07-31-2006, 09:03 PM

I am new to macs and i know nothing about them... I am a big PC person and I have grown up around a computer engineer [My Dad] and he always dealt with PC's. Recently I was talking to a friend about wanting to get a laptop because I am going to college this winter and I wanted something that would be portable. He just happened to have a G4 Apple Laptop 12" and he said that the processor speed was 867mhz and the ram is 640mb with a 60 gig harddrive... Well he told me that the 867mhz in a mac is more like a 2.7 pentium. So my question is, is this true? I just want to cover all my bases before I buy this mac laptop from him. So if any of you know, please tell me. Thanks in advance!

-Stephanie

07-31-2006, 09:24 PM

Originally Posted by h2o_spirals

Well he told me that the 867mhz in a mac is more like a 2.7 pentium. So my question is, is this true?

No, it isn't.
The truth of the matter is, just as you can't compare Windows to Mac OS, you can't compare the speed of a PPC chip to an Intel chip. They are two completely different animals and there really is no realistic and fair way to compare the two.
Some will tell you there is a 'formula' to figure out the similarity, others will tell you to double the speed of the PPC to get the Pentium equivalent..etc.
None of these are even close to being accurate.
In 20 years of using a Mac, the best and only way I have found to find out if it is fast enough or good enough for you is to try it out before you buy it.
:black:

07-31-2006, 09:32 PM

Originally Posted by D3v1L80Y

No, it isn't.
The truth of the matter is, just as you can't compare Windows to Mac OS, you can't compare the speed of a PPC chip to an Intel chip. They are two completely different animals and there really is no realistic and fair way to compare the two.
Some will tell you there is a 'formula' to figure out the similarity, others will tell you to double the speed of the PPC to get the Pentium equivalent..etc.
None of these are even close to being accurate.
In 20 years of using a Mac, the best and only way I have found to find out if it is fast enough or good enough for you is to try it out before you buy it.
:black:

okay, thanks... well i have heard the macs can handle a lot of multi-tasking... right now i have a 1.8ghz amd chip in my PC with 512 mb. and i know you said you can't compare a mac to a pc, but speed wise do you think the mac laptop would be either the same or faster? pretty much what i am saying, is i don't want a slow piece of crap. lol.

07-31-2006, 09:48 PM

Originally Posted by h2o_spirals

okay, thanks... well i have heard the macs can handle a lot of multi-tasking... right now i have a 1.8ghz amd chip in my PC with 512 mb. and i know you said you can't compare a mac to a pc, but speed wise do you think the mac laptop would be either the same or faster? pretty much what i am saying, is i don't want a slow piece of crap. lol.

Same or less.
Great for internet, word processing, etc.
I have an AMD 3500+ Gaming PC and it runs the same or about the same as my iMac G5 2.0GHz for me.

07-31-2006, 09:51 PM

It depends on alot more then just the processor speed, speed of the hard drive can also pay a role in this. Not only the speed of the computer but the condition of it, if you keep yours perfect and he bangs it around, drops it a few times a day and has a full hard drive, your computer is going to be faster, the opposite and his will be faster. Like devil boy said the only way for you to tell the difference is to try it out. You could also look into buying a new macbook which would be a really fast computer for you and would last you all 4 years of college and a awhile after while you are getting your feet on the ground and looking for a job. Good luck in looking for the computer that is right for you and in college.

07-31-2006, 09:55 PM

Originally Posted by PowerBookG4

It depends on alot more then just the processor speed, speed of the hard drive can also pay a role in this. Not only the speed of the computer but the condition of it, if you keep yours perfect and he bangs it around, drops it a few times a day and has a full hard drive, your computer is going to be faster, the opposite and his will be faster. Like devil boy said the only way for you to tell the difference is to try it out. You could also look into buying a new macbook which would be a really fast computer for you and would last you all 4 years of college and a awhile after while you are getting your feet on the ground and looking for a job. Good luck in looking for the computer that is right for you and in college.

well, the thing is... i am getting a good deal on this laptop... because i am his friend, he said he would sell it to me for $250 with a webcam and a power adapter included. he said he would normally ask $600 - $800 for it because it's fully loaded and has like 10k of software on it... and he said it's 3 years old and he has taken good care of it, i know he has. so for me because he is giving me a good deal on it, i am more inclined to get it because i can't really afford to spend 1k - 4k on a laptop...

07-31-2006, 10:00 PM

10 thousand dollars of software one it? That is alot of software, I have final cut studio shake and photoshop and thats only a little over 5 thousand (only because shake was expensive at the time) 10K in software is probably a way over estimate, and if he gives you the computer with all the software on it he should give you the disk or wipe the computer clean, it is not legal to give you a computer with software on it that you don't have the rights to use, unless a disk is provided.

07-31-2006, 10:10 PM

Originally Posted by PowerBookG4

10 thousand dollars of software one it? That is alot of software, I have final cut studio shake and photoshop and thats only a little over 5 thousand (only because shake was expensive at the time) 10K in software is probably a way over estimate, and if he gives you the computer with all the software on it he should give you the disk or wipe the computer clean, it is not legal to give you a computer with software on it that you don't have the rights to use, unless a disk is provided.

i'm not stupid... he is going to give me all the disks and serial numbers and the boxes for the software that is on the laptop... and i am not kidding when i say 10k it has a bunch of programs, like photoshop, adobe suite, ilife suite, MS office, final cut, logic express, go live, in design illustrator, dvd to ipod ripping software... i think there might be more on it, but i don't remember. anyway, i just wanted to know if it seemed like it would be a good deal for that laptop?

07-31-2006, 10:13 PM

Originally Posted by PowerBookG4

it is not legal to give you a computer with software on it that you don't have the rights to use, unless a disk is provided.

And that disc has to be the original, retail disc. NOT a burned copy or other fascimile.
:black:

07-31-2006, 10:14 PM

Originally Posted by D3v1L80Y

And that disc has to be the original, retail disc. NOT a burned copy or other fascimile.
:black:

omg... I AM NOT STUPID PEOPLE... I KNOW THIS! I AM A PC GEEK!!!!!!

07-31-2006, 10:16 PM

$250 is a good deal, but 867mhz will probably feel a bit slow. You would probably be better off buying it, then selling off all the software since you'll have legit copies, then buy a nice 1.33Ghz refurb iBook for $750 from apple.

07-31-2006, 10:17 PM

Originally Posted by h2o_spirals

omg... I AM NOT STUPID PEOPLE... I KNOW THIS! I AM A PC GEEK!!!!!!

Hey now, nobody said you were stupid. :black:
We were only clarifying the point about the discs.
:black:
And that is one heck of a good deal for $250. Congrats!

07-31-2006, 10:21 PM

Originally Posted by D3v1L80Y

Hey now, nobody said you were stupid. :black:
We were only clarifying the point about the discs.
:black:
And that is one heck of a good deal for $250. Congrats!

thanks... i don't really want to go through the trouble of selling the software and then trying to get a new laptop... i will try out the laptop and see if i like it.

07-31-2006, 10:27 PM

i just spoke to him and i thought when he first told me about the laptop that he had the software on discs, but it turns out that he paid for the software through apple and it was downloaded onto the laptop... and just to let you know, he works for apple, so thats why he was able to download it on there or something.

07-31-2006, 10:58 PM

Man I wish I could work for Apple and get sweet software for a discounted price!