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doanster

Senior member
Jun 8, 2005
585
1
81
Help me decide - iBook, PowerBook, MacBook, or MacBook Pro?

Basic need/usage - a reasonably small/thin/light laptop for use in school. Only for basic chat/music/video needs, but also may use UNIX-based apps for a few university courses.

I already have a 'powerful' PC at home, so I couldn't care less about running Windows on a Mac. But, the new Macbooks are "up to 4x faster" than the previous gen iBooks, but certainly don't cost 4x as much...
 
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dclive

Elite Member
Oct 23, 2003
5,626
2
81
Originally posted by: doanster
Help me decide - iBook, PowerBook, MacBook, or MacBook Pro?

Basic need/usage - a reasonably small/thin/light laptop for use in school. Only for basic chat/music/video needs, but also may use UNIX-based apps for a few university courses.

I already have a 'powerful' PC at home, so I couldn't care less about running Windows on a Mac. But, the new Macbooks are "up to 4x faster" than the previous gen iBooks, but certainly don't cost 4x as much...
Click to expand...

I'd *love* to sell my PB 12.1" to someone, but honestly, given that the new MacBook is $1099, it's tough to steer anyone differently. Unless you do 3D games type things, there's no reason to get a MacBook Pro (well, it looks nicer, and it has a SuperDrive, so if you need that, the MB is $1299...)

 
secretanchitman

secretanchitman

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2001
9,352
23
91
if you are going to do some gaming on it, the macbook pro is good, as it has an x1600XT (or pro im not too sure) in it.

if you are just wanting some notebook that will get basic tasks done (like you stated), then the macbook is good, even though it has the intel GMA 950. be sure and remember that the black one is 200 dollars more expensive then the decked out white one. thats what you get with apple. i wish they could have just offered the same price, different color. oh well.
 
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dclive

Elite Member
Oct 23, 2003
5,626
2
81
The X1600 is a basic model - the speeds I've seen in reading are significantly underclocked from the XT. One can see this illustrated by comparing same-speed MacBookPro 15" and 17" models. The 17" model is faster - sometimes quite a bit, yet it's supposed to be the same device. Apple's clocking is the difference.
 
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ForumMaster

Diamond Member
Feb 24, 2005
7,792
1
0
well, if you do any gaming, then go for the mackbook pro since it has superior graphics and a better keyboard and it uses the intel cpu. the 15 once should be fine.
 
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spikespiegal

Golden Member
Oct 10, 2005
1,219
9
76
But, the new Macbooks are "up to 4x faster" than the previous gen iBooks
Click to expand...

According to Apple's own web-site, prior G4 based iBooks were superior to Intel based portables "by a factor of 3x". Now when Apple switches over to Dual core centrinos (I'm sorry, but 'Core Duo' sounds gay), they are suddenly 4x as fast as the prior G4's.

I'd like to see the Algebra used on that one.
 
Eug

Eug

Lifer
Mar 11, 2000
24,046
1,675
126
MacBook.

Check my sig for some benchmarks.

Only consider the MacBook Pros if you need to do heavy 3D stuff (like gaming).
 
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doanster

Senior member
Jun 8, 2005
585
1
81
Originally posted by: spikespiegal
But, the new Macbooks are "up to 4x faster" than the previous gen iBooks
Click to expand...

According to Apple's own web-site, prior G4 based iBooks were superior to Intel based portables "by a factor of 3x". Now when Apple switches over to Dual core centrinos (I'm sorry, but 'Core Duo' sounds gay), they are suddenly 4x as fast as the prior G4's.

I'd like to see the Algebra used on that one.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that makes very little sense to me too.

Oh, I will be doing ZERO gaming on this Mac... that's what my Athlon 64 machine is for :)

 
Kaido

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
50,709
6,747
136
Originally posted by: doanster
Originally posted by: spikespiegal
But, the new Macbooks are "up to 4x faster" than the previous gen iBooks
Click to expand...

According to Apple's own web-site, prior G4 based iBooks were superior to Intel based portables "by a factor of 3x". Now when Apple switches over to Dual core centrinos (I'm sorry, but 'Core Duo' sounds gay), they are suddenly 4x as fast as the prior G4's.

