Decide between a PC and a Mac

Well, that PC laptop is faster than any Mac laptop, but it all comes down to the OS. Wich OS do you refer, and pick that computer.


Heres a pure porcessor speed comparison between an older Centrino 1.6 and a G4 1.33, so obviosdly the difference will be even greater in your case.

http://barefeats.com/al15b.html


Both will be fine for what you want to use it for, but obviously the PC will get more life and give you a longer warranty.

Like I said, choose based on OS.

funny you asking advice on pc vs mac on a mac website...

If your main interests are playing DVD's and games, it's pretty obvious you should go with the Centrino Box.

joshua_msu said:

Both will be fine for what you want to use it for, but obviously the PC will get more life and give you a longer warranty.

Click to expand...

PC will get more life? What does that mean?

tuartboy said:

funny you asking advice on pc vs mac on a mac website...

Click to expand...

Perhaps he's assuming we can be rational.

If you are going to game, I'd go with the PC laptop. However, as another poster has mentioned your preference in OS is quite significant. i like both OS X and WinXP so I could lean either way. Are there any platform specific apps you might want to use? How long do you plan to keep the laptop, etc? These are all questions you should ask yourself. The specs for that PC laptop would last you longer. Will you be doing consumer-grade multimedia tasks, iLife is better than anything available for cheap on Windows.

Good luck with whatever you select.

Euclid said:

I need to decide which laptop is better:

Powerbook G4 1.25ghz Single 137mhz bus
256MB DDR
Geforce 5200 go 64MB
60GB HD
XGA 1024x768 12'' !!!!
Combo Drive
NO TV-Out
Wireless 802.11G

1 Year Warranty

Or


Centrino 1.7 Dothan 2MB L2 Cache 400mhz bus
512MB DDR
ATI Radeon 9700 64MB
60GB HD
SXGA+(wide angle viewing) 1400x1050 15''
Combo Drive
TV-Out, Firewire, etc'
Wireless 802.11g
MultiCard Reader

3 years warranty


The PC is 200$ more expensive, which is a better deal, if i only want to surf the net, watch DVD, watch pictures, and play games for time to time

Click to expand...

errm...where did you find this mac? they never made a 1.25ghz 12", the current one comes with 512mb of ram, etc...

homerjward said:

errm...where did you find this mac? they never made a 1.25ghz 12", the current one comes with 512mb of ram, etc...

Click to expand...

The current 12" has a G4 1.5 doesn't it?

I would get the Powerbook i LOVE mine specs in Signature... Windows has to many probelms with my Mac no probelms so far! Plus i have tested it out on many things Vs. my PC 1.5 ghz G4 Vs. 2.4 ghz Powerbook was better at gaming IMO, and overall faster... I will never go back to Windows... Good luck with your decision!

homerjward said:

errm...where did you find this mac? they never made a 1.25ghz 12", the current one comes with 512mb of ram, etc...

Click to expand...

Yeah; those specs are really outdated. Euclid, the current 12" PowerBook model looks like this:
1.5 GHz PowerPC G4
512 Mb RAM
GeForce FX Go5200, 64 Mb VRAM
60 GB Ultra ATA 5400 RPM hard drive
combo drive, bluetooth, wireless internet, firewire, USB 2.0, etc...

http://www.apple.com/powerbook/specs.html

Apple sells inexpensive ($19) DVI-to-composite video (red/yellow/white "RCA" ports) adapters so you can plug the PowerBook into a TV. So yes, the PowerBook does support TV out.

Basically the only drawbacks I see are a slower processor in the PowerBook and a smaller screen (which can be offset if you have another monitor as the PowerBook supports multiple displays).

3 reasons for powerbook:

1. OS X
2. Tiger
3. 10.4

Euclid said:

I need to decide which laptop is better:
[...]
The PC is 200$ more expensive, which is a better deal, if i only want to surf the net, watch DVD, watch pictures, and play games for time to time

Click to expand...

Not necessarily. I own a 1.2 GHz iBook G4 (12" screen/512 MB RAM/Radeon Mobility 9200 32 MB VRAM/30 GB HD). I do pretty much everything you describe and my iBook handles those tasks smoothly (on top of that I use it for light image editing and web design). If I were you, I would only be able to justify the additional cost of the PC if I were doing more than the tasks you describe.

