Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
PowerBook G4 12" Club
- Thread starter Amethyst1
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I'm a bit concerned about getting replacement-batteries for this little guy. Where did you get your's from AliXpress? I couldn't find any there tonight.
I’ve got two 1.5GHz 12” PowerBooks, a 1.33Ghz one, and the original 867Mhz model.
I’m not home but maybe later I’ll take some pictures of them.
I love the 12” PowerBooks! I just wish Apple wouldn’t have crippled them with 10/100 Ethernet and the Geforce 5200 chip. Could’ve done with a FW800 port instead. They’re basically cooler looking iBooks with those limitations. But I still love them nonetheless.
I’m not home but maybe later I’ll take some pictures of them.
I love the 12” PowerBooks! I just wish Apple wouldn’t have crippled them with 10/100 Ethernet and the Geforce 5200 chip. Could’ve done with a FW800 port instead. They’re basically cooler looking iBooks with those limitations. But I still love them nonetheless.
And a 2 GB RAM ceiling rather than that ridiculous 1.12/1.25.
What are folks opinions on the 1.33 model vs the 1.5?
I used to own the 1.5 a while back and always found it got incredibly hot. That was my only computer for a year back in 2014 when I was pretty skint. I remember constantly faffing trying to optimise things on the little device, which was both a pain but also a weird pleasure.
I have heard some reports here over the years that the 1.33 wasn't noticeably any slower than the 1.5 model and ran cooler.
I used to own the 1.5 a while back and always found it got incredibly hot. That was my only computer for a year back in 2014 when I was pretty skint. I remember constantly faffing trying to optimise things on the little device, which was both a pain but also a weird pleasure.
I have heard some reports here over the years that the 1.33 wasn't noticeably any slower than the 1.5 model and ran cooler.
Agreed. One of my 1.5s ran hot (the other ran extremely hot), the 1.33 was noticeably cooler.
Last edited:
I haven’t used my 1.33 enough to have an opinion. The trackpad doesn’t work so it mostly sits on a shelf. However I have a couple 1.33Ghz iBooks I use occasionally and they are surprisingly quick. I’d imagine the difference is marginal.
Ive had two...the first was in '07 and it was my primary journalism machine. I absolutely adored it. Kept it for years till it finally died. A few years later i missed it so much and had to get another one so currently have the final 1.5Ghz and will never part with it. I always try to shove weird OS's on it and at the end of the day, early OSX reminds me of my writing days so the nostalgia alone is worth it.
Here is mine.
Absolutely brilliant small machine. Love it. The VOX & COG player are similar in quality, but VOX has some extra features (especially if you use headphones).
😁👍 This RED was 40% cheaper in an online store + free JitterBug. Since then the AQ products are more expensive (and now, because covid, all US products are expensive here in EU). And AQ writes “support 10.6.8 and later” but DF doesn’t need any driver. Works well with Tiger/Leopard/iOS5 with very low power consumption. CPU usage is also very minimal. This 32-bit ESS 9016 chip lifts up the music, but I think the BLACK is enough for most people. Unfortunately no TIDAL, no MQA, because no DRM content in PPC machines. YouTube music is available, but requires a G5 quad omg.😜
Hi guys! Let me introduce the new Brazilian member of the club!
Saudações a todos! 😜
Saudações a todos! 😜
The absurdly low RAM cap (lower than the iBook G4 from the same era), the absence of gigabit ethernet, the absence of a PC Card slot, the absence of a backlit keyboard, the absence of FW800, and the XGA screen from LG being the only LCD used throughout its lifetime are six of the reasons why I regard the PB 12" to be a re-badged iBook G4 12" — not a miniaturized PowerBook 15"/17".
The similarities between the PB 12" and the iBook 12" become especially evident once you disassemble both machines side by side and see how closely everything is laid out. Most parts may not be interchangeable, but they are homologous.
12” & RAM. My problem started with Leopard, and I don't think the extra 250 MB will help here. Some people say the memory controller supports up to 2 GB RAM:
From here.
Ethernet, PC card slot, backlit, FW800. It is irrelevant to many people. People needed USB. My FW sound card lost support while the USB driver was further updated. The screen quality and the crap 5200 chip, yes, I agree with that but average users liked this machine. Stable and the keyboard... yes the keyboard, and all form factor.
From here.
Ethernet, PC card slot, backlit, FW800. It is irrelevant to many people. People needed USB. My FW sound card lost support while the USB driver was further updated. The screen quality and the crap 5200 chip, yes, I agree with that but average users liked this machine. Stable and the keyboard... yes the keyboard, and all form factor.
Wow, 31 band EQ. Very niceHm, thx! I'll try! VOX also know that:
View attachment 973862
I’m trying to find Fidelia but not easy.
I am a itunes junky but am very tempted by this.Wow, 31 band EQ. Very nice
Not often but crashes sometimes.😁
You saved yourself some ££ then. I have the 1st gen Dragonfly and was swayed by the rave reviews. I don't get them. All it does is add a little bit of amplification and clips the highs noticeably. Overall it gives a smooth sound at the expense of detail. If you have a truly chronic soundcard in your computer then it probably makes some sense but I don't think it deserves the plaudits it got. Or maybe my hearing is shot, too.
I agree. I tried to talk a friend out of buying some very expensive hi-fi gear a few years ago that came with up sampling - I explained the garbage in - garbage out principle to no avail.
What DSP does offer is some nice EQ, multiband compressor and other such trickery that can add sparkle and spacial stereo enhancements - but all of that comes as standard with core audio in OSX - if you have the appropriate app to access it.