Expert’s Rating
Pros
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Our Verdict
The 17 - in PowerBook adds a higher - result display and boast longer shelling life . Like its 15 - inch counterpart , this PowerBook now ships with truehearted DDR2 RAM and a threefold - layer 8X SuperDrive .
In announcing the latest change to its PowerBook phratry , Apple highlighted the new models ’ high - resolution screens and longer stamp battery life sentence but made no cite of their lower cost . Indeed , base price for each of the three models have n’t changed . But because the company has amplified the base contour — with brand - fresh features and others antecedently available only at supererogatory cost — the machine are now estimable values than ever .
Squeeze those pixels
The most noticeable progress in both the flagship 17 - inch PowerBook G4 and the popular 15 - inch version is higher screen resolution . The 17 - inch model ( $ 2,499 ) now displays 1,680 by 1,050 pixels , up from 1,440 by 900 pixels — a 36 pct increment in the amount of information the sieve can show . Put another way , the number of pel per inch ( ppi ) has jump from 101 to 117 — a record high for an Apple display .
In the 15 - inch modeling , which now has only one standard configuration price at $ 1,999 , the default , aboriginal resolution has increased to 1,440 by 960 pixels , up from 1,280 by 854 picture element — a 26.4 pct increase . That come out to a pixel density of 114 ppi , up from 101 ppi .
All those number understand into more room to make and play . It ’s now easier to keep your palettes alongside the image you ’re retouch in Photoshop , or your calendar next to your spreadsheet .
Speedmark 4 scores are relative to those of a 1.25GHz Mac mini, which is assigned a score of 100. Adobe Photoshop, Cinema 4D XL, iMovie, and iTunes scores are in minutes:seconds. All systems were running Mac OS X 10.4.2 with 512MB of RAM, with processor performance set to Highest in the Energy Saver preference pane. We converted 45 minutes of AAC audio files to MP3 using iTunes’ High Quality setting. We used Unreal Tournament 2004’s Antalus Botmatch average-frames-per-second score; we tested at a resolution of 1,024 by 768 pixels at the Maximum setting. The Photoshop Suite test is a set of 14 scripted tasks using a 50MB file. Photoshop’s memory was set to 70 percent and History was set to Minimum. To compare Speedmark 4 scores for various Mac systems, visit our Apple Hardware Guide .—Macworld Lab testing by James Galbraith and Jerry Jung
There ’s a downside , though : the only way to add more pixels without increase the screen ’s physical size is to make each pixel smaller , and because of the way the Mac presently depict to the cover , all text , graphics , icons , menus , and everything else are correspondingly small . As a final result , the screen ’s desktop looks more tight than on any old Mac . ( For comparability , the original Mac had 72 ppi . Today , the 12 - column inch PowerBooks and iBooks have 106 ppi ; the 14 - inch iBook has 91 ppi ; and Apple ’s current Cinema Displays range between 98 and 100 ppi . )
To avail with readability , Apple has boosted the new models ’ screen brightness — by a noticeable 46 percent in the 17 - inch PowerBook and by 13 to 15 percent in the 15 - inch model , according to the company . And if you ’re get any problem , you may always switch to a lower resolution , but you ’ll end up with a smaller or slightly less crispy blind exhibit . For a more prosperous horizon , a better solution would be to zoom your document in covering that offer up that option .
Altogether , I do n’t think the raw nonpayment resolutions will present problems for most users in most situations . ( The only time I found them uncomfortable was when I tried to take the hand - drawn text accompanying some cartoons on the internet . ) But if your eyesight is subpar , or if you have any concerns about the new filmdom , be sure to visit a local retail merchant to strain before you purchase .
15-inch: numerous enhancements
In the old PowerBook contemporaries , Apple offered two received 15 - inch configurations , one at $ 1,999 and the other at $ 2,299 . The latter had a 1.67GHz G4 CPU and a SuperDrive , while the less expensive shape had only a 1.5GHz G4 processor and a Combo ( CD - RW / DVD - ROM ) drive . Now there ’s only one standard 15 - inch configuration , priced at $ 1,999 , and it has a 1.67GHz G4 C.P.U. and a SuperDrive . In event , that ’s a strong price cut , at least for people who want the option of burn videodisc .
( That ’s also true of the raw 12 - inch PowerBook . The old base form , price at $ 1,499 , had a Combo drive and a 60 GB severe drive ; you had to spend another $ 200 to get the version with a SuperDrive and an 80 GB drive . In the new lineup , the single 12 - inch contour include the SuperDrive and the 80 GB hard drive . )
The latest 15 - inch framework also sports several additional improvements . Although it uses the same graphics chip as its predecessor ( the ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 ) , Apple has doubled the video read/write memory to 128 MB and tote up dual - radio link DVI support , so the standard configuration now can drive the 30 - in Cinema Display . antecedently , that capability was usable only as a $ 100 work up - to - decree acclivity from the $ 2,299 configuration .
The update 15 - in good example also contain many enhancements that were n’t available at all in the previous generation . The 8x SuperDrive , for example , now tolerate bivalent - layer combustion , making it possible to store up to 8.5 GB per disc . received system memory board remains at 512 M , expandable to 2 GB , but it ’s a newer , faster nip : DDR2 ( double data pace 2 ) , in blank space of plain DDR .
17-inch: Less room for improvement
Even before this update , the one standard configuration of the 17 - in PowerBook already had a 1.67GHz G4 processor , a SuperDrive , 128 megabyte of video RAM , dual - link DVI , and opthalmic / digital audio - in and -out port . That does n’t leave a lot of possible action for upgrading , specially since the 1.67GHz remain the degraded G4 available . But Apple did add three betterment it also made to the 15 - inch model : DDR2 memory , duple - level support in the SuperDrive , and an increment in battery life to a maximum of 5.5 hours . in conclusion , hard - parkway capacity has increased from 100 GB to 120 gigabyte , as high as you’re able to presently get in a notebook computer .
1.67GHz PowerBooks Tested
Best results inred . source system initalics .
Speedmark 4 score are relative to those of a 1.25GHz Mac mini , which is assigned a grudge of 100 . Adobe Photoshop , Cinema 4D XL , iMovie , and iTunes score are in minutes : seconds . All systems were lam Mac OS X 10.4.2 with 512 MB of RAM , with processor functioning place to Highest in the Energy Saver preference pane . We convert 45 minute of AAC audio single file to MP3 using iTunes ’ High Quality mise en scene . We used Unreal Tournament 2004 ’s Antalus Botmatch medium - frame - per - second score ; we tested at a resolution of 1,024 by 768 picture element at the Maximum setting . The Photoshop Suite test is a set of 14 written labor using a 50 MiB file . Photoshop ’s memory board was set to 70 percent and History was set to Minimum . To liken Speedmark 4 score for various Mac systems , visit our Apple Hardware Guide .—Macworld research laboratory examination by James Galbraith and Jerry Jung
Macworld’s buying advice
The latest improvements to the PowerBook line are barely revolutionary , but they ’re all welcome . With a SuperDrive now standard at $ 1,499 , the 12 - inch model stacks up well against the competition — even against Apple ’s own iBooks . The 15 - inch PowerBook is still a niggling pricey compare with Windows alternatives , but it ’s a superb system of rules , and with a faster mainframe and SuperDrive now standard at $ 1,999 , it ’s a better value than it used to be . If you may afford it and do n’t take care its sizing , the 17 - inch mannikin stay on the best portable computer money can grease one’s palms .
[ Henry Norr is a former editor ofMacWeek . He has been critique Mac systems since 1986 . ]
