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Which Should I get?(mac newbie)

D

demonx

macrumors regular
Original poster
Ok im thinking of making the switch kind of anyways(after a friend showed me the power of Jaguar), my desktop will still be a pc😉

Anyways, I have been looking into the Ibook or the Powerbooks and trying to decide which is the best bang for the buck.

What I want to do with this new mac I buy is be able to

Play Games at least maybe some real time strategy or roleplaying games Diablo II, Baldurs, UO, etc etc. I understand that Im not going to be running UT3 at the highest settings etc etc, I'll reserver that for my desktop.

Watch DVDs

Organize stuff, contact list etc etc, surf the net.

Portable enough to handle daily trips to college and work.

Do a bit of photshop and dremweaver type stuff.

Taking price into consideration, which one Ibook or Powerbook and which model should I get?
I am also thinking of finanacing one if need to be.

Thanks for your help


🙂
 
For value for money and performence I'd say you couldn't go far wrong with the 700Mhz iBook, it's quick and will stand up to those trips back and forth to college and work better than the PowerBook.
 
I agree with edesignuk and say you should go with the iBook, best deal from what you say you will use it for, powerbook is more for "power" users, almost to the point of a replacement now a days.
 
Thanks guys I have decided to go with the lower end Powerbook though, it has a 32 megs video card, I just don't think the Ibook is going to handle games all that well with only a 16meg card🙁
 
well that's a good choice demonx, let us know when you get it and what you think. I hope you enjoy your mac, I know you will😀
 
Will do

I was actually looking at the 700mhz 12in version, because I could toss it in my backpack and keep moving(the powerbook seems a tad large for that). But like I said with only a 16meg card im not sure how well it will handle most games, though maybe Im looking at it from a PC users side?😕
 
Well guys I was almost converted until I saw this in conspiracy blue.

I got abducted on the way to the apple store🙁
 
Originally posted by demonx
Well guys I was almost converted until I saw this in conspiracy blue.

I got abducted on the way to the apple store🙁
Click to expand...

Hmm.. why... I don't understand...

Oh wait, I get it. It's green! It must be good!
 
Nah just has alot of umph for the price, only thing is it heavy.

I will have to ask santa for a powebook for christmas😛
But I have not made a decision either way, so give me some Mac sweet talk😉
 
Well you should want to switch to a mac so you can use a mac os, or more specifically os x. as powerful as that alienware might be, it will still run windows......🙄
 
You are right of course, ok now help me escape the mothership.

I have decided on this configuration

Norton AntiVirus 8.0
Office v.X for Mac Academic
AirPort Base Station
iBook 700MHz 12.1"
DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo 065-3415
AirPort Card 065-3428
384MB SDRAM - 2 DIMMs 065-3407
Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English 065-3370
30GB Ultra ATA drive 065-3410
Extra Battery - iBook

To be carried to work and school and almost everywhere else daily, only thing I wish is it had a better video card🙁
 
Originally posted by demonx
You are right of course, ok now help me escape the mothership.

I have decided on this configuration

Norton AntiVirus 8.0
Office v.X for Mac Academic
AirPort Base Station
iBook 700MHz 12.1"
DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo 065-3415
AirPort Card 065-3428
384MB SDRAM - 2 DIMMs 065-3407
Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English 065-3370
30GB Ultra ATA drive 065-3410
Extra Battery - iBook

To be carried to work and school and almost everywhere else daily, only thing I wish is it had a better video card🙁
Click to expand...
there have been rumors of new ibooks/powerbooks coming out b4 xmas, if those rumors are true, hopefully there'll be an ibook with better vid card..hopefully
 
