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G4 Titanium or G4 Desktop

MacAztec

MacAztec

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Oct 28, 2001
3,028
1
San Luis Obispo, CA
I have a question on what I should get. I can either get a G4 Ti 667 30G Model for free ( I dont want to say how, but its not stealing :) )

Or I could use 2200 dollars of cash ( not mine, not stolen, fair money) to get a nice desktop. I would probly use about 2500 for the desktop, so I would be using 300 dollars of MY money. I would get the 933 G4 with a 15in Appl Display.

Which should I do? :confused:
 
depends on what you will be doing

I'd say it all depends on what you value more. Speed in a tower, or the ultimate in mobile computing. I would lean more towards the Titanium and use that $300 of yours to increase the memory of it. One other consideration that not many people bring up is noise level. The towers have fans that are running for most of the time, if not all the time, they are powered up. The laptops on the other hand, only run their fans when they need to. This makes for a virtually silent system. Combine that with the 15.2" LCD screen, combo drive (assume you are getting that model) and coolness factor, I would go with that.

Then again, I picked up the rev a TiBook as soon as I could last year even though I had a G4 tower.

The TiBook also has the advantage of going anywhere you go. There have been many times that I have taken mine with me to family functions/holiday gatherings and have pulled it out to use (when you get board out of your mind). You can also use it to pull other people's cd's into iTunes to sync up with your iPod later, or while there. That is something else you could pick up with the $300 (with another $100 that is). Do yourself a favor though, get a good pair of headphones when you get the iPod. They make a HUGE difference in the sound quality. To me, the earbuds are weak. My 3 year old (might even be older) pair of Koss headphones make the iPod ROCK! They run about $50, but are worth every penny.

End line... It all depends on what you intend to use it for and if you think you will like to take it with you :D.
 
Wait!

The Tower is free also. I would put in an extra 200 dollars and I would have a 17in LCD. The maching would have 2X80G HD with 1Gig RAM, and a Superdrive.

The Titanium would be the combo model, 30G HD, and 512 RAM. I would be watching lots of DVDs, and burning CDs, doing minor video work, and just some other stuff. Maybe Final Cut, but I am not sure.

What should I go for, and which will last me longer?
 
hold on...


so why did you say you would have 2200 to go to a desktop but the laptop would be free? me dont understand...but i just may be zoning here...its happens.
 
What speed tower would that be??

You have to decide which applications you will be using. Will they really take advantage of the technology inside the tower, or will the laptop be enough? Do you WANT to be able to go mobile with the entire system, or would something at a desk be better for you. Since they are both free, you really need to decide what you value more/most. The only other difference between the two is one has the super drive and the other is the combo. Will you NEED to burn dvd's or would a faster cdrw drive be more desireable?

How are you also getting a 17" lcd for only $200 more???

You can always add external firewire drives to the laptop (up to 63 devices I believe) for storage if you needed it. I would also make sure that the 512MB of memory is in ONE chip, not two. With one, you can easily add more later. With two, you need to figure out what to do with one of them, if not both.

I would still lean more towards the laptop then the desktop since the cdrw drive inside is faster. The entire computer is also much, much quieter. That matters when it comes to watching those DVD movies :D. Also, it is easier to attach headphones to the titanium then to a tower.

Still your call...
 
Depends on where you get them from and how cheap/mean they feel like being. From Apple, you have the option of as either one or two chips. Contact where it is coming from to find out.
 
Laptop

I am leaning towards the laptop now. The Powerbook I am pretty sure I will get holds 2X 256MB RAM. I can NOT change this, but can I still get it to 1GB?
 
Yes... The computer can handle the pair of 512 chips (see the spec sheet at www.apple.com). I have a pair in my rev a 500MHz TiBook that I am using to compose this. Before this, I did have a pair of 256MB chips, but since it is replacing my desktop, I wanted more. I say wanted, not needed.

The PowerBook G4 (aka TiBook) are a work of art in form, and a powerhouse in function (for many, many people, but not everyone). Before this one, I owned two G3 powerbooks (lombard then pismo). Both times I went top end for speed and didn't regret it. I only sold them because each one after the first offered something new that I wanted. First it was FireWire ports, then it was the G4 chip.

I am going to try and hold out on getting a new laptop until either the G5 goes to them, or they offer a chrome model :D.
 
Two screens ...?

A quick question; does the Tibook support double screens (which would be an issue if one is to work FCP)?
 
Another FCP question...?

