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October
29, 2001.
Updated on October 30th with FileMaker Pro, Bryce
and Cinema 4D graphs.
Updated on November 5th with iBook G3/600
results.
Updated on November 13th with full Titanium G4/667
PowerBook results.
Updated November 24th with "one on one" Final Cut
Pro shootout between the fastest iBook and fastest
TiBook.
by rob
ART morgan,
Bare Feats Mad Scientist
HOT
FLASH: As of 1/7/02, Apple is offering a model of
the iBook with a 14" screen. But the performance is
the same as the 12" results listed
below.
I've
been campaigning since January for a better
graphics chip in for the Titanium PowerBook G4. And
I've been complaining since July about the FireWire
speed deficiency. Check out these first four graphs
to see for yourself if Apple succeeded in improving
an already awesome laptop:
(The
above graph uses what I call "max" settings. It is
the "High Quality" System Settings with textures
and geometric detail controls pushed to the
maximum.) If you are a gamer, the new Titaniums
will not disappoint... unless you are playing next
to a Power Mac Dual G4 running OS X.
(The
above graph is the "fastest" System Setting but
with color depth at 32 bit.) At low rez, the CPU is
doing most of the work. This new version of Quake 3
appears to be G4 "aware."
(The
same Granite Digital "911" FireWire case with the
same IBM 60gxp and same drivers was tested on four
listed laptops. When I read the technical specs in
the developer notes, I don't see anything Apple
changed on Rev B. So the "why" of the rev A
deficiency remains a mystery.)
KEY
IMPROVEMENTS
The
four graphs above illustrate two key performance
improvements offered in the "rev B" Titanium
PowerBook G4: Graphics and FireWire.
Like
I said in January, "The Rev A TiBook may have 'this
year's' metal but it has 'last year's' graphics
chip." I felt it should have had the Radeon
Mobility or the GeForce2 Go chip from the
beginning. At the very least, it should have had
16MB of video memory. The addition of the Radeon in
this new revision was enough to compel me to run
out and buy a new Tibook.
In
July, while testing the iBook 2001, I was shocked
to note that it was almost twice as fast as the
TiBook when running a 3.5 inch "Oxford 911"
FireWire drive. Even the iMac DV was faster.
I
posted my findings
here on Bare Feats. This time I held my breath as I
tested the new "rev B." What a rush to see it
running just as fast as the iBook and all the
others. (Whew! Yay! Err. Ugh. My condolences to all
the owners of Rev A.)
If
that isn't enough to excite you, Apple has given
the Rev B Gigabit Ethernet. Readers are reporting
to me that they are getting blazing network speed
with the Gigabit Ethernet even without a Gigabit
switch, without AppleShare IP, and without an OS X
Server. The only requirement is that one of the
Mac's be running OS X.1 and the other be running
either OS X.1 or OS 9.2. (Note that they were using
a direct cable with no 100BaseT switch or hub in
between.)
CONTINUE
TO PAGE TWO
for iTunes, AppleWorks, and Photoshop
results.
GO
TO PAGE
THREE
for FileMaker, Bryce, Cinema 4D.
Or
jump to PAGE
FOUR
to see a PHOTOSHOP & FINAL CUT PRO "one on one"
between the fastest iBook and fastest TiBook, along
with CONCLUSIONS.
WHERE TO ORDER YOUR APPLE PRODUCTS
When ordering products from Apple Store USA, please click THIS TEXT LINK or any Apple display ad as your "portal" to the online store. In so doing, you help to support Bare Feats.
© 1995-2007 Rob Art Morgan
"BARE facts on Macintosh speed FEATS"
Email
, the webmaster
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