i use my PowerBook everywhere...and it stands up to the wear and tear of college life! i live in the dorms and have satalite classes and work so my powerbooks get thrown around alot....
i throw it in my backpack and then throw my backpack around, and neither of powerbooks have much of anything wrong with them, the one thing that happened was someone stepped on one of them on accident and the combo drive doesn't work to well, but he's bigger than me (he's 300lbs +) and doesn't walk lightly....i just switched to a cover by westfield (www.sfbags.com), and it's great, i worry even LESS about my powerbooks in my backpack
my recomendation is get a low end PowerBook with the education discount or find a refurbished/used powerbook...they really are worth it!
i have the 400Mhz G4 PowerBook and the 800 Mhz G4 PowerBook, both work just fine for games (even with the 400 only having 8 MB of VRAM), true the 800 doesn't seem to care that i have warcraft III on the highest settings and it is my gaming machine, the point i'm making is that even the low Powerbook will do everything you want...
my mom has the 700 Mhz iBook, and the G3 just doens't keep up with my 400 Mhz G4 because of the AltiVec greatness in Jaguar, it even speeds up aplication that don't have the optimization built into the code....
basically, a G4 PowerBook is the way to go if you want to have a rugged laptop that can go screaming fast AND is light weight...that's just my opinion after having a powerbook in college and high school (yes i took my 400 to high school everyday, i just got my 800 so only in college for it)
 
My English teacher has the 14 inch iBook (700MHz) and it is really cool. It seems to work perfectly for her. It sure is nice to have a g4 chip though...
 
Thanks all
But PyroTurtle thats exactly what I was looking for, someone who had one in real life, with basically the same conditions mine will be put under.

Bascially this thing is going to have to go with me everywhere, in my car, to school, to work, to friends house, coffe shop, etc etc so I want it to be durable.🙂
 
the pc world has a mobile video card with 64 MB of RAM so it's just a matter of time before gaming on a mac will catch up on the mobile format in the same way
 
Even if a tibook doesnt come out in the coming month, wait till Jan. I think you will be much happier if you wait. But if you need it now, have fun buying 😀.
 
You can never go wrong with an iBook, it is probably the most versatile computer that Apple ever built, especially for hauling around with you on a daily basis. I think the 16MB video ram would be fine considering the res and screen size.
 
I've a TiBook and I dropped it on a brick drive recently. it still works bar a few cracks and I can't put a CD in the drive as the case is bent. I had that in my shoulder bag rather than its normal case so it wasn't padded.

If you go for any laptop be sure to buy a decent case. Just because I was relatively lucky doesn't mean you will be. I carry my TiBook to work everyday (1.30 hr journey) and it's not that bad to carry. Personally I wouldn't go for a iBook as I need the large screen (I still want a higher res screen). I it's all down to what you want to use it for and how much you can afford.
 
Thanks guy, belive I have been pulling my hair out between a wintel notebook, powerbook or Ibook. I have finally gotten it down between a wintel or the ibook.
Just factoring in the cost of buying new software for the Ibook(dreamweaver, photoshop 7, etc etc)

But I do love OSX, well at least when my co-worker lets me mess with it😛
 
Listen

Wait until the new iBooks/Powerbooks come out. Then, make a decision. If the iBook is bumped to 800Mhz with a 32MB graphics, I would go for that.

If the PowerBook is bumped to 867 and 1GHz with a 64MB video, I would definately buy that. And if both happen, get the powerbook, you will be happier.

As for all that software, do you really want to spend that much money on stuff you arent going to use very much? My saying is if you aren't going to make money with it, don't buy it.

I know I am not supposed to talk about pirating, but this is what I do. Say a new program (game/app) comes out and I want to try it. Hell, I don't want to spend money to try something! I download it, try it out, and if I like it, I go and buy it!

I think you should do the same thing. And if you want Photoshop for like a once a month thing that you do, I wouldn't even buy it. Look at freeware....
 
Well the problem is I have waited too long already, I need to make a decision within the next few days😛
 
when i got my ibook nearly three years ago,k i had enough for a powerbook but got the ibook and a pc laptop which set me back almost three grand

i did better with my choice since we do only light graphics and gaming...some gamers i know still believe that there are no laptops out there good enough for their style of intense gaming

the laptop world will never catch up with the desktop world since the good video cards are always released in a desktop version first

the ibook owners i know are happy they saved their money and the powerbook owners i know can never look back into any consumer based portable computer

so either way you go, you will see the bright side of your purchase and be happy with it
 
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