15" iMac or 12" iBook ?

[rollobancher]

Ok, I want to get a Mac! It will be my FIRST !
I am looking at two Macs , The 15" iMac 1GHz, 256mb Ram,80gig hd, combo, ... Refubished for $999.99
Or iBook 12" 800 Mhz , 256mb Ram, combo, 40 gig HD, ... New for $1022.00 with Edu. Disc.

Which one would be a better deal ? I am in High School soon to be in College, so portability is a factor, but not necessary ! Is the 200 MHz of processor speed all that noticeable ? I do have 12 Gigs of Mp3 on my Pc that I would like to drag over to the New Mac, How many Gigs does OSX Panther take up ?
Thanks,

 

[Krizoitz]

Ok, I want to get a Mac! It will be my FIRST !
I am looking at two Macs , The 15" iMac 1GHz, 256mb Ram,80gig hd, combo, ... Refubished for $999.99
Or iBook 12" 800 Mhz , 256mb Ram, combo, 40 gig HD, ... New for $1022.00 with Edu. Disc.

Which one would be a better deal ? I am in High School soon to be in College, so portability is a factor, but not necessary ! Is the 200 MHz of processor speed all that noticeable ? I do have 12 Gigs of Mp3 on my Pc that I would like to drag over to the New Mac, How many Gigs does OSX Panther take up ?
Thanks,

Either machine should be good, but between those two I would choose the iBook, portability is great in college. Being able to pick up your laptop to go type out a paper wherever is great. Right now I'm tethered to my desk with my 17" iMac. Its at 800mhz and as long as you aren't heavy into gaming you should be fine. Since the screen resolution is the same on both you won't lose anything. Plus you'll be the hit of the dorm if when people want to watch a movie you can just plug in your iBook to the lounge TV. I've seen my PC using friends struggling with TV mirroring all year long. I just wish I had a notebook to show them up

 

[adamjay]

Ok, I want to get a Mac! It will be my FIRST !
I am looking at two Macs , The 15" iMac 1GHz, 256mb Ram,80gig hd, combo, ... Refubished for $999.99
Or iBook 12" 800 Mhz , 256mb Ram, combo, 40 gig HD, ... New for $1022.00 with Edu. Disc.

Which one would be a better deal ? I am in High School soon to be in College, so portability is a factor, but not necessary ! Is the 200 MHz of processor speed all that noticeable ? I do have 12 Gigs of Mp3 on my Pc that I would like to drag over to the New Mac, How many Gigs does OSX Panther take up ?
Thanks,

i would get the iBook, maybe even bump the HD to 60GB for the extra $45 since you have 12GB's of mp3's, and music collections only get bigger.

OSX takes 1gb to 2.5gb's depending on how you configure it. Removing exotic foreign languages (and non-exotic ones) can save you up to 800MB.

 

[lasuther]

Ok, I want to get a Mac! It will be my FIRST !
I am looking at two Macs , The 15" iMac 1GHz, 256mb Ram,80gig hd, combo, ... Refubished for $999.99
Or iBook 12" 800 Mhz , 256mb Ram, combo, 40 gig HD, ... New for $1022.00 with Edu. Disc.

Which one would be a better deal ? I am in High School soon to be in College, so portability is a factor, but not necessary ! Is the 200 MHz of processor speed all that noticeable ? I do have 12 Gigs of Mp3 on my Pc that I would like to drag over to the New Mac, How many Gigs does OSX Panther take up ?
Thanks,

Get the iBook for sure. I believe the 15" iMac has the same screen resolution as the 12" iBook, so you have the same operating area on both. Make sure to get Bluetooth with your iBook as it can't be added internally later. Also, get the largest hard drive you can. With all of the included software, OX10.3.3, and 6 Gigs of songs, I've used 20 Gigs of hard drive space. I will be upgrading to a larger and faster hard drive, but it's a pain in the butt. You'll want to get 512 MB of RAM and Airport Extreme added, but that can be done later if you are tight on money.

Get the iBook, you won't regret it.

lasuther

 

[rollobancher]

SO its the 12" iBook !

Thanks guys for all of the help !
Do you think I would need bluetooth to ? I dont think I would actually use it? That would also save me 50 bucks so i can get the 60 GIG HD !
What do you guys use your bluetooth for ?

 

[lasuther]

Thanks guys for all of the help !
Do you think I would need bluetooth to ? I dont think I would actually use it? That would also save me 50 bucks so i can get the 60 GIG HD !
What do you guys use your bluetooth for ?

I though the same thing as you did, so I didn't buy my iBook with Bluetooth. It was a mistake. The best thing to use Bluetooth for is a bluetooth mouse. My friend uses one with his PowerBook and it's sweet. The reason to get Bluetooth is because you never know when you'll actually want it or for what devices. If you plan on keeping you iBook for a while, its good to have as more and more Bluetooth devices come out. If you'll be selling your iBook, its good for resale. You won't be able to add it later internally, so spend the $50 now. You'll be happy you did.

lasuther

 

[rollobancher]

Between the 2 ?

,
Which would you guys choose between ?
the Bluetooth or the 60 GIg HD ?

 

[tekmate]

,
Which would you guys choose between ?
the Bluetooth or the 60 GIg HD ?

I would get the Bluetooth if it can't be added later. You can always add a larger drive at a later time even if it's a pain it is doable.