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What is the G5 quad of PowerBooks

lowendlinux

lowendlinux

macrumors 603
Original poster
Sep 24, 2014
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Germany
My Latitude committed suicide yesterday while I was vacuuming, it jumped to it's death from my desk and landed on my hard wood floor. LIfe does go on and I'm going to need a portable of some nature I've been pondering tablets to replace it but I thought that I might be able to replace it with a 17" PowerBook. it'd be fun I'll be able to play with it and I still have all my old PowerPC apple SW.

Yes I've gone to everymac and looked at all the options and yes I understand that the newest one is going to be the fastest but that doesn't imply it's the best. If you were going to buy a 17" PowerBook today which would you get?
 
lowendlinux said:
My Latitude committed suicide yesterday while I was vacuuming, it jumped to it's death from my desk and landed on my hard wood floor. LIfe does go on and I'm going to need a portable of some nature I've been pondering tablets to replace it but I thought that I might be able to replace it with a 17" PowerBook. it'd be fun I'll be able to play with it and I still have all my old PowerPC apple SW.

Yes I've gone to everymac and looked at all the options and yes I understand that the newest one is going to be the fastest but that doesn't imply it's the best. If you were going to buy a 17" PowerBook today which would you get?
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In this instance, the latest is the best.

A1139. 1.67Ghz, 2GB ram Dual-Layer SuperDrive, Hi-Definition screen.

But I'm partial to the A1013, my 1.0Ghz PowerBook. The first of the 17's.
 
I think the DLSD is usually considered the "portable Cadillac" of the PPC PowerBook world. It is usually also the most expensive, though, not surprisingly.

That said, are you going to run Leopard on it? If so, yeah, I'd throw more megahertz at it and go for a model with 2 GB of RAM (or expandable to it). A 1 GHz machine with 1 GB will run Tiger quite well, and any PBG4 would be more than enough for OS 9 (whether supported natively or installed with "hacked" install CDs available over at macos9lives.com).
 
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It sounds like you're looking for the best PowerBook. In this case, the fastest is the best. A 1.67GHz options is your best bet and you can get it in any of the three screen sizes (12, 15, or 17 inch). But, the 1.67GHz is usually pretty expensive. If you want to run Tiger instead of Leopard, a 1GHz should run Tiger pretty well. I used to have a 1GHz PowerBook G4 and it ran Tiger pretty well. Leopard was a little slow, but not bad over all. If this isn't going to be used as a main computer, I recommend a 1GHz or faster version running Tiger or Leopard. But if this is going to ever be a main computer, go with the 1.67GHz.
 
I have a 17" DLSD and can vouch for their reputation. For some reason, it feels a lot faster than it technically is - maybe it's the touch pad's response and the 128MB GPU and the way it makes the GUI smooth as silk.
Mine has a 7200RPM drive too that helps so one with a SSD would do even better. Also, I can report very little noise on mine - the HD is quiet enough to not be there and the fans barely murmour.
However, I would advise to be realistic in buying - get one if it's a great price (mine was) if not, wait and go for a similarly styled Intel version as PPC is now on the threshold on convenient usability on the web.
 
Dronecatcher said:
I have a 17" DLSD and can vouch for their reputation. For some reason, it feels a lot faster than it technically is - maybe it's the touch pad's response and the 128MB GPU and the way it makes the GUI smooth as silk.
Mine has a 7200RPM drive too that helps so one with a SSD would do even better. Also, I can report very little noise on mine - the HD is quiet enough to not be there and the fans barely murmour.
However, I would advise to be realistic in buying - get one if it's a great price (mine was) if not, wait and go for a similarly styled Intel version as PPC is now on the threshold on convenient usability on the web.
Click to expand...

The point would be the PowerPC Mac. I'm not an Apple guy anymore but a PowerBook would be a fun project in a way that an Intel Mac would not.


There's no panic hurry I'll just use my work MBP until I find something else. This for me is a thinking out loud thread
 
lowendlinux said:
The point would be the PowerPC Mac.
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In my mind, it has to be the 17" DLSD then - one thing to consider though, is that this and it's 15" version run the last iteration of G4 that Apple used which uses a different power scheme from previous Macs ie no Processor Performance control in Preferences.
As far as I can tell, the CPU is constantly frequency scaled and cannot be forced into a lower state for battery conservation - I haven't found that to be a problem but thought I'd mention it.
 
