The test below were done when running under
Mac OS 9.2.1. If you are interested in how these machines
would perform under OS X be sure to check out the
page detailing those test results. Like most Mac users
we are in a transition period between the two Operating Systems,
and so do dual testing under each OS. The advantage of the
PowerBook's G4 processor under OS 9 is less consistent than
it is under OS X. However, as you'll see from the results
below, in certain applications the performance of the G4 will
run rings around the G3, even when that G3 has a higher clock
speed.
"Real World" Tests
The tests below are from our suite of real
world application tests. These tests feature a diverse
selection of applications commonly used by the Mac community.
The test suite was designed to render an accurate and well
rounded picture of a machine's performance. All of the tests
below (with the exception of the Quake III & Cinebench
2000 tests) were timed with a stopwatch. The times are then
converted to percentages relative to the iBook G3/600, which
is set to 100%. For all scores, higher numbers are better.
Overall Scores
The ZoneBench Processor result is an average of some of the
processor intensive results below. Tests that utilize the
hard drive or graphics system are not included. The PowerBook
doesn't perform better here because the average includes many
tests that do not take advantage of the G4's unique performance
capabilities. See individual results below for an more in-depth
look at those types of functions at which the G4 excels.
This is an average of all the test results below. Adjusted
for clock-speed the PowerBook would be 24% faster (in other
words if the PowerBook ran at 600 MHz rather than 550 MHz)
Finder Tests
It is always interesting to check out the two different drive
scores above. Quite often one computer is faster in one test
and slower in the other. Our feeling is that the Copy Folder
test requires much more calculating than the second test,
the single file copy. Thus the higher clocked iBook has an
advantage over the inconsequential G4. Be sure to check out
the results for these two test when the machines
are running OS 10.1 ... you'll be surprised.
AppleWorks 6 Tests
Probably the graphics chip is giving the PowerBook
the advantage here
This test result was a bit of a surprise because both processors
have a similar memory structures. For example both lack a
backside cache and both have 256K of 'on chip' L2 cache running
at full processor speed. Perhaps AppleWorks has been tuned
in some way to take advantage of the G4.
Quake III Tests
When Quake is on the fastest setting the processor is doing
most of the work, hence the PowerBook, with its much better
graphics system does not have a great advantage in this mode.
However set Quake to a higher setting and it is a another
ball game. At 'High-Quality' setting the graphics system is
doing most of the heavy lifting. So here the PowerBook with
its ATI Mobility Radeon card in a 4x AGP slot, with 16 MB
of memory, trounces the iBook with the ATI Rage Mobility 128
graphics card in a 2x AGP slot and only 8 MB of memory
Photoshop 6 & Other Data Crunching Tests
There is a certain amount of calculating that goes on when
a program is launched, although the main determinant in this
case is drive performance. We use a single large file to open
Photoshop ... in single file reading/writing, the PowerBook's
drive performed better in the copy test above
Ok this is the type of work that the G4 was
designed to handle efficiently
This wasn't! If you are not running certain Filters or other
Photoshop operations that take advantage of the G4, a faster
clocked G3 will get the work done faster .... even in Photoshop
This is a raw processing test
This is also a processor intensive test that
can take advantage of dual processors (which neither of the
two machines above have). However it is not G4 savvy, and
takes no advantage of the G4's performance enhancements
This is a combination of both processor and
graphics card performance
Encoding/Decoding Tests
QucikTime encoding is another application that makes good
utilization of the G4. Since it is an Apple created piece
of software, they have tailored it to the hilt for the G4
iTunes also can take advantage of the G4, but more modestly
so. Performance is probably hurt or improved depending on
how fast your CD drive is, if you are ripping MP3s from a
CD, which we are doing here
This is a processing intensive function, but
one that does not take advantage of the G4, though it could
probably be written to do so?
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