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advice needed on notebook purchase

macOSX-tastic

macOSX-tastic

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 9, 2005
853
3
At the Airport. UK
hi all,

well, its that time of year again.

i plan to upgrade my system to an apple notebook, but im having trouble deciding which one, now that the new ibooks have such good specs!!!

im thinking of going for the 12" powerbook superdrive, base model + KB/M, or the 12" ibook with maxtor external onetouch II drive, KB/M, 100GB internal, and 1GB ram. they both come to around the same price in UK£, but i am thinking in terms of the amount of useful user life i will get out of it. (or how long it will last.....)

i tell you, the ibook looks very tempting but it does not have the ability to screen span, but i dont think i will be using that feature much. i also am the kind of guy who does not want to mess around with firmware hacks. (you know what i mean!!:D)

the ibook also has a higher ram ceiling, which in the longterm may become more important. correct me if im wrong.

i dont mind for looks, they are both great in my opinion.

i shall be using it for internet, email, picture and music storage, light photoshop, and MS office.

help me decide!!!

thanks

tastic
 
iBook every time. You don't need a PowerBook and the iBook is now very similar (as you say) plus if/when you upgrade the RAM, the PowerBook has 256MB built in (with another 256MB chip in the slot) whereas an iBook has 512MB built in and a free slot so whilst both will come with 512MB standard, the iBook is more easily/cheaply upgradeable. :)
 
Firstly, apple don't make notebooks. Except for that one Steve Jobs had with a "with complements" printed on the top :p

I would get a pb, but it IS personal preference. Can you justify the extra bread for a better keyboard, better display, lighter, nicer look, superdrive etc :p
I know I could! :D
But iBook might be right for you. If you are used to pcs, get a 5 year old mac and it will be 10 years ahead of your pc :D:D:D
 
Sure, the PowerBooks are great but I still don't think the 12 inch PowerBook offers all that much over the iBook considering your needs.

Also epepper9, aren't the 12 inch screens all the same across the range? I could be mistaken though. :)
 
The 12" iBook in my signature is still perfectly capable at 4years old, for Mail Safari etc. it's not that different from my iMac although I've never used PhotoShop so can't comment.
If it's a 12" you're after I'd go iBook/mouse/external HD/(external DL DVD burner, if required). I'd also go for a stand such as the iCurve.
If you can stretch the budget or don't need to stick to the 12" I'd go for the PB 15" but still get the mouse/HD/DL DVD/stand.

EDIT: Incidentally since bringing the iBook back to life (new HD/AP card wireless ADSL at home/Tiger/iLife'05) I've hardly used the iMac and am considering selling both to upgrade to a PB 15".

Also incidentally, and a little OT, I had a dream last night about a new laptop.......with a 42" LCD :eek: It looked a little odd with a tiny little keyboard lost in an enourmous case.
 
Get the iBook and max it out.
Looking at what you said you were going to use it for, the iBook will be more than enough to handle all your needs.
 
ook, thanks for the input guys

i have just now got my A-level results and have been accepted at loughborough university, so i am also putting that into my areas of requirement now. my father has also offered to help out with the purchase, so i may go for even a 15" powerbook, even though i may not be able to justify it's power:D

lol im so evil!!!

seriously though, it may be a better idea to max out an ibook anyway, but
now that i have more financial help, then the PB 15" may be the way to go....i shall see what happens though, and i will keep you posted on what i buy!

the powerbook is a nice machine, and it is slightly more 'future proof' i guess.

anyway, i shall let y'all know what happens.

sorry for changing my mind so quickly, the last post was posted before i got my results, and before my dad surprised me by saying he will help me to buy a laptop!!!

by the way, i took maths, physics and art and got C, B, B respectively.

tastic

tastic
 
Congratulations macOSX-tastic, nice work. :D

I doubt you'd even notice the difference between a top-end iBook and a PowerBook for the kind of stuff you'll be using it for. However, a PowerBook will last you longer in terms of not-need-to-upgrade albeit not necessarily in terms of physical durability. :)
 
If money will no longer factor into your purchase (now that you have some "daddy" aid :p ) then maybe the PB. However, I bought a 12" PB last summer and by now, I wish I had an iBook (wish shall be granted w/in a month) because I really don't need the power of the PB.

Oh yeah, will this laptop be your primary computer? If so, than maybe the PB would be a better choice-- I depend on my desktop for power and ease of use, so that a consumer (vs "prosumer") laptop is fine for me (and judging from your stated uses, would be great for you as well).

The other thing to consider is all that the extra $ could be put toward if you got an iBook instead: RAM, a good sleeve, a nice backpack, AppleCare, software (MS office for/from school, maybe?), spare battery... etc. etc.
 
What is it then?

epepper9 said:
Firstly, apple don't make notebooks. Except for that one Steve Jobs had with a "with complements" printed on the top :p
Click to expand...

If a PB isn't a notebook, what is it? If you tell me it's a laptop, I'll tell you its a handy way to get dermatitis on your thighs. If you tell me to use a pillow also, I'll tell you that's a handy way to cut the cooling airflow to your PB- a sure way to cook it. It's a notebook, use it on a hard surface to protect yourself and allow it ventilation.

Back to the original topic, get the PB. It'll last you longer.
 
ive said it before and ill say it again. . . go for the PB for the extra VRAM, all it means is your computer will last longer in the future. which is good. also max out as much of it as you can that you cant upgrade later, like the HD. its just very expensive to upgrade stuff like that later. and imposible to upgrade something like vram.
 
it will be my primary computer now that im going to be away from home for the majority of the time. a PB may be a better option for that, as you say....the "daddy help" was vcompletely unexpected, i had like £1300 saved up for buying it, which i had earned!!! :p :p :p
 
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