Hello. I am about to graduate in a few months and will be looking to purchase a laptop for university. I have been stuck between two main choices for the past while. I am looking at either The 12' 800mhz iBook, the 12' Powerbook, or possibly, the 12' powerbook with superdrive. I only wanted to spend about $2500 max. The 800mhz ibook retails for $2100 canadian w. eduacational discount, whereas the powerbook is 2700. I figured if I bought the ibbok i would have some extra cash to buy a 512mb ram chip, and possibly a external Lacie d2 Hardrive. So, basically i am stuck between buying a relatively loaded ibook, or a bare-bones powerbook. I would really appreciate anyones opinions. I don't post much, but read here everyday, and I know there are a lot of educated people here who could help me with this choice. Thanks.
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Which Laptop to Buy For University?
- Thread starter ecino1
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addition. ..
Oh, yeah, I forgot to add some vital information. I will be in a science program in university and will most likey do some video editing on the side. I currently use a G4 400 desktop for this and it still works great for FCP 3 in OS X. I will play the odd game, ie: medal of honor. Also, I may do some odd audio recording/editing work in cubase.
Oh, yeah, I forgot to add some vital information. I will be in a science program in university and will most likey do some video editing on the side. I currently use a G4 400 desktop for this and it still works great for FCP 3 in OS X. I will play the odd game, ie: medal of honor. Also, I may do some odd audio recording/editing work in cubase.
I'm incredibly impressed with my 15" Tibook. Decked out you're under your target price. The size and weight is good, performance is snappy using Jaguar. The 12" Powerbook is first model year, but that being said, Apple hasn't had any lousy machines in a while. It's pretty small to boot. If you REALLY need a SuperDrive, I guess the 12" is it to keep under your price. Oh, and the 15" turns LOTS of heads. Right now I'm on a 14" iBook. Real nice, solid machine, but it's a G3, and that makes a big difference to me. Great for casual use and even some high-powered work, but not my machine of choice. It does have a nice price point.
I'm a uni student and i have a 12" G3800 iBook which does the job very well. I have done video editing and it doesn't struglle - i do recommend you upgrade the ram to at least 384mbs tho. I use it play UT and Quake 3 - it flies!
Wait until we see some new iBooks until you make your mind up though. Dunno about your establishment, but mine has a 801.11g wireless network in the library so you wanna take advantage of that if you can!
Wait until we see some new iBooks until you make your mind up though. Dunno about your establishment, but mine has a 801.11g wireless network in the library so you wanna take advantage of that if you can!
I'd definitely go for the 12" powerbook. At certain tasks, its going to be more than twice as fast as the iBook due to altivec. Also.. it's so much cooler. 
His price point is 2500 CANADIAN dollars. The cheapest 12" powerbook is $2899 canadian without the educational discount, and the cheapest ibook is 1599.
You could look for one of the older 867MHz 15" TiBooks or you could wait for the release of the 15.4" AlumiBook and the price on the current 15" Ti will come down.
Tough spot there, the g4 will definately help with video exporting, but I personally feel that the current 12" powerbook is extremely weak as a powerbook. I would look for the older 867 15" as somebody allready mentioned. It, in terms of power and features, should be better. This is only my opinion. If you want to save money, and spending that extra amount of time exporting video, go with the ibook, then you can add more drive space, ram and such at a lower price.
Yeah, if you are a developer, or a student that is learning programming, you can get quite hefty discounts through ADC, with paid memberships of course. Student $99/yr (only one discount per lifetime, sign your cat up for school and an ADC account ). Select membership (for active developers: $499) get a once a year discount.
Not to mention the great resources you get! Lots of sample code, SDK's, access to member resources online, and the monthly mailing. Definitely worth it for a developer!
