Need help to decide what to buy

[Nonny]

Hello folks
I'm rather a strange man actually, because i've been reading Mac magazines for years, but i never owned a Mac. Now, for school i have to get a portable computer, so i thought this as an opertunity to get a Mac of my own

I've been reading countless threads, and looked at the apple shop around 1000 times last weeks, and i just cant decide what to get

What i want to be able to do is the following:

Do some programming (C++ and Java mainly)
Use Maya for graphics modeling
Play some games (Mainly Warcraft III and maybe the upcomming WoW)
Word processing, watching DVD's and listen to music mainly.

Now, standard stuff here, even tho i'm sceptical to as if WoW will work on a portaple mac without going very expensive on my ***.

Now iBook looks very neat, and is very portable and all that, but the powerbook seems to be more pwoerfull and a better choice for my Maya and gaming needs.

Some questions i have that i would love to have answered is:

Can i, with a Powerbook/iBook with Airport Extreme connect to a wireless network made of PC's without too much hassle?

Anyone here played WoW or Warcraft III on a portable Mac and can tell me how it works?

Are there any difference in programming in xSource and say borlands windows C++ client? Code wise that is.

How are the built in speakers on the iBook/Powerbook?

Hope someone can answer some of it, thanks for all help

[m1k]

I'd advise getting a PowerBook if you can afford it.

PowerBooks are MUCH more powerful than iBooks (My mom has an iBook and my PowerBook is noticeably faster. You will DEFINITELY notice a difference playing Warcraft. My little 12" PowerBook with 512MB RAM will run pretty much anything with the graphics levels medium to high.

Plus, PowerBooks come with built-in wi-fi, whereas iBooks don't. You can easily connect your PowerBook to a Windows-based wi-fi system. Our main computer at home is a PC running XP, and our router is connected to that, and I have had no problems connecting to the network. I just set it up and it worked.

The built-in speakers in both the PowerBook and iBook are quite impressive, I must admit. Although I have a pair of headphones and a 2.1 Altec Lansing system, I quite like the PowerBook's speakers. There's not much base (obviously!) but the sound isn't tinny at all and is actually quite nice to listen to. My only complaint would be that it doesn't go loud enough, but that's probably so it doesn't sound tinny.

I really suggest the PowerBook because it's just more solidly built than the iBook. Sure, an iBook will run all you need (except maybe WarCraft 3), but the PowerBook is just so much better. It doesn't creak at ALL, whereas a plastic-based laptop like the iBook or a Dell Inspiron or whatever will creak when it's carried around. The keyboard also just feels more solid (all the keys are lined up properly and don't feel like they're going to fall off) and the battery life is virtually the same. My PowerBook actually often gets more battery than my mom's iBook with the screen, processor, etc. at the same levels. Plus it's smexier than the iBook

So I say go for the PowerBook unless you're really on a budget.

Good luck!

[daughter_anna]

I'd advise getting a PowerBook if you can afford it.

PowerBooks are MUCH more powerful than iBooks (My mom has an iBook and my PowerBook is noticeably faster. You will DEFINITELY notice a difference playing Warcraft. My little 12" PowerBook with 512MB RAM will run pretty much anything with the graphics levels medium to high.

Plus, PowerBooks come with built-in wi-fi, whereas iBooks don't. You can easily connect your PowerBook to a Windows-based wi-fi system. Our main computer at home is a PC running XP, and our router is connected to that, and I have had no problems connecting to the network. I just set it up and it worked.

The built-in speakers in both the PowerBook and iBook are quite impressive, I must admit. Although I have a pair of headphones and a 2.1 Altec Lansing system, I quite like the PowerBook's speakers. There's not much base (obviously!) but the sound isn't tinny at all and is actually quite nice to listen to. My only complaint would be that it doesn't go loud enough, but that's probably so it doesn't sound tinny.

I really suggest the PowerBook because it's just more solidly built than the iBook. Sure, an iBook will run all you need (except maybe WarCraft 3), but the PowerBook is just so much better. It doesn't creak at ALL, whereas a plastic-based laptop like the iBook or a Dell Inspiron or whatever will creak when it's carried around. The keyboard also just feels more solid (all the keys are lined up properly and don't feel like they're going to fall off) and the battery life is virtually the same. My PowerBook actually often gets more battery than my mom's iBook with the screen, processor, etc. at the same levels. Plus it's smexier than the iBook

So I say go for the PowerBook unless you're really on a budget.

Good luck!

AGREED. get the powerbook

[Nonny]

Ok thanks for those replies Just what i wanted to know. Now all i need is someone who used or tried to use Maya or WoW on a Powerbook Thanks for your answers

[aantoine90]

Warcraft III runs perfectly fine on an ibook g4 and so that means it should run perfectly on a powerbook g4