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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > 12" powerbook how does it compare to the ibook?

12" powerbook how does it compare to the ibook?
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ice_snuff
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Apr 2, 2005, 07:37 PM
 
i am stuck bettween buying a 12" powerbook or a 12" i book and upgrading the ram
any advice would be appriecated.
     
Randman
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Apr 2, 2005, 07:53 PM
 
What are your needs?

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ice_snuff  (op)
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Apr 2, 2005, 07:55 PM
 
well surfing the net, dvdburning and watching and just a computer to take around with me.

im also stuck betwenn getting a pc or mac laptop...

theres so many too choose its so hard
     
f1000
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Apr 2, 2005, 08:00 PM
 
Originally posted by ice_snuff:
well surfing the net, dvdburning and watching and just a computer to take around with me.
iBook. Definitely. Do it.
     
jknight8907
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Apr 2, 2005, 08:03 PM
 
To quote somebody else...


iBook, iSay.
Jonathan
     
Randman
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Apr 2, 2005, 08:04 PM
 
iBook and lots of ram.

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ice_snuff  (op)
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Apr 2, 2005, 08:05 PM
 
how much 768 mb or 1.256 ghz ?
i am on a kind of budjet so will 768 be enough?
     
f1000
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Apr 2, 2005, 08:15 PM
 
Originally posted by ice_snuff:
how much 768 mb or 1.256 ghz ?
i am on a kind of budjet so will 768 be enough?
I'm on a PowerBook with that much RAM. No problemo.
     
jknight8907
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Apr 2, 2005, 08:18 PM
 
Yep 768 will be great. What you need is PC2100 ram, so check at sites like www.newegg.com to find the lowest prices; you may find a 1gb stick for what you were going to pay for the 512.
Jonathan
     
RichieZ
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Apr 2, 2005, 11:42 PM
 
having recently upgraded from the 1.2 12" ibook to the 1.33 rev c 12" powerbook I must say there is not much difference. The main reason I upgraded was I wanted DVI out and clamshell mode/spanning without a hack (clamshell never worked on my ibook).

12" powerbook is more like a super ibook, i'd say get a apple certified refurb 12"ibook for $800

one thing to consider after reading your wants, the 12" ibook doesn't have a superdrive option. You'd need to get an external enclosure
     
ashtoash
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Apr 3, 2005, 01:45 AM
 
the ibook does not have a PC card slot. .. Don't know if you need it though.


Originally posted by ice_snuff:
i am stuck bettween buying a 12" powerbook or a 12" i book and upgrading the ram
any advice would be appriecated.
     
RichieZ
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Apr 3, 2005, 02:54 AM
 
Originally posted by ashtoash:
the ibook does not have a PC card slot. .. Don't know if you need it though.
um 12" powerbook doesn't have one either
     
Goatbert
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Apr 3, 2005, 03:56 AM
 
Originally posted by ice_snuff:
well surfing the net, dvdburning and watching and just a computer to take around with me.

im also stuck betwenn getting a pc or mac laptop...

theres so many too choose its so hard
Something that so far hasn't been addressed in this thread. If you want a 12" and you want DVD burning, only the PowerBook 12" has a SuperDrive option. Otherwise you would have to go for the 14" iBook.

I myself have a 12" PowerBook and love it.

-Jeff
"Beaker" - P4 3.2GHz, 1GB PC3200 RAM, 80GB Raptor C:, 600GB RAID5 D:, DW1820A 16x DVD Burner, Lite On 16x Reader, GeForce 6800 AGP 128MB, SB Audigy 2 ZS.
"Snuffy" - 1.42GHz Mac Mini, 1GB RAM, 80GB HDD, SuperDrive, BT, Airport Extreme, L90D+ Flat Panel w/ DVI.
"Pepe" - 12" 1.5GHz PowerBook G4, 1.25GB RAM, 80GB HDD, 8x SuperDrive.
     
Randman
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Apr 3, 2005, 07:42 AM
 
You can always use an external burner with a 12 iBook for DVD burning.

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ice_snuff  (op)
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Apr 3, 2005, 08:18 AM
 
how much are they?

i know this is a bit of topic but can i get half life 2 on mac?
     
EvanV
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Apr 3, 2005, 08:20 AM
 
No Half-Life 2 is only on the PC...

I guess you could play it with Virtual PC but I have not yet tried it...
     
ice_snuff  (op)
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Apr 3, 2005, 08:31 AM
 
no half life 2

wats a virtual pc?
     
Altair
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Apr 3, 2005, 02:59 PM
 
Originally posted by ice_snuff:
no half life 2

wats a virtual pc?
Virtual PC is a PC emulator that lets you run windows on the mac. It's a bit slow and does not support 3d so you cannot play half life 2 on it.
12" PB 867 *Retired :( *
2.2 Ghz 15" Macbook Pro
     
ice_snuff  (op)
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Apr 3, 2005, 03:56 PM
 
does the 12" combo powerbook have dvd rewriter and does it have the right specs to play doom 3?
     
