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powermac G4 733 or ibook G4 1.33?

M

macnew

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 20, 2006
3
0
Hi

I have a powermac G4 733mhz, from before the quicksilver was launched, that has 256 KB on-chip L2 cache with 1 MB L3 backside cache. I have the possibility of getting a used ibook G4 1.33Ghz with less than a year old that has 512k on-chip level 2 cache.

I would like to replace the powermac with a laptop but I do quite a lot of rendering with Final Cut Pro. My question is, is the ibook 1.33Ghz substancialy better and can it cope with the same renders? Does the cache differences lean the balance towards the 733 or the ibook is still faster?

The RAM is not an issue, or OSX. I'm purely interested in the processor cababilities. I would think the ibook to be much better/faster, even if the cache memory is lower. The powermac is over 4 years old now.

Thanks
N
 
I think that the iBook G4 would be faster than your Power Mac G4. I think that the faster speed and double the L2 cache will outperform the slower G4 and L3 cache found in your current machine. :)


I know that you stated that you want mobility, but if you could cope with your desktop a little while longer, perhaps you should consider a cpu upgrade from a company such as DayStar. This option would probably give you even better performance than the iBook G4 would. :)
 
I personally would go with the G4. You can hotrod that thing all the way up to a DP 1.8 G4 7447 from Sonnet or Powerlogix for a decent price. Check the OWC site (www.otherworldcomputing.com)--they have a nice system configurator (is that a word?) anyhoo, it will tell you what you can pimp that G4 with. I imagine you can probably put a good graphics card and large hard drives in there as well, and probably an aftermarket Superdrive, if you get the itch.

Even if you dont upgrade the CPU, you shouldnt have any problems with OS X if you max the Ram. On the other hand, the ibook offers mobility, but little in the way of upgrades. A good portable, though!

Choose, but choose wisely.
 
Thanks for the answers. My budget is limited and the mobility is what attracts me.
The processor upgrade seems a lot of hassle because it's not straightforward as with win based pc. All the issues with the cpu speed not being recognised, firmware update in OS9.1, etc...In the end I could end up spending the same and get a slightly faster machine but still no mobility. I would also need wireless that the ibook has as standard.

So regarding my original question the 1.33Ghz should be the faster one even taken into account the cache differences?

N
 
my first mac ever was the 733 digital audio (first mac to have the superdrive!).

still have it, added some RAM, new video card and more HDs, and the thing is a tank. I use it just to render FCP files (my main is a Quad), and it performs perfectly.

I doubt i will ever get rid of it. Its very upgradable. Laptops are fun, but they just arent the same as a pro desktop.
 
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