Ibook vs. Imac and both vs. my PC :-)

[chiwawa2004]

Hi, I have a Pentium 4 with 3 Ghz, 1 GB RAM, 160GB blablabla...
But I am not very happy with the system...

Now I am thinking about selling it, and buying an imac or an ibook.

The ibook would be great because it is mobil.
But the Imac is also great because it is fast?

My question is, is there a big speed difference between my Pc and the Imac or the Ibook?

I am using Photoshop CS (max. 200MB Files, but normally 50MB) Freehand MX (max. 10-15 Sites, for commerical stuff) and in the future some work with Dreamweaver MX.

Also around 2000 Songs in Itunes, some surfing in the Internet, working with my Wacom Drawpad etc...

It could be that i will plugin a USB Keyboard, i mean piano, playing some simple
stuff on it.
Does the Ibook has a Microphone IN?

AND,

what about the Future, Tiger, 64 BIT, Core Image???

Thank you.

 

[cluthz]

The ibook has a built in mic, but no sound input.

The iMac is way faster than the ibook. A P4 would be about equal to the iMac.
If you are using Freehand/Photoshop/Dremweaver then i would NOT recommend the ibook!! The 1024x768 screen is unusalble for those apps.
Get a imac with 20" screen and enjoy the 1680x1050 resolution!!
The ibooks are also limited to 4200rmp disk upto 80gb, the iMac can have any sata disk on the market (std is 7200rpm at 160gb upto 250GB from apple, and later you can get even larger hds from a 3rd party)

I don't know how important core image will be but:
imac= yes
ibook = no
same applies to 64-bit apps

 

[chiwawa2004]

well, about the display...

I have a 19" Display at home where i can plug it in...

Right now I "underclocked" my PC so it runs at 2,4 Ghz, I dont feel any difference...

The 20" Imac is just TO expensive...

But it also could be that I am going for the Imac and than later the ibook...

The ibook has a built in mic, but no sound input.

The iMac is way faster than the ibook. A P4 would be about equal to the iMac.
If you are using Freehand/Photoshop/Dremweaver then i would NOT recommend the ibook!! The 1024x768 screen is unusalble for those apps.
Get a imac with 20" screen and enjoy the 1680x1050 resolution!!
The ibooks are also limited to 4200rmp disk upto 80gb, the iMac can have any sata disk on the market (std is 7200rpm at 160gb upto 250GB from apple, and later you can get even larger hds from a 3rd party)

I don't know how important core image will be but:
imac= yes
ibook = no
same applies to 64-bit apps

 

[cluthz]

well, about the display...
I have a 19" Display at home where i can plug it in...
Right now I "underclocked" my PC so it runs at 2,4 Ghz, I dont feel any difference...
The 20" Imac is just TO expensive...
But it also could be that I am going for the Imac and than later the ibook...

What is your budget?
The 20" imac is $1899, plus memory upgrades ~$2000 (160gb/768mb)
The ibook12" can be had for about ~$1200 (60gb disk/768 ram/vga adapter)
you could also consider the single G5 (1499)

 

[chiwawa2004]

the ibook is something around 1300€ here in germany, with BT,60GB and 768MB RAM.(student)
The Imac is around 1380€ with 768 MB RAM, that is not a huge difference...

The thing is I also need the mentioned WACOM Drawpad which is around 200€, a n Digicam for around 400-500€.

So my budget is around 2000€...

 

[cluthz]

the ibook is something around 1300€ here in germany, with BT,60GB and 768MB RAM.(student)
The Imac is around 1380€ with 768 MB RAM, that is not a huge difference...

The thing is I also need the mentioned WACOM Drawpad which is around 200€, a n Digicam for around 400-500€.

So my budget is around 2000€...

Is Superdrive an important issue?

The ibook (256/60/BT) costs Eur 1.116,72 with edu pricing, an extra 512 mb stick (bringing it up to 768mb) sholdn't cost much more than € 100.
The 17" iMac BTO (256/160/BT) costs 1.426,93. RAM would cost a bit less than the ibook. (German EDU pricing incl VAT)

If you don't need portability then get the iMac.
Its faster, has a much larger screen, almost 3x hd space and Core Image compatible graphics.

 

[Mechcozmo]

If you don't need portability then get the iMac.
Its faster, has a much larger screen, almost 3x hd space and Core Image compatible graphics.

Bingo! But if you need portability think about the 15" PowerBook. Core Image compatible, and from a number of threads very few apps will make the leap to 64 bit. You would be fine on a G4, methinks.

So, portability is a 15" PowerBook with RAM upgrades, and maybe HD upgrade to something 5200 rpm. (I forget the standard HD...hehe)
For desk bound system a 17" iMac with RAM upgrades and the larger hard drive.

 

[yoak]

HI.
I justgot an iBook 12". I thought long and hard about the PB15" SD, but it was a bit too expensive for me at the moment. So I decided to split the cost and get an iBook now (because they are such a good deal these days) and get an iMac 17" SD some time next year. The cost are almost the same as a PB15".
I haven´t had much time to try out my iBook yet, but my idea was to do lighter stuff on the iBook and heavier stuff on the iMac.
I will mostly do a bit of editing, like my show reel (I´m a cameraman),so nothing to big.
To me this was the best solution, and it could be for you too....

 

[Mechcozmo]

HI.
I justgot an iBook 12". I thought long and hard about the PB15" SD, but it was a bit too expensive for me at the moment. So I decided to split the cost and get an iBook now (because they are such a good deal these days) and get an iMac 17" SD some time next year. The cost are almost the same as a PB15".
I haven´t had much time to try out my iBook yet, but my idea was to do lighter stuff on the iBook and heavier stuff on the iMac.
I will mostly do a bit of editing, like my show reel (I´m a cameraman),so nothing to big.
To me this was the best solution, and it could be for you too....

Check out my sig, I do video editing on my PowerBook all the time. It works great, too!

 

[chiwawa2004]

I just dont know what to do

Normally I would buy a notebook...

But I am so afraid that the ibook will be the last computer from apple with a G4 and without Core Image and without 64 Bit.
I mean I have to use it at least 2 years.

Next year the whole desktopline will have a G5, also the emac, or the emac and the ibooks and PB will get the new Freescale, maybe the 64 bit version in PB (dual core) and the "cheap" 32 bit version in ibook and emac...
And every Mac WILL have a Core Image Graphiccard...

Well, I really dont know what to do

 

[Sun Baked]

It could be that i will plugin a USB Keyboard, i mean piano, playing some simple
stuff on it.
Does the Ibook has a Microphone IN?

AND,

what about the Future, Tiger, 64 BIT, Core Image???

Thank you.

So you're planning on playing around with some of the Apple SW like...

http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/accessories.html

 

[chiwawa2004]

yeah, something from m-audio...

 

[solvs]

If you already have a monitor, I'd second the single 1.8GHz Tower. Just change the SuperDrive to a Combo drive to make it a little cheaper. Take out the modem if you don't need it. Upgrade to BT, Airport, and the Radeon 9600 if you think you'll need them. Otherwise, it would be a good machine. Just be sure to add some third party RAM. Crucial is the favorite around here for a reason, and still cheaper than Apple's. You can also upgrade as you go, as soon as you can afford to splurge a little. Say, if you want an internal PCI sound card. Look for Student and Developer discounts if you qualify, on software too. If not, some software companies will do cross-platform upgrades if you call them. Makes it a little cheaper.

The iBook is great, and wouldn't be too bad for what you do... but if portablity isn't all that important, go for the Tower. You can always buy a P'Book or iBook later, as funds permit. And by then, I'm sure they will be better suited for what you do.