Which notebook for me???

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Cuppa500

Guest
Hi mac people. I am currently planning to purchase a notebook. It will be my first Apple computer (replacing my windows PC)
I had planned to buy a 14" ibook (1.2Ghz/768Mb ram/60Gb HD/superdrive/bluetooth/airport extreme) but yesterday came across the following at slightly less cost than the new ibook.


Factory Refurbished powerbook G4
15 inch screen
1.25GHz
512mb ram
80Gig hard drive
Superdrive
Airport Extreme card
Bluetooth

I would welcome any advice on which may be the better option for me.
The main things I would use it for are as follows:-

email/web surfing/web forums.
word processing
digital photography (at home & whilst travelling in our motorhome)
If possible I would also like to replace the conventional television I have in our motorhome with the notebook (to save space)


Would I notice any appeciable difference in speed between the powerbook with 512Mb Ram against the ibook with 768Mb ram? (different processor & bus speeds?)

I believe that the ibook has no PC card slot, whereas the powerbook does. Would I need the Pc card slot, to obtain Tv reception?

Is the screen display on the powerbook noticeably better than the ibook? (Higher resolution?)

The factory refurbished unit comes with 3 month warranty (extendable for extra cost).

Thank you in advance for your advice
regards,
Ian
 
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pedXing

Guest
Well, its really on personal opinion, the powerbook wont come with software such as AppleWorks, or a few games, and other software because it is really meant for mobile professionals, but if you really like the 15'' widescreen (which i love) i would go ahead with that. Remember the powerbook would be better for viewing tv because it has a faster system bus and better graphics card. Even though the iBook has more RAM you can buy an some more for the pb from crucial. com or something like that.
 
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G4 1Ghz OS X 10.4.7
If performance based on the side bus is a consideration, the iBook is 133 and the PowerBook 166 generally. Refurbs are as good as new IMO
 
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15" PB 1.5, 512 ram, superdrive, one sexy computer!
lol spoiled college students ;)

i'd be one of them but yeah the ibooks price is much better, I am curious about the speed diff. but overall screen size etc I preferred the powerbook.
 
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iSheep

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When making my descion I got a 12" iBook, added Airport Extreme, Bluetooth and tried to get a larger hard drive. I then decided to screw that I just go for the basic PowerBook - the price difference is definatly worth the extras you get, such as weight, size and power.
 
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Aanidaani

Guest
Well I just got my first mac a few weeks ago: a PowerBook G4 1.33 Ghz with 60 gigs of hard drive space and 768 megs of ram. So far I have been very, very impressed with its performance. It's only crashed a handful of times (Namely when installing Microsoft Office.), and overall the interface and file system make so much more sense than in Windows. The only downside is that a lot of games don't work on the mac, but I don't play too many anymore, so it's not a problem.

The reason I got my laptop was because I figured that in my dorm in college I won't have the room for a full system set up. I do plan on getting an external hard drive when I get there, just so I can store all my music and other files. Regardless of which laptop you get, I'm sure you'll be satisfied.
 
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octohunter

Guest
I feel the powerbook will allow you room to grow once you fall in love with OS X. The biggest difference for me is the powerbook can support another display that won't just mirror the notebook's. I have a superdrive on my 12" but if I did it again I'd buy the combo drive as the CD speed is faster.
 
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PinkPhishDoors

Guest
Aanidaani said:
Well I just got my first mac a few weeks ago: a PowerBook G4 1.33 Ghz with 60 gigs of hard drive space and 768 megs of ram. So far I have been very, very impressed with its performance. It's only crashed a handful of times (Namely when installing Microsoft Office.), and overall the interface and file system make so much more sense than in Windows. The only downside is that a lot of games don't work on the mac, but I don't play too many anymore, so it's not a problem.

The reason I got my laptop was because I figured that in my dorm in college I won't have the room for a full system set up. I do plan on getting an external hard drive when I get there, just so I can store all my music and other files. Regardless of which laptop you get, I'm sure you'll be satisfied.

I thought you just turned 17? did you skip any grades?
 
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Well if you can get the powerbook at slightly less than the ibook, GO FOR IT!

They are the better machine, just somehat pricey
 

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