Now or later?

[Jason]

Hi everyone,

Just about every day now I'm seriously thinking about getting a PB 15" 1.5 GHZ with 1MB of RAM. Also 80 GB HD at 5400 rpm.

My question is would it be best to take the plunge now or wait until (sometime) next year for the G5. Is a G5 really going to be that much quicker. I mostly would use it for Internet, Mail, Japanese Translation work and text processing.

I also worry that even when the G5 arrives there will be so many technical issues heat, screen etc that I would then want to wait another 6 to 9 months before those got sorted out.

I think I see a cycle emerging here...

Any ideas?

Regards

um..maybe this should be moved somewhere else?

[psmith2.0]

If those things you mentioned (surfing, e-mail, word processing, translation) are truly the things you'll mostly be doing, then no...I don't think waiting - and by "waiting", I mean possibly another 4-8 months - for a G5 PowerBook is sane at all.

Hell, the model you spec-ed out above is technically overkill for those needs!

:eek: :D

If I were in your shoes, I'd jump on the current G4 PowerBook and enjoy it. When people fall into that "just gonna wait another 6 months..." trap, it's tough to break.

Live, and enjoy what's in front of you now.

:)

I would bump that RAM amount up a tad... :p ;)

[curiousuburb]

I'll say later.

http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/ lists the traditional upgrade cycles for Apple machines.

iBooks are overdue for a rev. Powerbooks will likely get one at MWSF.

Even if the specs don't jump to G5, the iBook G4 may get enough improvement to make it a consideration that extends your budget. It is also possible the current 15 may drop $ a bit.

If you wait until January and find you still want a current 15 (not wanting to risk a new rev.A) you may find refurbs or trade-ins are an option as others upgrade to the bleeding edge.

my .03 CDN

[Jason]

yeah 1MB wouldn't go far these days...
Thanks for the advice.

Regards

[DMBand0026]

For your needs a 14" iBook would be ideal. Surfing, e mail, chat, and translating will never require the kind of power you're talking about getting with the 15" PB. Save yourself about a thousand bucks and get an iBook.

But wait like two weeks, because they should be updated by than. No sense in not getting the most bang for your buck :)

[psmith2.0]

Yeah, I should've chimed in with a hearty iBook recommendation (but I didn't only because you asked about PowerBooks).

But yes, if surfing/e-mail/writing is going to be your main activities, I'd have to lean toward the idea of saving about $1000 and getting a nice, top-end 14" iBook instead. That extra $1000 could go toward an iPod, some software, AirPort goodies, RAM, a nice bag, a Bluetooth module (internal or external), etc.

But, as DMB said, I'd wait a couple of weeks. I believe the iBooks (and PowerBooks too, since they were BOTH updated on April 19) are on the cusp of an update, even if only of a routine "100-200MHz processor increase and a hard drive capacity bump" variety.

[Gizzer]

But, as DMB said, I'd wait a couple of weeks. I believe the iBooks (and PowerBooks too, since they were BOTH updated on April 19) are on the cusp of an update, even if only of a routine "100-200MHz processor increase and a hard drive capacity bump" variety.

I think that's worth waiting for too. Plus if I recall correctly, one of the hard drive manufacturers is releasing a 100Gb drive (for laptops). I imagine Apple would chuck that into a top-end Powerbook without missing a beat.

[DMBand0026]

It best be a 7200 RPM drive, or I'm rioting.

[Gizzer]

It best be a 7200 RPM drive, or I'm rioting.

Bummer, its 5400...

Here's the link: 100Gb Drive (http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=9634)

And the article:

100GB notebook drives arrive

By Paul Kallender

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (HGST) will ship new 2.5-inch hard drives with capacities up to 100GB for notebooks by the end of 2004, the company said today.

The Travelstar 5K100 and E5K100 hard drives spin at 5,400 rpm (revolutions per minute) and are available in 40GB, 60GB, 80GB and 100GB capacities. They are 9.5 millimetres in height, and consume relatively little power, the company said.

Both the 5K100 and E5K100 offer parallel ATA and serial ATA (SATA) support, the company said. All the models will be shipping to customers in the fourth quarter of this year. In the US, the 5K100 will be on sale at a suggested price of $126 for the 40GB, $170 for the 60GB version, $222 for the 80GB version and $263 for the 100GB version, Tadashi Hisanaga, a spokesman for Hitachi, said. Hisanaga declined comment on customers for the products.

HGST is aiming more of its small-diameter hard disc production at consumer electronics applications and believes that increasing numbers of consumers who are considering buying notebook computers want to have more than the 40GB of storage.The company believes the consumer electronics portion of the market was about 10 per cent in 2004. The company expects this share to grow to about 15 per cent in 2003 and to grow to about half the entire hard-disk market in 2007.

In May, HGST said it was doubling to 60 million units the annual production of its 1-inch Microdrive, 2.5-inch Travelstar and 3.5-inch Deskstar product lines and was investing $200 million to upgrade its factory in Thailand, where these drives are made.

[Luca]

Get an iBook. You could probably stand to wait for an update - they're already slightly overdue for one, and iBooks and PowerBooks have historically been updated in fall. October 2003, November 2002, October 2001, September 2000, and September 1999 (all five years the iBook has been out) have seen iBook updates. It would be silly to buy RIGHT NOW unless you really need it, for work or for a class or something. If it were July or August, I'd say buy in a heartbeat.

Re: Hard drives, hopefully that means that 80 GB laptop drives will now reach 7200 RPM. Apple should have a 7200 RPM option in the PowerBooks - they are very competitive even months after their release, but every other major laptop maker is now offering 7200 RPM drives, so Apple should too. Won't matter for iBooks though, consumer laptops will stay with 4200 RPM drives until 5400 RPM becomes mainstream (which could be a year or three).

[Quagmire]

Starts painting on protest sign," Apple, bring us 7200 rpm HD's in laptops or else!" :D

I agree though. Wait intill the next ibook rev and I am sure it will get the 5200(so it can work with coreimage). Then the pbooks will get a better GPU.

[curiousuburb]

I'd be willing to bet that not only will the iBook get the 5200, it'll get a bump to 64MB VRAM.

I'm guessing the PBs will all start at 128MB VRAM, with an option for 256 depending on which GPU is used.