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ymmit · Jan 29, 2003, 07:44 AM

Hi all.

I'm looking forward to the day I get the 12" powerbook; in fact its here in AppleStores around Singapore already, but the 12" PBs don't have the apps I want to use installed.

I can't stand laggy systems e.g. un-snappy dock animation etc.

I hope to use the following software (order of priority) with the 12" powerbook. If anyone who _HAS_ the machine already, please advise on how the 12" PB performs with it:

1) Dreamweaver MX
2) Fireworks MX
3) Photoshop 7
4) Final Cut Pro 3
5) All the iApps
6) The occassional game or 2 (e.g. Warcraft 3)

I look forward to reading your comments.

Thanks in advance.

atomium · Jan 29, 2003, 09:35 AM

Originally posted by ymmit:
I can't stand laggy systems e.g. un-snappy dock animation etc... please advise on how the 12" PB performs...

What's your point of reference for speed? Without a baseline, this question is way too subjective.

I can tell you about the 12" in relation to a G3 500 portable or a G4 450 tower...but if you've been using a Dual Gig tower for the last few months, It would hardly have relevance.

One person's "snappy" is another person's "slowest operating system ever".

-atomium

ymmit · Jan 29, 2003, 01:37 PM

hmm. I'm afraid I can't help much with that cos' (*gasp) I'm still a PC user. been saving for this powerbook for 12" 1.5 years now.

my def of snappy is only with the dock. I tried moving the cursor over the dock of some ibooks with magnification and it was laggy, not smooth.

But really, what I'm looking for is for general feedback of the 12" powerbook when using the software listed above. I use these apps infrequently, mostly mail and surf. but when I _DO_ need to use them, I don't want the system to be slow.

so, comments please. Thanks.

Homer1946 · Jan 29, 2003, 06:46 PM

Originally posted by ymmit:
hmm. I'm afraid I can't help much with that cos' (*gasp) I'm still a PC user. been saving for this powerbook for 12" 1.5 years now.

my def of snappy is only with the dock. I tried moving the cursor over the dock of some ibooks with magnification and it was laggy, not smooth.

But really, what I'm looking for is for general feedback of the 12" powerbook when using the software listed above. I use these apps infrequently, mostly mail and surf. but when I _DO_ need to use them, I don't want the system to be slow.

so, comments please. Thanks.

I have to say, I hate Dock magnification, and it is the FIRST thing I turn off on any computer I use. I can't think of anything more distracting, unless it's Safari's insistence on jumping to the front to tell me it has timed out (although that will no doubt be fixed).

-R

Toyin · Jan 29, 2003, 07:08 PM

Dock magnification in the 12"PB should be handled mostly with the video card so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Dreamweaver MX is not the best OSX app. On my dual 500 with 1.5gb of Ram it's a bit choppy. Photoshop is better, and I expect the new iApps will be pretty snappy (except iPhoto)

clf8 · Jan 29, 2003, 07:08 PM

Originally posted by ymmit:
my def of snappy is only with the dock. I tried moving the cursor over the dock of some ibooks with magnification and it was laggy, not smooth.

Played with one in the Apple Store last night. Not a lot running on it at the moment, but the Dock showed no lag in magnification, or in genie'ing things into it (including movies). Coming from an iBook 466, snappy is an understatement.

cwasko · Jan 29, 2003, 07:36 PM

My friend has a TiGigaBook. i find it to be pretty responsive and quite usable. I'm used to using a B&W G3 upgraded to 450MHz G4 and an iBook 600. The G4 makes a substantial difference in the UI. The UI on the upgraded B&W is definately faster then the iBok that I have. However, when it comes to non-altivec processing, the iBok owns the B&W. Running FinalCut, etc on the upgraded B&W is definately faster than the iBook. So, I'd say that the 12" PowerBook will handle a good amount. But, as others have said, its all relative to what you are used to using. If you are using any G3 based system, the 12" will feel very quick. However, if youa re usign a G4 system that is close ot the clock speed of the 12", the 12" may underperform.

slffl · Jan 30, 2003, 12:56 PM

I too am interested in the performance with these apps. I'm getting a new mac for work which will be my primary computer, so I need to be able to run VirtualPC. Has anyone ever been using Dreamweaver MX, Adobe Photoshop 7, and VirtualPC 6.0 XP at the same time on a comparible mac, such as a Ti 867 or Ti 1ghz. If so, in your expert opinion do you think a maxed out 12" PB would be able to handle it?

cwasko · Jan 30, 2003, 01:48 PM

Originally posted by slffl:
I too am interested in the performance with these apps. I'm getting a new mac for work which will be my primary computer, so I need to be able to run VirtualPC. Has anyone ever been using Dreamweaver MX, Adobe Photoshop 7, and VirtualPC 6.0 XP at the same time on a comparible mac, such as a Ti 867 or Ti 1ghz. If so, in your expert opinion do you think a maxed out 12" PB would be able to handle it?

I'm quite sure DW and PS will run ok together. However, if VPC is the dawg that it is on my iBook 600, then I'd be very wary.

andreas_g4 · Jan 30, 2003, 03:47 PM

Originally posted by cwasko:
My friend has a TiGigaBook. i find it to be pretty responsive and quite usable. I'm used to using a B&W G3 upgraded to 450MHz G4 and an iBook 600. The G4 makes a substantial difference in the UI. The UI on the upgraded B&W is definately faster then the iBok that I have. However, when it comes to non-altivec processing, the iBok owns the B&W. Running FinalCut, etc on the upgraded B&W is definately faster than the iBook. So, I'd say that the 12" PowerBook will handle a good amount. But, as others have said, its all relative to what you are used to using. If you are using any G3 based system, the 12" will feel very quick. However, if youa re usign a G4 system that is close ot the clock speed of the 12", the 12" may underperform.

