Apple Mac iBook 12"

 
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General Technical Information

HOSTNAME PEARL
SYSTEM CPU IBM PowerPC G4 @1.33 GHz
CACHE (2nd, 1st D/I)
 512 KB, 32 KB / 32 KB
RAM  1 GB (Max. 1.5 GB)
DATA BUS WIDTH
 		32 bit
IDE BUS 1 x ATA-100 for 2.5" laptop disk
EXPANSION PORTS 2 x USB 2.0 (non-bootable) and 1 x FW400
GRAPHICS Ati Mobility Radeon 9550 32 MB video RAM
DISPLAY
 12.1" TFT display with a resolution of 1024x768 pixels
HARD DISK DRIVES 120 GB Seagate Momentus 2.5" 5.4K RPM IDE internal laptop disk drive
DVD-ROM DRIVE DVD reader / CD-RW Combo
NETWORK Built-in 100 Mbps ethernet, 54 Mbps WLAN and Bluetooth
AUDIO
 Onboard soundcard (no line-in), built-in speakers
OS Mac OS X 10.4.8 (Tiger)
YEAR 2005
SPEED about 2000 (not measured) VAX MIPS
POWER CONSUMPTION (MAX. / MEASURED) 45 / 19 W
COMMENTS Light, small, quiet, Mac laptop computer. My 3rd Mac.
PRICE '05 (laptop + memory upgrade)
 $1099

Mac System Information

History and other comments

After getting the Mini in 2005 I got more interested in computers made by Apple. I bought this laptop 2nd hand in 2006, since I thought the prices of the iBooks / PowerBooks were a bit too high (comparing with the new Intel Macs) at least still in the beginning of 2006. IMHO a laptop for mobile use doesn't have to be equipped with the latest and the greatest, while other things are more appreciated, like long battery time and a compact design. If you want a laptop for everyday use on your desk, then the iBook 12" may not be the best choise you can make, but if you have another faster number cruncher that you can use for more demanding tasks then this little wonder will fit it's purpose; it's a mobile computer you can carry with you, almost anywhere, without any trouble.

The late 2005  iBook G4 model is also more suited for gaming than most low-end laptops because it has a pretty good graphics chip (Mobility Radeon 9550 with 32MB dedicated video memory). Of course the Radeon 9550 won't beat any of the high-end AGP/PCI-E graphics cards, however, I think it's pretty good for a quiet and energy saving laptop.

In November 2006 I upgraded the internal disk drive from the standard pretty slow 40 GB Toshiba drive to a Seagate 120 GB one.

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Last updated:  13-12-2006