Shaddup about G5 PowerBooks already!

Randman

Randman

HA! HA! HA!
Sorry, but gotta rant on this one.
I am truly tired of hearing people ask about G5 PowerBooks as if they'll be some Holy Grail and completely revolutionize computing.
I own a PB17, rev c, and I've worked on G5 PowerMacs and G5 iMacs. And while the desktops are more powerful, in the long run, the increase in power won't be life-altering.
If more people just got a little more ram, performances would increase as much if not more than going to a 1.8 G5.

The PB line will go to G5 at some time, but the PM and iMacs line looks as if it'll be ahead of the curve then. Plus, you have rev a, which I've always been a little leery of.

If you have an older system, get an iMac or PM if you truly crave a G5. If you have a rev b or rev c PB, be happy with it until it's time to upgrade.
But jeez, having people create posts every other day asking if PowerBook G5s are coming around the corner is laughable at this point.

Am I alone in this thinking, or is it that I'm just immune to the Reality Distortion Field on this one?
 
I actually agree with you, Rand. However, I think there is something behind major upgrades. You are right, there can't be so much increase in speed (if at all). But there is some magic behind new stuff that I can't describe. I am very curious how the cooling would work, how the new case (if) looks like, if they will renew the screens, how the battery duration will be.. It's not really about the G5 processor. We know how the G5s perform and that a G5 powerbook wouldn't out-perform the current PM. But.. :)
 
Yeah, I feel the same way as you Randman. For anyone who has asked me recently if its worth waiting for a G5 PowerBook to be released, I've told them simply No. These are not likely to be released in the first half of this year, and even when they are released, they're not going to be much faster than the existing G4s. Now, if you want to hang around until September-December-ish which is what my best info suggests is the date for the launch of the G5 PowerBook, and then wait another 6-8 weeks for one to be delivered, and then have a cry on the forums because a 1.6 ghz G5 is only marginally faster than a 1.5 ghz G4, then frankly I don't want to hear it.

The current PowerBook is powerful, well designed, proven and very affordable. If that's not good enough for you, you will not find a better laptop anywhere else - period.
 
I think maybe people expect other updates with the G5.. Optical audio, SATA, decent speed FSB, faster RAM, etc..
 
Pengu said:
I think maybe people expect other updates with the G5.. Optical audio, SATA, decent speed FSB, faster RAM, etc..
Click to expand...
Like any of those things couldn't come with a rev d G4? :confused:
 
Indeed, some couldn't. G4: "decent speed FSB" sold separately. The G5 PMs have ~ TEN TIMES the FSB speed of the G4 based machines. That could be worth waiting for IMHO ... if indeed they come out this year.
 
Im not saying they couldn't.. but given that most of those things are controlled by the new co-developed system controller in the G5, im guessing they won't come soon... I mean. RAM is still fast. and you can add a USB optical port.. but stuff like the FSB and SATA have REAL benefits, but are somewhat a limitation of the G4 (well, FSB is at least)
 
Yes, I was curious at some point about powerbook G5s, but not because I thought it would be some life altering thing. I was only wondering, plain and simple.
 
Cat said:
Indeed, some couldn't. G4: "decent speed FSB" sold separately. The G5 PMs have ~ TEN TIMES the FSB speed of the G4 based machines. That could be worth waiting for IMHO ... if indeed they come out this year.
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There's no way a PB could jump to 10 times the performance of a rev c PowerBook.
 
Actually, I don't know if any of you have heard this, but it's been proven in scientific studies that a 64-bit processor laptop increases your quality of life by at least two times, and very often more.

I'm curious about a new PowerBook, but not amazingly anxious, like some.
 
I found the perfect solution to anybody who's still whining about a G5 Powerbook: an iMac and an iLugger case. One of the expo demonstrators showed me how the bag was designed to protect the foot and hold the keyboard and mouse securely. Sure, you'll need access to a power port, and a phone jack if you want to go online, but hell, it's better than BITCHING AND MOANING.
 
adambyte said:
Actually, I don't know if any of you have heard this, but it's been proven in scientific studies that a 64-bit processor laptop increases your quality of life by at least two times, and very often more.
Click to expand...

