The New 500 MHz iBook--How Fast Is It? Part 2
Last December we were convinced that Apple would never produce a replacement for the 2400c. So we upgraded our 2400c with a 320 MHz G3 CPU, added 96 MB RAM for a total of 112 MB, replaced the clock battery, added a 6 GB hard drive, bought a new battery and had surgery to implement the Cardbus protocol for FireWire, USB and fast ethernet. In May, Apple proved us wrong and came out with the new iBook that, at $1299, costs less than the collective 2400c upgrade costs.
The 2400c at 4.4 pounds is a half pound lighter than the new iBook at 4.9 pounds. However, adding a PC card modem, a PC card ethernet card and an external CD drive to the 2400c kit erases the weight advantage. The new iBook's battery also lasts longer than the 2400c's even though it has a faster CPU (500 vs 320 MHz) and a larger screen (12.1" vs 8.4"). The 2400c needs Cardbus surgery from Mac Components Engineered to use a USB PC card, FireWire PC card and 10/100 ethernet card for comparable ports. The 2400c does have an infrared port and external floppy drive while the new iBook does not. The current cost on eBay of a G3 upgraded 2400c with all those PC cards and a CD drive would be about the same as the $1299 new iBook.
Mac OS X is not supported on the 2400c so we just ran the speed tests using Mac OS 9.1. Here are the results:
| Test | 500 MHz iBook | 320 MHz 2400c |
|---|---|---|
| Walker 1.2 Spin (min fps) | 34 | 10 |
| ThroughPut 1.5 - CPU (MB/s) | 49 | 19 |
| - FPU (MB/s) | 75 | 37 |
| - CopyBits (MB/s) | 67 | 36 |
| Gauge Pro 1.2 Memory Speed (MB/s) | 78 | 39 |
| Launch AppleWorks 6.1.2 (sec) | 4 | 6 |
| Cinebench 2000 - Shading, Cinema 4D (score) | 4.0 | 2.9 |
| - Raytracing (score) | 6.0 | 3.2 |
| MacBench 5.0 - CPU (score) | 786 | 1027 |
| - FPU (score) | 1677 | 1055 |
| - Disk (score) | 1025 | 921 |
| - Graphics (score) | 2610 | 1346 |
While the 320 MHz G3 upgraded 2400c is no slouch with most applications that one uses on a computer primarily during travel (email, web surfing, presentation graphics and word processing), it falls far behind the new iBook in graphics speed. The 2400c's system bus is 40 MHz vs 67 MHz for the new iBook and the graphics subsystem is much, much weaker than the new iBook's Rage 128 Mobility chip set.
The major advantage of the 2400c has been its low screen height, measured from the top of an airplane tray table to the top of the screen edge when open. The maximum, at 9-5/8", is low enough to fully open a 2400c in economy class with seat in front of you fully reclined. The new iBook measures 9-5/16", shorter than the former King of Travel. With the screen tilted back (possible if you are fairly thin), the new iBook measures 8-1/2" high versus 8-3/4" for the deposed 2400c. The low screen height advantage of the new iBook results from the iBook's hinge which, like the newest Sony Vaio's, tucks the lower part of the screen behind the computer's main case.
The King is dead, long live the King! And starting at $1299, the new King of Travel should have a very long reign.
[Update] Rewind Version 1.2 is available now. The new version makes a number of improvements to the application's compatibility and operation. Rewind allows users to reverse disasters and mistakes with a click. The software monitors the changes that occur to Macintosh files and the operating system during regular use. By keeping track of these changes, Rewind permits the user to travel back in time to a point before a problem occurred. It has a suggested retail price of $99.95. Registered owners of earlier versions of Rewind may download an update to the newest version free of charge. Power On's new network installer will automatically update the software to the newest version.
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