02-24-2004, 11:06 AM

I’m getting sick of the unreliability of every PC I’ve ever owned and I’ve been wondering if switching to Mac is the right choice for me. I currently own an HP Pavilion 7965 that is about 2 years old, and a Compaq laptop that recently crashed for about the 12th time since I purchased it about 3 years ago. I am extremely dissatisfied with both machines.
I’m thinking about either an iBook or a Powerbook. I don’t play very many games, although I am a big fan of the Civilization and Championship Manager series. I don’t do programming or graphics work. The college I will be attending next year is primarily a Mac school and they offer free or discounted tech support and repair on campus.
My biggest question is will I see a major drop in processor speed? My HP has a 1.7 GHz Processor with 512 MB of RAM. What kind of a difference will I see if I get a 1 GHz iBook upgraded to 640 Mb of RAM or a 1.25 GHz Powerbook with 512 MB of RAM?
Should I make the switch, and if so which machine would better fit my needs?

Thanks for the help!
Amy

02-24-2004, 12:10 PM

The games might run a bit slower, but I can't say for sure if they'll be painfully slow (I don't think they will be).

The only other app that you'll notice a speed drop-off is Internet Explorer; but Apple's Safari browser is way quicker. It's quicker on my 450mHz G4 (w/ Cable internet) than IE on my 800mHz P4 at work (w/ a T1 connection over Ethernet).

iBook vs. PowerBook really comes down to how much you want to be able to do in the future. The iBook should be more than adequate for your needs, but the PowerBook gives you better high-end features.

02-24-2004, 12:37 PM

Make the swith, i did it 2 weeks ago when i got my G4 PB, and more i learn about it the more distant i get from my PC which i've used once in that time.

If ur worried about the speed have a look at the link below, theres a movie file called the "megahertz myth", that will stop you worring about the speed.

For eveybody else there are cool apple TV ads on the page.

h**p://www.esm.psu.edu/Faculty/Gray/movies.html

02-24-2004, 12:38 PM

I am a proud owner of a 17" PowerBook since a couple of days and I believe that this is my finest laptop ever ( I work on laptops since almost 9 yrs now )

cheers - pistooli

02-24-2004, 01:41 PM

You cannot compare Mac and PC processor speeds as they work in totally different ways. Do some research online and you will get more info on this.
I would say that your new Mac will be faster than your PC despite what you may think!

Get a Mac you wont be dissapointed.......i never look back, if i do its to laugh at my wasted years as a PC user.

02-24-2004, 11:45 PM

Make the switch. My iBook g4 933 has completely replaced my dekstop and I will never go back to PC (well, except on my Linux firewall).

JonnySkyman is right, you'll not be losing processor speeds as they are rated differently. There are many opinons, but you can safely bet that your Mac speed will compre at about 2x "what it says". In other words, double it, and you'll get an "equivalant" PC speed. Again, there are many opinions on this and i'm nto sure that I've ever found out the exact number; assuming there even is one.

02-29-2004, 11:44 PM

Gee, your Compaq has crashed 12 times in 3 years? That's once every 3 months. I've just bought an iBook after years of using Windows (but will continue with Windows) so I've found XP to be pretty darn stable. I'd certainly not replace a machine that needs to be re-booted every 3 months, even if Macs are more stable than that. What's the point?

That said I imagine that any 3 year old machine, PC or Mac is ready to be replaced. I'd go with whatever your college recomends and supports. If you want a Mac you could certainly do worse than my 12" iBook. Small and cheap. Hard to beat.

03-01-2004, 01:39 AM

Lugee's link

Not sure why he turned the t's into *'s, but there it is more conveniently.

And here's a direct link to the Megahertz myth video (very informative).

03-01-2004, 05:57 AM

Originally Posted by StarManta

Lugee's link

Not sure why he turned the t's into *'s, but there it is more conveniently.

And here's a direct link to the Megahertz myth video (very informative).

I changed the tt to ** as i wasen't sure if i was allowed to post links on this board.