Mithras
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Apr 3, 2005, 04:49 PM
 
Dude, if you're really set on lots of 3D gaming, get a PC. Yes, titles do come to the Mac eventually, and yes, current Macs can handle most games fine, but you're setting yourself up for frustration if a lot of your computer use will revolve around gaming.

That said, the iBook and 12" powerbook are both wonderful, beautiful machines, and OS X kicks the pants off XP. So choose wisely
p.s. Apple calls DVD-R drives "Superdrives", so that's the one you want.
     
ice_snuff  (op)
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Apr 3, 2005, 04:56 PM
 
no im just gonna get 1 or 2 games possibly 3
so does that me that the 12" combo power book does not have dvd rewriter?
     
NYK Ace
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Apr 3, 2005, 05:28 PM
 
no combo drives are CD-RW/DVD Player Only

superdrives are DVD-R/CD-RW (DVD Burner)

the 12" combo is not a dvd burner only CD burner
     
ice_snuff  (op)
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Apr 3, 2005, 05:44 PM
 
oh ok
but will it be able to play doom 3?
     
U n i o n 0015
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Apr 3, 2005, 07:55 PM
 
Originally posted by ice_snuff:
oh ok
but will it be able to play doom 3?
The PowerBook 12" can, but only so well. If you run it at the LCD's native resolution (1024 x 768), you will see framerates of about 22-30 fps when walking around. When fighting a bad guy, or multiple bad guys, it's normal for the fps to drop down to 5-9. It's pretty bad.

If you run the game at the lowest settings at 640 x 480, it's much, much more playable. 25-40fps walking around, lows of 15fps when fighting. A lot better than native resolution, but you have to deal with the game looking like someone wiped vaseline on the screen. I imagine the game's performance will improve over time, but if gaming is one of your top priorities, get a PC laptop.
12" 1.5GHz Aluminum PowerBook G4
15" 1GHz Titanium PowerBook G4
     
RichieZ
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Apr 4, 2005, 12:02 AM
 
Originally posted by ice_snuff:
oh ok
but will it be able to play doom 3?
unplayable during fighting with more than 1 enemey, IMHO
     
porieux
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Apr 4, 2005, 12:37 AM
 
...
( Last edited by porieux; Oct 2, 2006 at 07:56 AM. )
     
Goatbert
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Apr 4, 2005, 12:56 AM
 
Originally posted by porieux:
Actually a PowerBook would likely do better for 3D games than most Wintel PC laptops, which usually have really crappy onboard video.

Unless you are considering a PC desktop.
1. The game he wants to play in 3D is not out for Mac, so the point is moot.
2. PC Laptops with higher end Radeon chipsets and more RAM than the 12" PowerBook/iBook are available for around the same price.

That said, I bought a 12" PowerBook, and the one game I do play on it (World of WarCraft when I'm at other people's places with it) runs just fine. Not as well as on the gaming PC, but it is certainly playable. I wouldn't go raiding a big city on it or anything though.

-Jeff
"Beaker" - P4 3.2GHz, 1GB PC3200 RAM, 80GB Raptor C:, 600GB RAID5 D:, DW1820A 16x DVD Burner, Lite On 16x Reader, GeForce 6800 AGP 128MB, SB Audigy 2 ZS.
"Snuffy" - 1.42GHz Mac Mini, 1GB RAM, 80GB HDD, SuperDrive, BT, Airport Extreme, L90D+ Flat Panel w/ DVI.
"Pepe" - 12" 1.5GHz PowerBook G4, 1.25GB RAM, 80GB HDD, 8x SuperDrive.
     
porieux
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Apr 4, 2005, 12:58 AM
 
...
( Last edited by porieux; Oct 2, 2006 at 07:55 AM. )
     
ice_snuff  (op)
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Apr 4, 2005, 07:42 AM
 
no gaming wasnt going to be my focus i just wanted 1 or 2 games to play in my spare time.
i just have one more question, will things like digital cameras work on a mac and will i be able to use a usb flash drive to transfer data from my pc to the mac?

thanks for all the replys so far
     
Randman
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Apr 4, 2005, 07:43 AM
 
Actually, that was two questions. But you get one answer: Yes, to both.

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ice_snuff  (op)
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Apr 4, 2005, 07:45 AM
 
k thanks
     
ice_snuff  (op)
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Apr 4, 2005, 08:32 AM
 
does the 12" powerbook have speakers?
     
Randman
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Apr 4, 2005, 08:50 AM
 
yes.

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