[pamelah]

I've had both RevA and RevB (1 ghz and 1.33 ghz) and I am waiting patiently for my new RevC (1.5ghz) to arrive. (with 128mb video card upgrade as well as 5400rpm HD and 1 gig RAM)

Does anybody have one and have any comments (good bad or indifferent) regarding these new machines? Anybody notice any difference compared to the old ones if you had one?

What upgrades (if any) did you get?

[kdixey]

I wouldn't think the difference in processor speed would be that noticeable but the 128mb VRAM will really nice.

[NightEyes]

See BareFeats on the difference 128 vram makes. In two words: not much. Unless you're playing Halo at 1600x1200 resolution. Quartz Extreme appears not to benefit at all, but having extra vram can't hurt either, because things change as the future unfolds.

www.barefeats.com

[NightEyes]

On the other hand, the 5400 rpm drive makes a nice difference in the here and now!

[James L]

Yeah, exactly...

I would say that going from 1.33 to 1.5 Ghz on the processor you will see almost NO difference in day to day activies.

Likewise, going from 64 to 128MB of VRAM will, in most cases, make almost no difference in most games. Today's games, anyway.

Increasing your HD speed from 4200 to 5400 rpm will show you a slight increase in hard disk intensive activities.

Truly, the only place you will notice a significant improvement will be in going to the 4x DVD burner, if you burn DVDs.

I have to ask, why do you keep upgrading everytime there is a new revision?

[muchachotron]

its funny, because i've been doing the same thing. i've had each iteration of the 17 inch 'books.

i was quite happy with the 1ghz model, but then the 1.33 came out and i really wanted the usb2 ports so i could be "future-proofed" (even though now i've read that the apple usb2 hardware is not up to par with pc hardware...). there were a few other perks on the 1.33 too. so, i sold the 1ghz to a friend who happened to be planning on buying a mac portable, and got the 1.33 model (open box from clubmac).

i would have been happy with this, but it turned out to have a few bad pixels and that blotchy screen that was so prevalent on the 15 inch aluminum powerbooks. i ended up selling it to a guy who didn't care much about the screen defects, along with some extras. i looked for other deals on the 1.33, but decided to just wait for apple's next revision (would have loved a g5 pb, but can't wait till fall/winter) while i worked with my girlfriend's old 800mhz tibook (which is no slouch speed-wise, but its not in the best shape, and out of warranty, so a new machine is necessary). i was planning on buying the 1.33 at the reduced price once a g4 revision came out, if it wasn't a significant boost. alas, i also want the faster hard drive and vram expansion, as well as the 4x burner, so i ended up ordering the new 1.5ghz model and i am now awaiting its arrival.

i get jabbed a bit for buying a new machine every time there's a revision, but it ends up being a little more justifiable than simply techno-lust, i think. i am not just after the minute speed boosts. powerbooks are not upgradable like a tower, so to have usb2, a faster optical drive or a better video card soldered into the machine is a real enticement. its the only chance you get on that machine, and to upgrade you need to sell it and buy a new one.

that said, we'll see what happens when the g5 pb is released. i predict mountains of g4 powerbooks on ebay

[pamelah]

I do a lot of CAD, 3D modelling and graphics work so as far as I'm concerned any bump in performance is a bonus.

It seems like a good move because instead of shelling out another $400CAN for applecare once my current powerbook's year is up I'm spending that money on computer upgrades and an automatic applecare renewal. Plus, paying a few hundred extra bucks every 6 months is a lot easier on the chequebook than shelling out a few thousand extra bucks every couple of years due to depreciation.

So I guess nobody has experienced the new 1.5 with the extra bells and whistles?

Mine should arrive tuesday so I'll let you know if there is any difference

[James L]

Makes sense,

I ordered mine the morning they came out, and had it a week later (shipped to the west coast of Canada also). Mine is the 15", but the stats are identical to the 17" (1.5Ghz G4, 128MB VRAM, 80GB 5400 rpm HD, etc).

To me this machine rocks. I was working on both a G3 iBook, and also a 1Ghz G4 PB. I have noticed a HUGE jump over the old iBook, but also a significant one over the PB in most areas.

Barefeats is showing right now that the increased video ram is only significant in games that are not only 3D intensive, but also running in high resolutions. Even then the increase in small (I think 7% I saw in one study).

The faster HD did show to make a fairly big difference, however.

What can I say... I think these machines are great. I don't think you will see a big jump going from a 1.33 to a 1.5, and from 64MB of VRAM to 128MB, however.

You might notice a slight improvement with the faster HD though.

Cheers!