New iBook purchase.

[neoelectronaut]

My girlfriend wants an iBook. But, she's on a budget. What do you think is the best value? She hasn't really decided if she wants the 14" or the 12". All I really need to know is how much HD space she'll need and RAM... and any other tips would be welcome.

[Chip NoVaMac]

RAM - as much as you can afford. Look to OWC or Crucial to save some money.

HDD - Depends on use. My PB 12" rev. B with 40gb HDD is enough for all the various apps I need. But it is not enough for my 20gb of iTunes music. So I have an external HDD to handle that.

[abhishekit]

Get a bigger hard drive, RAM you can always add on later. I had to sell my iBook only because its 30GB was totally full.

cheers

[iBook]

The 12-inch is definitely the better buy. The 12-inch and the 14-inch have the same screen resolution so there is no practical benefit to getting the "larger" model.

Use the price difference between the two to bump up the RAM and get a larger hard drive. Another "necessity" - an Airport Express wireless card.

Can't say that I think the Bluetooth module is essential, but if you want it built-in vs. buying a plug-in adapater later, now is the time to get it since BT is a BTO option only.

I've had my iBook since February, and I love it. Best laptop I've ever owned.

[neoelectronaut]

I was thinking of perhaps going with the 256MB preinstalled, and then buying a 512 module from Crucial. The 1GB is too expensive, and she really doesn't need that much.

The HD is still sort of a wildcard. I'll reccomend to her to get the highest capacity available, but it all boils down to price.

And as for 12" or 14" inch...I dunno what she's going to think. She may like it to be a little bigger, she may not.

[thehuncamunca]

i just bought the 14", i found the 12" while it does have the same pixel count was just too too small
the apple refurb section has some good deals, $899 for the pervious generation 14" G4 933MHz ibook with 40GB HD