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I'm taking the plunge...

N

NCTRNL

macrumors regular
Original poster
I am getting ready to order my PB from Apple.com with the education discount after I get my financial aid refund. I am so antsy that I have been reading these forums like crazy. I find myself going to stores that sell them and just playing with them until I can get my own. I have never owned a Mac before so this is a little bit of a step. This will be for school presentations, writing papers, burning CD's and perhaps DVD's, and internet, maybe some gaming. Here is what I plan on ordering:

15" 1.5ghz Powerbook (128mb video memory and don't say I should get an iBook)
512mb RAM ( 1 dimm)
80 GB hd (5400 rpm)
Superdrive
backlit keyboard
20GB Ipod (cram and jam)
airport extreme base station (for wireless internet in my apt)
applecare


I figured I would just make sure I wasn't missing anything. I'm going crazy waiting to order this thing...
 
LeeTom said:
Looks like you nailed it right on the head. Perfect setup. You might want to order another 512MB stick later on from Crucial ( http://www.crucial.com ), but it's not necessary.

Lee Tom
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's why I went with the single dimm so I could do that later.
 
NCTRNL said:
I'm going crazy waiting to order this thing...
Click to expand...

The specs look great.. so.. uh... what are you waiting for?!? Order it already! Jeez.. do you realize how life changing this thing is going to be! You'll never be the same dude, seriously.
 
You know you really should get an i...(looks at stipulation in original post)...Sight! Yea that's it! iSight for that new iChat AV! 😀

No seriously, congrats on the new Mac! Enjoy it!

Mike
 
cr2sh said:
The specs look great.. so.. uh... what are you waiting for?!? Order it already! Jeez.. do you realize how life changing this thing is going to be! You'll never be the same dude, seriously.
Click to expand...

I gotta wait for my refund check man. I would order it right now if I could. Then after I order it I gotta wait for the damn thing to ship. That's gonna be the longest week of my life.
 
Sadly you may find that PBs are not the best gaming machines... the performance typically ranges from "adequate" to "sub-par". At least such has been my experience from PB gaming. You'll be lucky to avg 20+ FPS on things such as Halo or UT2K4... and this I know since my G5 only gets 22 FPS avg on Halo with a Rad9800 SE. Otherwise, that rig should be fine for everything else... Personally I don't see a need for a SuperDrive in a laptop... and even for me in a year I've not used my G5 SD ONCE... but maybe you're different.
 
Sweet setup - I'm sure you'll get good use out of it. You don't specify the 15" or 17" - which one? If you're going to be carting it around to class and using it significantly during the day, you might want to consider going for an extra battery.

The only other change I'd make is to order it now and pay it off when you get your refund, unless it'll be more than a month from now. But that's me.
 
Yeah, but don't they charge you before you can order it? I can't imagine that they would make it if it hadn't been paid for. I am getting a 15" powerbook. Gaming is really the last thing that I am gonna be doing most likely. That is what the PS2 is for. The extra battery might be a good idea though...
 
NCTRNL said:
Yeah, but don't they charge you before you can order it? I can't imagine that they would make it if it hadn't been paid for. I am getting a 15" powerbook. Gaming is really the last thing that I am gonna be doing most likely. That is what the PS2 is for. The extra battery might be a good idea though...
Click to expand...


Extra battery is a good idea only so far as you'll be away from a power outlet for an EXTENDED period of time. Keep in mind that if you get an extra batt and never use it, it will still decay over time.
 
NCTRNL said:
Yeah, but don't they charge you before you can order it?
Click to expand...

Sure they do. I'd use a credit card, then pay off the card with the refund check. That way you get the PB before the check arrives, but don't have to pay it off for a month.

Again, this scenario breaks down if:

1) You don't have a credit card, or

2) You don't have enough credit on a credit card, or

3) You already carry a balance and would have to pay interest on the purchase, or

4) You won't get the check before the bill is due.

Assuming 1-4 don't apply, then go for it.

Not that I'm offering credit advice or anything...
 
The exact same Powerbook I got, and after a month now I'm still in love with it. Hopefully your check comes soon, cause I know the days I waited for the Powerbook to come in the mail were some of the longest days of my life, but it was completly worth it the wait in order to get the edu. discount and a build to order model and not a stock model.
 
starcrossed said:
The exact same Powerbook I got, and after a month now I'm still in love with it.
Click to expand...


