Can you guys make me reccomendations on whether I should buy one of the new ibooks or keep saving until the new powerbooks come out? I don't play games or anything. I mainly just want a notebook for portability, good battery life, typing papers, surfing the net, doing a little music recording and that's about it. Should I buy the new ibook or wait for a new powerbook?
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I've got 1600 dollars to use on a brand new notebook.
- Thread starter AcousticDoc
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Like Mcarnes said, the iBook. I wish I would have listened to my cousin when I got my PB because the painful truth is I just don't use it's power to its full potential and I could have saved a good chunk of $ by getting an iBook.AcousticDoc said:
From what you've said you would use a laptop for, the iBook would be fantastic. In fact, I'm very very very seriously considering a downgrade from my PB to an iBook.
AcousticDoc said:
I assume you are non-edu? If you were edu, I'd make sure I bought during the Student Union promo. If you are not, you have the luxury of waiting months for a PB update. This question as it is, is difficult to answer until we see the new iBooks. I'd assume for the moment that the iBook will end up with a better video card, more VRAM, more RAM and a speedbump.
Aside from that, from what you mention, I think an iBook should be fine for you. I'm not certain about the music recording though (outside my areas of expertise). The PB has an audio in port whereas the iBook needs USB type devices.
The iBook is a $350 savings over a similarly configured PB. What you have to do is look at the PB and decide if there is anything it offers that the iBook doesn't that makes it worth this $350. Most of the difference is just speed. But there are some features not available like superdrive, 5400RPM drive and some slightly different ports. If any of those features is crucial to you, get the PB. If not, get the iBook.
devilot76 said:
thanks devilot. The only reason I would want a powerbook would be for the screen spanning and the sleeker look...but I can't justify the extra money for that. Hey I'm from the Bay Area as well! Where are you from? I'm from the alameda area.
Would this be your first Mac purchase? I really don't need my PB's power because I have the new iMac now (w/ a huge screen so no need for screen spanning anymoreAcousticDoc said:
). Oh yeah, the other thing about the iBook vs. PB which may or may not be "worth the cost" is the feel of the keyboard. I really love the PB's keyboard. I'm from, well actually... well, sorta LG (Los Gatos)/Saratoga. So a little ways away from your neck of the woods.Are you eligible for the edu pricing?
::edit:: If you got the iBook, you could even factor in the purchase of AppleCare and 3rd party RAM-- a MUST because lemme tell you, 256MB won't do diddly squat for you. Running 512 MB on my PB is still a bit on the "slow" side especially compared to my desktop. Hee.
tsk said:
I'm a student. I'm definitly going to go with the ibook now (My first switch actually!!!). The line in doesn't really matter anyway since I'll probably be using a usb mobile preamp for recording guitar and vocal tracks. Does anyone here know any good mobile usb preamps that work well with the ibook and garage band (I'm too poor to afforad anything better).
devilot76 said:
Saratoga aye? You must be rich. You know devilot...I'm currently on the lookout for a sugar mama...
AcousticDoc said:
I would definitely not wait if I were you then. You're not going to find a better deal than the new iBooks with a free iPod Mini. I'm fairly certain you'd have to wait till after the promo ends to get a new PB. That's another $200 in price then.
Psst... living w/ the parentals... as for my own bank accounts, woefully close to being fined!AcousticDoc said:Saratoga aye? You must be rich. You know devilot...I'm currently on the lookout for a sugar mama...
And as for being a shuga mama... nuh uh buster, I am one greedy selfish little brat not to mention I've been off the market for 3+ years.devilot76 said:I am one greedy selfish little brat
Sweet, he can buy new ibooks for both of us then
Definitely dont wait until the end of the Student Union Promotion (Sep 24th) but I'd definitely wait a few days. Things are looking better than ever for an iBook update this Tuesday which should make the iBook even more appealing.
I am in a similar situation... I'm going with updated iBook over PB and getting Apple Care and loads of RAM with the $ I save.
I would try to get a Powerbook 12". Powerbooks are alot better than iBooks in performance and to the touch. The Powerbooks keyboard is more comfortable than the iBooks and I like the Professional Aluminum look more than the white plastic. I upgraded from a 12" iBook to a 17" Powerbook.
Get the new 12" iBook, whatever it is. That will leave you with $600 for upgrades... figure about $200 for the next level up HDD and a do-it-your-self RAM upgrade. Get a Dell 19" LCD for under $300, and you've still got $100 which you can (hopefully) use for a SD upgrade when the new 12" arrives.
japasneezemonk said:
I can't really see much difference between VGA and DVI....does anyone else here feel the same?
AcousticDoc said:
I can't either. But I think the main problem is the ACD (I just checked the hardware page and it only has DVI). I doubt you plan on getting the ACD, but if you do, you probably want to get the PB then. I tend to doubt this will be an issue for you.
I'm not going to answer this question until we get more details or until we see a new iBook. The new iBook, in my eyes, will see a processor bump to 1.42 GHz (1.5 GHz at the very most,) a graphics card bump, maybe minimum RAM to 512 MB, and who knows about the widescreen rumor. I think Apple's consumer thing here is to beef up the processor slightly, a better graphics card, 512 MB RAM, and Bluetooth all at the same price. At least that's what they did with the iMac in May.
So, if I were you, wait until they update the iBook, see what happens there, and if you don't like what you see, get a PowerBook. (The other thing about the PowerBook is that there aren't any rumors going on about it and I'm guessing it won't be seeing an update until the holiday season.)
So, if I were you, wait until they update the iBook, see what happens there, and if you don't like what you see, get a PowerBook. (The other thing about the PowerBook is that there aren't any rumors going on about it and I'm guessing it won't be seeing an update until the holiday season.)
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