g5 imac? g4 powerbook? which one.

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whosaninja

Guest
Im a 3rd yr graphic design student, ive survived 2yrs so far by working on my pc with some of the stuff, and staying @ school late to finish other stuff on the macs there.

I lack funds as to get a g5 tower + monitor, so i have 3 options. 12" powerbook, 15" powerbook, 20" imac.
(powerbook over ibook because its more power, 20"imac over other screens becuase if i spend the money, might as well go big)

After student discount and various upgrades it boils down to this.. (cdn pricing btw)

iMac 20"
• 1GB DDR400 SDRAM - 2 DIMMs
• 250GB Serial ATA drive
• AirPort Extreme Card
• Bluetooth Module
• Keyboard and Mouse + Mac OS X - U.S. English
• APP for iMac/eMac - Enrollment Kit
• 20-inch widescreen LCD
• 1.8GHz PowerPC G5
• SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra w/64MB video memory
Subtotal $3,190.00

15" p-p-p-p-Powerbook!
• 1.5GHz PowerPC G4 with 128MB Graphics Memory
• 512MB DDR333 SDRAM - 2x256 SO-DIMMs
• 80GB Ultra ATA drive @ 5400 rpm
• SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
• Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
• AirPort Extreme Card
• APP for PowerBook (w/ or w/o display) - Enrollment Kit
• 15.2-inch TFT Display
Subtotal $3,594.00


12" p-p-p-p-Powerbook!
• 512MB DDR333 (256MB built-in + 256MB SO-DIMM)
• 80GB Ultra ATA drive @ 5400rpm
• SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
• AirPort Extreme Card
• Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
• PPA pour PowerBook - Kit d'inscription
• 1.33GHz PowerPC G4
• NVIDIA GeForce FX GO 5200 with 64MB DDR Video Memory
• 12.1-inch TFT Display
Subtotal $2,796.00

Clearly the imac is more powerful, but im not sure if i need all the power. I mostly use photoshop/illustrator/indesign/quark. I might get into some amature videoediting, maybe..maybe not tho.
I know there will not be a g5 powerbook, well at least for quite some time, so theres no use for me waiting for one.
Also, wont the newer os upgrades like tiger support the g5 processor better?
I dont know if im going to need the portablity of a laptop, I usually go out to get away from my computer, not bring it with me.... however the laptop line out would look mighty fine on my 22" nec flatscreen i use for my pc :)

Right now im swinging towards the imac, any comments, suggestions, opininons from users would be appreciated.

thanks.
 
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W

Wapa18

Guest
i say go for it. you seem to know what you want, and you have the reasons to back it up. if the only reason you'd get the laptop is to hook it up to that monitor, i'd say that's a pretty silly reason. go for the imac. especially if there's even the slightest chance you'll do video editing. it will be worth it. good luck.
 
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W

whosaninja

Guest
and then again...

Dual 1.8GHz PowerPC G5
• 1GB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 2x512
• 250GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
• ATI Radeon 9600 XT w/128MB DDR SDRAM
• AirPort Extreme Card
• Bluetooth Module
• 8x SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
• PCI-X Gigabit Ethernet Card
• Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
• Mac OS X - U.S. English
• APP for Power Mac (w/ or w/o display) - Enrollment Kit

Subtotal $3,651.00

about 500 more than the imac.. and i get another processor, better graphics cars, upgradablity, and a giant hunk of cool looking metal. + probably better resale value.
I know i dont get the 20" monitor.. but i dont think i really need it.. i have a nice new 22" nec one

i have a spare monitor i can use on my pc, and if i wanted to use my good monitor for pc i could just switch it..

gah descisions desicisons
 
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M

MoltenLava

Guest
If you are comparing a desktop and a laptop, you probably don't _need_ a laptop. In that case I'd say forget about laptops. Desktops are much more powerful. No comparison at all.

As for PowerMac vs iMac, it boils down to your preference. Do you care more about the design and small footprint, or do you want more practical computer?

If price is of concern, you can always get the combo drive and save $300. On PowerMac, Superdrive upgrade is very easy, and cost only $50.
 
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V

VastDeathmaster

Guest
It looks like you have no problem spending $4000. Don't forget software. Macs come with plenty in the first place, but if you are in Graphics design, you will likely need more than what the basic computer provides. You cost goes up quickly when you consider the other programs needed.
 
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M

m1k

Guest
Well, I suggest going for either of the PowerBooks simply because of portability. If you're a student it's really nice to be able to carry your laptop with you everywhere. If you have a desktop, sure, you get more power, but it's just not as portable. You'd be surprised how much nicer it is having a portable system than a desktop system.

It basically boils down to whether you want mainly power or mainly portability. Power's good if you're a graphics design artist, but portability is also good if you're a student. The PowerBook is very powerful, though, I have a 12" with 512MB RAM and it blows away my high-end 2GHz PC completely. And the iMac is actually surprisingly portable, since it's like 25lbs ;). You can easily move it around! It basically comes down to whether you want more power or more portability, though. If you want a bit of both and can't decide, just go for the one that you like the looks of most :)

Anyways, whatever you get, you're sure to be happy. It's mainly personal opinion, so go with what your heart tells you.

Good luck!
 
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W

whosaninja

Guest
I found a last year system for a good price so i might jump on that

powermac g5, single 1.8ghz
pci-x
80 gb hd (can upgrade later if i need)
256 ram (upgrading immediatly to 1gb)

1799$

about 1/2 the price of the other ones, and im not doing heavy vid editing or rendering, so i dont see a problem with not having dual cpu.
 
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m1k

Guest
Wow, that's pretty **** sweet. I suggest getting that by all means, seems like a good system :)

I don't know if you really need dual processors either. I do a bit of video editing and my PowerBook handles the job fine (1.33GHz single G4). You're doing bigger editing jobs because you're in university though, so obviously you need more power, but I don't know if you really need a dual processor Mac.

The deal looks great, jump on it if you really want to! Good luck getting a Mac!
 

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