looking to switch - ibook G4 or powerbook

I have seen others like me on this forum (GREAT FORUM!!)... it is hard to decide ... below are some data hat I put together to help with the decision... I can get a government discount, which is pretty sweet:

IBOOK versus Powerbook

IBOOK – 14”, 1 GHz G4, 640M RAM, BLUETOOTH, Wireless G, 60 GIG HD - $1,848

Longer battery life
Quicken 4.0 ($66.00) and Works ($39.50) come with it


POWERBOOK – 15”, 1.25 GHz G4, 512 M RAM (on 1 chip out of 2), BLUETOOTH, Wireless G, 80 Gig HD - $2,813

$1,065 MORE if include Quicken and Works
This is what I would get for the extra $'s

**Faster CPU
**More L2 cache – 512 versus 256
**Faster bus – 167 versus 133 MHz
**Bigger HD – 80 Gig (and faster – 5400 versus 4200 RPM)
**DVD burner
**Faster Video Card (Radeon 9600 vs 9200) with 64 instead of 32 Megs RAM
Supports More RAM – 2 G versus 1 G
2nd Firewire port – at 800 (versus only one at 400)
Backlit Keys
Larger screen – higher res?
Gigbit Ethernet – versus 10/100
DVI connector – if connecting to Apple Digital Monitors
Lighter by .3 pounds – 5.6 versus 5.9 pounds

** = makes a difference – but not sure with what I do, if it matters

What I do:
personal finance (w. Quicken)
basic document processing (Word/Excel)
Web browsing
Email
Future – Unix software development (at work- so will be good to have it at home as
well)

Appreciate your comments, especially if you own one of the two types of Apples, or have played on them... Am stoked by the idea of switching after owning/using PCs since 1989 or so - at work and at home... Really like what I have seen in OS/X... Best thing that Apple has done recently... What a platform!!

thanks in advance for your ideas/thoughts/etc...
Southside

Honestly for what you are doing you dont need more than what the iBook has that you listed. That powerbook is an amazing machine but it may be a bit of overkill for what you are doing. The CPU difference will not make any major differences in what you plan to do. L2 cache is something that you probably will not see an improvement using unless you are testing for it. Bigger HD could be usefull but I am not sure how big and how many files you use. The 640 Ram in the iBook definitely seems adequate for your needs at this time. Firewire 800 has not really been impliminted by many hardware companies yet. Backlit keys are just some fluff to make it nice. Gigabit ethernet is great but its very rare that you find a network thats running completely cat6 where you can use it to your advantage.

thanks for reply

trnmonkey41,
thanks for the reply... I am thinking that is the case, and figure starting with the IBOOK makes sense in my case; and later I can get a souped-up IMAC for the home or something similar...

some things I read about the new IBOOK make me wonder if it is OK - some say the resolution on the 14" model is the same as the 12" so it makes the 14" look washed out (others say that it makes it easier for older folks (like me) to read the screen))... heard that the keys come off, but others say NO - that they hold up even when used in a grade school environment... and others saying the memory limitation is key, however the new 1 GIG chip that is offerred by a 3rd Party vendor seems to put that one to rest... after reading up from various places on the Internet, I was thinking that it might be worthwhile to put out the extra dough and go with the Powerbook... question is if I get into some light graphics apps - playing with digital photos, creating a personal Web site, etc - would that still be OK/not dog_slow on the new P4 powered IBOOK?

thanks,
southside

trpnmonkey41 said:

Honestly for what you are doing you dont need more than what the iBook has that you listed. That powerbook is an amazing machine but it may be a bit of overkill for what you are doing. The CPU difference will not make any major differences in what you plan to do. L2 cache is something that you probably will not see an improvement using unless you are testing for it. Bigger HD could be usefull but I am not sure how big and how many files you use. The 640 Ram in the iBook definitely seems adequate for your needs at this time. Firewire 800 has not really been impliminted by many hardware companies yet. Backlit keys are just some fluff to make it nice. Gigabit ethernet is great but its very rare that you find a network thats running completely cat6 where you can use it to your advantage.

Click to expand...

I would get an iBook just because I wanted one since the flavored ones. They really right now are Not that much slower than the Powerbooks, they could be arguably as fast or faster than my 800mhz iMac right now. Or about as fast as a 700mhz Powermac..

MCE offering of IBOOK with DVD-R/RW drive!!

WOW - this changes things abit in my considerations on what notebook to buy - IBOOK or POWERBOOK... wonder if Apple will do the same in the next IBOOK slight_mod??

"MCE offers 2x DVD-R/RW/RAM drive upgrade for iBook G4"
To view the entire article, go to: http://www.macnn.com/news/22074

I was in the Apple store in Oahu yesterday evening and spoke with a couple of the sales reps about PowerBook versus Ibook... I told one of them that I could go with the Ibook and if I decided that DVD burning was something I needed to do later I could buy an external drive... He said yeah, that's true - HOWEVER, the built-in DVD that comes on the Powerbook line is better than having an external on the Ibook since you have to use vendor software with an external drive - versus using IDVD... He said that he has heard problems that folks have had with external DVD burners... so, wanted to ask the forum if you have heard similar... other than the DVD burner and 80 gig versus 60 gig drive, the sales reps agreed with what I have heard from others on the forum - that for my current needs, the ibook that I priced out will do the job just fine... do you agree that the built in DVD burners on Powerbooks are better/more compatible than external drives?

thanks in advance,
Southside

PS also a rep told me that if I was going to order one through the Apple store on-line, that since I am in Hawaii, it would probably take a month or so to get it - so I need to order in January if I want one in February (my target date)...

southside said:

WOW - this changes things abit in my considerations on what notebook to buy - IBOOK or POWERBOOK... wonder if Apple will do the same in the next IBOOK slight_mod??

"MCE offers 2x DVD-R/RW/RAM drive upgrade for iBook G4"
To view the entire article, go to: http://www.macnn.com/news/22074

Click to expand...