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Apple Powerbook Laptop Review
Author: Daniel Topler
Date Posted: October 27th, 2003
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Bottom Line:
SLCentral took a look inside the Apple Powerbook 12" laptop, the smallest Apple to date. Our editor was impressed, this fast little machine performs well when the heat is on but what about the side effects? Read on to find out in our official review.......
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Performance
I tested using the all new OS X Panther 10.3 Operating System, which claims to increase speeds quite a bit over 10.2 (Jaguar), For testing, I used only XBench for benchmarking.
Overall Score: 84.12
CPU Score: 103.51
Thread Score: 74.33
Memory Score: 80.49
Quartz Graphics Score: 102
OpenGL Graphics Score: 90.52
User Interface Score: 105.99
Disk Test: 54.93
As you can see, performance is pretty nice. The Revision B scores can only be higher because of the 2x cache space and the slightly faster processor.
In games, I didn't really think it was necessary to get an actual frame rate for each game I play, simply because this is not a gaming system. In fact, it is far from it. The GeForce 4 420 really holds the system back. MOHAA at both 800x600 and 640x480 is almost unplayable. Warcraft 3 works fine, though, at 800x600 with all settings at either Medium or Low. Anything higher and Warcraft 3 lags. Sim City 4 at 1024x768 plays fine.
Graphics wise, for FPS's, look elsewhere. For games that don't need as much power, such as Warcraft 3 or Sim CIty 4, it will be just fine. It must be great fun to play Sim City or Warcraft on the plane and see all the stares come your way! Keep in mind that the Revision B model comes with a FX 5200 video card. While it does improve, don't expect to have too much improvements.
Day-to-day performance is nothing short of great. When no programs are open, Safari, the internet browser (IE sucks on Mac) loads in just one "bump" on the dock. iTunes also loads in just one "bump," but needs about 3-4 seconds after that "bump" to be ready to use. Photoshop and other more powerful programs were not tested.
Office X sucks performance wise. A lot of this, however, is Microsoft's fault. Even G5 owners are reporting how slow Office X is. Could this be a conspiracy? Knowing Microsoft, probably :).
Booting up is fast, for a Mac. It takes about 30 seconds. Jaguar took at least a minute and a half, which is crazy. Panther really cut that time by 66%, which I am very thankful for.
If you need a fast computer for day-to-day tasks, with the occasional game, then this system is virtually perfect. But, if you are planning on using programs like Final Cut Pro quite a bit, you may want to choose something else. Occasional Photoshop usage should be no problem, but more intensive tasks can really slow down the system, even with 640MB of RAM.
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