michaelthehannigan Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 So here is the problem i have been having lately, my ibook is finally dying, my toshiba hackintosh just left my inventory and my old g4 tower hasn't cut it for quite a while, so i need a new computer. I have about an extra $1200 and can do one of four things 1. I can buy a used 20inch 2.0ghz g5 imac with added ram. 2. I can buy a lightly used 1.67 ghz 17 inch powerbook with extra ram and a superdrive. 3. I can buy a new 17inch imac with the stock ram and superdrive. or 4. I can buy a macbook with superdrive. So now that i have said all of that and since all of them cost about 1200 (with the exception of the g5 at $750) what should i do with my money and what is the best deal in the long term and can i expect each one to last just about as long as the others? Any help would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
articquad Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 I personally would want the powerbook. For some reason, I like PowerPC. But the intel macbook or iMac will live longer regarding service from apple. Was it five more years that PPC is supported? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drprimo Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 Out of those choices, I would say the MacBook. It will make you the most future-proof, and as long as you have a monitor to use at home, I dont think you will miss the extra screen size. You will find it much more portable than the powerbook. I would however, make sure all issues have been alleviated (I have had no problems with my month old MacBook Pro). In the refurb store right now, they have a (1.83) C2D BlackBook for $949. If you can wait a little while, and maybe scrounge a little more money, you can probably find a C2D MacBook Pro refurb at a nice discount. In comparison, the current refurb PowerBooks range from $1,199 (12-inch) to $1,599 (17-inch). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darwinian Dude Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 The Macbook is WAY faster than the powerbook. It's more comparable speed wise to a Dual G4. I recently bought a powerbook 12" which is my only portable machine (i have a 24" imac) but the powerbook was dirt cheap. If it's going to be your only computer, get the macbook. Or atleast that's what i would do. Because: Insanely Fast. Very easy for the end user to slide the hard disk out of the battery compartment and put a 200gigger in when they get cheaper will run all future apps. (and even rosetta based older 3d games like castle wolfenstein run brilliantly on the macbook, i was suprised!) great battery life. hingeless/catchless design. it's also quicker because they run DDR2 ram, which is snappier than what the powerbooks have. A powerbook would have to be very cheap to make me get one over a macbook. But then i like a compact machine. If you run the screen brightness way down, turn off airport and bluetooth etc, the macbook will get 6 hours use (for typing etc) for a charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synaesthesia Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 You might even be able to find a 20" intel iMac for $1200, if you look around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelthehannigan Posted March 18, 2007 Author Share Posted March 18, 2007 Well the powerbook is a 17 inch for a grand, so i think i might go with that and then in six to eight months sell it for a macbook pro. Any ideas on what revisions the macbook /pros are at and if there are anymore quality control issues. I'm hesitant to move to the new intels because of past problems with revision A systems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProMacUser Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 I would buy a refubrished MacBook, special ram and some stuff for it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbz Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 I don't think you should go with the Powerbook, because it really wont compare to the raw processing power of the Macbook. I do a lot of rendering and encoding, and I only use my Powerbook if I know I'll leave it going overnight. Why do you want the Powerbook so bad? A couple of months ago I traded in my iBook G3 for my cute 12" Powerbook, and it's my baby. I payed it $750 but it was only used a few times... it came with final cut (legal, might I add), a bunch of mini-dvi adapters, 768megs of ram... I'd consider it a good deal, considering the iBook sold for twice the price I payed it (I bought for a total (after accesories, wireless, etc) of $230 and sold for about $450). But the main reason I got this machine was because I want/need a tiny machine. I have a wireless keyboard and mouse and external display, and can use it with those for a desktop experience. For the encoding and downloading and longer tasks, i use my Mac mini Core Duo(set it, and it does everything by itself). The Macbook is too big for me. Do you want the big screen that much? You won't be able to lug that thing around... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelthehannigan Posted March 19, 2007 Author Share Posted March 19, 2007 I think i want the Powerbook not becuase of its non-future proofness but becuase its a tried and true warrior and not a first generation one. I've had some bad experiences and the taste of them is still sour in my mouth and my pocketbook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gandalf the Red Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 I think you can wait some more time. Let NAB get over.. rumors are flying around that Apple will be coming up with a new Macbook Pro. or as some one else suggested buy the power book and wait and see what's apple's next move in the mobile computing then you can sell the PB and buy the new one. I will tell you one thing PB is great machine.. I am using it for the last 2 years. Rk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aka-none Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 I have a 12" 1.5Ghz powerbook, 1.25GB of ran with a 100Gb 7200rpm drive. it will drive my 24" dell lcd but what is best is that it is tiny. it's so easy to carry around. and THAT is why I love it. If I want to do more well I have other machines but if I want to carry it away then this is it. So it depends on what you want to do with the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeanLuc7 Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 I would prefer the MacBook. It gives you the opportunity to have the best of both worlds, mostly MacOS and sometimes Windows, if necessary. I use my Macbook (actually, it's a Macbook Pro since two weeks) for programming PDA software (Windows Mobile 5) and it's great to have that programming sandbox and the fully working MacOS around it. Regards JL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandmanfvrga Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 I went with a lightly used iBook cause I am not a super user on my laptops, I use my desktops for that and for all I do, the iBook is plenty. Would I have gone Macbook if I could with the money at the time? Hell yeah. With being able to boot to windows, crossover office, parallels, two processor cores, etc. just better system. I would urge you, if you have the money, go Macbook. I do not regret my purchase, because I got exactly what I needed but if you can get more, get MORE!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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