is the $500 justified to buy the powerbook??? Basically, I've been using my 800mhz 12in and need to upgrade to a bigger notebook due to eyestrain. First will this actually help??? Is the powerbook a better screen? And, is it actually worth the extra money for a powerbook? I probably wont do any svideo, I have external dvdburner/hard drive, mostly an internet, word processing travelling notebook. So, which should I get, btw, price is kinda important. Or, should I spend 1/2 the price and get a 15in dell even though I love apple
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14in ibook vs 15in powerbook
- Thread starter brsboarder
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I can't comment on whether the extra $500 is worthwhile, but my wife has a 14" ibook. Its screen is decent, but it only has a resolution of 1024x768. The graphics look a bit "stretched" to me on her screen. I have a 15" PB and its 1280x854 res is very good and easy on the eyes. The graphics seem much crisper.
Again, I don't know if this justifies the extra 500. Especially right now.
Speedwise I really don't think you will see much of a difference unless 2Gb of memory is a little on the lean side for your work.
Jim
Again, I don't know if this justifies the extra 500. Especially right now.
Speedwise I really don't think you will see much of a difference unless 2Gb of memory is a little on the lean side for your work.
Jim
CanadaRAM
macrumors G5
Assuming that this is a long term purchase, and that this will be your primary machine:
I would go 15" Powerbook over 14" iBook. For the money you get a much-easier-to-upgrade hard drive, double the RAM capacity, a PCMCIA slot for various and sundry add-ons (such as the Indigo I/O high quality sound card), a much better screen and a better keyboard. Plus FireWire 800 and Bluetooth built in.
I had the iBook 14" Superdrive, sent it back - the 14" is in an awkward middle position, not price-competitive, not feature competitive.
The bottom end 15" Dell will be a bundle of grief, much of it due to Windows, the rest due to Dell. (Obscene shipping charges, Restore disks only instead of full OS disks, 40 minutes on hold with Dell tech support because they refuse to print in the manual the startup key combination for changing your boot drive, just for example). A top end PC laptop would cost as much as the Powerbook, and it would still be Windows.
Put it another way, if you can stretch for the extra money for the right machine now, it will pay off for you over the next 5 years. If you don't, you'll regret it for 5 years or have to repurchase anyway.
Thanks
Trevor
CanadaRAM.com
I would go 15" Powerbook over 14" iBook. For the money you get a much-easier-to-upgrade hard drive, double the RAM capacity, a PCMCIA slot for various and sundry add-ons (such as the Indigo I/O high quality sound card), a much better screen and a better keyboard. Plus FireWire 800 and Bluetooth built in.
I had the iBook 14" Superdrive, sent it back - the 14" is in an awkward middle position, not price-competitive, not feature competitive.
The bottom end 15" Dell will be a bundle of grief, much of it due to Windows, the rest due to Dell. (Obscene shipping charges, Restore disks only instead of full OS disks, 40 minutes on hold with Dell tech support because they refuse to print in the manual the startup key combination for changing your boot drive, just for example). A top end PC laptop would cost as much as the Powerbook, and it would still be Windows.
Put it another way, if you can stretch for the extra money for the right machine now, it will pay off for you over the next 5 years. If you don't, you'll regret it for 5 years or have to repurchase anyway.
Thanks
Trevor
CanadaRAM.com
Abstract
macrumors Penryn
I'd get the 14" iBook. If your current iBook is good enough for you, then a new 14" iBook will fit your needs nicely. Plus, it's faster, so even if your needs and computer activities change and become more advanced, a new system will be up for the job. 🙂
And since the 12" iBook has the same resolution as the 14" iBook, the extra 2" of screen size on the 14" iBook will act to make onscreen text and graphics appear larger, which is what you're after. There's no point getting a larger screen with a higher resolution, as everything will appear just as small as before. Again, you're aiming for text and things to appear larger, and the 14" is guaranteed to do that.
In terms of functionality, the iBook is also probably better for your needs. Both will do a good job with what you need them for (word processing and internet), but the 14" iBook has a much much better battery life. So there aren't any performance drawbacks for your activities, onscreen text will put less strain on the eyes, and battery life is much longer for travelling. 🙂
If you need Bluetooth (or BT 2.0, which is probably coming out soon for the PB), widescreen display, FW800, and want the aluminium casing, then sure, pay the extra money, but if I were you, I'd spend some more money on RAM, and pocket the rest of your savings. 🙂
And since the 12" iBook has the same resolution as the 14" iBook, the extra 2" of screen size on the 14" iBook will act to make onscreen text and graphics appear larger, which is what you're after. There's no point getting a larger screen with a higher resolution, as everything will appear just as small as before. Again, you're aiming for text and things to appear larger, and the 14" is guaranteed to do that.
In terms of functionality, the iBook is also probably better for your needs. Both will do a good job with what you need them for (word processing and internet), but the 14" iBook has a much much better battery life. So there aren't any performance drawbacks for your activities, onscreen text will put less strain on the eyes, and battery life is much longer for travelling. 🙂
If you need Bluetooth (or BT 2.0, which is probably coming out soon for the PB), widescreen display, FW800, and want the aluminium casing, then sure, pay the extra money, but if I were you, I'd spend some more money on RAM, and pocket the rest of your savings. 🙂
Without a doubt the 15" PowerBook has a noticibly better screen. You can't compare the 2. But i wouldn't spend $500 just to have a bigger screen. The 12" and 14" iBooks have the same screen resolution, so it really doesn't matter which screen size you get for those. I would say to go for the iBook since you said you are only going to be using it for everyday stuff.
devman
macrumors 65816
For your stated needs I would definitely go the iBook 14. I have the PB15 and my wife has an iBook 14. The iBook will be way more than enough for your stated needs plus it has much better battery life and it is also (psychologically mostly perhaps) far less fragile for moving around (meaning the PB's al case is so beautiful and such of a work of art, you are really really careful about it getting dinged or scratched. The iBook just feels more resilient and in less need of "cotton wool").