Iminant student purchase, help required.

[Daeman]

Hey people, just before i start great forum by the way
anyhoo
Recently i obtained the grades i needed to attend chester university in the uk and promised myself i would purchase a new computer, i've always been a PC user but am sick of them and want a mac. I primarily was going to wait until september to see what the update for the powerbooks bought however recently ive been very attracted by the G5 iMacs as they boast higher performance for same price. my question was really how important do u think portability would be at university? do i really need a laptop or can i get away with a desktop?

mmh wish i knew the updates for the powerbook in sept.

apologies for the long post.

 

[iGary]

Imminent.

Do they have laptops for check-out at the university?

 

[mad jew]

I've had a laptop at uni for two years but I've only just started getting into the habit of actually taking it in. It's nice having the portability but it's by no means essential and I pretty much only started because I bought a desktop (iMac G5 funnily enough) and so I kind of needed to justify the iBook to myself so I didn't sell it.

Could you get an iMac now and maybe a really cheap iBook or something further down the track? That way you get the best of both worlds. Otherwise, I'd recommend the iMac.

 

[faintember]

Well i like to be portable at my university, but i work with electronic music often, so my PB is the only way to go for me. Some people like taking notes on a laptop in class, but for my subject area (music composition) it does not work so well.

If you are in the market for a portable now i would go with the iBook. The price is much cheaper than the PBs, and if there is a speed upgrade in Sept. it will probably be minimal, and then you have to worry about the availability of the new PB. An iBook with an 80gb hd will serve you nicely for school needs, as long as you are not doing anything crazy with video or audio. However if you need the faster processor speed, the iMac is the way to go. If you go iMac get the 17" 2Ghz or the 20". Either way you will want to add more ram (i would add an extra 1gig stick from Crucial, or OWC).

To me a portable is the only way to go, but of course that is not how many people feel. My 1Ghz TiPB still does everything i need to do, and does it well. Not to mention that it is 3 years old! Whatever you choose, remember to use your educational discount!

btw, my iMac G4 is just a dust-catcher/extra storage for me since i bought my PB. I need to sell it sometime!

 

[twoodcc]

i carry my laptop to class, and i see quite a few others that do also. just depends on that i guess, and what your studying. i also have a desktop in my dorm

 

[joecool85]

I bring my PB with me to class maybe a dozen times a semester, but it does help. Especially with presentations, I don't have to worry about trying to get my stuff to work on the professors slow old laptop with windows me on it. Of course, all of my NM professors have 1.67ghz 17" PBs. lol. Anyway, what I was getting at is for me it isn't the in class stuff but the out of class stuff. I bring my PB with me for research and I can get on wifi just about anywhere on campus. I've been at UMaine for 2 years and all of my computing has been done on this 867mhz 12" G4 PB. I love it. I am now purchasing a dual 2ghz PM to compliment it and aid in my video editing that will be soon to come in the next semester or two.

Point being, get a laptop, you won't regret it.

 

[Daeman]

thanks for such quick replies. wow.
the iBook has always scared me away with its 32mb graphics and lack of superdrive on the 12" model. i can see portablilty being slightly more important as i will have to travel alot 3-4 hours on a train home and back to uni quite alot. but arg it pains me to see that for the same price i could get such better spec with the iMac G5. i guess u have to put a price on portability. i do hope the PB update in sept brings more than a small power bump. What i think i May may may do is take my crap heap of a pc up with me then purchase a PB and leave me pc at uni and take my PB everywhere with me. how easy is it to record lectures with a 12" PB?

Thanks again

 

[FFTT]

Portability is handy, but you get way more computer for your money in a iMac G5 2.0 GHz.

Laptops can also be a liability if you tend to forget where you put things
or drop it too hard.

 

[godbout]

I think the difference for me was that I am an addict (computer that is ) I know that the thought of being away from my computer ALL day is a scary one! At uni portability is great becuase you can do all your presentations, surf, write labs/papers just about anywhere on most campuses. Also, I don't know about your uni but sometimes where I am it can get pretty hard to find an open computer. On the Other hand for the price I paid for my PB I could have got a iMac and iBook (lowest specs of course).

If you really don't think that you need the portability I would go for the 2.0 iMac as others have suggested because of its superior specs (this is always the way when you compare desktops with laptops). But, if you think that you will need a comp on the fly then get a 15" PB (or if you don't need the power/features maybe a iBook) I think that the 15" is a really good comprimise between portability, screen realestate and power.

 

[JonMaker]

I'm a CS student with 12" iBook G4. Your course of study is a big factor in determining what 'puter you'll need. I'm fine, but YMMV.

On recording lectures: A USB mic is what you need. The iBooks and PBooks both have great integrated mics, but they are pointed at the user. Always remember to ask first, and check the policy.

 

[joecool85]

Oh, thats a good point about not being able to find a computer on campus. This happens almost daily to me when I don't bring my PB...can't find a computer to check email on. This is important for me because all updates/announcements/class cancelations etc are posted on our email server.