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Powerbook vs iBook HELP!!!!!!!!

7

7254278

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Apr 11, 2004
2,365
0
NYC
First of all im on a tight budget so I must choose wisely!

Please consider everything, screen, speed, graphics and extraS

use: Gaming,chatting,browsing,moderate photoshop and bryce

Somethings cant be changed like caches and are put in the mac without any firther configurations!

Powerbook 12' combo drive 1ghz (personalized)
512 L2 cache
512 ram
bus speed 266 mhz
60gb hd
NVIDIA GeForce FX - 32mb of video memory
FireWire 400
2 USB 2.0
Airport extreme card
Bluetooth
Mini-DVI out
price: $1,848

iBook 14' combo drive 933mhz (personalized)
256k L2 cache
640 ram
bus speed 133 mhz
60gb hd
ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 - 32mb of video memory
FireWire 400
2 USB 2.0
Airport extreme card
no bluethooth
no mini-dvi out
price: $1,598

so please tell me if you where you and you had a tight budget what would be worth more in price for quality.

thanks
patmian212
 
for what use? if you are only going to use for web, email, Office and light digital photo stuff, then iBook is more than capable.

anyway, do you have a DVI monitor? otherwise, iBook lacking DVI port is irrelevant. similarly, do you have BT devices? if not, then that difference is irrelevant too.

do you have bad eyesights? otherwise, large pixels of 14" iBook is irrelevant. i'd save money and get the 12" iBook.

how tight is your budget?
 
jxyama said:
get the PB.

also, get the RAM from elsewhere. (not apple.)
Click to expand...


why not apple.... i heard generic ram can screw ur pb up.... do you have any suggestions where i can get ram?
 
The iBook has a higher albedo, hence if more people get iBooks we will cause another ice age. So get the PowerBook and stop the end of the world!
 
Patmian212 said:
First of all im on a tight budget so I must choose wisely!

Please consider everything, screen, speed, graphics and extraS

use: Gaming,chatting,browsing,moderate photoshop and bryce

Somethings cant be changed like caches and are put in the mac without any firther configurations!

Powerbook 12' combo drive 1ghz (personalized)
512 L2 cache
512 ram
bus speed 266 mhz
60gb hd
NVIDIA GeForce FX - 32mb of video memory
FireWire 400
2 USB 2.0
Airport extreme card
Bluetooth
Mini-DVI out
price: $1,848

iBook 14' combo drive 933mhz (personalized)
256k L2 cache
640 ram
bus speed 133 mhz
60gb hd
ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 - 32mb of video memory
FireWire 400
2 USB 2.0
Airport extreme card
no bluethooth
no mini-dvi out
price: $1,598

so please tell me if you where you and you had a tight budget what would be worth more in price for quality.

thanks
patmian212
Click to expand...
First off, the Powerbook's bus speed is 133 MHz not 266, so the ibook and powerbook are on the same level in that area. Now, as for which one to get, I would say the PB because for about $250 more you get 200 more MHz, built in bluetooth, mini dvi out, 512k L2 cache as opposed to 256k in iBook and IMO better overall look and feel. I was in the same situation as you a little more than a month ago, and i decided to get the iBook to save some money, after 2 weeks I traded my iBook and my pc and couldnt be happier.
 
I picked the 12.1 800 g4 ibook over the pgb4. When i bench marked it against my husbands pbg4 15 1ghz it wasn't that far off and my video was still better. its really up to you, you could always go through mce now and stick a superdrive in your unit down the road. I also use third party ram mosty from princeton and i have never had a problem with it. I have also used techworks as well and their ram is also good i should also add the ibook is so much more durable than any pbg4. I work at a apple service center and the pb's have a better chance of breaking when they are dropped versus the ibook.
 
RAM

By the way anyone know where i can buy 12'powerbook RAM online and what type of RAM it uses (yes i can figure it out but im lazy)
 
They are almost here:

ALL of the Apple portable computers shipping times are INCREASED TO 1-3 Business Days today, with some of them having 3-7 Business Days shipping times.


Well,

1-3 Business Day ship time corresponds to Monday shipment as of today.

