Should I buy 12" PB from Amazon.com or Apple.com

[DanTheMan]

Should I buy a stock model 12" 1.33GHz PowerBook (Combo Drive) from Amazon.com or one with an upgraded HD (80 GB 5400 rpm) from Apple.com?

Price per Amzon.com: $1449 (including Tax and Shipping after $150 Rebate)
Price per Applie.com: $1637 (including Tax and Shipping w/ Edu Discount)

Basically is $187.74 more for the 5400 rpm HD upgrade worth it?

 

[vraxtus]

Should I buy a stock model 12" 1.33GHz PowerBook (Combo Drive) from Amazon.com or one with an upgraded HD (80 GB 5400 rpm) from Apple.com?

Price per Amzon.com: $1449 (including Tax and Shipping after $150 Rebate)
Price per Applie.com: $1637 (including Tax and Shipping w/ Edu Discount)

Basically is $187.74 more for the 5400 rpm HD upgrade worth it?

No.

 

[jxyama]

No.

ditto. absolutely not.

 

[Lancetx]

Should I buy a stock model 12" 1.33GHz PowerBook (Combo Drive) from Amazon.com or one with an upgraded HD (80 GB 5400 rpm) from Apple.com?

Price per Amzon.com: $1449 (including Tax and Shipping after $150 Rebate)
Price per Applie.com: $1637 (including Tax and Shipping w/ Edu Discount)

Basically is $187.74 more for the 5400 rpm HD upgrade worth it?

I'd go with Amazon. I purchased a 17" PowerBook from them in late July for several hundred dollars less than it would have cost from Apple when you also factor in the tax savings. It arrived in just 2 business days and in perfect condition. I'd highly recommend them to anyone.

 

[fuzzwud]

i'd go with amazon. if you purchase with the amazon visa card, you get a certain percentage back you spend at amazon back as an amazon gift certificate. i think it's 3 pts for every dollar you spend at amazon. once you reach 2500 pts, then you get a $25 gift certificate. it's 1 pt for every dollar you spend on other stores.

 

[DanTheMan]

That is what I figured...

Cool Amazon.com sounds like the place then and with the savings I can get some extra RAM. Thanks everyone.

 

[belf8st]

I'd purchased my past two powerbooks from Apple. I had originally bought the 12" Rev B, but Apple 3 weeks later released the Rev C. Amazon has a 30 day no questions asked return policy. I ordered my new laptop, the issued a pickup for the Rev B, and credited me the entire amount back!

Apple has a weak 10 day return policy. Plus they charge you a restocking fee for all open items.

 

[puckhead193]

Basically is $187.74 more for the 5400 rpm HD upgrade worth it?

what do you plan on doing with your PB, if you do video editing or photoshop or games i think its worth it, if you are just doing basic things, then prob not

 

[aus_dave]

Basically is $187.74 more for the 5400 rpm HD upgrade worth it?

Barefeats did some testing that showed the 5400 rpm HD provided significant performance increases.

I would have thought you could find a supplier with a price in the middle somewhere, including the HD upgrade.

 

[vraxtus]

Barefeats did some testing that showed the 5400 rpm HD provided significant performance increases.

I would have thought you could find a supplier with a price in the middle somewhere, including the HD upgrade.

TransIntl is usually pretty reliable.

 

[jxyama]

for $190, i think you can buy a decent external HD...

no matter the "performance increase," i find it a waste to spend that much to simply get a faster drive.

 

[DanTheMan]

Good point...

for $190, i think you can buy a decent external HD...

no matter the "performance increase," i find it a waste to spend that much to simply get a faster drive.

I already have a big boy G5 dual 1.8 to use for heavy lifting and I may use the PB for some lite Photoshop, DVD Studio Pro, and Motion. With and external (esp a pocket one) it would make it easier to switch back and forth. One other thing I am considering is the Cram and Jam special, then it makes more sense just to buy from Apple.com.

 

[jxyama]

I already have a big boy G5 dual 1.8 to use for heavy lifting and I may use the PB for some lite Photoshop, DVD Studio Pro, and Motion. With and external (esp a pocket one) it would make it easier to switch back and forth. One other thing I am considering is the Cram and Jam special, then it makes more sense just to buy from Apple.com.

surely, those "external" considerations would make a difference. but you never mentioned it. we were simply answering the concern you raised - is it worth spending $190 to get a faster drive on a PB - and the sensible answer seems to be a no.

 

[abhishekit]

5400 over 4200 is not going to make such a huge difference anyways. I mean if you could go 7200, that would be a big noticeable difference. But thats not the case.

 

[jsw]

5400 over 4200 is not going to make such a huge difference anyways. I mean if you could go 7200, that would be a big noticeable difference. But thats not the case.

Barefeats indicates that it does, indeed, make a difference. However, it doesn't sound like it's worth the premium to this user at this time.

 

[ZaniCWB]

I've had both...

I've owned both models: PowerBook 1.33GHz with 768MB, the only difference was the Hard Drive. One of them had 60GB 4200RPM and the other has 80GB 5400RPM. Well, I can tell you from experience. Definitely, the later is noticeably faster, especially when opening big applications, doing many things at the same time or managing huge files. And also boot time is around 10 seconds faster. I'm really satisfied with it's perfomance.

If you have the money, buy from Apple and upgrade the HD to 80GB 5400RPM. You won't regret it!

 

[wPod]

id say the faster drive is good if you deal with large files or large applications. opening these will be noticably different on a faster drive. im sure even in daily use and with smaller files you might even notice a small difference. it all depends on how quick you want your computer to seem.

 

[scottwat]

A suggestion

Why not the get the slower drive to save money upfront, then if you find it slow or just need a faster or bigger drive, then buy it, who knows a 7200rpm 80 gig might come out? Then get a 2.5 firewire or USB 2.0 or dual case to put the drive that came with the laptop in. Then for about the same price as the upgraded laptop you get a small 60gig HD and a much faster and bigger HD in the laptop. Course with a 7200rpm you might scorch your lap but thats the price you pay ;-)