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ibook 12inch

U

user name

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Hello im new and I am a p.c user but since going to uni ive been using macs and quite like them.

I want a laptop but shall I get a p.c or mac?

I've been looking at the 12inch ibook 1.2 ghz with an upgrade to 512mb and 60gb hard drive. My worry is that this is not enough power, when I look at p.c's they have like 2.8 ghz for the same ish price. But the mac seems reasonable value for such a small laptop.

Are macs more powerful than pc's even though they have less ghz?

What should I go for?

Thanks guys
 
user name said:
I want a laptop but shall I get a p.c or mac?
Click to expand...

Heh. 🙂

I have an iBook 12" and it's great. I personally don't feel crippled with a 1.07GHz system. iBooks are great if you're a student, they're durable and very portable with great battery life. If you going to get an iBook get one now because they're just recently been updated.
 
im currently using photoshop on a pc with 850mhz and 128ram and its mega slow, will there be a big difference with the ibook?
 
user name said:
im currently using photoshop on a pc with 850mhz and 128ram and its mega slow, will there be a big difference with the ibook?
Click to expand...
Photoshop's slow speed on your PC is undoubtedly due more to the small amount of RAM than to the processor. The iBook will run Photoshop just fine - but the default 256MB that comes with it is really too little for Photoshop use except occasionally and with small files, since otherwise the 4200RPM hard drive and virtual memory access will slow it to a virtual halt. Still, the iBook with 256MB RAM will run Photoshop appreciably faster than your PC.
 
As has been mentioned, the 1.2GHz iBooks are quite fast enough. Their major advantages over the 2.8GHz PCs you mention (aside from the OS, of course) are small size and much better battery life. A PC laptop isn't much good if the batteries crap out after an hour and a half in class. iBooks, with a slower processor and smaller screen, last much longer. Plus the cases are quite durable. And, again, the OS is much better! 😉
 
The original poster appears to be confused by the megahertz myth and no-one has explained this yet to them.

User name: first of all, a 1.2GHz G4 iBook is NOT the same power as a 1.2GHz Pentium III or 4 - it is much faster.

This is because the chip inside the iBook is much more efficient and processes more stuff per clock speed cycle. I would quite easily say that a 1.2GHz G4 is around the speed of a 2 - 2.5 GHz Pentium 4.

Or, put simply, the iBook will be MUCH FASTER than your 850MHz PIII.

This fact alone is a big and common misconception amongst PC users.

The G4 processor is particulalry good at vector caluclations using the alti-vec core ("Velocity Engine") which is ideally suited to Photoshop. However, the base unit is crippled by only having 256MB of RAM, as others above have noted. I would reccommend putting a 512MB module (or a 1GB chip if you can afford it) into the free slot to take your RAM up to 768MB (or 1.25GB). However, Apple rips people off with RAM and you will do much better to go with www.crucial.com or other vendors.

The 60GB HD upgrade is a worthwhile option too. Also consider internal Bluetooth as a possibility, since this can't be upgraded later.

Bottom line though - the iBook will be a very capable machine. Go get, and welcome to the ease and enjoyment of Mac OS X!
 
As johnnyjibbs said PC's and Macs are not the same, i have a 17" PowerBook 1.5 GHz andi can tell you its faster then my old 3.06 laptop. The operating system that comes with macs are much faster, the new G4 iBooks would be very fast and more then enough for PhotoShope. If you woud be doing lots of editing then get extra RAM not from apple thou, they are set at a good price aswell.
 
thanks to teh guy who posted about the pc/mac difference in processors, much appriciated.

Whys apples ram a rip off? i was gonna get an upgrade to 512mb so would this mean that i had 768 all together (256+512) or would I just have a 512 instead of the 256?

If the price of apples ram is a rip off dont worry I am getting a student discount.

Thanks for the link but do you know of any UK website of a similar mannor?

Thanks
 
user name said:
Whys apples ram a rip off?
Click to expand...

i think it has something to do with their distribuitor. i heard the place apple buys ram got in trouble for selling it at too high of a price. after that i figured ram price would go down, but it didnt. which makes me think apple is making a lot of money off of the high priced ram and as long as people are paying for it apple wont stop. i would suggest getting the minimal amount of ram that comes with your system. then searching around the forums here for where to get the cheapest ram. for example i want to get a 512mb ram stick from my 12" PB. cost at apple 200. . . cost ive seen at other websites 100 (80 with mail in rebate!). just do a quick search and you should find plenty of info here!
 
johnnyjibbs said:
I would quite easily say that a 1.2GHz G4 is around the speed of a 2 - 2.5 GHz Pentium 4.

