iBook: Slow?

[dt]

Well, I MIGHT, MIGHT, be getting an iBook after Tiger comes out. You know, probably the latest 12" G4 model ($999).

My dad seems to be against it though, he says that for that price it can't be that good. Obviously he doesn't know much about Macs, though...

Anyway, if I add 512 MB of RAM more to it, totaling 768 MB, should it run relatively quickly or would it be slow? The processor is only 1.2 GHz. Of course, PowerPC architecture is faster than x86 anyway, and it's got Mac OS X...

I don't have the money, nor do I want to, spend at least $500 more on a PowerBook. I'm not going to do a ton of heavy video editing on the *book, more likely I'll do stuff like web browsing, email, IM, iLife apps, maybe some Xcode (it seems interesting! :p), um... maybe a few games. But probably nothing heavy-duty...

Well, I guess this is sort of a "rant" post but I dunno.

Anyone want to say anything? :pa

[pdog]

it will be slow as molasses as soon as the os after tiger comes out. To prevent this, get the most ram you can get with it.

[pdog]

oh, and games, forget it unless its AOE or something like that. 3d is a no-go. Most you could play safely is rainbow six (not 3)

[the_snitch]

My dad acted the same way whe i asked for my ibook a year ago.

"Mac are old fashioned.." "Windows has taken over..."

Trust me, they are a STEAL at the price they go for. Try and fin an equivalent windows laptop that is as compact/sleek as the 12", and comes with equivalent software as the iLife suite for the same price or less.

It works so well together it is perfect. I almost feel like im ripping Apple off..

And no its not slow. I have the 800mHz g4 with 640mb ram, and its FAR from slow.

[dt]

No, it would be FAR from a gaming machine. :)

Anyway, thanks for the comments the_snitch.

Would anyone like to provide a "ratio" of PPC vs. x86 in speed? It sounds stupid... but a 1.2 GHz P4 PC would be rather slow compared to today's higher-end 2.8 GHz P4's and such. What x86 processor would a 1.2 GHz PPC G4 be equivalent to in terms of clock speed?

[SonComet]

slow is a little on the subjective side. OSX feels slow to a windows user because it is less snappy. Atleast that's my interpretation. I love OSX and how it looks and works, but it lacks a lot of snap. The last mac I used was a dual 2.5 g5 with 1.5gb of ram in the apple store by my house. Just to point out one example, it was kind of surprising how slow itunes was at opening. It's like lightning on my pc, but it had a slight delay to it on the G5 and every other mac I tried in the place. I would expect less snap out of osx, but it might be faster overall because of the superior multitasking it allows for. The review of osx over at anandtech shares my sentiments, but that doesn't stop me from lusting after a G5 or powerbook, lol.

[dt]

it will be slow as molasses as soon as the os after tiger comes out.  To prevent this, get the most ram you can get with it.

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Heh. I didn't mean I'm going to wait until the OS AFTER TIGER. I meant getting the iBook after Tiger comes out. Meaning: getting an iBook with Tiger preloaded on it.

... Duh? :rofl:

[mikedc1760]

it will be slow as molasses as soon as the os after tiger comes out.  To prevent this, get the most ram you can get with it.

585123680[/snapback]

oh, and games, forget it unless its AOE or something like that.  3d is a no-go.  Most you could play safely is rainbow six (not 3)

585123683[/snapback]

Do you have any idea of what you are talking about? Where did you come up with these comments? Do you even have a Mac? Come to think of it, I'm even going to waste my time proving it you wrong, I'll leave it to the rest of them.

Now to answer your question dark: You shouldn't have any problems with that configuration. I just purchased the new iBook stock and it has only 256 RAM. I do all the basic things you mentioned and they run great. I even play UT2K4 which is a 3D game.

[SonComet]

I highly doubt that the 1.2G4 in the power book is anywhere near a 2.8GHZ P4. I would place it closer to a 1.8-2.2 P4 at the most. I would place the 1.8GHZ G5 along the same lines as a 2.8GHZ P4. My reasoning is that the G5 is slower clock for clock than an A64. A 1.8GHZ A64 is equivalent to a 3.0GHZ P4 if that A64 is 1.8GHZ with 512k L2 cache and dual channel ddr-400, or 1.8GHZ with a 1mb L2 cache and single channel ddr-400. The G5 is clock for clock slower than the A64, so most likely it hits somewhere around a 2.6-2.8GHZ P4.