HFTaylor12 said:
It sounds like you're looking for the best PowerBook. In this case, the fastest is the best. A 1.67GHz options is your best bet and you can get it in any of the three screen sizes (12, 15, or 17 inch).
Click to expand...

The 12" topped out at 1.5GHz with a feebler FX5200 GPU and a max 1.25GHz of DDR memory. You had to go bigger to get the more modern specs.
 
I prefer the 1 GHz Titanium PowerBook G4. It can still run Mac OS 9, and it's "fast enough" for almost any PowerPC task you want to throw at it. Only downsides are lack of USB 2.0, FireWire 800, and AirPort Extreme. (All of which can be remedied with CardBus cards.)

And while it doesn't have as fast a GPU as the last Aluminum models, those games that would be slow on it are almost certainly Universal games that will play MUCH better on an Intel Mac than on even the last AlBooks. Any game old enough to be PPC-only is also extremely likely to play just fine on a 1 GHz G4 with Radeon 9000.
 
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You may want to consider an iBook G4. Just be warned, most iBooks that I have seen have had a replacement HDD at some stage. I have owned two, and the very final 1.42GHz iBook seems to have been very hard on HDDs.

The very top end G4 Laptops are going to fetch a premium price even today on eBay. I was offered a 17" one a few months ago for $100 and sometimes I wish I bought it!
 
FWIW, I paid $150 for my 17" DLSD.

The last gen ones are definitely the way to go if you want speed.

Both my 15" and 17" have SSDs in them. I put an mSATA SSD inside an IDE enclosure that's the same size/shape as a standard 2.5" HDD. It will very nearly saturate the ATA/100 bus.
 
For an experiment, I grabbed my 1.33 12" Powerbook (Tiger, 768Mb RAM) and turned down the processor setting to Reduced.
I then did the following: watched 720P and 360P Youtube (TFF/Greasemonkey), opened up a 720P video and edited a clip into a small .AVI file, opened Windows 2000 in Virtual PC then played the edited clip there.
And I'm now writing this post on it....best of all, on the reduced setting, the fans haven't cranked up once!
Point I'm making is, my 17" DLSD could do all this faster but the 12" has the portability edge and feels more robust - so your definition of the best machine to go with will depend on the balance you need.
 
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weckart said:
The 12" topped out at 1.5GHz with a feebler FX5200 GPU and a max 1.25GHz of DDR memory.
Click to expand...

I bumped my 12 to 1.67GHz, and with a SSD it's my daily driver. I like the portability; for a bigger screen I either plug in a 1920x1200 second screen or use a desktop.

Supposedly some powerbooks are around with 7448 chips. Those would be the real cadillac imo...
 
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Dronecatcher said:
For an experiment, I grabbed my 1.33 12" Powerbook (Tiger, 768Mb RAM) and turned down the processor setting to Reduced.
I then did the following: watched 720P and 360P Youtube (TFF/Greasemonkey), opened up a 720P video and edited a clip into a small .AVI file, opened Windows 2000 in Virtual PC then played the edited clip there.
And I'm now writing this post on it....best of all, on the reduced setting, the fans haven't cranked up once!
Point I'm making is, my 17" DLSD could do all this faster but the 12" has the portability edge and feels more robust - so your definition of the best machine to go with will depend on the balance you need.
Click to expand...
Could you tell more about the "Processor Performance Control" please. I'm running my 12"PBG4 with german localization and I just found the ordinary preset of (translated) "low power-consumption/normal/high performance"

---
And, as a response to the thread starter: I'd go for the 15" 1.67 DLSD since it offers high resolution and it's both much easier to find and less clumsy to tote around than the 17"
 
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bobesch said:
Could you tell more about the "Processor Performance Control" please.
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It's in System Preferences/Energy Saver:

Picture 1.png
 
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flyrod said:
Supposedly some powerbooks are around with 7448 chips. Those would be the real cadillac imo...
Click to expand...

Taking upgrades out of the equation, NO APPLE POWERBOOK shipped with a 7448.

Despite what Everymac says, I have gone to extensive work to prove their 7448 statement false but they will not rescind it. It came from someone on here who posted a doctored photo of a 7447(it clearly was a 7447 and not a 7448-there are physical characteristics that are different aside from simply die markings) and proceeded to argue about it.
 
bobesch said:
Could you tell more about the "Processor Performance Control" please.
Click to expand...

