ibook vs. powerbook?

[sash1]

Well, over the summer, I'm going to save up some money to buy a laptop. First I gotta fix up mah bike and buy some roller blades, but after that I'm going to be saving up.

I;m looking at getting an ibook or powerbook. The ibook is about $1,153 (after I've customized it) and the Powerbook is about $1,748 (after I've customized it).

Because I really haven't kept up with mac processors, how much better would the powerbook G4 be over the ibook G3?

I'm going to be using this for graphics design/web design/imovie. My friend and I are starting a web page company and making a go-kart this summer as well (gonna be posting some sweet videos of us doin' ill tricks on our bikes and in this go-kart ). So this laptop will function as our main tool in creating and editing all our stuff.

Would I be better off saving up more money for the powerbook? Keep in mind I'd like to get this ASAP. WOuld the ibook be sufficient for the stuff I'm doing and have good longevity too? Wanna keep it a year or a bit more.

Thanks a lot!

~Aunix

 

[GL]

The G3 in the iBooks is a great little processor. However, some things it does not do as well as its bigger brother, the G4, are some of the things you just mentioned. If you're going to be doing a lot of image processing (i.e. Photoshop), the G4 would be the better processor. Likewise for working with video and audio. In fact, if you're going to be doing a lot of movie work, I would recommend a G4 with 1MB L3 cache. Unfortunately this processor is only available on 15" and higher Powerbooks. On June 23rd, it's widely speculated that Apple will release the new 15" Powerbooks. So, right now the 15" Powerbooks are on sale at great prices if you can find a deal. However, the new model coming out in a little over a week could be revolutionary. That's the risk you take buying now. There's an ever so slight chance the new Powerbook could sport a really fast G5 (aka PowerPC 970). I don't personally think it will. But there is a chance. At the very least, the new model will sport a faster G4 and a few other nice features probably borrowed from the 17" model.

Anyways, the short answer, is go with the Powerbook, and preferably one with L3 cache.

 

[XBoxLPU]

Originally posted by: GL
The G3 in the iBooks is a great little processor. However, some things it does not do as well as its bigger brother, the G4, are some of the things you just mentioned. If you're going to be doing a lot of image processing (i.e. Photoshop), the G4 would be the better processor. Likewise for working with video and audio. In fact, if you're going to be doing a lot of movie work, I would recommend a G4 with 1MB L3 cache. Unfortunately this processor is only available on 15" and higher Powerbooks. On June 23rd, it's widely speculated that Apple will release the new 15" Powerbooks. So, right now the 15" Powerbooks are on sale at great prices if you can find a deal. However, the new model coming out in a little over a week could be revolutionary. That's the risk you take buying now. There's an ever so slight chance the new Powerbook could sport a really fast G5 (aka PowerPC 970). I don't personally think it will. But there is a chance. At the very least, the new model will sport a faster G4 and a few other nice features probably borrowed from the 17" model.

Anyways, the short answer, is go with the Powerbook, and preferably one with L3 cache.

Werd

I couldn't have said it better

 

[sash1]

Okay then, sounds like the powerbook will be much better

Thanks a lot, GL

~Aunix

 

[pukemon]

I agree with the rest... Wait till the new 15" Powerbook comes out in all it's slick Aluminum glory. I doubt it'll use a PowerPC970, probably the same G4 as the 17", with Firewire800, Bluetooth, and an nvidia graphics chip (even though the current mobility radeon 9000 is technically better, ah well whatever) Expect it to cost the same as a current Titanium Powerbook.

 

[JackHawksmoor]

Ditto. I guess you're looking at the 12" models? For image/film processing the G4's going to have a huge advantage. But I would definitely wait at least a week to see what Apple releases. There?s a good chance all the PowerBooks will get updated. If so, it would probably be with a better GPU, and faster CPU. I agree that Level 3 cache will be a big benefit, especially for what you?re going to use it for.

On the other hand, the iBook should be perfectly capable of doing all those things, and will certainly be usable for some time to come, if you want something cheaper.

Also, the larger screens on the bigger PowerBooks would be useful for what you want it for.

 

[sash1]

Well, mah friend and I did some of this video editing (on his 350 Mhz Imac):

My 1337 basketball skillz
Jon's skillz
Our cool shot

If we had a digital video camera and a better computer (and video editing skillz), it may look better

Basically once I get my powerbook we're gonna be doing stuff like this!

Thanks all for the help!

~Aunix

 

[mosco]

Originally posted by: AunixM3
Well, over the summer, I'm going to save up some money to buy a laptop. First I gotta fix up mah bike and buy some roller blades, but after that I'm going to be saving up.
~Aunix

I think you should save up for some basketball lessons too...

Go with the powerbook, the 15.4 inch version if you can afford it. It gives you alot of screen space for video editing.

 

[qiranworms]

Personally, I'd wait for the new IBM processors come out. Why buy something that is going to become the low-end sometime soon? Then again, it's really a gamble...because you probably do not want to wait that long to buy your system. We don't even know when the new chips are going to be standard on the laptops. If you are going to buy the G3 or the G4, go with the G4 (as everyone else seems to recommend aswell). You shouldn't regret it.

 

[Shademeister]

Whatever you decide to do, I think you need to watch this video first...

Link

 

[sash1]

Originally posted by: Shademeister
Whatever you decide to do, I think you need to watch this video first...

Link

LMFAO! Thats the best movee evar!

Still, doesn't change my wanting to buy a mac. Plus, I still have my ownz0r Parhelia system with Win2k. So, it'll be cool. I doubt I'll ever get a mac desktop. I like to OC and fool around with parts and stuff. But a powerbook = ownage.

Thanks for the laff tho

~Aunix

 

[Shademeister]

Yea, I didn't want to sway your opinion, just wanted to go for some laffs.

 

[XBoxLPU]

LMAO at the Video

* I love my powerbook *