Second Life Forums Archive - Which New PowerBook for SL?

Morgan Albion

Shutterbug & Bench Warmer

Join date: 4 Jul 2005

Posts: 22

07-08-2005 12:17

I'm considering the purchase of a new PowerBook, and it's between the 12 inch model with the nVIDIA GeForce Go FX 5200 64 MB video and the 15 inch model with the ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 video. What would you recommend? Is there going to be much difference between the two? It is rumored that nVIDIA cards are superior for SL. Will that hold true in this scenario?

Thanks in advance,

Morgan

Kathmandu Gilman

Fearful Symmetry Baby!

Join date: 21 May 2004

Posts: 1,418

07-08-2005 12:37

Errr... the ATI is a better video solution overall. The Nvidia 5200 is pretty weak in comparison. Between the two I would go with the ATI.

_____________________

It may be true that the squeaky wheel gets the grease but it is also true that the squeaky wheel gets replaced at the first critical maintenance opportunity.

Morgan Albion

Shutterbug & Bench Warmer

Join date: 4 Jul 2005

Posts: 22

07-08-2005 14:31

Thanks, Kathmandu. That's my impression, too, but nuts and bolts info about mobile GPU performance has been exceedingly scarce. Any dissenting views?

Cazzj Brearly

Look! A UFO!

Join date: 21 Mar 2005

Posts: 113

07-08-2005 14:33

As a loooong time Mac guy, I hate to say this, but no matter what PowerBook you get, the MacOSX SL client is gonna run crappy compared to the WinXP client. Beefier Apple hardware isn't gonna help you. It pains me greatly to say what I just said too. I have a DELL Inspiron XPS Gen2 that I run SL on. This is the first Windows laptop I have EVER bought in my life. It is a beautiful machine too. I got the 60 GB 7200 rpm hard drive, and 1GB of RAM, the hi-end graphics card as well. http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspn_xps2?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

Morgan Albion

Shutterbug & Bench Warmer

Join date: 4 Jul 2005

Posts: 22

07-08-2005 14:50

Thanks for your reply. I realize that, unfortunately. The gross disparity between the Mac and Windows SL experience is lamentable, and many have apparently lamented it to no avail. It doesn't seem to be merely a matter of inferior hardware, either. SL is not the only place where the Mac is neglected. Still, there is no way in hell I'm going to own a Windows machine, ever. So, I am sticking to my original question.

Morgan Albion

Shutterbug & Bench Warmer

Join date: 4 Jul 2005

Posts: 22

07-11-2005 14:17

I went with the 15 inch PowerBook G4 with the ATI Radeon 9700 64 MB VRAM. It's a huge improvement over the old iBook, although Windows players would undoubtedly scoff. I don't regret it.

Thanks again to those who commented.

Ellie Edo

Registered User

Join date: 13 Mar 2005

Posts: 1,425

07-13-2005 16:02

test

Taliesin Psaltery

anais reborn

Join date: 5 Jul 2004

Posts: 7

08-02-2005 23:30

Smart to go with the Radeon. The 9700 vs 5200 comparison is matching a professional against a n00b.

The Radeon 9700 is the #2 card in the ATI 2003 line up, bested only by ATI's 9800. The FX 5200 is the absolute bottom of the line card in the NVIDIA 2003 line up.

<-worked at NVIDIA in 2003.

_____________________

"Smile pretty, and watch your back." Ani DiFranco.

Which New PowerBook for SL?
Morgan Albion Shutterbug & Bench Warmer Join date: 4 Jul 2005 Posts: 22	07-08-2005 12:17 I'm considering the purchase of a new PowerBook, and it's between the 12 inch model with the nVIDIA GeForce Go FX 5200 64 MB video and the 15 inch model with the ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 video. What would you recommend? Is there going to be much difference between the two? It is rumored that nVIDIA cards are superior for SL. Will that hold true in this scenario? Thanks in advance, Morgan
Kathmandu Gilman Fearful Symmetry Baby! Join date: 21 May 2004 Posts: 1,418	07-08-2005 12:37 Errr... the ATI is a better video solution overall. The Nvidia 5200 is pretty weak in comparison. Between the two I would go with the ATI. _____________________ It may be true that the squeaky wheel gets the grease but it is also true that the squeaky wheel gets replaced at the first critical maintenance opportunity.
Morgan Albion Shutterbug & Bench Warmer Join date: 4 Jul 2005 Posts: 22	07-08-2005 14:31 Thanks, Kathmandu. That's my impression, too, but nuts and bolts info about mobile GPU performance has been exceedingly scarce. Any dissenting views?
Cazzj Brearly Look! A UFO! Join date: 21 Mar 2005 Posts: 113	07-08-2005 14:33 As a loooong time Mac guy, I hate to say this, but no matter what PowerBook you get, the MacOSX SL client is gonna run crappy compared to the WinXP client. Beefier Apple hardware isn't gonna help you. It pains me greatly to say what I just said too. I have a DELL Inspiron XPS Gen2 that I run SL on. This is the first Windows laptop I have EVER bought in my life. It is a beautiful machine too. I got the 60 GB 7200 rpm hard drive, and 1GB of RAM, the hi-end graphics card as well. http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspn_xps2?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs
Morgan Albion Shutterbug & Bench Warmer Join date: 4 Jul 2005 Posts: 22	07-08-2005 14:50 Thanks for your reply. I realize that, unfortunately. The gross disparity between the Mac and Windows SL experience is lamentable, and many have apparently lamented it to no avail. It doesn't seem to be merely a matter of inferior hardware, either. SL is not the only place where the Mac is neglected. Still, there is no way in hell I'm going to own a Windows machine, ever. So, I am sticking to my original question.
Morgan Albion Shutterbug & Bench Warmer Join date: 4 Jul 2005 Posts: 22	07-11-2005 14:17 I went with the 15 inch PowerBook G4 with the ATI Radeon 9700 64 MB VRAM. It's a huge improvement over the old iBook, although Windows players would undoubtedly scoff. I don't regret it. Thanks again to those who commented.
Ellie Edo Registered User Join date: 13 Mar 2005 Posts: 1,425	07-13-2005 16:02 test
Taliesin Psaltery anais reborn Join date: 5 Jul 2004 Posts: 7	08-02-2005 23:30 Smart to go with the Radeon. The 9700 vs 5200 comparison is matching a professional against a n00b. The Radeon 9700 is the #2 card in the ATI 2003 line up, bested only by ATI's 9800. The FX 5200 is the absolute bottom of the line card in the NVIDIA 2003 line up. <-worked at NVIDIA in 2003. _____________________ "Smile pretty, and watch your back." Ani DiFranco.

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Which New PowerBook for SL?