The 7447 G4 CPU has the ability to run at half speed. I think they called it DFS, which lets the OS have some control over processor speed, and thus power use and heat production. In System Preferences, under Energy Saver, there's an option for Processor Performance. You can set it to Reduced (which runs the CPU at half speed), Highest, or Automatic. Under Automatic the OS will reduce the processor speed based on load, so if nothing much is running it will try to save some power to extend battery life, etc.
 
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bobesch said:
Could you tell more about the "Processor Performance Control" please.
Click to expand...
Sorry bobesch, I didn't read your post correctly but flyrod did and answered it properly :)

On the power saving and CPU scaling, the DLSD Powerbooks had a more sophisticated scheme by virtue of the last G4 chip, which also meant the user couldn't directly control the CPU speed.
 
Dronecatcher said:
The Daystar upgrades.....has anyone actually ever seen one for sale in the past few years?
Click to expand...
Guess, you're looking for the needle in the haystack ... ;)
Very interesting to read about Daystar pimping-up latest G4-PBs.
Reminds me searching a long time for my then Blue Mauritius of technology: Dave Design Aluminium Case for my favorite TRGpro PalmOS handheld :) http://www.dave.com/trgpro.htm
Crazy enough - I would have spent a fortune. Never seen any of them ...
 
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Dronecatcher said:
It's in System Preferences/Energy Saver:
View attachment 653304
Click to expand...
Ah, thanks, never noticed that setting-option!
[doublepost=1474051967][/doublepost]
flyrod said:
The 7447 G4 CPU has the ability to run at half speed. I think they called it DFS, which lets the OS have some control over processor speed, and thus power use and heat production. In System Preferences, under Energy Saver, there's an option for Processor Performance. You can set it to Reduced (which runs the CPU at half speed), Highest, or Automatic. Under Automatic the OS will reduce the processor speed based on load, so if nothing much is running it will try to save some power to extend battery life, etc.
Click to expand...
Thanks too!
 
Anonymous Freak said:
I prefer the 1 GHz Titanium PowerBook G4. It can still run Mac OS 9, and it's "fast enough" for almost any PowerPC task you want to throw at it. Only downsides are lack of USB 2.0, FireWire 800, and AirPort Extreme. (All of which can be remedied with CardBus cards.)

And while it doesn't have as fast a GPU as the last Aluminum models, those games that would be slow on it are almost certainly Universal games that will play MUCH better on an Intel Mac than on even the last AlBooks. Any game old enough to be PPC-only is also extremely likely to play just fine on a 1 GHz G4 with Radeon 9000.
Click to expand...
I have a 1 GHz TiBook and I love it, too. My favorite PowerBook is my G4/550 Pismo for sentimental reasons, but it's fairly limited and forget about gaming on it, though it's still a pretty useful machine on Tiger. The flexibility, modularity and engineering of that machine has yet to ever be topped for a laptop computer, IMO.

Someone looking for the "ultimate" in performance would want a DLSD. That said, the 1 GHz (and to a large degree, the 867 MHz version as well) are really cool for the reasons you mentioned. With the full 1 GB or RAM and a fast HDD or (better yet) an SSD, it runs everything from 9.2.2 (natively, no Classic, no hacks) to Leopard with full support. That alone increases the coolness factor. Mine is set up to triple boot 9.2.2, Tiger and Leopard. The TiBooks seem to run a LOT cooler than the AlBooks to me, then again, the titanium frame doesn't even feel like metal. The big knock on the TiBook is the wifi reception, which is justified. I run it with a Sonnet Aria Extreme PC card which essentially replaces the built-in Airport and gets around the reception issue. (It also supports 802.11g and WPA, though of course the latter is not compatible with natively booted OS 9.)

So for me, my 1 GHz TiBook -- it was on a wish list of mine for a while and I got a fully loaded one for $45 a few months back that works great -- fits in between the raw power of a DLSD and the elegant design and awesome engineering and flexibility of a less powerful Pismo. (I'm actually using it now. If I may brag, that purchase included an original Apple battery that still holds 100% of its charge -- I've tested it -- with only 60 cycles on it.)
 
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I keep reading about you guys talking about putting SSDs in you ppc laptops but I read that this is not advisable for ppc OS X because TRIM is not supported. Is this true or are you guys still getting a good performance boost? Or are you guys upgrading to that owc ssd with built in TRIM support?

Don't mean to hijack but am curious as I'm in the middle of upgrading my first ppc Apple - a G4 QS powermac. Thanks
 
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