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Which To Buy: 14" iBook G4 vs. 12" PowerBook G4

LaMerVipere

LaMerVipere

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 19, 2004
971
1
Chicago
I graduate in a month, and even though I have a 12" Rev. A iBook G4, I definitely want to upgrade by the time college comes around (and I have pretty much given up on the idea to wait around for PowerBook G5's unless they magically appear like next week)

The 2 options I am going to choose from will be:

14" iBook G4
1.2 GHz Processor
Superdrive
Bluetooth
60GB HD@ 4200 rpm
ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 w/32MB DDR SDRAM
•$1,624.00

vs.

12" PowerBook G4
1.33 GHz Processor
Superdrive
(Bluetooth pre-installed)
60GB HD@ 4200 rpm
NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 w/64MB DDR SDRAM
•$1,599.00

The $25 price difference isn't an issue to me, but what I am really wondering about is which will perform better. I am going to be doing the usual college activities (writing papers, surfing the web, blah blah blah...) but in addition I do a lot of Photoshop and am going to be taking a some digital video and hope to build on that classes.

Which would perform better for what I'm going to be doing, and which would probably hold its value the best in the longrun?

Thanks in advance MacRumors members! :)

–LMV
 
powerbook

I had a 14" ibook

the 12" powerbook is much nicer.

trust me on this one ;)

the resolution is the same on the two computers. the ibook just has bigger pixels

and it has a worse video card.

save yourself some money, and get a better computer.. that won't have a warped lid that won't close.

unless you have a vision problem where the bigger pixels are for some reason more visible to you.

that's my .02
 
I had the same choice as you- and decided on the PBook 12" instead after seeing them in person.

The 12" screen isn't nearly as small as I had thought it would be- which was my only real concern about getting it.
In every other area, the PBook wins- it's faster, prettier, and just feels "better."

The only big plus I've read on here is that the iBook is indestructable- but then, if you plan on taking good care of your Pbook, I don't really see this as an issue.

Whichever way you go though, I'd recommend changing the hd as a BTO option... the speed increase from the 4800 to the 5400rpm 80G is very noticable.

And upgrade the RAM asap (just don't get it via Apple- www.crucial.com is much cheaper) as the stock 256 won't be enough to do anything with.

Best of luck on you choice.
 
What can you not do now that the extra mhz will let you do with this minor update? I would wait. Take it from me, you will not have the time to do many Garageband or iMovie projects in college if you are doing a lot of work..and things take a beating in the dorms...the minor speed improvement does not seem worth the purchase imho.
 
What's wrong with your current G4 iBook ?... Save your money for the important stuff you'll need when you get to college — MORE BEER !!!! ;-)...
Seriously, you don't need another computer, that G4 iBook is plenty, just max the ram, if you haven't already, & treat yourself to a PB for graduation...
 
I agree with the above that your current iBook will be fine for a while. I recommend keeping your iBook and saving up for whenever the G5 PowerBooks come out. Your present computer will serve you fine until later when you do get a G5. The new generation of chips is supposed to make a difference, and is probably worth waiting for.
 
Screen size does matter

I had the same decision, except I don't really need Bluetooth, wich leaves the iBook cheaper than PBook.

By the way, for these same configurations you are thinking of, the apple store shows a different deal in my country, since the iBook+SuperDrive would be cheaper (1848 Euros) and PowerBook SD more expensive (1970 Euros)!!!

I decided the iBook.

The key factor for me was the screen, 14 vs 12. Resolution might be the same, but comparing them in the shop last week (it was a 14 iBook 933 Mhz and a 12 Pbook 1 Mhz), though the 12 PB was crisper, biger icons on the 14 IB seemed "easier" to watch. I don't have any vision problem at all, it's just that "easier" screen really matters as hours pass by cleaning image details on Photoshop or fine editing.

PBook will be only slightly faster, nothing to worry about: while you´ll need the full power only from time to time, you need a nice screen all the time. Plus, the iBook is sturdier, wich is important if your are taking it to college.

So:
-PBook slightly faster vs. iBook nicer screen and sturdier: I got the iBook.

Dirty Harry
Make my day!
 
