PB 12" vs iBook?

[MacBoyX]

I own a 15” PB 667 and a 15” iMac G4 Flat Panel. A good friend wants to buy my PB for a reasonable price and I found myself liking the size and portability of my boyfriend’s iBook.

I am unsure if I want a 12” PB or a 12” iBook at this point. Some of the limitations on the 12” PB are less glaring on the cheaper iBook (640MB limit on RAM, can’t use an ADC etc.)

I test drove my boyfriend’s 700Mhz iBook this weekend and found it to perform as well as my 667 PB. Am I nuts?

With the iMac at home and the notebook being truly a portable extension (I could do any iMovie editing or heavy duty Photoshopping with the G4 iMac) would I be smart to buy a 900Mhz iBook, max out the memory (I could reuse the PB’s 512 in the iBook) and be happy?

Any opinions/comments would be welcomed.

 

[patrick0brien]

-MacBoyX

Just to clarify, the 12PB isn't limited to 640MB, that just the DDR DIMMs available en masse right now. There is a 1gb DDR DIMM available for the 12PB right now, but those prices need to fall.

As for the rest, well you'll find the 12PB a little longer to outgrow, other than that, and since you plan on doing your video on the desktop machine, I personally see no reason to go for the iBook.

 

[baby duck monge]

Originally posted by patrick0brien
-MacBoyX
and since you plan on doing your video on the desktop machine, I personally see no reason to go for the iBook.

did you mean to say that you see no reason *not* to go for the ibook?

 

[patrick0brien]

Originally posted by baby duck monge
did you mean to say that you see no reason *not* to go for the ibook?

-baby duck monge

Umm. Yeah!

That's what I meant!

Durr.

 

[MacBoyX]

Patrick,

Thanks so much for ur words of agreement. I love the slickness of the 12" PB but for the money I could get the iBook and 2 iPods with the same money it could cost me for a stripped down PB.

macboyX

 

[Eniregnat]

If your just doing minimal high end digital work, I think that the iBook would be a great addition to your life. It's a good size and the lexan shell makes it a robust little machine, but there are a few things to remember.

The iBook is the only g3 in Apple's stable.
It is the only product that is not AirPortExtreme compatible.
It has the smallest up grade possibilities.

I am not one to prognosticate, but I think that Apple is setting its self up for a major processor change. (A lot of other people believe this to), But as I see it, some time by the end of June Apple will expand its processor line up, thus leaving the G4 as it’s bottom of the line processor by September. No matter what you do, your technology will always be out of date, but you can slim that margin down. I think that you will get more longevity out of a PB than you will an iBook.

 

[QCassidy352]

Re: PB 12" vs iBook?

I just think it comes down to knowing what you need. Do you need/ want bluetooth, airport extreme, superdrive, and a G4? Those are pretty much the advantages of the powerbook. If you're not doing a lot of altivec-optimized applications like photoshop, the G4 won't really help you. The 900 mhz G3 will even outperform the 867 G4 at some tasks. The video cards on the two are pretty comparable, but the PB probably wins out by a little.

I just bought a new laptop, and decided to go for the ibook. The powerbook is very nice, but I just didn't need the extras it offers. The ibook is very fast with OS X (I know, I know, "as compared to what?" But my point is that it runs very smoothly.), and since you say that you'd do heavier work on the imac anyway, it seems to me that the ibook would meet all of your needs easily.

p.s. IMHO, the ibook is pretty slick looking too, although in a different way than the PB.

 

[MacBoyX]

Eniregnat,

I thought of what you said, but I have to admit I am an uber Mac geek these days...In a little over a year i have had four Macs lol
My Classic iMac replaced by the PB, then a iMac G4 added, an iBook added...I probably won't keep the iBook long enuff to worry abt the processor shift.

I know it's coming but I when it does, my parents will most likely be the proud owners of an iBook HaHa.

Also I have ZERO need for AirPort Extreme, and I don't think it's upgrade abilities are any better or worse than the 12" PB.

