[wamallama]

i'm planning on getting one of the new ibooks or powerbooks, but i'm leaning toward the ibooks now for a number of reasons including but not limited to: features needed vs price, battery life and heat.

my question is, does the ibook g4 1ghz get as hot as the powerbook g4 1ghz? looking at them in the store, the powerbook seemed much much hotter but i was wondering what people's real life experience has been so far.

[Cadaver]

Good question. I have a feeling experience with the 1GHz iBook G4 is going to be pretty low for a little while longer. I will tell you that the G3 iBooks (even the 900MHz models) are very, very cool running. Most owners will tell you they've never heard the fan come on at all. While mine is an older machine (about 2 yrs), the only time my 600MHz iBook G3 ever gets warm is when I've got it sitting on something fabric (bed, couch, etc.) Not a good idea, I know, but otherwise it never gets even the slightest bit hot.

In fact, I'm happy enough with it as a laptop that I just recently bought some more RAM for it (take it up to 640MB from 384MB), a new battery (old one would hold a charge for less than an hour), and I even shoehorned a combo drive into it (pulled out the DVD-ROM that died 6 months ago when my wife dropped it). I suppose I could of bought a new one, but, eh, this one works and it was still $450 cheaper than a new one.

[iDaver]

As Cadaver said, it might be hard to find someone with much experience with both, for awhile. I don't know why you would expect the G4 iBook to be any cooler than the PowerBook of the same speed. You should expect better battery life though, as the 14" iBook has a 61 watt battery vs. the 47 watts of the 15" PowerBook.

[wamallama]

Originally posted by iDaver:
I don't know why you would expect the G4 iBook to be any cooler than the PowerBook of the same speed.

thanks~

i actually wondered if the metal casing of the powerbook made a difference, transferring and storing the heat better than the polycarb casing of the ibook. i had the same thoughts as you, but every time i feel the bottom and keyboard of each, the ibook seems much more comfortable.

i guess my concern was that people might be taxing the powerbook demo more than the ibook and causing the heat difference, rather than one running cooler. but yes, until it's been out longer, i guess there's not a lot of practical data.

[wamallama]

.

[wamallama]

thanks a lot for your experience...

i think i've pretty much settled on the ibook, even if the heat ends up being a non-issue. i love the powerbook to death, but it really is overkill in my case and i'd be better off with the longer battery and cheaper price of the ibook.

either would be more powerful than my present system, and a new desktop unit for the heavy work should be in my more distant future.

i don't know why i seem to think you should know all this. really, just thanks for replying so fast *s*

[dmw]

I picked up my iBook 1G last night at the Novi Apple Store. I've been running it a lot since then. The unit is not hot. It does generate more heat than my old 366 Clamshell did, but I've never heard a fan come on. It has two little vents up near the screen that I can feel a slight draft of hot hair coming from, but thats all. The bottom of the unit is a little warm, but not hot. I can also feel a little warmth under my left palm as I type, but nothing uncomfortable. The units in the store seemed hotter. Im not doing anything too processor intensive I dont think.
My overall impression? Imvery happy. The keyboard is much nicer than the clamshell, the speed is nice and the big screen is what I wanted. Everyone talks about the portability of the 12" unit, but this 14" is roughly the same size and weighs less than my old 12" clamshell. To me, and everyone else who has seen it so far, the appearance is classy, more so than some of the more recent incarnations of iBooks.

Dan

[iDaver]

Originally posted by dmw:
The unit is not hot. It does generate more heat than my old 366 Clamshell did, but I've never heard a fan come on. It has two little vents up near the screen that I can feel a slight draft of hot hair coming from, but thats all. The bottom of the unit is a little warm, but not hot. I can also feel a little warmth under my left palm as I type, but nothing uncomfortable. The units in the store seemed hotter. Im not doing anything too processor intensive I dont think.

Dan, out of curiousity, why don't you run the iTunes visualizer at full screen for awhile and see how long it takes for the fan to come on. That's a pretty processor intensive activity. My guess is that the fan will come on in a couple of minutes.

[CyberMonk]

I've had a 15" PowerBook G4 (the newest model) for about a week now, and haven't noticed any unbearable heat issues. I've been using it almost exclusively on my lap, and have never had to move it due to the heat.