LaMerVipere said:
I graduate in a month, and even though I have a 12" Rev. A iBook G4, I definitely want to upgrade by the time college comes around (and I have pretty much given up on the idea to wait around for PowerBook G5's unless they magically appear like next week)

The 2 options I am going to choose from will be:

14" iBook G4
1.2 GHz Processor
Superdrive
Bluetooth
60GB HD@ 4200 rpm
ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 w/32MB DDR SDRAM
•$1,624.00

vs.

12" PowerBook G4
1.33 GHz Processor
Superdrive
(Bluetooth pre-installed)
60GB HD@ 4200 rpm
NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 w/64MB DDR SDRAM
•$1,599.00

The $25 price difference isn't an issue to me, but what I am really wondering about is which will perform better. I am going to be doing the usual college activities (writing papers, surfing the web, blah blah blah...) but in addition I do a lot of Photoshop and am going to be taking a some digital video and hope to build on that classes.

Which would perform better for what I'm going to be doing, and which would probably hold its value the best in the longrun?

Thanks in advance MacRumors members! :)

–LMV
Click to expand...

Since you are going to be doing photoshop and video editing I would consider one of the two following options

1) Go with the 12" PowerBook and get an external monitor. the 1024x768 is going to make video/photo editing kinda cramped.

2) Get the 15" PowerBook with ComboDrive for only $200 more. The bigger screen again will help with video editing.
 
Krizoitz said:
Since you are going to be doing photoshop and video editing I would consider one of the two following options

1) Go with the 12" PowerBook and get an external monitor. the 1024x768 is going to make video/photo editing kinda cramped.

2) Get the 15" PowerBook with ComboDrive for only $200 more. The bigger screen again will help with video editing.
Click to expand...


3) Or get the iBook and use an extended desktop resolution for free on external monitor thanks to http://macparts.de/ibook/ ;)
 
I am going to beg the parents for a 15" powerbook, but spec wise it's just the combo drive 12" PowerBook with a bigger screen and gigabit ethernet, and is that really worth 200 dollars when for that 200 less i get a superdrive albeit with a much smaller screen.
 
Yes, the screen size alone is worth the $200 increase.

...and if it'll help sway the parents- bring up that the resale value on a 15" will be higher then the 12"... and far more then the iBooks. :)

best of luck
 
12" PB has DVI, audio line in, faster bus (167 to 133), faster processor, faster RAM, twice the VRAM, 5400 RPM HD option... and the ibook has a bigger screen with the same resolution.

If someone could explain to me why anyone would take the ibook, please do. The way I see it, the PB is better in every aspect where there is a difference.
 
QCassidy352 said:
12" PB has DVI, audio line in, faster bus (167 to 133), faster processor, faster RAM, twice the VRAM, 5400 RPM HD option... and the ibook has a bigger screen with the same resolution.

If someone could explain to me why anyone would take the ibook, please do. The way I see it, the PB is better in every aspect where there is a difference.
Click to expand...

Durability for one thing, easier to read the screen for another.
 
Krizoitz said:
Durability for one thing, easier to read the screen for another.
Click to expand...

ok, fine. But conversely, the PB is more scratch-resistant, smaller and lighter, and has a sharper, brighter, higher quality screen.
 
Originally Posted by QCassidy352
12" PB has DVI, audio line in, faster bus (167 to 133), faster processor, faster RAM, twice the VRAM, 5400 RPM HD option... and the ibook has a bigger screen with the same resolution.

If someone could explain to me why anyone would take the ibook, please do. The way I see it, the PB is better in every aspect where there is a difference.


Durability for one thing, easier to read the screen for another.
_____________________________

It depends on what you see as important...I chose the 14 inch iBook because the screen is larger...that was the main issue for me (and I didn't want to pay nearly double for the larger Powerbooks!) Yes, you can get an external monitor, but when one buys a laptop it is for its portability...what's the great avantage in having an external monitor if you only use it half the time? Anyway, there is apparently a software hack that enables spanning for the iBook, so that's not really an issue.
Another possible option is the late model 15 inch PB without a superdrive...you can get a new one for about $1799. From what I can tell you aren't going to need the superdrive...unless you plan on burning lots of DVDs while on the run...more likely than not, an external DVD burner will more than suffice, when the time comes that you really do need it...and it will be a faster drive, as well!
 
