iBook hard disk and memory

[Rubin421]

Hi all,

A long-time PC user, the iPod convinced me to switch to the Mac. I am therefore selling my centrino laptop to buy an iBook (although I'll wait for the expo in January to see if the PowerBooks get any close to my budget).

I've noticed that both iBooks and PowerBooks come with 256MB and a 30 or 40 GB hard disk standard. From my PC experience, I know this is really not enough, and I think I should go for at least 512MB + 60GB, if not 1GB + 80GB.

Am I right here? I mean, does OS X use as much memory as XP, and do the applications "eat" as much space? I should add that I store all my MP3's on my 20G iPod...

Thanks!

 

[ChrisFromCanada]

My recommendation would be to dump and additional 512Mb of memory in there for a total of 768Mb or if you use Lots of photoshop and video editing go for 1.25Mb. Crucial.com is a well reccomended site here.

As for Hard Disk it really depends on what you are doing. If you are a Gamer/Video editor/Photoshop user then you will want at least 60 - 80 Gb. If you are just a casual user (light photoshop, Office, web, email) Then 30 - 40 Gigis will suit you fine)

To get a good idea of what you need post what programs you use frequently.

 

[Rubin421]

I guess it'll mainly be the same as on my PC laptop: MSOffice, iTunes, web browser, e-mail...
I also do a lot of videoconferencing - I'm getting an iSight along with the iBook. BTW, does iChat REALLY work with AIM 5.5 for Windows?

 

[solvs]

And they say the iPod's Halo effect isn't working...

512MB should be fine for most stuff, but you can never have enough RAM for OS X. It will use as much as there is available. 768MB would be better just in case. Same with the hard drive, you can never have enough space. Especially since you'd want your mp3's on your computer too, not just your iPod, though it does make a handy backup (you'd need 3rd party software to transfer from the iPod back to the computer though). Either way, I'd suggest using an external hard drive as well (if nothing else, than to pull everything off of your PC to put on your iBook). If your PC doesn't have FireWire, get an external FW and USB2 drive (or just the case, and add your own drive). Rememer that the laptop drives are slower. 4200 RPM, unless you put a 5400 or 7200 in there. I would not install it yourself unless you know what you're doing. Add the larger drive when you BTO it, or buy one later and have an Apple Authorized Retailer install it. I hear the 60GB 7200s are nice, but can get hot. If you can afford it, they are coming out with 100GB 5400 drives. You can use the 30GB drive that's left over in an external 2.5" case. Though if you're used to a 4200RPM drive in your Centrino and want to save money, you probably won't be too disappointed with the 60GB Apple installed drive.

 

[solvs]

I guess it'll mainly be the same as on my PC laptop: MSOffice, iTunes, web browser, e-mail...
I also do a lot of videoconferencing - I'm getting an iSight along with the iBook. BTW, does iChat REALLY work with AIM 5.5 for Windows?

Then you'd be fine with 768MB and 60GB. Chat does work with XP, yes. Kinda. Video is a little sketchy for some people, but I hear that will be alleviated in future versions or both.

 

[Espnetboy3]

i would honestly need to know what you use your computer for, if its for work and bringing in the money for food on the table such as graphic designer or animator then yes , hook it up as much as possible. If not list what you do use it for mostly and dont go crazy its just a waste of money , to many people want more and more and spend stupid money basically cause americans feel the need to have the best of everything. Trust me 512 and 40 gig for the average user is plenty , specially if you get a dvd burner you can back alot of stuff up on dvds and not have to keep them on your drive.

 

[Rubin421]

I guess I should have been more specific from the beginning: when it comes to PCs, I'm more than a power user, so I know how much RAM and HDD you'd need to do this or that. My question was: is it the same under OSX, or does it require more/less power than XP?

Thx guys.

 

[solvs]

It's about the same. XP and OS X are usable with 128-256MB, but not recommended if you want to do much. 512-768 are fine, but over a Gig will speed up more complex stuff like video and image editing. Probably overkill for anyone else, but more never hurts. OS X handles over that better than Windows IMHO. I tend not to see to much of a difference between 512, 768, and 1024 on my Win2000 PC, but a G5 will scream with 2GB+. Same with hard drive speeds, as I mentioned, and video cards. Such as, iBook's video is better than intergrated Intel graphics and fine for 2D stuff. PowerBook's cards are better, but more expensive, etc.

So yeah, same principle. Just think of the iBook's G4 as a Celeron at this point. The more memory and faster drive, the better. For what you want to do, like I said, 512-768 with a big hard drive should be fine. Just be aware that once to start using Macs (and especially iLife), you may want to start doing more with audio, video, and graphics. It happens. 😉

 

[Rubin421]

Thanks man, very helpful comparison.
BTW, except from the internal & external frequency differences, are the processors the same between iBooks and PowerBooks?

 

[lfielder06]

I have chosen to get an ibook after mwsf, just to see what the powerbooks will look like. What I am going to do is get a stock ibook from amazon because they have such a great deal. then just get an external hard drive. I had a chance to look at an external in action though it was with a pc computer and it was fast (transfered 1000+ songs in under 10 minutes). I will use the money I save on purchasing from amazon on throughing 1gb of memory in it. Just my thoughts after reading these posts for a while. You can always get a bigger external hard drive if you need it.

 

[solvs]

Thanks man, very helpful comparison.
BTW, except from the internal & external frequency differences, are the processors the same between iBooks and PowerBooks?

Same chip for now, but the P'Books have a faster FSB. 167 vs. the iBook's 133. Both have 512k L2 cache. The next Gen G4 is supposed to have a higher FSB and better DDR RAM support though (possibly with more cache). If you think that seems slow, remember that the P4's 400 and 533MHz FSBs are actually quad-pumped 100 and 133MHz (think the desktop chips are 800 but now, 200 x4). And the Athlons were DDR (rising and falling) 100-200MHz to get their 200-400MHz FSBs. The new AMD chips have better FSBs.