[Ham-Mac] Choice among current PowerBooks

[John E Bastin]

On May 1, 2005, at 11:46 AM, Richard Rucker wrote:

>
> On May 1, 2005, at 9:58 AM, Stan Horzepa wrote:
>
>>  I just upgraded from a Mac Powerbook 500-MHz
>> Pismo to a new 17-inch 1.67-GHz Powerbook. What a difference a Gig  
>> makes!
>>
>
> I'm using a Pismo upgraded by Daystar Tech to a 550 MHz G4, 1 GB  
> RAM, along with a 7200 rpm 60G Travelstar drive (faster than what  
> comes with the latest PBs),  plus an Airport card.  I've been happy  
> with it except for one thing.  See PS below.
>
> Now that Tiger is out, however, I understand that a lot of the  
> graphic effects that come, say with Widgets, that depend on having  
> a more advanced video processor than that found in my Pismo.   
> Comments?
>
>

I don't know what graphic effects you're looking for. I installed  
Tiger in my 500 MHz Pismo over the weekend and everything seems to  
work just fine.

The only I know of so far that I don't have, and I didn't have it  
with Panther either, is when using Fast User
Switching, I don't get the cute rotating cube when it makes the  
switch; that requires Quartz video, which the Pismo doesn't have.  
There are probably some other Quartz-requiring features I don't have,  
but I haven't missed them, whatever they may be.



>
> Though I don't think I'm ready to spring for a new PB just yet, I  
> am starting to think about what I might be missing.  Some  
> questions, just thinking out loud:
>
> (1)  Do you think that the better performance you've seen is  
> primarily due to the G4 Altivec) processor or due to the 3x clock  
> speed?   (I have the G4, but not the clock speed.)
>
>

My opinion would be that the clock speed is the more determining  
factor. The 450 MHz G4 that I use at the office sometimes seems  
slower than my 500 MHz G3 PowerBook. Two very important factors to  
consider also: the bus speed and the speed of the video drivers (and  
the amount of video RAM).



>
> (2)  Why did you pick the 17" over the 15" model?  Some, including  
> MacWorld, say the that 17" is too big and heavy to cart around much.
>
>

When I go to the next PowerBook, I didn't think I would need a larger  
display than 15", but since we got a 20-inch G5 iMac for my wife, I'm  
starting to re-think that decision. The reason? I have so much stuff  
running on my PowerBook that frequently I run out of space on the  
menu bar, and some of the icons disappear. On the iMac, there is LOTs  
of menu bar space.

Since with each new OS, there seem to be more toys running around on  
the Desktop, I now think the next PowerBook is going to be a 17-inch  
display. I believe the 17-inch G4 PB still weighs less than my Pismo.



> (3)  I'm still using a 4200 rpm HD in an external FW case with my  
> Pismo's 400 Mbps FW ports and it seems fast enough for what I'm  
> using it for, so I don't think I have a need yet for 800 Mbps  
> ports.  Any counter-arguments?
>
>

I've never used anything but 400 Mbps FW ports, and they still seem  
plenty fast, even doing things like cloning multi-GB hard drives from  
a computer running in Target Disk Mode to a drive in an external FW box.

>
> Dick Rucker, KM4ML
>
> PS:  i've never been able to drive a TV display via my Pismo's S- 
> video out connector; I don't know if it is operator trouble or  
> something else.  I've tried two different cables, one S-to-S and  
> the other S-to-Composite, and two different TV sets, so I don't  
> think the cable or the TV set is the problem.   Reading the  
> instructions, it seems like this should just be plug in, turn on,  
> and see the image on the screen, but it hasn't worked that way for  
> me.  Ideas?
>
>

Not sure what the problem may be; S-video from my Pismo to a TV,  
using the cable that came with the computer, has worked just fine  
from Day 1.

73,

John E Bastin, K8AJS
jbastin at sssnet.com
http://www.qsl.net/k8ajs/