🙄

I'd hope you'll still be in love with it for way more than a month.
 
starcrossed said:
The exact same Powerbook I got, and after a month now I'm still in love with it. Hopefully your check comes soon, cause I know the days I waited for the Powerbook to come in the mail were some of the longest days of my life, but it was completly worth it the wait in order to get the edu. discount and a build to order model and not a stock model.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I wanted to hear. I will just wait until I get the check so I dont have to worry about the credit card thing. I had originally planned on waiting until January until I found out I would be getting a sizable refund from financial aid.
 
NCTRNL said:
That's exactly what I wanted to hear. I will just wait until I get the check so I dont have to worry about the credit card thing. I had originally planned on waiting until January until I found out I would be getting a sizable refund from financial aid.
Click to expand...
I love my PB15. Got the initial model last November.

Upon return from a business trip last week, I had to send it to the Apple Store for fixing a few things and replace the HD. Turned it in Thursday, picked it up on Sunday. While it only took 3-4 days to fix, it seemed like months. But now she is back and I am very happy! 😀

This leads me to my suggestion. In my case, I was very lucky that I backed up my whole HD before my trip, and backed up key data during my trip. I would suggest getting an external FW HD for backup purposes. Then periodically back up your data to the external HD.

Reference the SD. You are wise to get the Superdrive version for a couple of reasons:
- Easier to sell in a couple of years when you want to upgrade.
- Can create DVDs to share with friends and family.
- Can make backup copies of your purchased DVDs.

Reference the memory. I upgraded to 1GB. Comes in very handy at times.

Good call on the Apple Care as well. It is invaluable when your laptop craps out.

You will love your Airport Express base station. It rocks!

Make sure you get a good carrying bag/case to protect your baby and carry the accessories that you need in the portable mode.

Good luck on your first Mac purchase!

Sushi
 
sushi said:
Reference the SD. You are wise to get the Superdrive version for a couple of reasons:
- Easier to sell in a couple of years when you want to upgrade.
- Can create DVDs to share with friends and family.
- Can make backup copies of your purchased DVDs.
Click to expand...


But the question here is, how many people ACTUALLY do this on a regular basis?

Most students don't have enough time to sleep, let alone put together a DVD...

Always consider practicality first...
 
vraxtus said:
But the question here is, how many people ACTUALLY do this on a regular basis?

Most students don't have enough time to sleep, let alone put together a DVD...

Always consider practicality first...
Click to expand...
Most will eventually sell their PowerBooks to upgrade in the future. For many folks, having the SD is a baseline requirement. It gives you a better chance to sell you laptop quickly when the time comes.

I realize that students are time crunched. Been there done that in an a very demanding and restricted environment, and still I had time for personal things.

How long does it take to create and burn a DVD? Not long at all. I am not talking a professional production here. Just sharing some digital pics and short videos via a DVD. Apple's iLife includes everything that you need:iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie and iDVD.

In the old days we did it with video tape using much more limited equipment. And it took a lot more time to do. Now it is so easy and takes very little time.

Folks and friends love to hear from their favorite students. Create a simple DVD. Burn copies. Send. Simple, quick and easy. Takes very little time. It sure beats how we had to do it in the old days for sure.

Sushi
 
NCTRNL said:
I think that this is the bag that I am going to go with:

http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/catalog/categories.t2?categoryId=7
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Excellent choice! I highly recommend Timbuk2 bags. They are excellent.

And just so you know, Apple doesn't charge your credit card until your PB ships. So, you can go ahead and order it. Since you're doing a BTO, it won't ship for several days, which means that you'll get your check before the PB ships.

Enjoy your new Mac! 😀
 
DVDs aren't just for movies anymore...

vraxtus said:
But the question here is, how many people ACTUALLY do this on a regular basis?

Most students don't have enough time to sleep, let alone put together a DVD...

Always consider practicality first...
Click to expand...

Speaking of practicality, DVDs make a fairly decent medium for backing up files as well, holding significantly more than CDs. Sure, they're not super cheap, but better than losing your data, especially homework, prof notes, etc.
 
The only problem with the SuperDrive is that it writes slower than the Combo Drive. Hopefully the next gen PBook will have 6x (if they make that) or 8x SD.
 
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