Mr. Monsieur said:
Another possible option is the late model 15 inch PB without a superdrive...you can get a new one for about $1799.
Click to expand...

For that same price, he could get the new 15"... he's a student.
...best my knowledge, there aren't any student discounts on late model equip.
 
G4 processor on PowerBook has totally different design from G4 on iBook. PowerBook is still a lot faster than iBook on most tasks. Get PowerBook!
 
LaMerVipere said:
I am going to beg the parents for a 15" powerbook, but spec wise it's just the combo drive 12" PowerBook with a bigger screen and gigabit ethernet, and is that really worth 200 dollars when for that 200 less i get a superdrive albeit with a much smaller screen.
Click to expand...

No! The difference between any of the 15" models and any of the 12" models are much more than just gigabit ethernet and a larger screen.

- Video: 15" PowerBooks have the ATI Radeon 9700 Mobility, 12" PowerBooks have the nVidia GeForce FX5200 Go. The Radeon is a much superior 3D graphics chip...it's in a completely different performance league to the nVidia graphics in the 12" PowerBook. If 3D gaming, 3D visualisation, 3D modelling, or using video effects processing like Apple's new Motion package are important to you, the Radeon is worth the price difference alone

- RAM capacity: 15" PowerBooks have two RAM slots, 12" PowerBooks have only one. That's a maximum capacity of 2GB on the 15" versus 1.25GB on the 12". This could be important down the track, depending on how heavy your needs become.

- FireWire: The 15" models have both FireWire 400 and FireWire 800 ports. The 12" models have only a single FireWire 400 port.

- PCMCIA/PC Card expansion: All 15" models have a PC Card slot for future expansion. The 12" models do not have this feature available at all. The PC Card slot could be useful if you wanted to add, for example, extra USB or FireWire ports, a flash card reader, microdrive cards, or other hardware expansions in the future which will become available as a PC Card.

- Video out options: 15" PowerBooks have full-size DVI out and S-Video ports built-in. 12" PowerBooks have a mini DVI jack, which requires an external dongle to connect to any type of external display at all. S-Video out requires purchasing an optional adapter from Apple.

- Keyboard backlighting: This may be considered a frivolous option, but in any event, it is only available on the 15" and 17" models. It is not available on the 12" models at all.

- And finally, as you mentioned, the 15" PowerBooks have physically larger screens, with a wide-aspect pixel setup of 1280 x 854, versus only 1024 x 768 on the 12", plus the 15" has gigabit ethernet, versus 10/100 on the 12".

So that $200 difference actually buys quite a bit of extra stuff, even on the 'low end' 1.33GHz combo drive 15" model. The 15" PowerBook is much more expandable and futureproofed than the 12", and if you're doing anything that relies on 3D graphics power, the 15" absolutely wins hands-down, no questions asked over the 12".

I'm not trying to sway you from a 12" PowerBook...I have one myself (the 1GHz model) and I wouldn't trade it for anything (except maybe one of the newer 1.33GHz 12" PowerBooks :) ), but that $200 difference you mentioned does buy MUCH more than just the screen and faster ethernet. It's worth thinking about.
 
Yeah...but who needs a superdrive? Seriously...how often does your average laptop user need to burn DVDs on the run? With hard drives being as large as they are these days, if it ever became a serious need (in a pinch), you could just download the files onto the hard drive until you get home, then burn them onto a DVD via a faster and cheaper external DVD burner...is my logic screwed up, or does this make sense?
 
papersushi said:
G4 processor on iBook is MPC 7455
G4 processor on PowerBook is MPC 7457
Click to expand...

Is that so with the new models?

The Apple site says: "Thanks to the special energy-saving features built into the PowerPC G4 processor, the ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 graphics processor, and Mac OS X Panther itself, iBook G4 consumes energy highly efficiently."

New 12 iBook seems identical to previous 12 PBook.

On the iBook side, a part from easier screen and durability I think iBook battery has longer life too.
 
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