The SpeedZone: iBook G3/900 MHz or PowerBook G4/867

On this page we compare and contrast the major technical features and performance of the PowerBook G4/867 with the 12 Inch screen, and the 900 MHz iBook with the 14 inch screen.

As you'll see, in most of the performance results below, both portables are fairly evenly matched. In standard processing work the iBook is slightly ahead, however in game performance the PowerBook, with its more robust graphics card, pulls ahead ... but not dramatically so. The difference in drive performance is nil, and in window redraws both 'Books' came out the same.

But in applications tuned for the PowerBook's G4 processor, it is a different story. Here the PowerBook, though clocked slower, and with half the amount of high-speed L2 cache, came out on top ... sometimes way on top.

In our Photoshop AltiVec savvy filter test, the performance of the PowerBook was close to double that of the iBook. In our AltiVec Fractal test the PowerBook showed a whopping 5 times (and some change), improvement in number crunching work, over the G3 powered iBook. You should keep in mind that only parts of Photoshop, and many other multimedia applications, respond this way to the G4 Processor. Some Photoshop filters will perform no better on a G4 than on the G3. Also the Fractal application is written specifically for the G4, so it is meant to rocket ahead on that processor.

However it shows you the potential that is there in the G4. Many of the iApps that come with new Macs, and many of Apple's commercial multimedia software, are deeply tuned to the G4. If you make heavy use of QuickTime, iMovie, Final Cut Pro ... don't waste your time on a G3. At $300 more the PowerBook is well worth the extra brass.

One final point ... and then we'll let you go. In battery life we were able to eke out 50% more uptime on the iBook (despite its bigger screen), when both portables were under similar load configurations.

Difference and similarities of each machine

"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 G3/900 MHz 14 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.

The copy folder test not only stresses drive performance but also takes advantage of faster processing capability & caching schemes. The drives on each portable look about evenly matched. It is interesting that the PowerBook is able to keep up with the iBook, given that the PowerBook has only half the L2 cache that the iBook has.

In the single file test the the processor & caching capability of the machine is less of a factor.

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.

Large Document & Database Type Tests

Microsoft Office X Word Macro

Machine	G3/900 MHz 14 Inch Screen	PowerBook G4/867 12 Inch Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds	100.39	106.76

A Macro (series of complex actions) was run in Microsoft's Word processing program. Word is part of Office X

Microsoft Office X Excel Macro

Machine	G3/900 MHz 14 Inch Screen	PowerBook G4/867 12 Inch Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds	60.68	66.72

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	G3/900 MHz 14 Inch Screen	PowerBook G4/867 12 Inch Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds	24.67	32.32

This test takes place in a large AppleWorks document. Machines with larger chip caches usually do better in this test

Finder File Search

Machine	G3/900 MHz 14 Inch Screen	PowerBook G4/867 12 Inch Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds	46.31	43.47

Mac OS X's new File Search function relies on both processor and drive performance. The PowerBook's processor usage was at 50% and the iBooks was 40%

Number Crunching & Rendering Tests

Photoshop 7 - BareFeat's Test

Machine	G3/900 MHz 14 Inch Screen	PowerBook G4/867 12 Inch Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds	75.65	65.18

BareFeats Photoshop Test Suite - mimics a production type workflow in Photoshop. The PowerBook score is helped because of the G4 processor

Photoshop 7 - AltiVec Tests

Machine	G3/900 MHz 14 Inch Screen	PowerBook G4/867 12 Inch Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds	54.70	30

Certain of the functions of Photoshop can take special performance advantage of the G4 processor.

Photoshop 7 - Normal Tests

Machine	G3/900 MHz 14 Inch Screen	PowerBook G4/867 12 Inch Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds	133.97	137.90

The test above consists of Photoshop functions that do not take any particular advantage of the G4.

AltiVec Fractal (Carbon)

Machine	G3/900 MHz 14 Inch Screen	PowerBook G4/867 12 Inch Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds	331	61.94

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. Really highlights the processing advantage of a G4 processor machine, in applications that have been witten to take advantage of it

Encoding/Decoding Tests

iTunes - MP3 Encode From CD

Machine	G3/900 MHz 14 Inch Screen	PowerBook G4/867 12 Inch Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds	150.55	142.69

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.

StuffIt Expand

Machine	G3/900 MHz 14 Inch Screen	PowerBook G4/867 12 Inch Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds	12.11	12.79

This is straight processor intensive work and does not take any advantage of the G4 processor... faster clock speed means faster performance

Multitasking

iTunes MP3 Encode + AppleWorks Search & Replace + Finder Copy (Multitasking)

Machine	G3/900 MHz 14 Inch Screen	PowerBook G4/867 12 Inch Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds	113.39	109.15

MP3 Encode, AppleWorks search & replace and folder copy are all carried out at the same time.

MP3 Encode + Photoshop Normal + Word Macro (Multitasking)

Machine	G3/900 MHz 14 Inch Screen	PowerBook G4/867 12 Inch Screen
Absolute Scores - seconds	473.63	429.23

The MP3 Encode, Photoshop Normal and Word Macro tests are all run at the same time

Gaming

Giants Highest Frame Rates

Machine	G3/900 MHz 14 Inch Screen	PowerBook G4/867 12 Inch Screen
Absolute Scores - Frames Per Second	29	39

Giants Average Frame Rates

Machine	G3/900 MHz 14 Inch Screen	PowerBook G4/867 12 Inch Screen
Absolute Scores - Frames Per Second	15.8	18.3

Giants Lowest Frame Rates

Machine	G3/900 MHz 14 Inch Screen	PowerBook G4/867 12 Inch Screen
Absolute Scores - Frames Per Second	8.1	9.3

The PowerBook has the NVIDIA GeForce4 420 Go graphics card with 32MB DDR SDRAM in a 4x AGP slot. The iBook has the ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 also with 32MB but in a 2x AGP slot. So the PowerBook seems to out class the iBook, at least in this game. However the difference is not that great during general game play.