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Help me choose for college!

Rob587

Rob587

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 4, 2004
801
1
Orlando, FL
I will be going to college next year so keep in mind it will be with whatever is out by then. Feel free to make your decision based on your expierances. The description of the way I will use my new Mac/Macs will be for very small amount of gamming, alot of Garage Band, I want to get into some video editing, Internet, Word, Aim ect.. Take into acount: the difficulty of taking the G5 home every six weeks, cant really use a 17" in class, If im gonna get a moniter might aswell just get a G5 cuz how much more work are u actually making by bringing it home if yor going to bring a moniter home anyway? ect... Just post your suggetstions on which one of these options I should go with.. Plz Give me your first and second choice and some reasons why. Thanks!

1)17" pb(maxed out)
2) G5(almost maxed out)
3) ibook(cheap) and less fast G5 with 20" moniter
4) 15" pb(maxed out) with external 20"
5) 12" pb(maxed out) with external 20"
 
12 or 15 powerbook

reason: you dont have to take the monitor home, and you have the portability. i have the 12 inch and the screen is big enough for me, sure it would be nice to have some more estate, but im content

however if its going to be a while before you buy there is no reason to make a 100% decision now, because things are just going to change by the time you buy and undoubtedly change your opinion as well
 
I am sure by next year the Pbook G5 will be out. So I say go with number 4. But, by any chance the pbooks are still G4's by college I say get the G5.
 
by next year, i would suggest a Powerbook G5, maxed out with maybe a 20 or 23" LCD, hell maybe a a 30" one by then (the new PB G5 might have a Dual DVI link). but i would suggest you go there and see first. come with the PB only, then if it looks like you might need the LCD, then go get it. the less valuables you have in your dorm room the better, and that Cinema Display is an object of pure lust, anybody who see it would want it, not a good idea in college setting.

i would recommend a 15", but that's only because i don't plan to have an extra LCD for the above reasons. but if you are going to have one, it might be okay to go with a 12".
 
A G5 mostly maxed out would be sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet, how much portability do you really need?!? Well if you are doing humanities or business i guess you would need to.
 
I would go for the 15" maxed out with monitor. It will probably have a CPU as fast as the 17" and using it to take notes in class will be great (make sure you take typing in high school!). You might also consider the 12" for backpackability...

I wouldn't go for the iBook/PowerMac combo just because college is very hectic and keeping one computer running/backed up will be enough work as it is.
 
Get a 15" PowerBook maxed out. There is no need for an external monitor. In my opinion, it's a waste of money. The screen is big enough for all your needs.
 
I'm for the cheap iBook and the midrange G5. iBook is good for taking notes and working on projects between classes (longer battery life and better AirPort reception than the PowerBooks), and the G5 is good for serious processing. I think you'll regret getting a PowerBook, especially because you will be able to sell your iBook in a year or so for about 600 dollars, and then its only 400 dollars more to get another iBook that will probably be faster than the current line of PowerBooks.
 
How's this for a more sensible assessment?


Buy a low end 15" now, save some money.

If a new PB comes out in a year, hopefully a G5, get the new one and sell the old one.

That way you stay up to date and you save some initial money anyways.
 
Rob, buddy, friend. This is at least the third thread you've had on this. I know because I responded to the other two threads about the same topic.

It's time to pick. You have threads full of thoughtful advice.

Decide. Please. Yes. Thanks.
 
Duff-Man says....if you are not going to college until next year, and not looking to buy until a year from now, I think it is a bit early to be asking all these questions. Wait until next summer and see what all the specs and prices are then, then start asking for opinions. Asking for opinions on purchases a year away is sort of pointless.....oh yeah!
 
With Duffman's advice, you should consider purchasing essentials and expanding from there. Buying everything at once is convinient, but costly. Also, you may have better insight once you own the product and know what you need. I built my PC from part by part and haven't regreted it yet.
When I bought my first Mac, I picked up the 12" PB three weeks ago from Apple store and then started buying necessities from there (memory, software, case). The prices added on from there and I realized that I planned it well.
Also, you may want to save money for software...many people don't consider this in their purchases and realize later that they need so much more. I have already spent $600+ in software and hope to purchase more later when I have more money to spare.
 
software...if you can deal with open-source stuff, such as the gimp instead of photoshop, openoffice instead of ms office, etc. you can get pretty much everything you need for free, without resorting to pirating software.

i'm running suse linux on my computer (as in my name), and all free open source software, and it works great for me.

until i get a powerbook for university, at which point i'll just run the same software either in aqua or x11. however, i'm not really going to worry about it a whole ton until i need to buy, maybe around june or so, because things will change a lot by then.
 