Thanks for your feed back!

macboyX

 

[vollspacken]

Re: Re: PB 12" vs iBook?

Originally posted by QCassidy352
(...) since you say that you'd do heavier work on the imac anyway, it seems to me that the ibook would meet all of your needs easily.

... I agree, defenitly go for the iBook. you got the iMac for G4 & big screen apps. If you just need a mobile substitude for your old PB, get the 12" iBook and two airport cards (one for your iMac and one for your new iBook).

spend the remaining money on more RAM for both computers and a Lalo Schifrin CD

vSpacken

 

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by patrick0brien
-MacBoyX

Just to clarify, the 12PB isn't limited to 640MB, that just the DDR DIMMs available en masse right now. There is a 1gb DDR DIMM available for the 12PB right now, but those prices need to fall.

As for the rest, well you'll find the 12PB a little longer to outgrow, other than that, and since you plan on doing your video on the desktop machine, I personally see no reason to go for the iBook.

go for the powerbook since you are one who knows photoshop and will work the higher end functions in it...even if your desktop machine is your main one

the ibook might seem slow to you being a g3 processor

for me, who is not into heavy duty photoshop, the ibook is just right

 

[Eniregnat]

I don't believe in LAG (latest and greatest). I normally preach that people should buy what they need and never worry about upcoming updates, but your case is a little different.

I am always on the back end of the technology curve. I purchased a bottom of the line iBook when I could afford (and needed) one. I just know that the additional features that seemed pointless then would make my life easier now. I'd think that if you have g4's you would want to stay with the same processor type, if you can.

Something to factor into the cost are spare batteries, a good sleeve and AppleCare.

I'm a clam shell iBook owner. It has put in a lot of hours and a lot of miles. It's a good computer and shows its scars well. I am a proud iBook owner and don't think that it’s a second best machine, even now. Just choose what meets your means and needs best.

 

[toughboy]

go 4 iBook

Once, i was defeated by my curiosity, and i entered apple store in internet,trying to find what best money can buy... the final price written under the page was - even hard to write - over 10000 bucks..
what i mean is, who wouldn't want to buy a 17"alubook instead of an iBook which has a g3 processor, but there is something called "money" (you heard about it didnt you?! ) and in my opinion, newly released iBooks are a best buy for this manner...

go 4 an iBook, add some RAM, if you still have money, go 4 a LOVELY new iPod!.. and appraise'em all...

 

[DakotaGuy]

When people tell me they have a good desktop system, but are looking for a laptop to add, I always recommend the iBook. I LOVE my iBook 600 and it runs OSX well. I do not think performance will be an issue at all with the 900Mhz G3. The "Sahara" is an excellent portable processor and it even holds a few engineering improvements over the more outdated, but Alti-Vec enhanced G4. I think for general use and even a little dabbling into pro work, you will find plenty of performance for the price.

The iBook is packed with value and is an excellent design. Probably one of the better laptop designs ever thought out. I would personally go for the new 12" 900 Combo, and throw a little more RAM in it. All the money you save, you can put to good use on the bf. ;o) later...

 

[jefhatfield]

even though i love my rev a ibook, i had cash in hand when i bought it and the other choice, also for 1599 usd, was the entry level G4 powermac

at the time, i thought i would need the portability of the ibook since i was a student and my wife was a graphic designer and i thought we can both use its portability

as it turns out, my wife does all her freelance work at home and never needs to bring her ibook since she just shows her clients proofs in hard copy form anyway

and i never brought my ibook to class more than once since i bought it in 1999...i still take notes long hand and when i compute at school, it's on their machines

...so ask yourself, will you need the portability

...and if the answer is yes, then do you need altivec for something other than running os x? will you be on the road doing editing of video or using adobe photoshop?

...but lastly, you can still use either laptop as your desktop machine as my house does just fine with a couple of laptops and no desktops...i gave away all my desktops except the one in the garage no one wanted