Decisions decisions

[B.Lehman]

I'm a web designer, and have been contemplating making the switch for a while now. I've been having a tough time trying to make up my mind on which new mac to buy, so yesterday I finally decided to take a trip to the apple store and play around with a few of the models myself. If anything, the trip only made my decision more difficult because all of the models that I played around with seemed like capable machines (even the iBooks which was something of a shock to me). While I would really like to go back and say "I'll take one of each please"... I can't afford to do that right now.

For right now, I am interested in buying a powerbook. I would like to eventually replace my PC workstation with a G5, but that can wait.

I think I've narrowed it down to two options:

• Refurb 15" 1.33Ghz from the applestore refurb section @ $1699
• New 15" 1.5Ghz (with HD and VRAM upgrade) from expercom @ $2499

That is quite a difference in price, so I'm wondering if anyone can give me some input as to whether the additional cost is worth it. My gut feeling is that right now, the overall performance will be a little bit better, but probably not enough to be a deal breaker either way. What I'm not sure about though is how much of a difference there would be with Tiger.

Also, has anyone ordered from ExperCom before? Just looking for impressions, experiences good or bad, etc. Will I save on the sales tax by ordering through ExperCom? Would it be a better idea to try to get Apple Store to match the Expercom price?

-- Brad

 

[CanadaRAM]

Get the refurb. as long as it has 1 year warranty. Although the new 1.5 has some bonus RAM, 512 Mb isn't enough RAM for serious work anyway.

Spend the price difference on 1 - 2 Gb of RAM from a reputable online source like http://www.datamem.com, and a good firewire external drive for overflow storage and data backup.

If you are getting a G5 desktop for the heavy lifting later, then the .17 GHz speed difference will be non-significant.

>Would it be a better idea to try to get Apple Store to match the Expercom price?

LOL. Thanks for the humour break.

Trevor
CanadaRAM.com

 

[B.Lehman]

>Would it be a better idea to try to get Apple Store to match the Expercom price?

LOL. Thanks for the humour break.

Trevor
CanadaRAM.com

I'm not sure precisely what you are implying there. The apple site clearly states that they will match better prices elsewhere, so what is the deal?

-- Brad

 

[mduser63]

If it were me, I'd go for the 1.33 GHz PB because of the huge price difference. I'm also a web designer, and I use a 12" 1.33 GHz Powerbook (often with an external screen for more space) and love it. I really doubt the .17 GHz speed increase is going to matter to you in real life. Definitely do upgrade the RAM. As for Expercom, I've never ordered from them online, but I've bought things from their retail store, and have always been very pleased. They're the next best thing to an Apple store (which we don't yet have in Salt Lake City).