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Should I keep my iBook or get a Macbook?

iMpathetic

iMpathetic

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Oct 7, 2007
2,547
4
IMBY
Well y'all, the title awkwardly sums it up for ya. My main machine is a 1.33GHz 12" iBook G4 with a gig o' RAM and Tiger. This was my first Mac, I got it in August, but it seems to be showing its Geekbench score of 762. Launching programs is often agonizing, and the Finder is sluggish. Also, 1024x768 is getting a tad cramped...

Anyway, a friend of the family stopped by today, bringing over his MacBook for me to play with. It seems great, especially the size, and the widescreen display is terrific. Running Windoze would actually be a huge benefit for me, because my idiotic sister hates Macs, and of course I need to keep the little princess happy.

I am considering selling my beloved iBook, and selling some of the other Apples in my orchard, to fund the purchase of a MacBook. My problems with this are...

a) I really, really am attached to this thing.
b) Is this really necessary? I kinda want to do this, but..

Whaddaya think?
Thanks for your help!
:apple:
 
Sell your other "apples" for some good cash. Upgrade your RAM and be a good bro and buy your sister a base model PC.
 
You know, I don't exactly get it. You say I should go to 1.5GB RAM, sell other stuff, and get the kid a PC? All she does is play Care Bears games and took at ponies on t3h interwebs.

neway.... any other opinions?

oh... well... I was replying to smooth... beaten by 5 sec.
 
xUKHCx said:
What do you do with you iBook?

The MB will destroy the iBook in every sense.
Click to expand...

play around with Photoshop, Garageband, (nothing heavy), iTunes, iChat, web stuff.

I guess it's adequate, but is adequate adequate?
 
I vote for getting a macbook. I would suggest selling the IBook, saving up some money and grab a 2.0GHs macbook (It doesn't sound like you need 2.2GHs) and if you have any money left, buy windows XP and install it on your macbook so your princess can be happy;)
 
I too own a 1.33 12" ibook, great machine:)
But.... my mbp kicks its a$$ by a wide margin...
not to say I still don't use my ibook, it is still the most portable lappy I have, and still does almost everything quite well, but sometimes you just need muscle. A macbook would do that while maintaining your portability.
I would check around and see what you can get for your apples and go from there, but seriously going up to a macbook wouldn't really be all that bad, the intels are loads faster, and will fulfill your needs for longer as well and yes you can run windows.
 
Well, good idea. Although I'm not sure if I will be able to afford to buy new...
what I have to sell is...
my iBook
PM G4 dual 800
Sawtooth 400
grape 400MHz iMac w/DVD
Thinkpad i series 1300 (600MHz Celeron)
maybe a B+W...

would this be doable?
 
Do you live near an apple store because you could take you ibook in and play around with a macbook and then play with your iBook and that way gain a feel for how much of a difference you will see and if this difference is important to you.
 
galstaph said:
I too own a 1.33 12" ibook, great machine:)
But.... my mbp kicks its a$$ by a wide margin...
not to say I still don't use my ibook, it is still the most portable lappy I have, and still does almost everything quite well, but sometimes you just need muscle. A macbook would do that while maintaining your portability.
I would check around and see what you can get for your apples and go from there, but seriously going up to a macbook wouldn't really be all that bad, the intels are loads faster, and will fulfill your needs for longer as well and yes you can run windows.
Click to expand...

Bah, you may me tipping me to the MB side.. By tomorrow evening before I go to bed, I will count the votes, and whichever has more I'll go with.
 
I would say, with it being your first Mac, hang on to it. It obviously means something to you since you started this thread. I know I'm not ever getting rid of mine. I worked hard to earn the money for this sucker. Maybe sell the extra stuff you have and try to save up for a new one. Watch the refurb store. You can get some good deals in there.

I vote you keep it.
 
Go for the macbook, you'll get attached to it soon enough. It will beat your ibook down in all areas.
 
Well, good idea. Although I'm not sure if I will be able to afford to buy new...
what I have to sell is...
my iBook
PM G4 dual 800
Sawtooth 400
grape 400MHz iMac w/DVD
Thinkpad i series 1300 (600MHz Celeron)
maybe a B+W...
Click to expand...

You could probably sell all that for around $800, which is $200 away from a macbook from amazon/macmall (or with educational discount). Of course, you could get a refurb from apple for around $800, but it wouldn't be with santa rosa.
 
Interesting results so far... still undecided... does any1 have any good, like, fact-based arguments either way? That'd really help.
 
Trust me. Mac's are easy to get attached to, but I think selling it to someone who could really use it and not be wondering if they should sell it, would be a good idea, and you will get very very attached to your little macbook soon enough :)

I had a hard time letting go of my TiBook when I finally sold it last year, but now I know the person who bought it really loved it and I LOVE my mbp :)

That iBook may fetch as high as 600 alone on ebay if you have the box and it is in good condition. I just sold a colored g4 ibook (I dyed and painted it) that was a 1gz model for 580 and I didn't have the box or original paperwork.

They are really good models. I'd say your g4 could fetch around 100 -200 .. and g3 imac , probably 30-50 (people are giving those away now, so it depends)

Either way, you could definitely fetch a bit over 800 for those.

I'd say consolidate and get the macbook. They are great little machines :)
 
update

Alright guys...
I'm gonna go for the MacBook, I think. I will:
Sell my iBook (in the sig) for $550 on t3h local CL
Sell my Dual 800
Sell my Thinkpad
and...
buy either
refurb MacBook
or used one off CL

I'm not allowed to take any selling action till Tuesday, however...
so...
Anyone want to stop me or urge me on? My decision isn't set in stone...
 
Timing is everything

One other thing to consider is the timing. Right now you don't have to share your iBook with your sister (or at least minimally) since it doesn't run windows. However, once you get a machine that she can "Care Bear" with, you may find you don't get to use your MB as much as you'd like. Is it better to have exclusive use of an older Mac, or shared access to a better one? Is there any chance that if you wait 'til the New Year that your sister will get a PC or have access to someone else's PC?

The other timing is that there may be a little more demand for used equipment leading up to the holidays - better time to sell. Just as there will be more used equipment being dumped after the holidays by people who got a new Mac. Better time to pick up a used machine.

I have the exact same model of iBook, it sounds like. I know what you mean about being "attached" - it too was my first Mac. I know that there is a Mac Pro in my future (year or so) - but the iBook will be kept for as long as I can. There is nothing like for portability, and reliability.

Good Luck!

Seth
 
i couldn't sell my ibook; i'm really really attached to it. i even miss it's predecessor (a clamshell ibook) and curse the the thief who took it.
 
To sanada: I know what you mean. Whenever I sell a computer I really liked, I'm in a bad mood for like a week, but I eventually get used to it.

To snberk103: The thing w/ my sister using it too much isn't really an issue, she doesn't actually care about computers in the least. Even when she is on, she needs me to type for her, so I can monitor how long she spends on it. Let's not forget the savior that is my mom too!:D

There's actually a really nice 11-inch VAIO she uses at Dad's, (his old one-spoiled brat) but at Mom's she uses my iBook, and there's no way she'll get one.

Thanks for your replies everybody!
 
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