Hmmm what about a 12in powerbook w/ a bit of extra ram for moving about and then a refurb (granted not everyone likes having already used products) g5 1.8 dp w/ a decently sized crt monitor (cheap mmm). Actually this one might end up being a bit more costly....but you get portability and power both :)

Justin
 
I'd go for the 12" pbook because you have more portability than the 15" but if you need more screen space just plug it into the 20" monitor you want to buy.

edit: post 100 :) I'm now a regular.
 
15" definitely. Here's why:

A G5 would be sweet, nobody will deny that. However, because you'll be getting a large external monitor with the 15", the only thing the G5 gives you is a performance boost. For day to day tasks, the 15" will more than meet your requirements. I have a 1Ghz TiBook and use it at work on 400mb+ photoshop files and have no complaints about its speed. As far as screen real estate goes, expose and multi-button mice make any screen big enough. I would steer clear of the 12" because the added portability is so marginal you might as well buy the clearly faster computer.

I bought a laptop so it would be easy to bring back and forth to school, and never thought I'd have much use for its portability on a daily basis. However, once school started I found myself moving it around and testing the battery's limits more and more. It has taken a trip every day for the past 2 and a half weeks.

You're not a big gamer, so don't be concerned about the extra specs of the G5; go with a powerbook.
 
I just got a 15" powerbook for college and from what i used it for its great! I'm going to be doing video editing so.... it nice to have the bigger screen and portabliy.. cause i plan to use it in class to.... but you should wait to see what they have out when you do go. try to get as much as you can because it wil be less out dated.
 
Well, I know that in a year, I'm going to be getting a G5 Powerbook completely maxed out.
I know I'll be doing a ton of video editing. If I could get an external monitor to use for tools, more windows, etc. I'd totally go for it.
So, my advise: Wait until the G5 Powerbook comes out, then get that and an external monitor.
 
Well the thing is.. I could end up going to college and decide that I dont want to take notes in class on a computer anyway(or I could decide that I love using one in class) :p . So then not getting the 17" pb would be a complete screwup. From what I understand most everyone here feels I should get some sort of laptop configuration and hold out for a while on the powermac. So basically do I go with the 15" and end up not taking notes in class on it or do I get the 17" and love to take notes in class and not be able to(eventhough everyone says I could take notes in class on a 17" and I wouldnt look stupid, except Ive been to compusa and the 17" is huge.. I would have no problem taking it to class(dont care about 10lbs) but I really think it would look totally overdone.) The only problem is that the 17" is exactly what I need.
 
Rob587 said:
) The only problem is that the 17" is exactly what I need.
Click to expand...
Well, it sounds like you have your answer right there. Buy what you need, when you need it.
 
It might just be my school, but I never seen people taking laptop notes in class. I personally always found it distracting and preferred a notebook and pen, but that's just me. If you think the 17" is exactly what you need, definitely buy it.
 
dude, you need to get the 15" or 12", not the 17" (unless you are doing photo stuff) because you will look like a dork in class. I have a 15" and it's great but I'm thinking about going with the 12" on the next powerbook I get just because of the size of the 12". The little guy looks great. Also, I don't use the superdrive and am only using about half of my 60 G hard drive.

Take it from me and get what you need. Just you considering the 17" makes me think you'd be best with the 15". So go for that.

I take notes with my 15" and it's fine.
 
Skilz34 said:
dude, you need to get the 15" or 12", not the 17" (unless you are doing photo stuff) because you will look like a dork in class. I have a 15" and it's great but I'm thinking about going with the 12" on the next powerbook I get just because of the size of the 12". The little guy looks great. Also, I don't use the superdrive and am only using about half of my 60 G hard drive.

Take it from me and get what you need. Just you considering the 17" makes me think you'd be best with the 15". So go for that.

I take notes with my 15" and it's fine.
Click to expand...

Exactly this is my point, in alot of these threads people suggest buying the best that you can afford which is good solid advice. BUT don't go buying more than you need, I mean sure times change and eventually you might make use of something like bluetooth but if you don't ever burn dvds then don't feel like you have to pay for the superdrive. Its your computer remember and you're gonna be the one using it. Not everybody needs the latest and greatest of everything, it could end up saving you a bit of dosh and it could mean that you could buy an iPod or something instead. :)
 
yeah, get caught up in the hype but then don't get caught up in the hype, you know what I mean?
 
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