[wildcard]

The casing (metal for powerbooks, plastic top/polycarbonate bottom for ibooks)makes a LOT of difference in terms of heat transference. Both g4 chips run the same temp, but I've run into a much cooler handrest on the 12"g4 Ibook compared to a 12" Rev A. Powerbook. I would imagine that this effect would scale up to the larger versions of each model (a 14" G4 Ibook with a 1 Gig G4 should run hotter than the 800 G4, but not quite as toasty as the 1.25 Gig G4 in the 15" Albook.)

[psurfer]

Hey dmw, I'm also coming from an old clamshell (300mhz) and considering the new 14"

I'd appreciate any additional comments you might have re handling/comfort/etc, comparing the new w/your old.

I'm glad to hear you think the new keyboard is better than the old, as I always thought the orig clamshell kb's had Excellent action, the best for typing I'd used.

And the rounded, sloping shape of the clamshell, combined w/its weight (although hefty) and non-slippery case allows the old design to effortlessly nestle and stay put in all sorts of precarious positions.

Like you, I'm looking for the increase in screen size, but wonder how you like that larger screen being closer in? (The 14 is still less deep from front to back than clamshl) My eyes are good, and I find myself positioning for a little distance from the even deeper set-back clamshell screen.

And those heat vents you noted- maybe this is only something you'd notice in the summer, but does that heat tend to get in your face when you're typing over it?

[psurfer]

dmw, One more question:
How does sharpness of text appear on the 14", compared to that on your clamshell?
While the old 12" had only 800 x 600pixels, the enlarged greater res of the new 14 could make reading a lot of small type either better, or worse...

[MrNo]

I'm using my girlfriends 14" 900Mhz iBook and it is running very cool. I have a 12" PowerBook Rev. A and that thing gets so hot. It's a pleasure using her iBook comparing to my PowerBook. About the screen, I like 12" better, it's much more sharper then 14".

[dmw]

Psurfer: I keep mine on a table in front of me, so I dont notice any differnce in terms of the depth of the unit. The screen resolution seems great to me. Its a big improvement over the 800X600 on the clamshell. I agree, regarding the sloping edge of the old iBook, I found that very comfortable, but I tired of the appearance of the clamshell in general. It had the virtue of seeming indestructible (it wasnt, I dropped and cracked mine). I also think I liked the track pad and 'clicker' on my old ibook better, but this may just be a matter of getting used to something new. This unit is really no bigger than the clamshell and weighs less. I did run that visualizer in itunes, but only for about 10-15 minutes last night. The fan never came on. Maybe I'll try going longer. The heat through the vents in the front is a very suttle breeze you can feel if you put your fingers in its path, but would never blow in your face. You wouldnt even be conscious of it unless you ran your fingers around the perimeter looking for it. I'd thus far call heat a non-issue on this computer. Im going to love having a cd burner.

On a final note, I was mad about Panther having no upgrade pricing path, and seeming to have no features to warrant my purchase. However, using it on this computer, I have to admit, I'm smitten! Like other posters have said, a few days with it, and you dont want to go back to Jaguar.
Overal, Im very happy. This is classy, quick, and combined with Panther, feels so new and fresh.

Dan

[dmw]

One more thing....I should probably start another thread with this info: For some reason, this iBook is giving me the fastest dial up speeds Ive ever experienced. Hallelujiah!
I've been stuck at 28.8 and occasionally 33.3. But with this iBook, im in the 40's.
Is it because of the v.92 I wonder? I'll take it whatever the reason!

Dan

[MRTrauffer]

Hello.

I've only been using my 1GZ 14" for a couple of days, and have had the processor working pretty hard and have never noticed any problem with heat. I am using a travelers coolpad which was $20 at Staples, which is a must have for any laptop. It also protects your furniture from any heat damage.

The iBook G4 is a great machine. I've been really enjoying this. Yes...I've made the switch from PC!!

Pictures are posted here:
http://www.paxilprogress.org/ibook/

Hope this helps.

[mrgaskell]

The iBook G4 is going to put off a lot of heat. The problem (or difference) with the PB is that metal has a lower specific heat, meaning it takes less energy to make it get hot than the polycarbonate, which (I assume) has a much higher specific heat. The drawback would be that the iBook will then retain heat for a much longer time. Thus, the PowerBook will be more effecient at getting rid of heat than the iBook.

For your information, I am running Photoshop, Dreamweaver MX 2004, Backup (backing up to my external HD), surfing the net on the modem, running mail, safari, AO-Hell, and iTunes and my 12" is running at 139 degrees F/59.8 C according to the Temperature Monitor program.