Below we list extensive performance results for all the currently shipping PowerBooks. The new results are for the 17 Inch PowerBook. For the most part the 17 Inch Book turned in about the same performance as the 15 PowerBook of the same speed. It was slightly faster in our game test, but only slightly so... close to the margin of error.
We found the on-screen graphics of the 17 Inch PowerBook to be exceptionally smooth and fluid ... not something we could say about all the machines we have tested running OS X.
The large PowerBook is a beautiful machine, loaded with features. However you pay about 27% more for all those extras, over what you would pay for the 15 Inch model running at the same speed. It will be interesting to see how well the 17 Inch model has been selling when Apple finally release sales figures. If you are after the ultimate in portability, the 17 Inch isn't it. But for those that want a desktop to go, the top of the line PowerBook, almost fits the bill.
There has recently been a price reduction of between $200 to $300 on the 12 and 15 Inch PowerBooks. The scuttlebutt is that Apple is trying to clear out stock before it introduces new models sometime towards the end of this month, June, 2003. We'll see, but if you would like a price break on most of the current models, check out the Buyer's Guide over at MacReviewZone.
Difference and similarities of each machine
PowerBook G4/867 12" Screen
PowerBook G4/867 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 17" Screen
Processors
G4/867
G4/867
G4/1 GHz
G4/1 GHz
L2 Cache
256k @ 867 MHz
256k @ 867 MHz
256k @ 1 GHz
256k @ 1 GHz
L3 Cache
None
1 MB DDR
1 MB DDR
1 MB DDR
Bus Speed
133 MHz
133 MHz
133 MHz
167 MHz
Memory
640 MB PC2100 DDR SDRAM (640 MB max)
1 GB PC133 SDRAM
(1GB max)
1 GB PC133 SDRAM
(1GB max)
1GB
PC2700 DDR SDRAM
(1GB max)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA GeForce4 420 Go
32MB DDR SDRAM
4x AGP
ATI Mobility Radeon 9000
32MB DDR SDRAM
4x AGP
ATI Mobility Radeon 9000
64MB DDR SDRAM
4x AGP
NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go
64MB DDR SDRAM
4x AGP
Drive
40GB Ultra ATA/100
4200rpm
40 Ultra ATA/66
4200rpm
60 Ultra ATA/66
4200rpm
60GB Ultra ATA/100
4200rpm
CD Drive
Combination drive
CD read - 24x
DVD read - 8x
CD R - 24x
CD-RW write - 10x
SuperDrive option
Combination drive
CD read - 24x
DVD read - 8x
CD R - 8x
RW write - 8x
"SuperDrive"
CD read - 24x
DVD read - 6x
DVD write 1x
CD-R write - 8x
CD-RW write - 4x
"SuperDrive"
CD read - 24x
DVD read - 6x
DVD write 1x
CD-R write - 8x
CD-RW write - 4x
Operating System
10.2.3
10.2.1
10.2.1
10.2.4
Price (6/5/03)
$1,599
$1,999
$2,599
$3,299
"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 game tests) were timed with a stopwatch. The times were then converted to percentages relative to the PowerBook G4/867 MHz 12 Inch Screen , which is set to 100%. For all scores higher numbers are better. For our testing philosophy click here
There are two sets of performance numbers for each machine in the tables below. The first is the percentage score, and the second set below is the actual score. The actual score is in either seconds, or in the case of the game tests, in frames per second.
Desktop Tests
Reboot
Machine
PowerBook G4/867 12" Screen
PowerBook G4/867 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 17" Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds
65.08
51.31
51.77
55.63
Copy 60 MB Folder
Machine
PowerBook G4/867 12" Screen
PowerBook G4/867 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 17" Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds
16.44
18.62
14.32
13.25
The copy folder test not only stresses drive performance but also takes advantage of faster processing capability & caching schemes.
Copy 128 MB File
Machine
PowerBook G4/867 12" Screen
PowerBook G4/867 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 17" Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds
16.16
15.2
13.16
14.96
In the single file test the the processor & caching capability of the machine is less of a factor.
The bottom line is, despite the percentage differences you see above, these drives seem pretty evenly matched on most everyday tasks. We are working on revamping our drive tests so that they take longer and therefore the results will be more meaningful.
