06-16-2005, 02:19 AM

It seems that the question "Should I get a PB or a/an (insert other kind of computer here)?" is asked fairly often. One of my very first threads (maybe even my first post) was an iBook vs PB thread. I'm buying my PB in about a week, and I have my reasons as to why I chose the PB over an iBook. What made you go for a PowerBook over the alternatives?

06-16-2005, 02:34 AM

Im majoring in visual communications (graphic design) at the University of Oklahoma. So I got the powerbook because I live 20 minutes away from school and I wanted to be able to be at home and work on projects, rather than sitting in some classroom all night. The reason I chose the powerbook was because it was the best option for my career choice. The 128 mb vid card is nice, I have a gig of ram, and a 1.67ghz processor. I got the 17" because I know ill be looking at the screen for long periods of time and I wanted to be able to make them as big as possible to keep the strain of my eyes to the minimum. That and powerbooks rule.

06-16-2005, 02:43 AM

i am a recent switcher and i decided to make the move with a 12inch ibook. I bought just the basic model with all stock options. I just felt that the ibook wasn't very sturdy, it got dirty easily, and didn't look as sleek and professional as the powerbooks do. I owned the ibook for about a month and a half and then sold it to upgrade to the powerbook. i think the difference in price is very reasonable considering you are upgrading the hard drive from 30 to 60 gb's, upgrading to bluetooth, faster processor, better video card, better and more professional looking machine (IMO), also the mini dvi, and more ram. After having my current pb for just now almost 3 months, i feel like it is a totally different machine than my ibook was. It feels smaller and the build quality is a big difference that i could justify the upgrade alone. The whiteness of the ibook attracts too much dirt and grease and over time will really wear on your ibook.

Also i noticed when ihad my ibook that the casing on the lcd screen would scratch very easily, as well as the bottom where the battery is. I'm not saying the ibook is a crappy machine, bc when i had it, it ran really well i just wasn't impressed with the overall look and feel of the machine.

06-16-2005, 03:18 AM

It's more powerful.... I'm the kind of person that buys the lower/mid model then wishes he bought the high end. So this time I went straight for the PB.

Other reasons-
The ability to run it while closed (iBook dissipates heat through keyboard, PB uses vents)
The ability to use an external monitor at a higher res than the LCD
Better graphics card = compatibility with Second Life
Although both scratch easily (got a good collection on my PB now) I heard iBooks scratch if you so much as look at em

06-16-2005, 10:54 AM

...because it looks cool (Love the design). You can tell they put a lot of thought into designing this machine. Imo, I've noticed this has forced other laptop manufacturers to re-think the simple black box design in the last 3-4 years. Today no one has come up with anything that even remotely competes with the design....imo.

Functionally it is capable of a whole lot less than my PeeCee relative to games/cheap upgradabilities/cost/etc, but I still love this machine as an extension to my PeeCee.

06-16-2005, 02:33 PM

I bought a PowerBook because I wanted a laptop I could carry to work easily. I have a Sony Vaio lappy that weighs over 7 pounds - without the huge AC brick, which probably adds another pound or two. I love the small size of my 12" PB, and I don't get tired from carrying it. It helps that it also looks pretty sweet.

06-16-2005, 03:10 PM

i got a PB because it looks so slick and because they are more powerful that the iBook

06-16-2005, 03:37 PM

Djing

06-16-2005, 11:31 PM

I just wanted one!!!

06-17-2005, 12:55 PM

Big Reason was for music production. Writing audio to a 4200 rpm drive didn't sound too welcoming to me, plus the extra oomph is nice.

-Sleeker, more professional look (I'm an education major)
-Ability to run in Clamshell mode.

I also prefer the keyboard of the powerbook to the iBooks, as well.

06-17-2005, 04:43 PM

I went for an ibook as well at forst. I had a 933, died on me and Appl e gave me a replacement 1.33 machine. I started out with the ibook because I have a 2.5 dual G5 system at home. I didnt think I needed more. The Powerbook I now have is a 1.67 15" and its much nicer. It feels more solid, they keyboard is a lot better to type on, and it has much more power. I would go for a powerbook over an ibook every time now.

06-17-2005, 08:52 PM

I went powerbook becaue I do alot of video editing but wanted to be able to do it any where, now that I am starting to get really advacned, I would like a powermac, but this still works really good!

06-17-2005, 10:16 PM

I first wanted a mac mini, then i got a good paying job over teh summer and decided
I wanted a notebook. Now, I am an education major as well, and only use my computer for word processing, aim, email, internet, and the occasional Phish download . But after saving my money, i decided i was going to by myself something i could be proud of, and since i use my computer 3+hours a day,a powerbook is what i use.

06-17-2005, 10:26 PM

Smaller and more mobile (for the 12") and bigger screen (for the 17"), Faster, Thinner (than the iBook), has a Line In Jack, FW800, Doesn't scratch as easy, Lets you do screen spanning with external monitors, I like the silver..... Etc.

They're just big daddy laptops. Gotta love it.

06-18-2005, 10:16 AM

I was on a budget of $1100ish and I was looking to go refurb. I looked at the 12" Power and iBooks and after all was said and done I waited until I found a refurb 1.5ghz 12" PowerBook and decided that the included memory and upped processing power was worth the couple of extra hundred.

I may do a little light video editing eventually and I'll definately be doing some audio stuff so for only a few hundred difference I went PowerBook.