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Powerbook or Powermac to tide me over till Rev.B Intels

cruxed

cruxed

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 28, 2005
244
0
Hong Kong
Hi guys,

I've been using my 1.42ghz Mac Mini with 512mb RAM since March 2005, and so far, it has been great to me. Over the summer, I have gotten a few summer jobs, and together with a bit of aid from my parents, I have gotten the sexy 20" Cinema Display.

The problem now is: I am lusting for more speed and performance. Since getting addicted to Garage Band and iPhoto, I have felt that the performance of the mac mini is lackluster, and has left me feeling empty. Also, after getting the Cinema Display, Exposé and Dashboard is not as smooth as before, which really irritates me. I suppose that this boils down to the fact that the mini has the unupgradable 32mb vram graphic card. As the Mac Mini was actually a test so whether Mac OS X was worth all the hype (which it is: especially Tiger), so now, I have been looking for a replacement machine.

I am aware that the Powerbooks are soon going to get updated, and maybe the Powermacs as well. I am also following the situation of the Intel transition for Apple very closely. I have decided that around Thanksgiving is a good time to buy a mac that can tide me over till the Intel Rev. B macs, so I can ensure full compatibility and stability. As mentioned above, I am pondering between the professional lines: the Powermac and the Powerbook.

Powermac: As I already have the 20" Cinema Display, I dont have to buy a monitor. I am looking into the dual 2ghz with 1.5 gb RAM and the standard GPU (Radeon 9600). I know that this will be a significant jump from the single 1.42ghz G4, and I will welcome it with open arms. The only problem is that this is not a portable. Ever since playing with my friend's iBook, I have been addicted to the portability factor, especially along with a wireless router. This brings me to my next point.

Powerbook: I am also looking at the 15" powerbook with the 128 mb vram gpu along with 1.5 gb ram when it gets updated (hopefully with better features to make it more affordable). This will definitely satisfy my need for portability. The only problem is, with only a 0.25ghz (as of now) speed bump, will I notice a huge increase in performance? Will it be worth the 2000+ I will have to spend for that mere processor speed boost? Whereas I can get a much bigger boost for about the same cost? Though the 128mb vram will be good for WoW, which I plan to buy, as well as running my 20" display with smooth Exposéing.

Currently (before the rumored updates), I am leaning towards the G5 because of the lower value for higher performance, though I really really want to try out portability (haven't owned a laptop before).

So to all you Poweremac and Powerbook owneres out there? For crying out loud, which one will be 'The One' to tide me over till the Intel Rev. B Macs?

Thankyou for reading my post guys!
Boris
 
I think that you are very smart to wait for the Rev. B Intel Mac. That is my plan also.

I'm interested in the upcoming new Mac mini wit added 512 of RAM. That should increase performance.

If portability is a concern, the PowerBook should be very nicely. My wife love's her 15" PowerBook. Good luck with your decision.
 
get the powermac, unless powerbooks are updated. the powermac is just a full tilt powerful and fast machine. you already have the monitor so place your order on a dual 2.7 ghz powermac! that thing will scream until the rev D intel powerbooks are out!
 
All comes down to portability.

If it is just about power and to hold you over until Rev. B, I say get the PowerMac then.
 
If you're needing more power, then no doubt go with the Power Mac G5. The PowerBook is nice (I have the 17-inch model), but nothing compares to the PM G5. And since you already have a nice display, there's no question. :)
 
Oh, and here's a short list of programs I plan to use:

Regularly:
Safari
Finder
Dashboard
Exposé
Quicktime
Mail
Adium
iTunes
Limewire
iPhoto
Garageband
Pages
Keynote
Word

Irregularly (but will do so from time to time):
Photoshop CS2
Photoshop Elements 3
iMovie
World of Warcraft
Warcraft 3
Myst V
Core Image Fun House
Dreamweaver
Fireworks

I would also like to have around 5 programs running at the same time, something that I can only dream about now.

Thanks guys for your responses.

Boris
 
I would get a PowerMac if I were you. The mini is pretty much what the Powerbook is so you won't see much of a difference. With a PowerMac, you will see a big improvement in performence.
 
Oh, and with 1.5gb RAM in the Powerbook, will it be a big increase from the 512mb in my Mac Mini?

What about 1.5gb in the G5?

Thanks for your comments. Getting closer and closer to deciding upon the right model for me :)

The only problem is I want the power of the G5 in a portable package :(

Boris
 
Options

12" PowerBook maxed with RAM and your display.
Reasonable investment with very little risk.


Really not a bad deal for $1499 (education)

If you're into recording, the money you save could buy a real nice M-Audio
A/D interface, PoorTools 7 M-Powered or Logic 7 Pro. loops FX etc.

I would say an iBook/iMac combo but you already have a great display and you'd be forced to use the spanning hack on the iBook
splitting the 32 MB VRAM to push your display.

At least the 12" PB has 64MB VRAM and the DVI out to support your display.

If you're going for a PowerMac get the 2.3. $2299.00 (education)
Add RAM as your budget permits, but you'll be O.K. with the stock machine.
2 GB RAM is ideal for audio.

A real serious Apple with dual processor G5's tons of HD space, up to
8 GB RAM, faster 133MHz PCI-X expansion slots with more power than you'll probably ever need for YEARS.

The Rev C dual 2.0 G5 uses the Prosumer motherboard
crippled to max 4 GB RAM and standard 33 MHz PCI expansion slots. :-(

Or........

A loaded 15" PowerBook for the same price as a dual G5.
Great machine but still a single processor G4.
 
As far as power per dollar and discounting the imac because you want to keep your display and use it with your new intelmac, the G5 processor is A LOT more powerful than the G4 processor. When I bought my 1.6ghz G5 tower and first started using it I said to myself, "Wow, this is how OS X is really supposed to run."

The OS feels much more responsive. Things open up so much faster. Safari renders pages so much more quickly. And I continue to feel that way now when I compare the nearly 2 year old G5 to a new 1.5ghz powerbook G4. Pick up whatever G5 tower you can get for the price you want to pay - the original G5 tower can be found in the $800-$900 range on ebay. That would be a huge jump from your mini - if you put a gig of ram in the tower, we're talking about at least doubling the speed of your computer in terms of your overall experience and I think you would feel good with it for the next year or so until you get your rev2 mactel. If you want to spend more, of course you will get more, but the biggest jump in value is when you spend enough to get a G5.
 
bodeh6 said:
I would get a PowerMac if I were you. The mini is pretty much what the Powerbook is so you won't see much of a difference. With a PowerMac, you will see a big improvement in performence.
Click to expand...

I would get the PowerMac too, but I take exception with this post.

The Mini is FAR from what the PowerBook is. The PowerBook has a better/faster GPU with more VRAM, a faster processor, a faster harddrive, faster ram, a bigger fsb, a bigger cache, FireWire 800, more expandability on the harddrive, gigabit ethernet, etc.

The PowerBook is hampered by the G4 processor, but still performs very well.
 
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