Is the current videocard in the Tibook a lot less suitable for FCP-work than the powermac video cards?
 
cool

Well it depends on what your personal computing needs are because you should get the powerbook if you need something to travel with. If you just want a home computer then get the tower. But i would go with the free one
 
I have both a G4 tower and a TiBook. When I first got my laptop, I was concerned that I wouldnt get the use out of it that I had gotten out of my G4 tower. (400mHz, Yikes! model. I wish I would have waited for the next gen, but hey. thats life)

Anyway, my laptop has totally replaced my tower. The tower is grounded at home, and my laptop is attached to my hip. It takes a while to get used to, especially if you have never owned a laptop (which I never had before) but once you do, you never look back. The LCD is so damn crisp, and the processor cooks! (I have the 550, I could only imagine what the 667 with 133bus is like) My tower is just a render-slave, and file holder. (upgraded to a 80 gig HD to hold media) I recommend the laptop whole-heartedly.

Negatives with the laptop? Sure. They are hot. Very hot. Keep em on your desk, and dont let them overheat. Try not to put them on your bed, lap, pillow, etc so that they dont have proper circulation. That can fry the system, and early signs of this is malfunctions with the keyboard. Also, the screen DOES get dirty from closing the LCD onto the keyboard, where your fingers have been. Be ready to clean that baby weekly. Ive tried to use the leather screen buffer, but it aint that great. Also, if you are planning to upgrade to 1gig ram, be ready to sell your 2x256 chips and spend no less than 350 bucks for a 1gig combo pack. (cheapest I have found is at 18004memory.com) Another negative is expandibility. Cant add a HD, new graphics board, etc without major headache, which is true with any laptop.

Another negative? They are addictive. You'll lose any semblance of a social life. ;)

Overwhelming positives? Sure. Im a 3D animation major, and this puppy is my life. I model, animate and edit on this machine just like it is a desktop. The processor really IS a powerhouse. A buddy has a new PC laptop, and can barely keep his sanity. The TiBook IS fast. And, as an added bonus, you look really damn cool using one, where ever you go.

Games? Yeah baby. I can play Unreal Tournament at its highest resolution and highest quality, and barely get any slowdown.

Anyway, thats my 2 cents. Sorry it is so long, but I wanted to give ya an honest opinion. Hopefully, you will be enjoying your new laptop very soon, and congrats on the free-ness of it. Nothing is more awesome than technology at a 'fair' price! :)
 
My TiBook 667

It is at my side always--even at home. I have a wireless network at home, so I can roam and surf. I also set one up at work (mixed PC and Mac), as it was cheaper than investing in infrastructure that we will eventually leave behind.

The coolest thing, though, was walking into the local Apple store with it (to upgrade my CD-RW to combo) and being connected to their network when I opened my computer up. Nice T1 connection, too.

My desktop computer is an old PowerMac 7500 (with a G3 upgrade). It sits there as a file server. It's still a nice machine, but it's not mobile. I hardly ever use it.

I would go for the TiBook. It's plenty fast for most stuff. It's beautiful, too.

And mine wasn't even free. Holy Cow! You can't beat that!

Congrats (on whichever)!

Chris
 
Okay

I have made my mind. I will be getting the TiBook. I think it also comes with a 3yr warranty from the person I am purchasing it from. Over time, I will probly upgrade the RAM, and get an external 40G Firewire HD. Few last questions...

Should I get an LCD for when I hook it up at home? I have a few Apple 17in Viewable Studio Displays (old model), and they are nice, but...why not...

Do you think I will run out of room on my powerbook?

Do you think it will be too slow in 3 years?
 
And...

My last concern is my graphics card. It is only a 16MB DDR, but still, will that be ok for Quake, Wolfenstein, Red Faction? And Games to come in the future?
 
Dream on.

No Apple portable is currently able to do those games with the oomph of the desktops. With a 32 Meg card you can turn EVERYTHING on and really rock the house. :)
 
Why not splurge and get the new 60GB slim firewire drive??? I will be getting one to go inside my 500MHz TiBook within two months. I just need to wait until a few things happen so that I don't have to worry about it. At that point I will have 90GB outside the laptop and another 60GB inside. That really should be enough for just about anyone and anything. The external is a combination of 3 Firewire drives (40GB, 30GB and then the 20GB from inside my TiBook). The slim drives from VST/SmartDisk are very nice. They are quiet AND bus powered (a bonus when on the road).
 
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