which to get: powerbook g4 867 or hp dv1040

[Corporate Thug]

Powerbook G4 867MHz PowerPC G4 processor
256MB of RAM DDR2100
40GB hard drive
12.1-inch
32MB of DDR SDRAM video Memory -Nvidia Geforce FX
Slot-loading ComboDrive (DVD/CD-RW)
Firewire 400 port, two USB 2.0 ports, audio line in, headphone out
Lithium-ion battery for up to 5 hours of running time
Built-in 10/100BASE-T Ethernet and 56K V.92 modem
Airport Extreme wireless Card for 802.11g
Built-in Bluebooth 1.1
Weight: 4.6 pounds
Shinza Zero Shock Sleeve

or HP dv1000

intel centrino 1.6 ghz
256 mb of ram
40 GB HD
14 inch wide screeen
cdrw/dvd optical drive


prices are the same. what to do?

 

[Commodus]

CPU-wise, there's no question that the HP is faster. However, I know that even the latest DV1000 models come with "Intel Extreme Graphics 2" - read, really slow graphics that eat at system memory. Your 256 MB of RAM is more likely to be 240 MB or even 224 MB after the Intel graphics take their bite of system memory. While the 12" PB you're looking at is an original that has GeForce 4 Go graphics, it's at least dedicated graphics.

What I would point out is that there may be a better choice in Macs at that price point. What about a 12" iBook G4? the current one costs $999 US even before any educational discounts. It runs a much faster CPU (1.2 GHz), has a better GPU, has 802.11g built-in, and will have full warranty support from Apple. The only catches would be that if you wanted Bluetooth, you'd need to custom-order it and add a bit to the cost. You'd probably also want to order the 60 GB drive option, since 30 GB is fairly small (for that matter, 40 feels a bit small).

 

[imported_Lucifer]

May I add, any tasks that are Altivec enabled, the Powerbook will be faster.

BTW, how much is the Powerbook and the HP? Commodus does offer some good advice about the iBook.