And if you're a student, The PowerBook G4 12" starts at $1399, $100 less than the regular price.

I've been a PC user all my life, and after 2 months of using macs all day everyday, I've decided to get rid of my PC for a Powerbook.

I've never really had too many problems with PCs, I've always saved money by building my own. And I've learnt how to cope with the problems in Windows.

For what you want to buy the laptop for, an iBook would be suitable. If you decide you want to edit pictures regularly, you may want the extra power a Powerbook affords. You could probably get a 14" iBook for the price you are looking at. 12" does indeed sound small, but the quality of the screen is amazing. However if you want a widescreen, you should really be looking at the 15" PB.

You can buy an adapter to enable TV out if you want to use your TV screen.

There are plenty advantages to owning a Mac over a PC, which many people on this forum will tell you. The main point people put forward is the lack of viruses, and how much more secure OSX is. At the end of the day its down to personal preference. Go into a store and test both of these laptops see which suits you better.

My favorite features of OSX are exposé, dashboard, spotlight, and iLife. If you want to know what any of these features are, search here on the forum or look on google.

Euclid said:

I need to decide which laptop is better:

Powerbook G4 1.25ghz Single 137mhz bus
256MB DDR
Geforce 5200 go 64MB
60GB HD
XGA 1024x768 12'' !!!!
Combo Drive
NO TV-Out
Wireless 802.11G

1 Year Warranty

Or


Centrino 1.7 Dothan 2MB L2 Cache 400mhz bus
512MB DDR
ATI Radeon 9700 64MB
60GB HD
SXGA+(wide angle viewing) 1400x1050 15''
Combo Drive
TV-Out, Firewire, etc'
Wireless 802.11g
MultiCard Reader

3 years warranty


The PC is 200$ more expensive, which is a better deal, if i only want to surf the net, watch DVD, watch pictures, and play games for time to time

Click to expand...

For surfing the net, watching DVD and playing games from time to time, the iBook would be the best deal (wait until next week, though, before you order - it's very likely that new iBooks will be released).

Btw, Apple Notebooks have some advantages that are not obvious at the first view.. e.g. they are more usually quiet than cheap Centrino Notebooks.

Euclid said:

I need to decide which laptop is better:

Powerbook G4 1.25ghz Single 137mhz bus
256MB DDR
Geforce 5200 go 64MB
60GB HD
XGA 1024x768 12'' !!!!
Combo Drive
NO TV-Out
Wireless 802.11G

1 Year Warranty

Or


Centrino 1.7 Dothan 2MB L2 Cache 400mhz bus
512MB DDR
ATI Radeon 9700 64MB
60GB HD
SXGA+(wide angle viewing) 1400x1050 15''
Combo Drive
TV-Out, Firewire, etc'
Wireless 802.11g
MultiCard Reader

3 years warranty


The PC is 200$ more expensive, which is a better deal, if i only want to surf the net, watch DVD, watch pictures, and play games for time to time

Click to expand...

no such powerbook exists, it's either 1.33GHz or 1GHz, also say how much your paying for each of them because you may be getting riped off with the powerbook, (the powerbook dose have tv out with an inexpencive adapter)

also whats the battery life on the pc laptop?, gameing obliterates PM battery life as the cpu cant clock down as it's being used 100% all the time so will draw about 20w thats about the same amount the mac mini draws in total, also consider size and weight, how mobile are you? 15" laptops are pretty big and chunky things on the pc side and you dont want a desk ridden lump when you could have spent less and got a desktop, or better yet a 12" powerbook, i'd decide if you want a 15" screen or a 12" screen then choose between 15" pc's and macs or 12" macs and pc's, i personally love the 12" screen atm as i can connect to my 23" lcd tv when i need more space and my ibook is compact and very mobile, i can pull it from my bag any time rest it on my hand and type away.

I don't understand why you're comparing these two computers. Do you want a 15-inch computer or a 12-inch computer? Apple does make a 15-incher, you know. The major comparison you're not making is weight. Most Windows laptops in the same price range as Macs weigh considerably more than the Macs. If you want a comparable PC in terms of size, weight, battery life, and CPU speed, you'll spend more than a Mac.