AGP bus interface.
Not that'll hurt very much, the 7447A is bandwidth-impaired anyways. Unless you hook the Book to a large display (or want to play games), the 9700 is fast on a 4x AGP as well. 4x AGP is fine, no one really needs more speed
oh boy this developer page is a treasure box of information. I just placed an order for my 15.2" maxxed out PB...the site can keep me drooling as I await the shipment.
a little off topic but I need some help
I just bought my first mac (a 12" powerbook) and it has a dead (glowing blue) pixel. I read about apple's policy on dead pixels and am deciding whether to return the powerbook. Does anyone know any ways I could get the glowing pixel to function again? I heard of a "massage" method but i'm not sure what this entails. Thanks!
I just bought my first mac (a 12" powerbook) and it has a dead (glowing blue) pixel. I read about apple's policy on dead pixels
and am deciding whether to return the powerbook. Does anyone know any ways I could get the glowing pixel to function again? I heard of a "massage" method but i'm not sure what this entails. Thanks!Gently rub the pixel in a circular motion until (hopefully) the pixel starts functioning.skinEman23 said:I just bought my first mac (a 12" powerbook) and it has a dead (glowing blue) pixel. I read about apple's policy on dead pixels
It's in there, in the System Software section of the Features section (IIRC--I'm too lazy to check). I believe the 7447 (and thus the previous PB rev) had this feature as well, so it's not new.atari1356 said:
Interestingly, it looks like this rev actually has one fewer power-saving feature than the previous one: they say they've disabled memory bus slewing, which (again IIRC) was causing problems for some RAM, namely Crucial's 1 GB modules.
FWIW
WM
It seems to be pretty random whether Apple says 16-bit or 24-bit. I seem to remember seeing two different specs in two different parts of the dev note for the same product...maybe.Penman said:
The (supposedly) different bit depths are the reason for the different SNR specs. 90 dB is (close to) the maximum possible SNR for 16-bit samples, I believe, whereas the maximum for 24-bit is quite a bit more. Either way, any crappy sound you get out of (or into) your laptop is going to be the result of lameness in the analog circuitry and the converters MUCH more than in the purely digital parts. And there are lame 24-bit converters just as much as there are lame 16-bit converters.
If this stuff is really important to you, get a Mobile I/O or MOTU or whatever FireWire interface and be done with it. Nobody uses their computer's built-in audio circuitry for anything for which they need 24 bits.
</slight rant>
WM
WM. said:
The max theoretical for 24 bit is close to 110 db. I have worked in pro audio and see not reason for the confusion on Apple's part. They'd never make a mistake like that with a Graphics card.
Though the documents also list the 17" as accessing memory at 333MHz in a table and then beneath it write it's happening at 167MHz. I hope the quality control on the machines is better than the QC on the paperwork.
The 'get an upgrade' rant isn't valid (do you work for Apple?). It's a $2700 notebook. It should have everything that every other model does and more. It shold have the higest spec they're capable of producing. Soundblaster sell $100 cards with 24/96 audio. Why not stick one in a PB? Many core users are musicians and DJ's and DVD Audio requires it.
If and when Apple give a PB really first rate audio they'll open up a new pro-market. It's so much cheaper than graphics upgrades too.
Built in Midi i/o, an mLan port and a really clean headphone/line out would do it. About $70 in parts that don't need to be upgraded. The same midi ports have been in use for almost 20 years.
Penman said:
DDR
166.666666... = 167
167 * 2 = 333.333333
333.333333 = 333
happy? why do you think DDR 333 RAM is running at 167. DDR transmits on the rising and falling edge of the signal and therefore acts as if the speed has been doubled.
benixau said:
Thank benixau but why do Apple claim the 15 access memory at 167, the 17 at 333 and then - a line later - that the 17 access at 167.
I was making a point about how poorly the documentation's been put together. I wasn't saying I didn't understand the math.