Burn CD
Machine
PowerBook G4/867 12" Screen
PowerBook G4/867 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 17" Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds
114.78
116.13
110.92
113.22
CD burning only uses a fraction of the processor to get the work done. Both portables have Combo CD-RW/DVD drives and both have maximum burn rates of 24X. Processor usage on each machine was 5% on each PowerBook, except the Mini-Al 867 MHz with the 12 inch screen and no L3 cache. However the smallest PowerBook is suppose to burn CDs at up to 24X and all the other PowerBooks only burn at up to 8X. So it is curious that it did not pull significantly ahead of the others
Let 1000 Windows Bloom
Machine
PowerBook G4/867 12" Screen
PowerBook G4/867 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 17" Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds
47.29
38.06
34.21
33.73
Let 1K Windows Bloom is a simple carbon application that opens and closes 1,000 windows. This gauges how fast screen redraws are taking place. These scores indicate that the L3 cache is very helpful in this kind of activity ... the 12 inch PowerBook has no L3 cache
Launch Photoshop
Machine
PowerBook G4/867 12" Screen
PowerBook G4/867 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 17" Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds
21.53
20
16.91
17.13
The time Photoshop takes to open is gauged
Large Document & Database Type Tests
Microsoft Office X Word Macro
Machine
PowerBook G4/867 12" Screen
PowerBook G4/867 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 17" Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds
106.76
89.09
77.14
79.66
A Macro (series of complex actions) was run in Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet program. Excel is part of Office X
Microsoft Office X Excel Macro
Machine
PowerBook G4/867 12" Screen
PowerBook G4/867 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 17" Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds
66.72
52.63
48
48.02
A Macro (series of complex actions) was run in Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet program. Excel is part of Office X
AppleWorks Search And Replace Test
Machine
PowerBook G4/867 12" Screen
PowerBook G4/867 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 17" Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds
32.32
24.95
21.51
22
This test takes place in a large AppleWorks document. Machines with larger chip caches usually do better in this test
Finder File Search
Machine
PowerBook G4/867 12" Screen
PowerBook G4/867 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 17" Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds
43.47
41.49
38.01
38.64
Mac OS X's new File Search function relies on both processor and drive performance. The processor usage was at about 30% on all the PowerBooks, except the 12 Inch which used 50% of the processor
Number Crunching & Rendering Tests
Photoshop 7 - BareFeat's Test
Machine
PowerBook G4/867 12" Screen
PowerBook G4/867 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 17" Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds
65.18
58.24
51.63
51.54
BareFeats Photoshop Test Suite - mimics a production type workflow in Photoshop.
Photoshop 7 - AltiVec Tests
Machine
PowerBook G4/867 12" Screen
PowerBook G4/867 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 17" Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds
30
26.85
24.27
24.07
Certain of the functions of Photoshop can take special performance advantage of the G4 processor.
Photoshop 7 - Normal Tests
Machine
PowerBook G4/867 12" Screen
PowerBook G4/867 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 17" Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds
137.90
126.09
111.43
111.93
The test above consists of Photoshop functions that do not take any particular advantage of the G4.
AltiVec Fractal (Carbon)
Machine
PowerBook G4/867 12" Screen
PowerBook G4/867 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 17" Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds
61.94
61.01
52
53.19
The Fractal program has been highly tuned to take advantage of the G4 and is precisely the type of work that the G4 was made for. It will also gobble up whatever processing capability is present. This is a good test for assessing the fundamental processing potential of each machine.
Encoding/Decoding Tests
iTunes - MP3 Encode From CD
Machine
PowerBook G4/867 12" Screen
PowerBook G4/867 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 17" Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds
142.69
138.11
129.37
N/A
The speed of the CD drive appears to be a bottle neck ... not getting data to the processor quickly enough. In theory the G4 processor of the PowerBook should be much faster at encoding MP3s, and indeed if we were encoding files off our hard drive this might be reflected in the scores above. The test could not be run on the 17 Inch PowerBook because, for some reason, the drive would not mount our CD
StuffIt Expand
Machine
PowerBook G4/867 12" Screen
PowerBook G4/867 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 17" Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds
12.79
11.19
9.45
9.80
This is straight processor intensive work and does not take any advantage of the G4 processor... faster clock speed means faster performance
MP3 Encode, AppleWorks search & replace and folder copy are all carried out at the same time. The test could not be run on the 17 Inch PowerBook because, for some reason, the drive would not mount our CD
MP3 Encode + Photoshop Normal + Word Macro (Multitasking)
Machine
PowerBook G4/867 12" Screen
PowerBook G4/867 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 15" Screen
PowerBook G4/1 GHz 17" Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds
429.23
342.87
289.84
N/A
The MP3 Encode, Photoshop Normal and Word Macro tests are all run at the same time The test could not be run on the 17 Inch PowerBook because, for some reason, the drive would not mount our CD
The 12 Inch and 17 Inch PowerBooks have the NVIDIA GeForce4 420 Go graphics card, the 12 Inch with 32 MB of RAM and the 17 Inch with 64. The Two 15 Inch PowerBooks have the ATI Mobility Radeon 9000, the 867MHz machine with 32 MB and the 1 GHz machine with 64 MB. We have found that the Giants game really responds well to faster processors.
HandHelditems.com - Personalize your iPod with us. Shop hundreds of unique iPod accessories and save up to 80%.
Apple Store
- The size of a pack of gum, iPod shuffle weighs less than a car key. Which means there’s nowhere your skip-free iPod shuffle can’t go. Click Here
Copyright 1996-2007 by Cider Press Publishing LLC all rights reserved.
MacSpeedZone is not authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple
Computer. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iPod, iBook, iMac, eMac, and
PowerBook are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Additional
company
and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby
acknowledged.