[dt]

My father is closed-minded. It angers me. Although I would be able to purchase the iBook if I wanted despite his not agreeing with me, I would prefer that he wouldn't think I were to "waste" a thousand bucks.

[theyarecomingforyou]

My father is closed-minded. It angers me. Although I would be able to purchase the iBook if I wanted despite his not agreeing with me, I would prefer that he wouldn't think I were to "waste" a thousand bucks.

It's not a waste if you want it but it doesn't have the freedom of software that a Windows laptop has, so I can see where he is coming from. Value is completely subjective - just make sure it does what you want.

[dt]

I doubt I'll have trouble finding software for the Mac. There are many open-source applications out there, right? In fact, I doubt I'll need to *buy* much software for it at all. iLife does a bunch of what I would use it for, and OS X comes with a bunch of neat software as well. I doubt that I would need *so much* software that I would absolutely require a Windows-based PC or notebook/laptop for it (or VPC). . . .

Besides, I'm tired of Windows and I want the reliability of OS X. :)

[docvenom04]

I doubt I'll have trouble finding software for the Mac. There are many open-source applications out there, right? In fact, I doubt I'll need to *buy* much software for it at all. iLife does a bunch of what I would use it for, and OS X comes with a bunch of neat software as well. I doubt that I would need *so much* software that I would absolutely require a Windows-based PC or notebook/laptop for it (or VPC). . . .

Besides, I'm tired of Windows and I want the reliability of OS X. :)

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Go for it bud. As a recent switchie (almost 3 weeks now), I can tell you. There are plenty of Mac apps, no spyware, and not any real virus threats. Don't be afraid to try new things. You won't regret your switch. :)

[davdav]

Wow, I cannot believe the misleading information in this thread.

Post-Tiger the iBook will NOT be as slow as molasses. Older computers (e.g. G3 Macs) are running panther just dandy.

One thing to be sure of: Fill your shiny new iBook with as much RAM as you can afford, as OS X loves it :)

[dt]

I would hope to be able to add 512 MB more of RAM to it to make it a total of 768 MB of RAM. But I think I already mentioned that in the first post. :)

[davdav]

Sorry, I got caught up with all the bad information from the replies..

768 MB or RAM will be great for what you plan on doing! The computer will fly :)

I just recently bought a similar machine

(iBook/1.2Ghz/1.25Gb RAM/80 Gb HD/Bluetooth/AE/etc...)

[dt]

Thanks for the comments, davdav. :D

Now how to pass the time until Tiger's release?

[thekore]

Would anyone like to provide a "ratio" of PPC vs. x86 in speed? It sounds stupid... but a 1.2 GHz P4 PC would be rather slow compared to today's higher-end 2.8 GHz P4's and such. What x86 processor would a 1.2 GHz PPC G4 be equivalent to in terms of clock speed?

585123729[/snapback]

People tend to say that its approximately 2x the colck speed... so going by that a 2.4GHz would be the equivelent.

I had a 800MHz G4 until recently and i now have a 2.0GHz Sempron 2800+ and its MUCH fast than the iBook ever was, however that still stays within what they say as it would be compared to a 1600MHz.

Personally, i dont think it is 2x , thats a figure that apple have unofficial mention here and there (in magazines for one). I would say anywhere between 1.5 to 2x but it all depends really. :)

[dt]

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.asp...Hz%29&submit=Go

Adding a 512 MB RAM thing would cost way more than adding a 256 MB of RAM... would the iBook be fine with a total of 512 MB of RAM as opposed to 768 MB of RAM?

[davdav]

Tip: Buy the faster (PC2700) RAM... It is the RAM for powerbooks, and it will work with iBooks too (Same performance on an iBook as the slower, more expensive PC2100 RAM)

[dt]

Is there a place on Apple's site which officially says that the iBook G4s support PC-2700? I thought it was PC-2100.... O_o;

And if one of the RAM things (that come with the iBook) is PC2100, would there be a discrepancy between the PC2100 and PC2700 RAM things? :p

Sorry if I'm asking stupid questions. I'm somewhat new to the "Mac world" and I don't know much about RAM... (I don't have an iBook and I probably won't get a Mac until after Tiger is released).

Thanks for the help, all. :D

[davdav]

Well, the iBook calls for PC2100 RAM, anything faster than PC2100 *will* work (e.g. PC2700), it will just scale down its speed to that of PC2100.

PC2700, the faster, cheaper RAM, will work great in an iBook (I have a gig stick for mine). There should not be a problem with different speeds of RAM