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Looking to switch and need notebook advice. Please!

K

Kalvin

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 23, 2003
11
0
Little Rock, AR. WOO PIG SOOIE!!
Hi everybody. I'm looking to picking up my first Mac soon and pretty much have it narrowed down to the 12" iBook or PB with combo drive. I want something for websurfing, word processing, and watching DVD's. Battery life is a main (BIG) concern as well as a durable, scratch resistant (as much as possible) construction. I guess I could always get a macskinz though.

Long story, but I would prefer to buy from Amazon. Their prices:

900-Mhz iBook.....$1,299
867-MHz PB.........$1,449
1.0-GHz PB..........$1,599

Is the iBook or PB better for my needs? Is the newer PB worth $150 more?

I'm pulling my hair out trying to decide. This is a big purchase I dont want to regret. :confused:

Thanks!
 
Then just pay the extra $150. What is that amount of money in comparison to peace of mind. You know the powerbook is a better machine (although some might argue it will be less scratch-resistant) and the battery life should be comparable.
 
Based on your present needs, I would go with that 900 MHz iBook and spend part of the savings on maxing out the RAM. I use my iBook 700 for much the same purpose as you (add a bit of light gaming and Photoshopping) and I've been pleased.

Some folks will tell you the PB is more future-proof, but for your needs, I don't see how that is a reasonable claim. More like more LAGS (Latest And Greatest Syndrome) proof.

If money were no object, I'd go for the PB in a heartbeat. It sounds as if money IS an object, and all three computers are about equal in the "good value" department. Given that, I would go toward the iBook. On the other hand, you never know how deep into the Mac experience you'll get and feel like you want to do more with your computer. Not only that, but having a better computer may make it easier for you to justify getting a new one later rather than sooner down the line.

That said, I still recommend the iBook, but I wanted to illuminate all of the issues.

Edit: For battery life: the iBook and 1.0 GHz PB should get roughly the same battery life, but the 867 MHz PB may get up to an hour less battery life because it uses a microprocessor that dissipates more power. Since battery life is such a big concern, I'd strike the 867 PB out entirely.
 
Well, the new PB is looking more and more appealing. Especially if the battery life is expected to be close to that of an iBook. It now accepts up to 2GB of RAM, correct? If so, that would make the system last much longer for me. Money isn't THAT big of an issue, I'm just a cheap bastid used to PC's. Must resist! I swore I would never spend that much on a system again. I can't believe I'm even contemplating this! :D
 
If by some chance you are a student, or know a student have them order directly from the Apple store or from their on-campus resaler. You can knock 200.00 off the price of that 1GHz PB right off the top, and it you order by Sat. and buy an iPod you can get a 200.00 rebate. Just a thought. I myself am waiting on my 1GHz PB to get here, ships today or tomorrow.
 
I'm on staff at a university, so I would be elgible for a discount. I was considering ordering the 1-GHz from the Apple Store. $1,399 would be a great price. I'm concerned about their pretty stringent "8 dead pixels or tough luck" policy. I was considering Amazon because of their more lenient policies. How prevalent our dead/stuck pixels in the 12" PB's? I hate to be nitpicky, but it'll be hard for me to settle for anything less that a perfect display.

Thanks for the responses so far!
 
Couple thoughts:

-iBooks are due to be updated soon. Airport extreme and a speed bump are reasonable expectations.

-lots of good deals now on older machines, i think they're a great value

-IMO 12" screen, 1024x768 is pretty small for general use. The 15" TiBooks are awesome. Maybe 867mhz w/combo drive is in your price range. 14" IBook has a bigger screen but is still only 1024x768.

- you need at least 512meg RAM to use OS X smoothly. don't run it crippled at 256meg or one day you'll upgrade and kick yourself when you see how fast it could have been!

- i've heard that the 12" PB runs pretty hot and that the iBook is cooler. Don't know though.

-PB could be upgraded to a superdrive later probably and it has bluetooth. So it has a little more headroom.

If i were you, I'd get the 867mhz combo tibook, but that's cuz i love the screen.

Otherwise - hmmm... you can't get an iBook because they're about to be updated. But a PB is probably overkill. So get the older 12" PB i guess (pre-upgrades). But if the iBook gets updated soon, get that instead. And then whatever you get, bump it up to 512 meg RAM.
 
Originally posted by Kalvin
It now accepts up to 2GB of RAM, correct? If so, that would make the system last much longer for me.
Click to expand...

Wrong. It accepts up to 1.25 GB of RAM. At the Apple Store, you can get a total of 768 MB costs $270 (you can get it from Crucial for $130), but bringing it to 1.25 GB costs $720 (I don't think the 1 GB stick is available anywhere else). I'd go with 768 MB if I were you.
 
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