McGuillicuddy said:
Well here's my take. The 64 MB 5200 Go in the Powerbooks is only marginally better than the 32 MB Radeon 9200 in the iBooks. The extra VRAM is nice, but I don't think the Geforce is inherently as powerful as the ATi 9200. Consequently, going from a 12" iBook to a 12" PB is probably not worth the money.
On the other hand, the Radeon 9700 (esp. the 128 MB) is a vast improvement in GPU power. Unfortunately, the PBs with the 128 MB Radeon 9700 are vastly overpriced and if you want that kind of gaming power you're best to go for a Centrino/Radeon 9700 machine.
Agreed. If you're going to plop down that kind of cash, and if you're even remotely thinking about playing games on your laptop, consider the PC laptops from various manufacturers like Sager, Alienware and Voodoo. There are also some lower-cost alternatives out there, some with better design options (heating dispersement, video card, features, etc).
Keep in mind one solid fact: the laptops are obselete the moment you plop down the cash for them - it's the nature of the tech curve.
Gaming laptops, even worse as the components are still behind that of desktop and for portability, you're going to pay more for less.
I've got the 12' iBook and I love it - I'm a gaming freak and picked one up solely for writing, web surfing, email and DVD watching while on the road/abroad and so far, I am very pleased. I still have my 12 lb Alienware monstrosity that I can lug around, if I absolutely have to get my game in someplace else, but for everything in between, I have my little Apple, and it suits me just fine.