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15inch Powerbook or new g5 dual 2.0?

M

Makyz

macrumors newbie
Original poster
I have to decide between these two things..

A powermac or a powerbook

For the past six months I have happily used my rev b 12 inch powerbook, and the only real serious problem I ever had with it was the screen size. (thats why I am going for the 15in) I use photoshop, imovie (although it wasnt that great on my 12incher), and other design applications. I love video editting, and just started doing some cool little movies with my friends at my college ( like FIU DORM NINJA)

Other problems with my 12incher was that it slowed down when playing large avi files, which i find annoying, and that 80 gigs isnt really enough for me. But it has been so convient bringing it to class, or a lounge area and hang out- but there has never been a critical NEED to do this.

Anyway, I am worried about laying down 2500$ for a 15inch powerbook when the processor is 4 years, and if it will satisfy my growing video hobby.

Now I take a look at the new dual 2.0 (also roughly 2500$) and wow, it does everything I need, but i am stuck with a desktop once again

oh and BTW I have a 19 inch CRT which I connect my 12 in to work design, which I will probably use for the powermac if I buy it.

What do you guys think I should invest in? What would be the overall best buy over time? Can the 15inch satisfy my needs, or will i regret it?
 
Yeah, it is a tough call. I bought a dual 2GHz G5 when they first came out. Later my wife bought me a 12" iBook as a gift. It's so sad, but I use the iBook constantly, and only the G5 a little bit. I often think about selling both and getting a 15" PowerBook but I just can't bring myself to part with the G5 because it's so stupid fast when I do use it.

How about this: from Apple's online store, pick up a refurb dual 1.8 G5 ($1799) and a refurb 12" iBook for portability ($749). That's right at your price point and you get an amazing desktop and an ultra-portable Mac too.

Just a thought.
 
Makyz said:
I have to decide between these two things..

A powermac or a powerbook

For the past six months I have happily used my rev b 12 inch powerbook, and the only real serious problem I ever had with it was the screen size. (thats why I am going for the 15in) I use photoshop, imovie (although it wasnt that great on my 12incher), and other design applications. I love video editting, and just started doing some cool little movies with my friends at my college ( like FIU DORM NINJA)

Other problems with my 12incher was that it slowed down when playing large avi files, which i find annoying, and that 80 gigs isnt really enough for me. But it has been so convient bringing it to class, or a lounge area and hang out- but there has never been a critical NEED to do this.

Anyway, I am worried about laying down 2500$ for a 15inch powerbook when the processor is 4 years, and if it will satisfy my growing video hobby.

Now I take a look at the new dual 2.0 (also roughly 2500$) and wow, it does everything I need, but i am stuck with a desktop once again

oh and BTW I have a 19 inch CRT which I connect my 12 in to work design, which I will probably use for the powermac if I buy it.

What do you guys think I should invest in? What would be the overall best buy over time? Can the 15inch satisfy my needs, or will i regret it?
Click to expand...
wanna buy mine? 😀
 
if 12" PB (rev. B) ain't good enough, i don't see much difference in getting a 15" PB. if computing power is the problem, you have to go for PM G5.
 
If yu don't need to be portable I'd ge the G5. It will walk all over the PB G4, and will last a lot longer.
 
I like JCook's advice. It's a really tough call.

In the end, there's no way any of the laptops is going to match the power of a G5 2.0. But have you tried the new 15" 1.5? If the 15" 1.5 is fast enough, and you love portability, go for it. But if it's power and performance you lust after, far more than portability, go for the G5.
 
Makyz said:
Anyway, I am worried about laying down 2500$ for a 15inch powerbook when the processor is 4 years, and if it will satisfy my growing video hobby.

What do you guys think I should invest in? What would be the overall best buy over time? Can the 15inch satisfy my needs, or will i regret it?
Click to expand...

As a professional video/film editor I say go for the laptop. I've used my 15" Tibook 800 to make changes on projects while I've travelled. And I just got a new 15" powerbook to replace it. Is the laptop my primary editing machine? No but it is plenty powerful enough to do whatever I need plus it is portable.

Keep in mind that most commercials, music videos and feature films are edited on Avid systems running OS9 on G4 towers so a G4 PB isn't as archaic as you might think.
 
bonehead said:
As a professional video/film editor I say go for the laptop. I've used my 15" Tibook 800 to make changes on projects while I've travelled. And I just got a new 15" powerbook to replace it. Is the laptop my primary editing machine? No but it is plenty powerful enough to do whatever I need plus it is portable.

Keep in mind that most commercials, music videos and feature films are edited on Avid systems running OS9 on G4 towers so a G4 PB isn't as archaic as you might think.
Click to expand...

I am SO glad to hear you say this! I was faced with the same dilemma (pb 15 vs g5 dual 1.8) and begged someone just to tell me if I could do avg. FCP video editing on the 15" without tearing my hair out. I got plenty of great answers but oddly, hardly a word about that specific video question. I really did want a system I could edit video with FCP on and have my super cutting-whiz friends use as well.

Since I don't edit video professionally (i.e.where time is $ and rendering huge files constantly) I finally figured that the setup I decided on (Just arrived today, still in the box, right behind me!!!!) will be fine:
15" 1.5 1gb ram 5400 HD (ext 7200 fw 800) ATA pro card
plus 20" Cinema Display (buying at the end of June awaiting possible price drop)
bluetooth kbd and mouse.

I don't NEED the portability but it's very nice to have, and I haven't bought a laptop since my pismo. I figure if I'm craving more speed I'll pick up a 1.8 (the dual processor is what makes them able to do so well even on the g4s) in a few months or a year.

Anyway thanks, I feel better about dropping the cash on what I hope will be an optimal system at least for the next ten minutes...

🙄
 
Man i hate these kinds of post, you are comparing a desk with a lap. Figure out what you want first then make a choice. you are comparing apples and oranges. G4 old hat,old news blah blah blah, G5 is new kid on the block and the future of Apple. You want a desk then G5 you want to carry it around until it gets damaged G4. take your choice.
 
I don't have a G5, but I do have a PowerMac MMD Duel 1GHz and a 1.25 GHz powerbook. I use Photoshop, Final Cut Express as well as Office and safari regularly. I spend the majority of my time on the powerbook because I love the ability to work anywhere. The powerbook is fast enough to edit video and use photoshop. The key is to make sure that you have enough RAM.
 
It's nice to have the portablilty of a PowerBook. The performance difference between the 12 and 15 inch PowerBooks, especially if you've got a Rev A like mine, which doesn't have much L2 cache. I get beachballed all the time. My Pismo was faster for a lot of things.
 
yeah, I 've had a 15" Powerbook for a year. Love it, but was feeling sluggish recently...so I found a good deal on a PM dual 2.0 and bought that. So now I have both and life is beautiful. But I'm still debating selling one or the other b/c having both feels weird. Like I could use that extra $ elsewhere.
 
Get the G5, edesign is right it really will walk all over it. And if in 2 years time it isn't quite up to the job then just stick some more ram in it and you're laughing.
 
i'd go for the g5 also. much more future proof, has loads of capacity for expansion and is loads faster!
 
I personally say none of the above. I would, if it was my decision, hold onto the 12" for a few more moths and wait for a G5 PB. If you need HD that bad, grab a 250 firewire 800 one when you get the G5 PB. or grab one now, and use that, to be joined by a G5 PB later.
 
Go for the power if you need it

i am sure in the long run the G% will last you longer and give you more satisfaction. Yes you do have to sacrifice some portability but that is made up by the HUGE power increase!
 
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