Have you an iBook 600 with 8 or 16 Megs VRAM?

msykes · Jan 30, 2003, 09:08 PM

Originally posted by ymmit:

I can't stand laggy systems e.g. un-snappy dock animation etc.

I hope to use the following software (order of priority) with the 12" powerbook. If anyone who _HAS_ the machine already, please advise on how the 12" PB performs with it:

I don't have the machine, but my gut feeling is that you will be a little dissapointed with it's speed. The L3 cache is supposed to make a significant difference in speed, and based on my comparison of use between my DVI 800 MHz w/ L3 cache, and an iMac 800 MHz w/o L3 cache indeed it does. Granted the 12" has a faster bus, DDR ram, etc but if you are that concerned with GUI responsiveness you might be best off with a more powerful machine.

Also, with the 12" 1024x768 screen apps like Photoshop and Final Cut Pro will be cramped! I hope you are planning on using a second monitor for those!

Mac Zealot · Jan 30, 2003, 09:29 PM

Simple.

Go use a 15" imac. The 12" powerbook will feel about 20% slower.

ASIMO · Jan 30, 2003, 10:17 PM

Originally posted by ymmit:
hmm. I'm afraid I can't help much with that cos' (*gasp) I'm still a PC user. been saving for this powerbook for 12" 1.5 years now.
...
so, comments please. Thanks.

I suggest you maintain that steady diet of savings for 0.5 years more and get the 15" Powerbook, instead. By that time (June/July), it'll likely be updated once again (and may no longer be titanium). It is the more appropriate machine for your apparent needs.

By the way, you knew the 12" powerbook was coming 1.5 years ago? Mind helping me out with this week's lotto numbers?

Superchicken · Jan 30, 2003, 11:46 PM

If you can get a tower for work then I would get the Dual 1.42Ghz Power Mac... not just cause it's faster. But if you need VPC to be fast... or uhh kinda fast... from what I hear it uses L3 cache to boost proformance... hence the 2 megs per processor make the Dual 1.42 the best Mac for the job... next up would be the Dual 1Ghz and then any Ghz power book. After that then it's anything really they'll all have substantially slower profformance from what I hear... then again I don't use VPC just know what I've heard.

As for Dreamweaver and all that... should work fine on a 12 inch.

Eug · Jan 31, 2003, 12:31 AM

Originally posted by Mac Zealot:
Simple.

Go use a 15" imac. The 12" powerbook will feel about 20% slower.

Dunno about the 15", but the 17" iMac 800 in some ways feels faster than a 1 GHz TiBook.

You easily can't compare a desktop vs. a laptop, since the desktop always has the faster hard drive.

ymmit · Jan 31, 2003, 02:49 AM

heh.. no la, when I said "I've been saving 1.5 years for the 12" powerbook" meant that I've been waiting to get my mac for 1.5 years already.

I've always wanted a G4 in a 12" ibook/powerbook package. Desktops are out for me cos' I'll be in school pretty often and need something mobile.

Portability is more important to me than screen size cos' when I'm on the go I'll probably do more mail/surfing/office apps. When I'm at a desk, I can use the monitor for web dev and photoshop, fireworks MX etc.

To wait longer for the Rev B 12" powerbook is an option, but an excruciating option at that. Its so hard to "just get it now" considering it's a significant investment, and I'd like it to last for a long time for the usage I intend for it.

So, so long as it meets my expected needs for the next 3 years, I think I will buy it now. If I wait another 6mths till June/July, my hopes may be dash should Mr Jobs decide to let the 12" powerbook remain without L3 and at 867mhz.

RMXO · Jan 31, 2003, 02:57 AM

Originally posted by ymmit:
If I wait another 6mths till June/July, my hopes may be dash should Mr Jobs decide to let the 12" powerbook remain without L3 and at 867mhz.

atleast the Rev.A 12" PB would be cheaper......

ymmit · Jan 31, 2003, 03:27 AM

hmm.. I just got a mail from an Apple friend who says that I have to wait 3-5 more weeks if I want to buy the 12" powerbook from him. By which time will already be early March.

I wonder if the update will come in July or October.

If there is no update but same 12" powerbook drops from SGD$3300 to SGD$3000, I don't mind paying SGD$300 more now just so I don't have to wait till October.

If there is an update but in October, then I have 7 more months to wait. Don't know id I can wait that long. July is only 4 months away from March, so if updates are in July, may wait.

Hope more people will post here about performance of 12" Powerbook with the above mentioned apps, and post benchmarks too. It it suits my needs, then I don't really need to wait for a faster machine.

RMXO · Jan 31, 2003, 06:37 AM

Originally posted by ymmit:
So, so long as it meets my expected needs for the next 3 years, I think I will buy it now. If I wait another 6mths till June/July, my hopes may be dash should Mr Jobs decide to let the 12" powerbook remain without L3 and at 867mhz.

honestly i dont think anyone can really tell you when the next release is going to be. most ppl expect a new 15.4" PB sooner or later. if you can wait long then wait to see which laptop is release next.

some ppl hate this saying but, "If you need it now then get it. If you can hold off then hold off."

i think you should consider getting the 1ghz PB instead if you can afford it. if you worried about AE then jsut add a 3rd party wireless card that 54mbps. to me Gigabook PB has more to offer than the 12" PB but get what you think is best for your situation.

i myself only like the 12 PB cus of its size & the AE but when i thought about it. the things on the 15" Gigabook outwieghs what the 12" PB has to offer. go with what you think is best for you.

sorry if i went off topic. its late.....