Is it just me...?

[Unspeaked]

So I used to be a PB G4 12" (1.33GHz) owner, who moved to a MacBook 2 GHz (Core Duo).

The MacBook always seemed a little slow to me, but nothing striking.

Then recently, I had a chance to work with a PB G4 15" (1.5GHz) and I just feel that it blows away the MacBook.

It's only got 1GB of RAM while the MacBook has 2GB, but even simple finder functions and multi-tasking seem to be noticably slower on the newer, Intel based model.

Has anyone else felt like this? Could it be bad RAM or something on the MacBook? I don't think that's the case, because it seems to behave about the same as the models at the Apple Store.

I just feel like I'm going crazy, and can't possibly be right...!

 

[BlackMax]

I made the exact same move from a PB G4 12" 1.33 GHz 1.25 GB RAM to a Black MacBook 2.0 GHz C2D 1 GB RAM and my MacBook is noticably faster than my PB G4 12".

What applications are you running on your MacBook to make the comparison?

 

[gavd]

I've got a MacBook CD 2.0 GHz and a PB 12" 1.5 GHz and I wouldn't say that the PB outperforms my MacBook. That's with 1.25 GB ram in the PB v 2 GB in my MacBook.

 

[Unspeaked]

What applications are you running on your MacBook to make the comparison?

A lot of finder stuff like file copies, Safari, Firefox, Word (which I know isn't Intel native yet), iTunes, Toast - nothing too major or demanding.

I think I notice it the most when 4 or 5 apps are open at once. The MacBook just seems to lag more and take a while to switch between open processes. I also get way more "Application Stopped Responding" messages on the MacBook than I ever did on the G4 platform...

 

[maccam]

hmm... interesting thread i was going to buy a macbook 2.0 ghz 1gb ram
to replace my 1.33 ghz 1gb ram ibook g4, is this still a good idea

 

[BlackMax]

I was thinking if you had a task you were doing with a specific application and I have the same application I could replicate it on my PB 12" and my MacBook and let you know the response times I get for comparison.

 

[Unspeaked]

I was thinking if you had a task you were doing with a specific application and I have the same application I could replicate it on my PB 12" and my MacBook and let you know the response times I get for comparison.

Well, here's something that hung it up pretty badly yesterday: I added about a dozen new CDs I'd ripped into iTunes and did a search for album art, then just went into Safari and tried to browse, and iTunes hung on me.

The only things open at the time were iTunes, Safari, Word and maybe Quicktime.

I often get hung up when adding stuff to iTunes, even when I'm not searching for album art. This never happened on my G4...

 

[nazmac21]

Leopard should fix this, but what programs are you using. PowerPC Only? That would explain the slowdown on the MacBook. Once the applications you are using turn Universal, the MacBook will beat the PowerBook G4 in everything.

 

[bored911]

possibly you are using ppc based apps. just a suggestion

 

[mattscott306]

Once leopard comes out, and most apps run naitivley on intel, you should be fine.

 

[quigleybc]

i think it is just you....i have a hard time keeping up with my Macbook.....

 

[synth3tik]

hmm... interesting thread i was going to buy a macbook 2.0 ghz 1gb ram
to replace my 1.33 ghz 1gb ram ibook g4, is this still a good idea

I'd say go for it. Most people are not having problems. It really is based on what programs you use and what kind of user you are. Even some of the Apple programs are waiting for 10.5 before they can be truly intel native apps.

 

[nazmac21]

hmm... interesting thread i was going to buy a macbook 2.0 ghz 1gb ram
to replace my 1.33 ghz 1gb ram ibook g4, is this still a good idea

Buy a MacBook and keep both the iBook G4 and MacBook .

 

[deadpixels]

Well, here's something that hung it up pretty badly yesterday: I added about a dozen new CDs I'd ripped into iTunes and did a search for album art, then just went into Safari and tried to browse, and iTunes hung on me.

The only things open at the time were iTunes, Safari, Word and maybe Quicktime.