The G4 processor is particulalry good at vector caluclations using the alti-vec core ("Velocity Engine") which is ideally suited to Photoshop.
Click to expand...

I don't believe this. The old Pentium 4 has SSE2. The new ones also have SSE3.

Photoshop at some point was not optimized for SSE2. Premiere now has SSE2 optimization, so maybe Photoshop does too.

With a PC you can run a bad OS faster. What's the point?
 
i have the 1.2GHZ ibook 12" with 1.25GB of ram. does photoshop just fine. and many other things.
 
user name said:
thanks to teh guy who posted about the pc/mac difference in processors, much appriciated.

Whys apples ram a rip off? i was gonna get an upgrade to 512mb so would this mean that i had 768 all together (256+512) or would I just have a 512 instead of the 256?

If the price of apples ram is a rip off dont worry I am getting a student discount.

Thanks for the link but do you know of any UK website of a similar mannor?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Buy the computer with student discount. (with 256 mb ram)
Then buy 512mb ram extra, then you would have 768 mb.
Buying an EXTRA 512mb from apple costs about $200. (maybe only 150-180 with EDU.
Other dealers will give you 512mb for about $100...
 
I got the RAM from crucial.com. It's the same stuff that Apple uses, is much cheaper than Apple, and arrives the next day with lifetime warranty. Just go to www.crucial.com/uk and follow the steps to the iBook 1.2GHz. What could be simpler than that?

BTW, installing RAM is easy and is a user-upgradable part. Selecting Apple RAM is the lazy option. It may look like you're getting a good deal with Apple but remember, if you choose 512MB over 256MB, that is total RAM (as in they will just shove in a 256MB module in the free slot). They'll charge you the same or more than crucial.com to get 512MB chip which, when added to the 256 that is soldered on, will add up to 768MB.
 
you come to a mac forum and ask whether you should get a mac or a windows laptop?
lol! 😛

of course ninty percent of people will say get a mac, but then i agree with them. Once you go mac, you never go back!
 
user name said:
thanks to teh guy who posted about the pc/mac difference in processors, much appriciated.

Whys apples ram a rip off? i was gonna get an upgrade to 512mb so would this mean that i had 768 all together (256+512) or would I just have a 512 instead of the 256?

If the price of apples ram is a rip off dont worry I am getting a student discount.

Thanks for the link but do you know of any UK website of a similar mannor?

Thanks
Click to expand...
You just answered your own question
 
johnnyjibbs said:
The original poster appears to be confused by the megahertz myth and no-one has explained this yet to them.

User name: first of all, a 1.2GHz G4 iBook is NOT the same power as a 1.2GHz Pentium III or 4 - it is much faster.

This is because the chip inside the iBook is much more efficient and processes more stuff per clock speed cycle. I would quite easily say that a 1.2GHz G4 is around the speed of a 2 - 2.5 GHz Pentium 4.

Or, put simply, the iBook will be MUCH FASTER than your 850MHz PIII.

This fact alone is a big and common misconception amongst PC users.

QUOTE]

Theoretically this could be true, but the G4 has a sad sad FSB and cache by todays standards. That 1.2 MAY be as quick as a 1.8 or 2.0 P4, the last of which to use the 400 MHz FSB.
Click to expand...
 
joshua_msu said:
Theoretically this could be true, but the G4 has a sad sad FSB and cache by todays standards. That 1.2 MAY be as quick as a 1.8 or 2.0 P4, the last of which to use the 400 MHz FSB.
Click to expand...
All I can say is that my PB 12" 1GHz G4 (133MHz FSB, same as iBook) is easily a match for my Dell Dimension Pentium 4 2.4GHz (533MHz FSB) in games and Photoshop Elements and other general work.
 
dontpanic said:
i was also looking at the ibook but dont know whether to get the 12 or the 14

which one should i go for
Click to expand...

What's most important?

- Compactness -> 12" (same resolution, but you need good eyes)
- Speed -> 14"
- Superdrive -> 14"
 
cube said:
What's most important?

- Compactness -> 12" (same resolution, but you need good eyes)
- Speed -> 14"
- Superdrive -> 14"
Click to expand...

i don't think you need good eyes for the 12" but i'm young! 😀 The best way to see what you prefer is by going to an Apple Store and trying both out sid eby side. You are bound to prefer one or the other.
 
i live in england and we don't have an apple store

my eyes are quite good, does the 12 have longer battery life than the 14 or not, i plan to take it to uni next year so is it worth having the extra portability of the 12 do you think, also is the 14 really that much faster or not
 
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