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WinTroll · Sep 16, 2003, 04:16 PM

That 12" FireBook was nuclear hot on the left palm rest.

Is this still a problem on the new 12" and 15" PowerBooks?

amazing · Sep 16, 2003, 04:36 PM

It's still way too early to tell, the 2nd gen isn't expected to ship for another month. And, when the firebooks first came out, I don't recall Steve saying, "Oh, and one more thing: these do get rather toasty on the left palmrest.." In other words, nobody knew that heat was a problem when they first came out. Many early adopters got burned...

strazi · Sep 16, 2003, 08:11 PM

Im curious about the use of the 7457 proc in the 12 in, Motorola says it dissaptes less than 10watts at 1 gig, thats a pretty big improvement right?

schk · Sep 16, 2003, 09:01 PM

Well, judging by the pdf's available on motorola's site, the chipset used in the new G4s should be 7447. They lack support of the additional L3 cache whereas the 7457 supports additional L3 (7447/57 are so similar they could also use 7457 and just not use L3 cache. They do list power consumption specs in the pdf, but based on reports posted on websites, it's misleading to claim such significant reduction in power consumption.

The only part where they mention less than 10w is specifically w/ the 1 ghz model. Of course with lowering the fab from .18 micron to .13, there should be a significant difference in heat regardless. They specifically state there is a low power version of the 1ghz with only a core voltage of 1.0 versus 1.3, maybe that is the version which allows less than 10w of power usage, and hopefully the one used in the new 12" pb.

WinTroll · Sep 16, 2003, 09:20 PM

True.

But I am sitting on the fence waiting to take the plunge.

The heat thing is the only thing holding me back.

I have an iMac, but also want a PowerBook too.

LeeG · Sep 16, 2003, 09:21 PM

Originally posted by amazing:
It's still way too early to tell, the 2nd gen isn't expected to ship for another month.

True, too early to tell, but my ship date is 'on or before 9/25/03' - hardly another month. Anyway, Apple has been pretty responsive to BIG user demands, and HEAT HEAT HEAT was all you heard about the rev A 12" - I'll love it either way (but here's to hoping its better!!)

Lee

nobitacu · Sep 16, 2003, 11:52 PM

Wait about 2 weeks or so, than ask again. hehehe.

Ming

gator · Sep 17, 2003, 12:20 AM

Originally posted by schk:
Well, judging by the pdf's available on motorola's site, the chipset used in the new G4s should be 7447. They lack support of the additional L3 cache whereas the 7457 supports additional L3 (7447/57 are so similar they could also use 7457 and just not use L3 cache.

Yep, the Powerbook 15" and 17" use the 7457 G4 and don't use the L3 cache... the revised developer notes for both the 15" and 17" PB have a link to the 7457 information under the Supplemental Reference Documents, G4 microprocessor.

15" PB:
http://developer.apple.com/documenta...0870/TPXREF104

17" PB:
http://developer.apple.com/documenta...0862/TPXREF104

ratlater · Sep 17, 2003, 01:44 AM

I picked up a 15" superdrive pbook today and in my usage it hasn't gotten very hot. At one point I was balancing it on one leg and the center where it touched my leg got pretty toasty, but the top has always remained completely cool. Right now I've been using it for 2 hours straight and the bottom is only slightly warm. I don't have definitive evidence, but the heat problems appear to be gone.

-matt