iBook or powerbook?

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PIXELPUNKS

iBook or powerbook?

Post by PIXELPUNKS » Thu Jun 12, 2003 10:56 am

hi folks

i wanna buy a new laptop, because my powerbook (pismo) is to slow...
my question: should i buy a powerbook 550/667 or is the iBook 900 fast enough? who has experiance in it? and is it better to run live under osX or os9.2.2? does live run better under os9, when i use a iBook (g3)?

THX 4 ANSWERING

globalgoon
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Post by globalgoon » Thu Jun 12, 2003 12:13 pm

sweet lord this could open a brand new can of worms!

is live your main app? if so you may want to consider a PC (look in the benchmark thread to see why) 8O

otherwise the faster the better. i still use my pismo 400 for some stuff with live, but compared to using it on my PC, the pismo feels like an abacus

os
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Post by os » Thu Jun 12, 2003 12:42 pm

You'll get better performance from OS9, especially if you use external audio hardware.

Pitch Black
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Post by Pitch Black » Thu Jun 12, 2003 1:08 pm

DANGER WILL ROBINSON!!!
:wink:
The Tibook 550 and 667 models are **especially** unsuited for audio use - in any app. This is due to the lack of Memory Bandwidth in these 2 models. A older Tibook 500 or a newer generation 667/800/1gig Tibook (the ones with a DVI video output connector on the back) are your better bet.

Basically Apple got it wrong with a new CPU in the 2nd generation of Tibooks. In the real world this means you would get far less tracks and FX than you would on a 1st, 3rd or 4th generation model.

That said, I currently use a Tibook 500 which I'm pretty happy with. The main thing it has over the iBook (apart from speed) is a PCMCIA card slot -
which is your best option for a high quality audio interface such as the RME Hammerfall or VX Pocket. (Both relatively expensive, but good. Using the cardbus taxes your computer much less than firewire or USB)

hope this helps
paddy
MBP M1Max | MacOS 12.7.2 | Live 11.3.20 | Babyface Pro FS | Push 3 (tethered) | a whole other bunch of controllers
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pixelpunks

iBook/Pbook

Post by pixelpunks » Thu Jun 12, 2003 1:56 pm

thx 4 help!!!

i use a emi 2/6 usb-audio-interface and my most used application is live (live!)

my budget is not as big...therefore i think imust decide between the iBook 900 and the titanium 500....

did i got it?
:)

Alex Reynolds
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Post by Alex Reynolds » Thu Jun 12, 2003 5:22 pm

As I did with the MacExpo earlier this year, I'll recommend again that people hold off on buying Apple stuff, at least until after hardware announcements are made at Apple's WWDC in 11 days.

-Alex

astromass
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wwdc

Post by astromass » Thu Jun 12, 2003 5:58 pm

yup, wwdc in 11 days, but the prices on the powerbook just dropped, and i got a new tibook for under 2 grand...i LOVE it...
+()Dd
nyquist theorem and nyquil...

dirtystudios
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Post by dirtystudios » Thu Jun 12, 2003 6:48 pm

if live is your main app, get the ibook. you'll have much better performance. live doesn't support altivec, the technology that makes the g4 better than the g3. so when it comes to live, it can't tell the difference between the two. the cpu speed is all that matters in this situation. i went from a powerbook 400 to my ibook 800, and it's superduper quicker. plus the ibooks feel more solid. the 15" powerbooks feel too delicate. the screen is too thin, and the whole thing bends a little if you pick it up by one corner. the ibooks feel robust. i'd feel much more comfortable on the road with an ibook than a tibook. plus the powerbook seems too big after using the ibook, which is a really great size. the screen is smaller, but on the ibook you only lose about one track in live suprisingly. i'd go with the ibook.

k

Alex Reynolds
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Post by Alex Reynolds » Thu Jun 12, 2003 6:51 pm

Nobody saw the Powerbook revisions coming back in January. I'd suggest holding off for 11 days.

You'd likely get better deals on older hardware anyway, after all the revisions are announced.

-Alex

Guest

Post by Guest » Thu Jun 12, 2003 6:53 pm

all the apple guys i respect are using the iBook right now. since you'll be sitting on about the same bus speed (only the most recent Ti books have DDR) you may as well go newer iBook.

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