Confused

[IDANNY]

Okay I have about 2,000 dollars. That is all of my cash right now. I am 15 by the way. I want a laptop basically because I am used to laptops
okay what should I get. Right now I am pretty set on a 12 inch ibook with an upgraded drive to 80 gb and a built in bluetoth module. This took allot of saving. This is how I got the money I built a website for 500 and did various other jobs for the same guy stuff like sweeping floors. I got about 300 for my birthday. Then I also sold my ti-book thanks dad. It was his old one. I got about a 1000 for that. So I am thinking about buying the ibook and save the rest for other various stuff I might want. What do you guys think I should do. O yah should i get 512 mb of ram from apple or order it somewhere else. I remember there was a thread about outpost ram and people where saying it was pretty good dose anybody have the link to it. Also is it easy to install.

Any help would be much appreciated !!!!!!!

[IDANNY]

Is their any reason to spend all of the money or will i do okay with the ibook. If there is a real reason I will spend a bit more..

[tech4all]

What do you want to do with the laptop? Primary uses? Graphics, video editing, email, Word stuff, etc?

[sjpetry]

Whatever you do get 3rd party ram. ;) You will save a lot. :)

[yoda13]

well, I would say if you aren't interested in gaming or working with too much rendering or graphics, the iBook should suit you fine.

[ravenvii]

Yeah, the iBook will serve you well, no question. Even if you do heavy stuff, the PowerBooks aren't that much faster anyway.

[IDANNY]

I do some photoshoping and word processing. Will it feel faster than my tibook

[deebster]

Unless you really (know that you) need the extra oomph from a powerbook then the 12" iBook sould suit you just fine. Not that the powerbook gives you that much more really anyway. It just costs a whole lot more.

Yes, buy 3rd party RAM and if you can stretch to it, get a 1GB stick (maybe 160 to 200 bucks depending on how the price has fluctuated recently. There is a looong thread about cheap 1GB sticks, as you have found already).

Other things to perhaps consider

- iBook HDs are 4,200 rpm, so if you have a need for speed then maybe invest in a firewire (not USB 2.0) external. You could maybe get by with the 60GB internal HD option if you went this way.

- An external DVD burner too if you need one. Not that you get the choice with 12" iBooks anyway.

- A second monitor (you can enable spanning by way of a safe and reversible firmware hack)

Obviously all this stuff is bought after you get your iBook anyway, so as far as your BTO options go you seem to have it down well already.

Enjoy your new baby :)

[James Craner]

Okay I have about 2,000 dollars. That is all of my cash right now. I am 15 by the way. I want a laptop basically because I am used to laptops
okay what should I get. Right now I am pretty set on a 12 inch ibook with an upgraded drive to 80 gb and a built in bluetoth module. This took allot of saving. This is how I got the money I built a website for 500 and did various other jobs for the same guy stuff like sweeping floors. I got about 300 for my birthday. Then I also sold my ti-book thanks dad. It was his old one. I got about a 1000 for that. So I am thinking about buying the ibook and save the rest for other various stuff I might want. What do you guys think I should do. O yah should i get 512 mb of ram from apple or order it somewhere else. I remember there was a thread about outpost ram and people where saying it was pretty good dose anybody have the link to it. Also is it easy to install.

Any help would be much appreciated !!!!!!!

I would say with your requirements the 12" ibook with the upgrades that you specify it would be an ideal 1st computer. Buy it with the base memory and buy some additional RAM from crucial.com

[James Craner]

I would say with your requirements the 12" ibook with the upgrades that you specify it would be an ideal 1st computer. Buy it with the base memory and buy some additional RAM from crucial.com

Actually I have just checked the price difference between an extra 512MB of ram from Apple $150 and crucial $138 is not that great. Someone may be able to suggest a cheaper source, but make sure it has been certified to work with a Mac as Apples are very fussy about the RAM that they will work with, otherwise you may want to keep it simple and buy from Apple.

[IDANNY]

- A second monitor (you can enable spanning by way of a safe and reversible firmware hack)


Thanks everyone :) . I have been really confused lately I hope I will order it tomorrow. About that hack does it void my warranty. Do they have any way of knowing if I reverse it. Will it come with a cord to hook it up to an external monitor. I already have an external hardrive so thats cool.

Thanks everyone.

[IDANNY]

Will the ibook come with ilife 05 or iwork. ? Sorry I forgot to ask before.

[IDANNY]

The ram was unavalble at outpost is there anywhere else I can find a cheap 1gb stick of ram. I remeber thats what I had in my tibook and it ran very well. I would really like to get a gig of ram.

[MacAztec]

Why dont you save your money and buy a car?

I am 16, I had about 5000, I bought myself a car. Much better than a new computer.

[IDANNY]

I was thinking about the car thing but my dad will hopefully take care of that. Also I only turned 15 in December so I have some time till I get my license. I just saw on the apple refurbished store these powerbooks would those be better. Also I cant tell if they come with bluetooth. I like how the powerbook looks more.

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[mpw]

The original post says you only want a laptop 'cause that's what you're use to.

With a $2k budget and without the need for huge power right now I'd be considering a Mac mini and a 20" Cinema Display if I were you.

[virividox]

Why dont you save your money and buy a car?

I am 16, I had about 5000, I bought myself a car. Much better than a new computer.

well some ppl dont need a car, plus cars take up more money to maintain!!!

[panphage]

I was thinking about the car thing but my dad will hopefully take care of that. Also I only turned 15 in December so I have some time till I get my license. I just saw on the apple refurbished store these powerbooks would those be better. Also I cant tell if they come with bluetooth. I like how the powerbook looks more.

All the powerbooks come with bluetooth built right in now and an airport extreme card (ibooks have the airport extreme but not the bluetooth: $50 add-on). For me it'd be worth a bit extra to get the aluminum shell and the DVI out with dual-monitor support right out of the box. Plus, the keyboard on the powerbooks is vastly superior to the ibook keyboard. If you can go to an apple store (or CompUSA) and test-drive, you'll be able to see if this is as big a deal for you as it is for me.

[IDANNY]

I am still confused now
I am thinking about a car to :p I am not really.
I dont need the book right away I have an old ibook I am using so everything is cool. I just really want it. I have been waiting for like 2 months and unsure what to do. I hope there is some sort of revision to the powerbook that would defiantly help me decide. I am just scared I will buy the wrong thing as this is allot of money to me.

About the mini it is cool and everything. But I had a cube for a while and I didn't use it as much as the ibook I am on at the moment. So we gave that cube to my little bro :) . He really likes it. I dont think I will use it as much as I would use the ibook. We already have an airport and stuff so I like to take the ibook with me.

By the way the ibook I am on is a 466 MHz clamshell special addition it drives me mad sometimes. Every-time i plug it into the power it just shuts down. :confused: But when its running on the power it is fine.

[Smileyguy]

Hi Danny,

it will come with iLife (possibly '05, make sure you ask!) but not iWork.

I'm 18, and was in a similar situation where I had a 'once-off' oppurtunity to spend some money on a computer. What did I buy? A secondhand G5! Why? Because I knew it might be a while before I could afford a new machine again.

Take this into account. Being 15, you might not get another chance to buy a computer for a while. Buy the best machine you can afford now, and it will last you to the end of your teens.