I'd like to see the Algebra used on that one.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that makes very little sense to me too.

Oh, I will be doing ZERO gaming on this Mac... that's what my Athlon 64 machine is for :)
Click to expand...

Definately a MacBook. The MacBook Pros get HOT HOT HOT. My brother and his wife bought a MacBook and a MacBook Pro yesterday to replace their PCs. IMO, the MacBook is by far the winner. The size is absolutely perfect. Based on your OP, it should be a great match for you. Right now the mid-range white MacBook is the best value (2ghz). The other models are the 1.83ghz white MacBook and the 2ghz black MacBook. You can get black if you really want to, but it will cost you an extra $150 just for the color. If you're a student, they knock $100 off making it $1200 for the 2ghz white MacBook. You can also pick up AppleCare for a lot cheaper with the student discount. Next, buy a fast hard drive and more ram aftermarket. Make sure to get matched pairs with the ram. Newegg has gig sticks of G.Skill for $82 each:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231069

Two gigs for $164 is an awesome deal. Next up is the hard drive. The white MacBook comes stock with a 60gb 5400rpm hard drive. Apple doesn't offer 7200rpm hard drives with the MacBooks, but they work fine with them. The Hitachi is the cheapest and best from what I've read so far. You can pick it up for $163 at eWiz:

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=DMH0A25016

The 5400rpm is noticeably slower than the 7200rpm, imo. Firewire enclosures will be out in June and USB enclosures are available now for the stock 2.5" SATA internal hard drive. Also, I have a webpage with a lot of MacBook info & links. Check it out here:

http://macbook.wiredby.com/

If you have any questions, shoot me a PM :)
 
mb

mb

Lifer
Jun 27, 2004
10,233
2
71
Have you used a Mac before? They can be frustrating even for chat/music/video needs. I've been using Macs in our school system since I was in elementary school... in high school they even gave us all our own ibook*. I've also used OSX plenty of times in the last couple years (got my mom a G4 tower b/c I thought it would be easier for her than a PC, and my gf has a ibook).

Yes, OSX is sexy and blah blah blah but it's the small details that I can't stand, like how you cannot right click on a text box in an inactive window to paste something. You have to first click to activate the window, then click in the text box, then you can paste. Or how the home button on your keyboard does not do the same thing on a Mac as it does a PC.

I'm sure I will be flamed by the apple fanboys for this post , but just make sure you know what you're getting into. Once you develop usage habbits, it can be hard to change. Then again, you may not care about the differences and welcome the change.

*Seriosuly, we were assigned ibooks. http://www.mac360.com/index.php/mac360/...rico_county_ibook_program_in_jeopardy/
 
Kaido

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
50,709
6,747
136
Originally posted by: supafly
Have you used a Mac before? They can be frustrating even for chat/music/video needs. I've been using Macs in our school system since I was in elementary school... in high school they even gave us all our own ibook*. I've also used OSX plenty of times in the last couple years (got my mom a G4 tower b/c I thought it would be easier for her than a PC, and my gf has a ibook).

Yes, OSX is sexy and blah blah blah but it's the small details that I can't stand, like how you cannot right click on a text box in an inactive window to paste something. You have to first click to activate the window, then click in the text box, then you can paste. Or how the home button on your keyboard does not do the same thing on a Mac as it does a PC.

I'm sure I will be flamed by the apple fanboys for this post , but just make sure you know what you're getting into. Once you develop usage habbits, it can be hard to change. Then again, you may not care about the differences and welcome the change.

*Seriosuly, we were assigned ibooks. http://www.mac360.com/index.php/mac360/...rico_county_ibook_program_in_jeopardy/
Click to expand...

I'm something of a fanboy, but I do agree with you. It can be very difficult to overcome a lifetime of habits if you're not seriously committed to learning OS X. I picked up an old G4 Cube this past December and the shortcut thing drove me nuts for the first few months. I had to relearn all my power user tricks that I had learned by heart in Windows. Now I'm a lot more proficient, but old habits die hard. If you're willing to learn, however, OS X can benefit you greatly by reducing how much time you spend maintaining your system, how many crashes you have to deal with, etc. It's really all up to you and how much/fast you want to learn.
 
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