LOL. That seems about the size of it.

A lot of these recent posts are screaming "oh, woe is me! There's no G5 PowerBook! How am I supposed to do any real work! I'm forever doomed to rip CDs in iTunes at 12x rather than 15x speed! My iMovie transitions might take at least 0.3 seconds longer to process! Why don't I just go kill myself?! Waaah..."
 
Im with Randman...especially with people saying theyll come out with iBooks at the same time. I mean I used to have an iBook...but...now I have a Powerbook :)

And cooling people. Cooling is a big issue with the G5 chip.

BUT. You cannot compare a G4 system to a G5 system. That G5 has a lot of better things than your quiksilver G4. And nice post symphonix lol...
 
I had the chance to compare my 1 GHz G4 iMac with a 1.8 GHz G5 iMac... the difference is REAL ! I don't know if it's necessary, but it's real. If you do some iPhoto, or iMovie, you feel it !
 
There's also yet another reason why I think it's important for Apple to move on with the PowerBooks. Two, actually...

First: The current PowerBooks are old. They're good, but they've been around for too long a time. I have one, I know they're 'good', but Apple should've been able to go 1.6, 1.7 and 1.8 GHz with the G4s by now in my opinion. Might not be their fault at all, but those 1.5 GHz models are, in fact, old models. It shouldn't be that the 'Power'Book is lower spec than the iMac for such a long time, too. Both in processor generation and pure GHz speed as well. I think it's just somehow wrong.

But there's a second reason. The iBooks. Their performance is MUCH too close to the PowerBooks' now, compared to the price difference. I don't have any numbers (and Apple doesn't exactly give them out), but I don't think Apple will sell many PowerBooks these days. Sure, if you're on a Pismo and it's finally giving up on you (for whatever reason, be it performance or because you've lost it, it was stolen or it just dies...) and you absolutely need one, why not. But I guess many of those would also consider an iBook now. Because the extra they pay for a PowerBook just doesn't seem justified.

Overall, I don't really care whether the next PowerBook is a G5 or a G4, but they ought to replace them faster. That's my opinion. Don't let those PowerBooks be 'new' for more than 9 months. Rather, replace them after SIX months, please. Be it faster optical drives, a mere hundred MHz, a better basic RAM configuration and/or a faster video card... I say: Advance faster.
 
Advance faster? C'mon, be real. Don't you think Apple would have released them, if they had them at the ready?
And comparing a 1Ghz G4 to a 1.8 G5 is a much bigger difference than a 1.5 G4 to a 1.6 or 1.8 G5.
 
Because of the "G5" name? Or because of the 64bit bus that's not really used yet in real-world applications so far? Or because of Joe Average's thunking of "G5" must be better than "G4" simply? Don't even go there. The benchmarking of the iMacs show that the G5 processor alone doesn't cut it.

But when I say they should 'advance faster', I'm talking more general. 1.5 GHz G4 PowerBooks were available April 2004. Do you really want to tell me Apple could _not_ have released 1.6 or 1.7 GHz G4 models with a slightly better graphics card or something in Autumn 2004 or January 2005? They wouldn't have had to create a new mobo or case or screen, just update some components, like they did before, coming from 1.33 GHz to the 'current' generation... That's what I'm talking about. I'm sure they would have sold more PowerBooks in the past quarter if they had an update to the PB line ready when the iBooks were updated.
 
we may never see a G5 PB, maybe a G6 or G7? once we stop depending on heat producing technologies for computing power, we can see a revolution in portable computing. i wonder how far away we are from nanotechnology and light-based computing? if they were able to use light (i.e. microscopic fiber optics??) for CPU and chip technology, heat probably wouldnt be the issue anymore. (dunno, not a physicist, nor a computer hardware scientist, just speculating)
 
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