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galarneau · Jun 11, 2004, 01:01 PM

Back in the day, I had a shiny new PowerBook G4 550 and absolutely hated how loud it was.

Now I'm looking at getting a new PowerBook, and would like opinions on which ones were quietest.

Anything from a TiBook/800 to the current models is what I'm looking at, though the new ones are a bit out of my price range. I would get an iBook, but I'd like a little more screen resolution.

Are the aluminum PB's the quitest?

Orion27 · Jun 11, 2004, 02:34 PM

I find the Al 15 extremely quiet. I hear the fan very infrequently. I go days without noticing the fan at all. Quiet office too.

Originally posted by galarneau:
Back in the day, I had a shiny new PowerBook G4 550 and absolutely hated how loud it was.

Now I'm looking at getting a new PowerBook, and would like opinions on which ones were quietest.

Anything from a TiBook/800 to the current models is what I'm looking at, though the new ones are a bit out of my price range. I would get an iBook, but I'd like a little more screen resolution.

Are the aluminum PB's the quitest?

galarneau · Jun 11, 2004, 02:54 PM

How about the 1Ghz TiBook -vs- 1GHz AlBook?

Synotic · Jun 11, 2004, 04:22 PM

Originally posted by galarneau:
How about the 1Ghz TiBook -vs- 1GHz AlBook?

The TiBook was loud. Fan on all the time. That's one of the reasons I got my AluBook, the fan rarely if ever comes on and the heat is just the same. I have a 1.25Ghz, but I'd think the 1Ghz would be the same if not quieter.

iREZ · Jun 11, 2004, 05:22 PM

From my experience the TiBook's are louder then the Alu's, take that for what it's worth. My 12" only gets loud when the second fan kicks in, at around 135�F.

McFarmer · Jun 11, 2004, 09:59 PM

One would argue the oldest and slowest (hence coolest), but that's not true.

While I found that my Wallstreet (I know 14") was much quieter fan-wise than my Rev C 12" PowerBook, the 'Street's 8GB HD was noisy as hell - while the 12" PB's 80GB drive is hardly audible. Certainly not once the fan comes on...

I guess my point is that it seems we traded HD noise for fan noise. Many old TiBooks were noisy due to their HDs, while current AlBooks are noisy due to their fans.

If you use your PowerBook in a cold environment the fan might not spin as fast (i.e. noisy), yet the HD will always have the same noise level when in use.

From that I'd say the quietest 15" PowerBook would be the current one (due to their quiet HDs) if used outside in a cold environment, where the temperature assists in cooling, making the fan go slower.

RageAPC · Jun 12, 2004, 11:01 AM

I use my 15" in an extremely quiet room and it seems to make no sound at all. The fan rarely comes on and even then, when it does, it's still very quiet. The only sound you hear every now and again is hard drive access, but that's usually just during startup.

Toyin · Jun 12, 2004, 12:22 PM

My 15" Al PB is whisper quiet, much quieter than my RevA 12" PB with 7200rpm drive. I've never heard a fan on the 15" (even when playing Elite Force II for hours), though I wish that it would come on every once in a while.

Musti · Jun 12, 2004, 03:32 PM

Ti667 DVI. The fan was strong and noisy, but you had to really force it to come off. Only thing I heard was the nice clicking my HD used to make and my keyboard tap sounds.

grayware · Jun 12, 2004, 10:33 PM

I must be really spoiled then... I have and 15 AlBook AND and a Cube; both super quiet. that Rev A iMac sure is a pig though.

k2director · Jun 13, 2004, 06:45 AM

I've had the Ti800, Ti 1Ghz, and the AluBook 1.25 Ghz--the loudest has been the Ti Ghz by far, and the quietest has been the Aluminum model. Working daily with the Aluminum, I barely notice the fan, and that's on very rare occassions when I'm sitting in a dead-quiet space, and doing video editing. Otherwise, the AluBook is about as quiet as they come...

NightEyes · Jun 13, 2004, 01:09 PM

My Ti 667 RevB was pretty quiet, but the 17" Al I have now is silent most of the time.

bamchum · Jun 13, 2004, 06:57 PM

My 1Ghz Tibook was so loud as to be embarrassing in public places. I liked the machine, but found that it really grated on my nerves after a while. Thing is: that machine had 3 separate motherboards and the 2nd one was significantly quieter than the other two. The last one was ridiculously loud.

Then I got the 1.25Ghz Albook and . . . blissful silence. This is the quietest laptop I've ever used. No HD sound and the fans are off as long as the processor stays under 63 degrees celsius. Even when the fan comes on it's not annoying, since it's quiet and shuts off promptly. This was not the case on the TiBook, whose fans, once on, would stay on.

curmi · Jun 13, 2004, 09:42 PM

I had a Ti500 for a number of years. Replaced it this year with the new 1.5GHZ Al. The Ti was so noisy. The Al is whisper quiet. Big difference.

ChrisF · Jun 14, 2004, 12:21 PM

Originally posted by Musti:
Ti667 DVI. The fan was strong and noisy, but you had to really force it to come off. Only thing I heard was the nice clicking my HD used to make and my keyboard tap sounds.

I concur. I replaced a Ti 550 which was loud and hot with the 667 DVI and it is much quieter. The 667 only has one fan as compared to two in the 800 (and I assume the 867 and 1GHz) so even when the fan does run, it's not going to be as loud as the others.

angelmb · Jun 14, 2004, 02:31 PM

Al 1 GHz PB, no noise. Pismo PowerBook 500 MHz, no noise.
You can

side by side with them.

TheIceMan · Jun 15, 2004, 12:08 AM

I had the Ti 667MHz and now the Al 1.25GHz. I would also agree with what some of the others have said. The Ti's fan was noticeably louder. It was fine when I bought it, but after about a year the fan kicked in and it was loud. I've had the Al for 6 months now, RARELY do I even notice the fan and it's only during intense, CPU-hogging activities. And even then it's relatively quiet.

Toyin · Jun 15, 2004, 08:32 AM

Hurray!!! I heard the fan on my 15" PB yesterday for the 1st time. I was in a completely silent room and it took me literally 20 minutes to realize the fan was on. I thought it was the hard drive spinning because it sounded like clicking. Barely noticeable.

Voch · 10:22 AM

My TiBook 667/DVI fan's "fastest" speed can be a little loud when doing a lot of crunching, burning a CD, and running from AC power. It's not particularly "bad" though, and I do use the machine on my lap sometimes (it gets pretty warm).

My old iBook/500 was pretty much silent and cool, though (but not as fast and luxurious as my TiBook).

Voch

TonTaub · Jun 15, 2004, 10:56 AM

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Michael.

galarneau · Jun 15, 2004, 12:12 PM

Thanks for all the replies. I actually went and bought a new old stock 14" iBook G4/933 from SmallDog.

Got it with 384/60GB/Bluetooth for less than the current 1GHz stock model.

I just couldn't see paying the extra money for a PB for what I use it for (and I know the iBook's are cool and quiet).