Buy now or wait?

[AoWolf]

Right now I have about $1300 to spend on a new apple notebook. Enough for an iBook or the low end 12 inch powerbook after student discounts, and cram and Jam. Don't worry though this is not one of those iBook vs powerbook posts or at least not a normal one. As of this posting the iBook has not been updated for 129 days with an average of 155 days between updates. I want to know if it's worth waiting for an iBook update or if I should just buy the powerbook assuming that their will be no update till the G5 model some time next year. Really the only thing I will use my mac for is gaming and I can play war craft off my ipod on my dads G5 so their is no urgent need for me to update. Cram in jam will last till the 25 of september do you think will will see an iBook update by then? In any-case I am gonna wait till the paris show but after then I might cave.

 

[jxyama]

Don't worry though this is not one of those iBook vs powerbook posts or at least not a normal one.

funny, because "buy now or wait" threads are pretty much just as bad as "ibook or PB" threads.

it sounds like you should just not buy any Mac. if you are looking to play games, Mac is not the way to go.

i personally doubt there'll be an update before the end of cram and jam. cram and jam is a good way for apple to boost laptop sales in middle of an update cycle. (which also happens to be back to school time this time around.) if apple updates either iBook or PB, they will sell themselves because they will be new - without iPod rebate offer.

at paris, we'll see the g5 iMac. maybe iPod Mini update. but i doubt any laptop updates.

 

[Celeron]

If you are planning on just playing games and such, I'm not sure why you are considering the Mac platform. Games aren't really the Mac's forte. If you have $1300 to spend you can get a pretty sweet PC laptop that will play most games decently.

I don't think anyone here can argue that the G4 processor in the current Ibooks and Powerbooks is pretty crusty and is easily surpassed by the PentiumM when it comes to gaming.

 

[AoWolf]

I have been doing games on mac for at least 8 years I would shoot myself in the foot before buying a windows system also I use finale cut and photo shop, so I really want another mac.

 

[vraxtus]

I have been doing games on mac for at least 8 years I would shoot myself in the foot before buying a windows system also I use finale cut and photo shop, so I really want another mac.

So have I. Since before Marathon in fact. So you must know that only a fool would game on a Powerbook unless he had no other option.

 

[AoWolf]

So have I. Since before Marathon in fact. So you must know that only a fool would game on a Powerbook unless he had no other option.

Yeah but I mostly am playing marathon and older stuff as long as it will run WOW I will be satisfied.

 

[emw]

I have been doing games on mac for at least 8 years I would shoot myself in the foot before buying a windows system also I use finale cut and photo shop, so I really want another mac.

If you're using Final Cut and Photoshop, then I'd think you'd want the larger screen of the 14" iBook over the 12" pBook.

But in any case, wait for Paris to see what happens, then you can ask again.

 

[alexf]

If you're using Final Cut and Photoshop, then I'd think you'd want the larger screen of the 14" iBook over the 12" pBook.

But in any case, wait for Paris to see what happens, then you can ask again.

No, they both have the same max. resolution (1024) so it won't make any difference.

 

[jxyama]

Really the only thing I will use my mac for is gaming

if you use FCP and PS, don't say you only use Mac for gaming. we aren't trying to stuff words into your mouth - we are responding to what you let us know.

anyway, if you were planning on taking advantage of cram and jam, my suggestion is to purchase one right after paris. and don't forget to save some $$$ for RAM upgrade as well.

 

[vraxtus]

Yeah but I mostly am playing marathon and older stuff as long as it will run WOW I will be satisfied.

Then you won't be satisfied.

The WoW beta currently has the following MINIMUM requirements:

Mac® System/OS:

- 1.0 GHz or higher, G4 or G5 processor.
- 512 Megabytes RAM or higher. DDR RAM recommended.
- ATI or NVIDIA video hardware with 64 MB VRAM or more.
- 3 Gigabytes or more of available hard drive space.
- MacOS X 10.3 ("Panther") or better.


Bad, bad, bad, bad idea. Take it from a person who once thought they could game on a Mac laptop... that ended quickly.

 

[emw]

No, they both have the same max. resolution (1024) so it won't make any difference.

Resolution-wise, yes. I was thinking more of screen real-estate for comfortable viewing. I guess my eyes aren't as good as yours.