TiBook 667 or 800? Opinions please.

[drustar]

Which one should I get? This might sound like a stupid question at first because I feel that the majority would say 800mHz. I don't want to spend as much.

I currently own an iBook and I'm not quite happy with it. I do web design and multimedia work.

Does anyone think that the 667 would do it justice? Please help. Some input or comments would be appreciated.

[voice-]

I have a 733Mhz PowerMac and it only comes short now in games. I think 667 would do you justice, less you wanna move on to heavy 3D-apps

[evildan]

Well, let's take a look at the specs...

I have color coded the difference between the two PB's in question.
==========================
$2,499.00
667MHz PowerPC G4
1MB L3 & 256K L2 cache
133MHz system bus
256MB SDRAM memory
30GB Ultra ATA drive
Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
ATI Mobility Radeon 7500
w/32MB DDR video memory
Gigabit Ethernet
56K internal modem
1 FireWire & 2 USB Ports
AirPort Ready


==========================
$3,199.00
800MHz PowerPC G4
1MB L3 & 256K L2 cache
133MHz system bus
512MB SDRAM memory
40GB Ultra ATA drive
Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
ATI Mobility Radeon 7500
w/32MB DDR video memory
Gigabit Ethernet
56K internal modem
1 FireWire & 2 USB Ports
AirPort Card Included

==========================

Now let's look at what you're gaining by going with the 800MHz

Price = $700
Processor = 133MHz
RAM = 256MB (512MB- 256MB)
Hard Drive = 10GB (40GB - 30GB)
AirPort Card = Included (not included with 667MHz)

==========================

Now that we know all the facts, let's talk about it.

The price difference is nothing to scoff at. But let's not think of that right now. Let's look at the additional items on the list and go from there.

You should be asking yourself, Am I going to upgrade these items if I bought the 667MHz? (yes or no)

Processor - 133MHz
Not much of an upgrade here, honestly, I don't think you would see a massive speed increase, if one at all, with the 800MHz. I won't even ask you if you would have upgraded this item, I'll assume you wouldn't buy the 667MHz then upgrade the the 800MHz.

RAM - 256MB
Double the RAM. Consider that RAM lovin' OSX will be on this system. But would you have upgraded this item? (yes or no)

Hard Drive - 10GB
10GB more in storage. Just enough to make you wounder. But would you have upgraded this item? (yes or no)

AirPort Card - Included
Included with the 800MHz unit. And worth $100 after market. But would you have upgraded this item? (yes or no)

==========================

My 2¢

Honestly, there's not much here tempting me to spend the $700 to upgrade. If you ignore the nominal items, such as processor and Hard Drive, you're really only left with RAM and AirPort Card. For $300 - $350 you could upgrade the 667MHz to include an AirPort Card and the additional 256MB of RAM.

But know this, I called the Processor and Hard Drive items becuase 133MHz is not that much faster and 10GB is not going to break the bank for storage. I have an 8 GB hard drive on my G3 laptop and I consider myself a power user. All of my heavy storage is done on my desktop.

The more I look at this, the AirPort seems to be the decision maker on this one. You have to ask yourself would you use the AirPort Card? Do you have a Base Station. If not, when do you plan on spending the $300 to get one?

These are important decisons because if you decided against the AirPort Card, you would be spending $100 in the upgrade that you didn't need to spend. It might be worth the $100 for you to have the AirPort option, and along with that some additional items you may talk youself into buying the 800MHz unit just for that.

[drustar]

Wow - evildan - that really helped me alot! Thanks. So you are saying that I could upgrade the 667 to 800? If so, how much?

Another question about the memory - could I use the same memory that goes on the iBook to a PowerBook? Just wondering... Not much of a techie when it comes to Mac. I am transitioning out from a PC to a Mac.

[evildan]

drustar,

My point was that you wouldn't want to just upgrade the processor without buying the entire package.

As far as memory:

Your iBook looks like it might only have one memory slot.

One of the following memory configurations:
* 128 MB of SDRAM built in
* 256 MB of SDRAM (128 MB built in and 128 MB in SO-DIMM slot)
* Single 1.25-inch (30 mm) standard SO-DIMM slot (3.3 V) supports up to 512 MB SO-DIMM for a total of 640 MB of SDRAM

( Source: Apple's KB )

If that's the case then you might not be able to remove the card at all. Or if you do, you wouldn't have any memory for the iBook at all.

The TiBook has two memory slots.
* 256 MB or 512 MB of PC133 SDRAM
* two SO-DIMM slots work with up to 1 GB

( Source: Apple's KB )

You can probably get at just one of the slots, so the first slot would have either 256MB or 512MB chip in it leaving the second slot for additional memory upgrades. Unless they put one 256MB chip in each of the two slots. Then you would be forced to buy a 512MB chip in order to upgrade your system from 512MB to a 768MB system.

So short answer, probably not going to be able to transfer the memory.

[drustar]

I've read the specs for the TiBook. (The *.pdf file I retrieved from Apple's web site) and it doesn't indicate whether the 256/512 of RAM is built-in or not.

[evildan]

Well the 512MB wouldn't be, unless it was one chip and located in slot 1.

But it could be that one 256MB chip is built in and the other chip is removable.

In my G3 powerbook. I have 512MB or Ram.

I can get at only the 256MB chip in slot 2. I can only remove that 256MB.

[phatsharpie]

I have a new DVI 667MHz TiBook here...

The system has two RAM slots, none of the RAM is burnt onto the motherboard. Please note that that 512MB of RAM on the 800MHz model consists of 2 x 256MB RAM modules, so you can't upgrade the RAM anymore unless you take out one of the RAM modules. You can have an 800MHz TiBook custom built from the Apple Store online with 1 x 512MB RAM module for $100.00 extra.

The 667MHz is quite a terrific performer. I have a 733MHz PowerMac at work, at I can say the 667MHz is up to par in terms of performance. This is mainly because my PowerMac does not have a L3 cache, while the TiBook does. I think the 800MHz machine is nice, but I can't justify spending an extra $700.00 for 133MHz of extra speed.