[Dr.Michael]

Can anybody compare the fan noises of the current 12 inch/1.2 GHz iBook and the 12 inch/1GHz Powerbook?

The fan of my Powerbook drives me nuts (somtimes) and I really think about a switch to an iBook.

[troymurray]

Originally posted by Dr.Michael:
Can anybody compare the fan noises of the current 12 inch/1.2 GHz iBook and the 12 inch/1GHz Powerbook?

The fan of my Powerbook drives me nuts (somtimes) and I really think about a switch to an iBook.

Fan? My iBook has a fan? I've never heard it, never.

-t

[teknopimp]

Originally posted by Dr.Michael:
Can anybody compare the fan noises of the current 12 inch/1.2 GHz iBook and the 12 inch/1GHz Powerbook?

The fan of my Powerbook drives me nuts (somtimes) and I really think about a switch to an iBook.

i have a slightly newer PB12 1.33, it's fan is really quiet, it purrs. sometimes under heavy use it kicks into hi-speed for a few minutes or so, which is still tolerable. my G3 ibook though is ridiculously quiet and i've heard it only a few times.

[Zaurus]

Originally posted by troymurray:
Fan? My iBook has a fan? I've never heard it, never.

-t

my iBook has one
depends on system usage

but it is pretty loud

[teknopimp]

G4 ibook?

[donniedarko]

I've never heard the fan on my iBook G4. So I couldnt really compare.

[ghporter]

I can't hear the fan on ours, though I've felt it running. It is REALLY, REALLY quiet.

[maCCer]

i would say , the ibook has really quite fan and better cooling design, i think if ibook can get more THIN, i would say ibook is PERFECT for everyday lifes, such as music,photo, watch DVD(by the way , better screen indeed).

[Simon]

Dr.Michael, I feel with you. The 1 GHz 12" fan noise is really too much.

However, I doubt a 12" iBook will be a nice 'upgrade'. Have you considered switching to a new 15" PowerBook? From what I hear on the subject the 15" has much less fan activity and therefor it's a lot less noisy. Of course it's more expensive and bulkier, but if silence is important to you...

Nur nicht unterkriegen lassen.

[jamil5454]

In highest processor mode, when I run SETI@home or play a game for about 30 minutes on my 12" iBook 1.2 the fan stays on almost always. If I'm not playing a game, I usually set my processor mode to reduced (while plugged in) and then the fan NEVER comes on. When the fan does come on, it's definitely audible but not annoying at all. Of course, I don't really notice when my iBook fan comes on because my Athlon64 gaming PC drowns it out from the other side of the room. The iBook is the quietest computer I've ever owned.

[Dr.Michael]

Originally posted by Simon:
Dr.Michael, I feel with you. The 1 GHz 12" fan noise is really too much.

However, I doubt a 12" iBook will be a nice 'upgrade'. Have you considered switching to a new 15" PowerBook? From what I hear on the subject the 15" has much less fan activity and therefor it's a lot less noisy. Of course it's more expensive and bulkier, but if silence is important to you...

Nur nicht unterkriegen lassen.

I am not sure myself if it is a good upgrade (mainly because the plastic does not appeal very much to me).

But I have doubts that a 1.67 MHz processor can make a quieter powerbook than a 1 GHz processor. My experience tells me that higher frequency produces much more heat. Look at the TiBooks. The first 500 MHz had a loud fan that operated from time to time. The last 1GHz had two fans that nearly never stopped operating. You might remenber that I bought a 867 MHz TiBook some weeks ago to do the comparison with my 12 inch powerbook. This model qualified as a vacuum cleaner.

The only way to make a notebook quiet would be a silent fan or a better heat sink.

Have a look at the disassembly pages for the 12 inch powerbook (macfixit or kodawarisan). There you can compare the 867 MHz Albook with the 1.33MHz model. The fans look identical but the heatsink has been altered. Please note that the 1.33 MHz powerbook is reported to be very silent.

Before I throw away my 12 inch Powerbook, I will try to improve the internal heat conductvity. As far as I see the coupling of the heatsink and the fan is very poor (one thin piece of metal). An additional strip of (electrically isolated) copper could improve this. A second observation is that the heatsink is only connected with screws to the cpu and gpu. I am sure some drops of heat conducting paste will do a very good job here.

I really like the 12 inch powerbook. It performs very well for my needs and it is a kick ass portable notebook. A 15 inch powerbook would be a step back (for me) as I experienced with the TiBook some weeks ago. This is no option.

Instead of buying new models and hoping for improvement I think it will be worth it to improve the shortcomings of our model. Cheaper and maybe more effective.
A new powerbook comes with warranty again an cannot be tuned for a year. Our oldies can be opened without loss.

I don't know when I will have the time to check what can be done. But as soon as I find a 7200 rpm hd with >= 80GB I will give it a try.

Thanks guys for your comments on the iBooks. It is still an option for me. I will try one next week. But my feeling is Simon is right: It might be a downgrade. Sorry.

Unterkriegen???? Ich werde die Bedeutung dieses Wortes im Lexikon nachschlagen .

[Simon]

Originally posted by Dr.Michael:
But I have doubts that a 1.67 MHz processor can make a quieter powerbook than a 1 GHz processor. My experience tells me that higher frequency produces much more heat.

I agree. But I guess the 12" form factor allows less efficient cooling than the 15". The 15" is a larger heat sink after all.

A 15 inch powerbook would be a step back (for me) as I experienced with the TiBook some weeks ago. This is no option.

I expect the 15" Al to be nowhere near as loud as the Ti. The Ti's a much older design. I hope Apple managed to improve cooling/fan noise in all the time between the Ti and the current Al.

Unterkriegen???? Ich werde die Bedeutung dieses Wortes im Lexikon nachschlagen .

Da siehst Du was man in der Schweiz alles lernen kann.