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my highly scientific experiment

M

merge

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 17, 2002
45
0
Ok, ready for this one?

so I was in the apple store yesterday looking at a 14" ibook, and an 867 powerbook right next to each other.. so debating the extra $700 I had to try some tests...

I closed all of the open applications on both.. then i put both pointers on the explorer icon in the dock, and clicked for both to open at as close to the exact same time as I could...

what did I see?
the ibooks page opened a good 4 seconds before the powerbook... I tried this twice with the same result..

I also tried iPhoto... and the ibook was also quicker there(with 367 photos compared to 374 in the powerook)

I tried itunes...same thing...

I just found that very odd...

The ibook just sold itself I think...
I would rather have the 15" screen, and I would rather be able to upgrade to 1GB of RAM rather than 640MB... I just don't think that is worth $700.... am I missing something?
 
Now thats what I call a scientific experiment, you sure put those laptops through some rigorous testing, you should change your name to Dr.Merge....
heh. j/k
But I think that for a laptop you can't really beat the iBook, it's a great machine and much cheaper than a TiBook.
 
Only problem is that there's no control, so many thing could be causing this. Sure, it could be actual performance differences, but it could also be RAM amount, a software performance enhancement on the iBook or software on the TiBook that's slowing it down... among other things. If you're interested in this, i suggest you find a good benchmark results site, see what they show :)

pnw
 
well both machines had 256 MB of RAM..

I just want someone to yell at me and say "you need to get a powerbook, don't get the ibook your crazy S.O.B"

maybe give a few reasons as to why...

I think I will be going with the ibook though... a $700 difference is a lot... maybe if it came with an airport card... more ram... then maybe... but for what I need the computer for i think the ibook is the way to go..

btw, this will officialy make me a switcher...

although I have used mac all my life, I have never owned one.
I work supporting PC's.. and I own a PC because I could build it and it was cheap.

This will be MY first mac.. instead of my fathers... (who has the 1GHz Powerbook that he will be rubbing in my face for a few years now...) he is also still running an 8500, upgraded to a 400 Mhz G3... I think sonnet made the card. and he runs OSX on it, and it is not that much slower than my girlfriends G4 450 tower... kinda cool.
 
Originally posted by merge

I just want someone to yell at me and say "you need to get a powerbook, don't get the ibook your crazy S.O.B"
Click to expand...
You need to get a PowerBook, don't get the iBook you CrAzY S.O.B!

Feel better about the extra $700 now? ;) :D
 
ahhh.. thank you so much... that's better.....

see and I almost bought the ibook too.... ;)

I am waiting until next week just in case though.....
 
Get the iBook, don't get the PowerBook, you crazy switcher!

There. I thought there should be an opposing viewpoint to further the discussion.

I suggest that you get the iBook with some extra RAM. Why not the PowerBook? Because the iBook can perform in a way that pleases you (as evidenced by your experiment). Go ahead and check benchmark sites, compare technical specs, and, if you can, try another iBook in a store. But you may not need anything that the iBook can't give you. You won't have the fastest Mac on the block, but nobody ever does for long. It won't be your last computer purchase, so buy what you need for now and save $700.
 
Originally posted by benixau
you didnt make your writing as big as edesignuk did.
Click to expand...
You think that was BIG! That was nothing ;)

Seriously though, I do think that if you can afford it the TiBook will be a much better buy and will easily out live the iBook in terms of power and in turn usefulness.
 
Get the iBook in a 12 inch screen. The 14 inch doesn't offer you more real-estate to work with. It displays at the same 1024/768 resolution. All you get is a slightly larger (stretched) image with a good deal of extra bulk. After all, what's a laptop for, if not portability?

I just purchased a new iBook last week and it's the greatest laptop I have ever used. I'd say stay away from the TiBook unless you really need some serious power on the road (video editing and such).

BTW - I became an iBook fan when I borrowed a 500mhz from a friend to install Logic Audio and take my gear to record a band. It performed very well.

Dan
 
ok, i just wanted to see how big i could get the writing,

but really. on ebay in two or three years time when apple has 20x DVD±RW drives in them your pbook will sell for a lot more than your ibook will.
 
I hate large fonts!


All right, enough of the bull.

I feel whatever your carreer or your hobbies lead you will guide you to the model you are looking for. As for those tests, I agree with paul's comment.

I also think if you are going to work a lot with audio/video, especially video, you may want to consider a G4. Also, RAM can play a big factor for some apps, which see RAM as a holiday feast. If you are looking for some Photoshop work, word processing, maybe some audio work, a G3 iBook and a 12 inch screen will do fine.
 
OK, here is some
bigtext.gif
. Remember, point size is highly correlated to the value of a discussion point! :)

Like alset, I was impressed with a borrowed iBook.

merge, would you like to tell us more about what you plan to do with your iBook/PowerBook?
 
Originally posted by Doctor Q
merge, would you like to tell us more about what you plan to do with your iBook/PowerBook? [/B]
Click to expand...

well, mostly use it for the web, maybe an occaisonal DVD during a long trip somewhere...
and recording music. I have Digital Performer3... I plan on doing some amaturish recording on it...

and I need something to go along with my ipod that I bought last year...
I have been using with with a PC... There were so many flaws using xplay or whatever it was... but I was able to get about 300 songs on it before the computer stopped seeing it.

I can't see how anyone would need a 20GB iPod... unless they are using it for storage... like 1000 songs is not enough??
 
Sounds like either machine could do what you want, so we're back to the question of whether to spend more for long-term benefits or whether to get just what you need and spend $700 on other toys.

Are you planning to decide after Jan 7? Even if Apple doesn't come out with new models at Macworld San Francisco, they may announce price changes.
 
yeah I am going to wait until after the 7th... I don't really expect anything for the laptop lines... but you never know..

right now I am going with the ibook, just because I can use the extra money towards the extended apple care.. and also some cool audio toys... I have very limited digital recording expiriance... so I am not exactly sure what I will want/need yet so spending less for the ibook seems to be the right choice.
 
Originally posted by benixau
the long term savings on a power book, like edesignuk said are huge
Click to expand...

In my experience buying a more powerful computer never results in "long term savings" the greatest savings will come from buying a "trailing edge" computer. I've made 2 computer purchases that I later regretted, both well over $2000. The best computer purchase I ever made was my latest, the 12.1" iBook. I expect the iBook to keep me happy for at least a coupl years, and when I replace it inexpensively will be with whatever the best value "trailing edge" laptop is at the time.

It's all about the trailing edge, baby!
 
700 is a lot more but tibook offers a lot more

if you want to keep your machine more than 2 yrs, get the tibook since it will keep up with software changes better over time
 
right. get an emac cause a pmac wont cost you as much in the long term. i am talking about resale valuse over two years. longer than that then get the middle or the first one with all the features you need/want/can afford.
 
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