Clear differences between 12" ibook and powerbook

DJ Rep

DJ Rep

How Interesting...
Hi I please could someone give me clear differences between these machines including what software you get with either, how the graphics card compare to eachother and everthing. Thanks
Also is it common place that you get dead pixels as I have been reading posts and it kinda scares me :( :confused:
 
Hey,
ok, I am not going to copy and paste the specs from the ibook and the powerbook using the apple.com site. But I got what is your question about and here is my answer: go for the 12'' ibook. It is much cheaper and has about everything the powerbook has. The graphic cards should perform very much the same. You won't have any differences in the 3d games (if that was where you question was supposed to lead). However, both use the same screen and the risc of dead pixels should be equal. It's not a big concern, but might happen. My ibook has no dead pixels, but my tibook has 2. And to be honest: in the beginning it seemed to be such a pitty, but later you will not see them anymore. And there is a threshold of dead pixels. Everything beyond that limit will be replaced. I think it's around 5 dead pixels or so...
 
Zammy-Sam said:
Hey,
ok, I am not going to copy and paste the specs from the ibook and the powerbook using the apple.com site. But I got what is your question about and here is my answer: go for the 12'' ibook. It is much cheaper and has about everything the powerbook has. The graphic cards should perform very much the same. You won't have any differences in the 3d games (if that was where you question was supposed to lead). However, both use the same screen and the risc of dead pixels should be equal. It's not a big concern, but might happen. My ibook has no dead pixels, but my tibook has 2. And to be honest: in the beginning it seemed to be such a pitty, but later you will not see them anymore. And there is a threshold of dead pixels. Everything beyond that limit will be replaced. I think it's around 5 dead pixels or so...
Click to expand...
What about if I bought the ibook locally and then there was a dead pixel dya think they would replace it or let me try that particular model before I buy
 
If you buy it locally, have them boot it up so you can check it. Apple won't replace a machine for just a few dead pixels.
 
The dead pixel thing is very wacky. Not only is there a number that will cause them to replace the screen, that number is different depending on the location of the dead pixels. If you have two dead pixels side-by-side, it most likely will trigger a replacement, if they are 8" apart, it won't. If you have 4 dead pixels in a .5" square area, most likely it will trigger a replacement. But there really aren't hard and fast rules on this. Take a look at http://www4.tomshardware.com/display/20030319/index.html for a good description of dead pixels and what different manufactors do to handle it.

Now, if you're concerned about dead pixels, don't buy anything with an LCD. Dead pixels and LCD's go togeather like milk and cookies, I don't care who you buy it from :)

Brian
 
Clear differences:
SuperDrive is not available on the iBook
More memory can be installed in the PowerBook
More capabilities with video on the PowerBook - adding an external monitor with independent display (dual monitor) rather than just mirroring the internal display.
The PowerBook is just a more solid feeling system, compared to the iBook.
Sone of these items may not be important for what you want to use these for.
 
The memory issue is tiny between the 12" PB and the 12" iBook. The both only have one SODIMM slot (the 15/17" PB has two). While Apple states that the most that will fit in an iBook is a 512M module, many places sell 1G SODIMMs that work in iBooks. So the RAM difference is really 1280M vs 1152M (the iBook has 128M on the board, the 12" PB has 256M on the board).

Also the iBook is rated at 6 hours on the battery, the 12" PB is at 5 hours. The PB also has a PCMCIA slot, while the iBook doesn't. Both videocards have 32MB memory, and the PB might be marginally faster, but it'd probably come down to a couple frames if anything in something like UT:2004.

For software, the PB comes with more business related software then the iBook while the iBook comes with games and software you'd more likely use at home. The biggest diffs are the PB comes with OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner, GraphicsConverter, and QuickBooks for Mac New User Edition, and the iBook has Quicken 2004 Deluxe, World Book 2003 Edition, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4, Deimos Rising, SoundStudio, and Appleworks. The PB is .3 lbs lighter, and like 1/4" thinner.

Ofcourse if the software matters, to buy the iBook software for the PB you'd pay:
Worldbook: $59
AppleWorks: $79
Quicken: $69
THPS4: $29
Sound Studio: $59
Deimios Rising: $20

So, you get $315 worth of extra "home user" software with the iBook. The PB comes with around $200 worth of extra software, but 99% of people with a PB would never use OmniGraffle ($69), OmniOutliner ($20), GraphicConverter ($20), or QuickBooks New User edition, which is a crippled version of QuickBooks Pro that is only available with PB's, but I'd put it's worth at around $90-100.

So, I'd say, unless you need the extra 200Mhz or a PCMCIA card go for the 12" iBook and save yourself a ton of money. I love my 12" iBook I got 2 weeks ago :)

Brian
 
Oh, also forgot that if you want AppleCare, it's $249 for the iBook and $349 for the PB.

Brian
 
One add: there are hacks for the ibook where you can use a second screen independently as well. So, in the end the differences between ibook and alubook are minimal, but the price ain't
 
the main reasons i went for the powerbook 12 over the ibook were:

dual monitors (capable on an ibook with a hack)
iDVD disk burning (now capable to an external drive with a hack)
faster performance (powerbook g4 12 1 ghz faster than an iBook g4 800)
DVI output (better than standard vga)
weight (slightly less than an ibook)

But with all that said, the price difference between an ibook with an 800 mhz processor, bluetooth added and 40 gb hd compared to a powerbook 12 1 ghz without any extras is $425.

I guess it is up to you whether you need the extra performance.
 
You can use the hack on an iBook for iDVD just as easily as a PowerBook. It sounds as if you're set on a 12. If not, consider the 14 iBook. For less than a 12 PB, I got a 1GHz 14 Gr iBook and love it. No dead pixels. Great battery life, slightly better than the 600 Mhz IceBook I had.
It runs well with 640 mb of ram (I do graphic design and it handles what I do just fine) and it came with a 60-gig hard drive.
 
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