I often get hung up when adding stuff to iTunes, even when I'm not searching for album art. This never happened on my G4...

wich version of itunes? i noticed itunes 7 is quite demanding on processor (read slower) compared to version 6

 

[siurpeeman]

hmm... interesting thread i was going to buy a macbook 2.0 ghz 1gb ram
to replace my 1.33 ghz 1gb ram ibook g4, is this still a good idea

the macbook feels faster than my dual 2.0ghz power mac g5. whether it actually is is debatable, but what i know for certain is that it's MUCH faster than my ibook g4. i think you're safe going the macbook route.

 

[MoparShaha]

I notice the same thing with my MBP 2.16 GHz with 2 GB RAM. At times, it's considerably slower than my 1 GHz PB 12" with 768 MB RAM. This usually happens when several programs (all universal) are running, and I'm talking about just the usual apps (no Aperture, FCP, etc.). Programs can sometimes take 20-30 bounces to open when other programs are running.

I'm hoping Leopard is going to rectify these issues.

 

[BlackMax]

Well, here's something that hung it up pretty badly yesterday: I added about a dozen new CDs I'd ripped into iTunes and did a search for album art, then just went into Safari and tried to browse, and iTunes hung on me.

The only things open at the time were iTunes, Safari, Word and maybe Quicktime.

I often get hung up when adding stuff to iTunes, even when I'm not searching for album art. This never happened on my G4...

Just two days ago I was converting a bunch of WMA files to MP3 in the background using EasyWAM while also using Camino, iTunes and checking email and although my fan was working overtime I didn't notice any performance impact.

Tonight I'll try and download some album art while running a few other applications and see what happens.

 

[Unspeaked]

I notice the same thing with my MBP 2.16 GHz with 2 GB RAM. At times, it's considerably slower than my 1 GHz PB 12" with 768 MB RAM. This usually happens when several programs (all universal) are running, and I'm talking about just the usual apps (no Aperture, FCP, etc.). Programs can sometimes take 20-30 bounces to open when other programs are running.

Yeah, this is EXACTLY what I'm experiencing.

It's not like the MacBook is a dog, nor is it slower than the G4 at everything, but it seems sluggish compared to the G4 more often than I'd expect.

 

[TheMonarch]

It might be because the PowerBook has 128MB of dedicated graphics memory, as opposed to 64MB of shared memory. Integrated graphics put significantly more strain on the CPU.

 

[daveL]

Yeah, this is EXACTLY what I'm experiencing.

It's not like the MacBook is a dog, nor is it slower than the G4 at everything, but it seems sluggish compared to the G4 more often than I'd expect.

Having Word open, even if you're not working with it, will keep Rosetta running in memory, and it's a pig. If you're not using a PPC app, close it.

Also, just for grins, look in your startup items, and check that you don't have a PPC program starting up at login. I was noticing slow logins and app launching. What I found was that Palm Desktop had installed a background process as a startup item, and it was PPC!! So, ever time I booted / logged in, I was starting Rosetta up to run this background process, which never went away. Once I removed the Palm startup item, things improved noticeably. YMMV.

I also think there is some overhead involved with the universal binaries on Intel Macs. It seems to me there's a lot more disk accesses when the system boots and logs in, compared to my PPC machines. I think universal binaries are a good idea for distribution purposes, but why install all those useless bits? Why not simply detect the machine type that you are installing to and only install that processor architecture? There's already a utility to strip out non-native architectures (lipo). So: install app, lipo app, istall app, lipo app, repeat. I hope Leopard uses this approach.

 

[BlackMax]

Having Word open, even if you're not working with it, will keep Rosetta running in memory, and it's a pig. If you're not using a PPC app, close it

I downloaded some album art last night with iTunes, Camnio and mail running and didnt' really notice a performance impact. Perhaps Word is the issue? On both my PB and MB I run NeoOffice. I've worked really hard to avoid putting any MS products on my Macs.