There is a major Apple event on April 18, Sunday, the day before the shipment.

The corresponding 3rd day is the first business day after the Event.
 
This news is GREAT. I am very very exited and faithful.

My only question is: What apple event/s are coming up, I have heard one on sunday and another monday?? Whats the deal??
thanks in advance . . .
 
Yes, except people have been talking about anticipated upgrades every Tuesday for months and nothing has come. Personally, I wouldn't could on it and I would believe it when I see it. Although AppleInsider has been known to be quite accurate, I don't pay much attention to the rumors nowadays since all they do is stir up excitement and end up disappointing.
 
Similar question vis-a-vis Powerbook versus iBook as my first mac:

How does the durability compare?

Apple seems to market the iBook as pretty rugged (implying the PB, as a pro machine, is a little flimsy?).

Any comments or experiences in just how badly I can 'reasonably' :) treat each laptop?

I don't expect to drop it from a great height, but it may get put down a bit roughly in an unpadded bag, but also scratch resistance, the odd liquid spillage on the case (i.e. leakage into case), sharing a bag with various books, wires, comuter bits, CD's, music players, dirty finger prints (and cleaning them off) etc. etc..
 
From what I've heard, the plastic on the iBook is better at hiding scratches and would withstand a fall better. I have heard a lot about the Aluminum on PowerBooks lose their coating quickly especially from a watch band or excess sweat.
 
mms said:
From what I've heard, the plastic on the iBook is better at hiding scratches and would withstand a fall better. I have heard a lot about the Aluminum on PowerBooks lose their coating quickly especially from a watch band or excess sweat.
Click to expand...


I think the iBook's show scratches allot more(just like the iPod) then the PowerBook's but the casing can take a beating,unlike a PB that will dent.
 
yes, wait for the updates and then buy the 12" ibook with all accessories and extra memory you need [512mb is enough for photoshop].

if you are on the budget, don't buy a powerbook. choose powerbook only if you cannot live without superdrive.
 
I think the iBook's show scratches allot more(just like the iPod) then the PowerBook's but the casing can take a beating,unlike a PB that will dent.
Click to expand...

Thanks

I am not too worried about showing scratches etc. I want a mac because it is the most simple, best value small form laptop around and will complement my windows and linux machines nicely - what it looks like doesn't really rate very highly. A low maintenance, X11 capable laptop with good battery life and some nice extras like aqua, dvd, powerpoint, bt and the odd game is.

A laptop that has to be treated with kid gloves, kept in its own padded bag etc. kinda defeats the purpose of practical portability for me, and the odd scratch is normal wear and tear.

I treat the marketing hype with a hint of suspicion and it is always hard to tell until you have actually used the things for a while. The iBooks did look reasonable tough in the shop and PB's less so but you can't always tell.

I hope all this still holds true if they make significant changes with the new ones, of course!
 
JFreak said:
ibook battery lasts 5h and powerbook's only 2,5h in real-world use.
Click to expand...

If there are new machines next week the new Moto chip will change all that, hopefully giving us a good bump in battery life.

And on batteries, really consider getting a second one.
 
½win½lin said:
Similar question vis-a-vis Powerbook versus iBook as my first mac:

How does the durability compare?

Apple seems to market the iBook as pretty rugged (implying the PB, as a pro machine, is a little flimsy?).

Any comments or experiences in just how badly I can 'reasonably' :) treat each laptop?

I don't expect to drop it from a great height, but it may get put down a bit roughly in an unpadded bag, but also scratch resistance, the odd liquid spillage on the case (i.e. leakage into case), sharing a bag with various books, wires, comuter bits, CD's, music players, dirty finger prints (and cleaning them off) etc. etc..
Click to expand...


I have a PB 667 and while it far from the pretty machine it used to be it continues to function perfectly. Mine travels with me as well it has a 3yr old beating on it.
 
Dont get either....

Just give it a 4 day weekend..... RELAX. Then, early next week may bring new things..... All I can say, All I will say, take it as you will- If I'm wrong, no loss- just a few extra days of fiscal discipline......
 
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