(Sorry for the length of this post. I've been lurking for a few days reading through recent archives and doing the same at places like Apple's Discussions and forum.macnn and it's left me curious about a number of things.)
Would I be better off getting a tricked out 15" Powerbook 1.5ghz or a 12" 1ghz iBook and, a few months later, a PowerMac G5/2.0 ghz? Since this is a Rumors forum, let's trying to take the future into account.
With the iBook, the gpu is already effectively obsolete, since it won't display Tiger's swell eyecandy. I can't help but think that at some point, probably early fall, there will be a slight revision in the iBook to give it the lowend PB graphics card so that customers during the holiday season will have incentive to buy the new OS in January. On the other hand, it has way better battery life, it's far more portable, and unlike my current TiBook, it won't break when you look at it hard. Most importantly, the iBook is insanely affordable. So much so that within a few months of the purchase, I'd be able to get a G5.
If I got the iBook relatively soon, that means I won't get the g5 (I want a dual 2ghz) until like October. Time for more speculation: by that point, does anyone think the G5 hardware will get a bump? This lineup really seems like an interim thing, to flush out the inventory of the motherboards the 1.8 uses. And it seems like a stopgap, until IBM gets off its ass and gets us some 3ghz chips. Following these assumptions, before the end of the year, we'd see a lineup where the lowend is the 2ghz i want to get, the 2.5 ghz is the mid-range, and a 2.7 or 3ghz is the top-of-the-line. Is waiting for this to maybe happen to get a better deal a good idea? I'd need some time to save money anyway. But is this speculation any bit grounded in reality? If nothing else, my G5 purchase is going to be held off until I see what the new (hopefully G5) iMacs are like.
The problem with going to a 12" iBook is that, as I said, I currently have an original TiBook. Since it's been my primary computer for over 3 years, I can't help but feel I'd miss the wide screen. My hd has been spinning along at 4200 rpm for years now, and I'd sort of like to boost that up to 5400. The 60g max on the iBook's hd is triple what I have now, but even the 80 I'd get in a PB couldn't hold all my data. I'd like to have the option to expand beyond 1.25 gigs of ram. I already mentioned my qualms about the iBook's video card. If I got the 1.5ghz, it would be a sweet tripling of my current computer power....but it is a damn G4 still. What kind of changes has the G4 architecture seen since 2001? Is the modern day G4 going to be faster, megahertz for megahertz? How much would I regret this purchase early next year when the G5books hopefully arrive?
Here's a stupid benchmark question: What's the best framerate a 1.5ghz 15" PB can get on the iTunes default visualizer? A 1.33 ghz 15" PB?
Anyone with some different options should feel free to chime in. Like, should I get a cheaper 1.33ghz PB and just get a G5 twice as long after the PB as I would if I got the 1000 dollar cheaper iBook?
Getting something portable is a must, since this TiBook is mortally wounded and only has a few months to live.
The tricked out 15" PowerBook I'm looking at is $2,524.00 with edu discount. 1.5 ghz, 128megs vram, single-slot 512 megs ram (I'd get more elsewhere), 80gig/5400rpm hd, superdrive, backlit.
The slimmed down 15" PB I toyed with a few paragraphs above as an option where maybe down the line I could get a G5 is $1,974.00: 1.33ghz, 64 megs vram, 256 megs ram (I'd get more), 80 gig/5400rpm hd, combo drive, backlit.
The 12" iBook I'm thinking about is $1,137.00, 1ghz with just the base 256 megs ram, 60gig/4200rpm hd, combo drive, airport.
That would let me get relatively soon after a $2318 PowerMac G5: dual 2ghz, 2x256megs ram, 160gig/7200rpm hd, radeon 9600xt, superdrive.
Would I be better off getting a tricked out 15" Powerbook 1.5ghz or a 12" 1ghz iBook and, a few months later, a PowerMac G5/2.0 ghz? Since this is a Rumors forum, let's trying to take the future into account.
With the iBook, the gpu is already effectively obsolete, since it won't display Tiger's swell eyecandy. I can't help but think that at some point, probably early fall, there will be a slight revision in the iBook to give it the lowend PB graphics card so that customers during the holiday season will have incentive to buy the new OS in January. On the other hand, it has way better battery life, it's far more portable, and unlike my current TiBook, it won't break when you look at it hard. Most importantly, the iBook is insanely affordable. So much so that within a few months of the purchase, I'd be able to get a G5.
If I got the iBook relatively soon, that means I won't get the g5 (I want a dual 2ghz) until like October. Time for more speculation: by that point, does anyone think the G5 hardware will get a bump? This lineup really seems like an interim thing, to flush out the inventory of the motherboards the 1.8 uses. And it seems like a stopgap, until IBM gets off its ass and gets us some 3ghz chips. Following these assumptions, before the end of the year, we'd see a lineup where the lowend is the 2ghz i want to get, the 2.5 ghz is the mid-range, and a 2.7 or 3ghz is the top-of-the-line. Is waiting for this to maybe happen to get a better deal a good idea? I'd need some time to save money anyway. But is this speculation any bit grounded in reality? If nothing else, my G5 purchase is going to be held off until I see what the new (hopefully G5) iMacs are like.
The problem with going to a 12" iBook is that, as I said, I currently have an original TiBook. Since it's been my primary computer for over 3 years, I can't help but feel I'd miss the wide screen. My hd has been spinning along at 4200 rpm for years now, and I'd sort of like to boost that up to 5400. The 60g max on the iBook's hd is triple what I have now, but even the 80 I'd get in a PB couldn't hold all my data. I'd like to have the option to expand beyond 1.25 gigs of ram. I already mentioned my qualms about the iBook's video card. If I got the 1.5ghz, it would be a sweet tripling of my current computer power....but it is a damn G4 still. What kind of changes has the G4 architecture seen since 2001? Is the modern day G4 going to be faster, megahertz for megahertz? How much would I regret this purchase early next year when the G5books hopefully arrive?
Here's a stupid benchmark question: What's the best framerate a 1.5ghz 15" PB can get on the iTunes default visualizer? A 1.33 ghz 15" PB?
Anyone with some different options should feel free to chime in. Like, should I get a cheaper 1.33ghz PB and just get a G5 twice as long after the PB as I would if I got the 1000 dollar cheaper iBook?
Getting something portable is a must, since this TiBook is mortally wounded and only has a few months to live.
The tricked out 15" PowerBook I'm looking at is $2,524.00 with edu discount. 1.5 ghz, 128megs vram, single-slot 512 megs ram (I'd get more elsewhere), 80gig/5400rpm hd, superdrive, backlit.
The slimmed down 15" PB I toyed with a few paragraphs above as an option where maybe down the line I could get a G5 is $1,974.00: 1.33ghz, 64 megs vram, 256 megs ram (I'd get more), 80 gig/5400rpm hd, combo drive, backlit.
The 12" iBook I'm thinking about is $1,137.00, 1ghz with just the base 256 megs ram, 60gig/4200rpm hd, combo drive, airport.
That would let me get relatively soon after a $2318 PowerMac G5: dual 2ghz, 2x256megs ram, 160gig/7200rpm hd, radeon 9600xt, superdrive.
