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The 15" 1.67 GHz vs. 15" 1.5 GHz?


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The 15" 1.67 GHz vs. 15" 1.5 GHz?
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Cec
New Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
 
2005-08-02, 20:01

I think I'm going to get a new PB. So far I've used a 12" iBook, 14" iBook, 12" PB and a 15" PB.

I put two configurations together for the two different 15" options. Both have a DVD burner(which I'm almost considering removing and going with a $189 external), 512 MB RAM default which I'll upgrade later, 100 GB HD, and AppleCare.

The 1.5 GHz price is $2,263 and the 1.67 GHz with the 128MB vid card would cost me $2,518. Each will run me more cast for a Gig stick of Ram. Is the better vid card and processor upgrade worth $255?

I've read a lot of posts about the better quality you get from the PB vs. the iBook and I agree. I am almost tempted to go with a 12" PB and hope the new G5 PB's will be out soon next year. I would appreciate any input.

Thanks!
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Luca
ಠ_ರೃ
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Minnesota
 
2005-08-02, 20:14

Where are you seeing $189 for an external DVD burner? That's about $100 more than you should be spending for such an accessory. Either get the internal drive for $150 (as a BTO option), or buy a $50 DVD burner and a $40 5.25" Firewire case if you really need the speed or if you really need to save that money.

Upgrading the RAM later is a good idea. Toss another 512-1024 MB in there and you'll be set for a long time.

The 100 GB hard drive is an overpriced luxury item that you should only get if you absolutely need it. 80 GB is a lot cheaper and gives you nearly as much room. There is no reason to get the 100 GB internal drive unless you need to do video editing on the road or something. If you think that 80 GB isn't enough to hold all your stuff but 100 GB is, then you should get the 80 GB anyway and buy an external hard drive, because you'll easily fill that extra 20 GB. Externals are cheap... again, Firewire cases are $40, and 80 GB desktop hard drives are $60. Even a 250 GB desktop drive is only about $120, and that gives you tons and tons of room.

I'd go for the 1.5 GHz PowerBook with all stock options except the Superdrive. Cost (before tax and AppleCare) is $2,149, and then you should add another $100 or so for RAM and maybe another $100 for an external 80 GB hard drive (if you need extra storage). I don't think the 167 MHz faster processor will make much difference, and I can tell you for sure that going from 64 MB to 128 MB of VRAM will not make any difference at all.
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Cec
New Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
 
2005-08-02, 20:52

Quote:
Originally Posted by Luca
Where are you seeing $189 for an external DVD burner? That's about $100 more than you should be spending for such an accessory. Either get the internal drive for $150 (as a BTO option), or buy a $50 DVD burner and a $40 5.25" Firewire case if you really need the speed or if you really need to save that money.
Your prices sound great. Can you provide links to recommended products?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Luca
and I can tell you for sure that going from 64 MB to 128 MB of VRAM will not make any difference at all.
Does that include gaming?
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709
¡Damned!
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
 
2005-08-02, 20:54

Quote:
Originally Posted by Luca
Where are you seeing $189 for an external DVD burner? That's about $100 more than you should be spending for such an accessory.
'Tis true for a full-sized drive, but as a PowerBook owner I'd imagine she's looking at a bus-powered slim drive. Much easier to lug around.

If that's indeed the case, Cec, then I'd also opt for the PB sans Superdrive as Luca suggested. Save your $150 and pick up one of these instead. You'll get double layer burning (unlike the Superdrive in the PB) and also a full version of Toast to boot.

So it goes.
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Luca
ಠ_ರೃ
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Minnesota
 
2005-08-02, 21:46

Well, if it's a large desktop-style DVD burner, it'll be cheap. Otherwise your $189 figure sounds about right for a slim bus-powered DVD burner.

DVD burner mechanism: $47
5.25" external Firewire case: $57 (after shipping)

You can get less expensive enclosures, but a lot of them have gotten bad reviews. I got a cheap enclosure myself for my 250 GB hard drive, and it's now causing me problems. That MacAlly looks like a good one.

Anyway, that's only if you want a fast, inexpensive external drive. Personally I'd rather spend the $150 for an internal DVD burner. It's only $40 more than my external solution and it's portable and integrated. And it's cheaper than a slim, portable drive. The only reason you'd want an external drive is if you need faster burning speeds or if you need to share the drive between multiple computers.

As for the VRAM, it might actually show a small effect when playing very demanding games at high resolution. If you're playing Halo at 1280x854, the extra VRAM might help. If you're not pushing it to the limits, though, it won't help. There are some benchmarks over at BareFeats to confirm this.
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709
¡Damned!
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
 
2005-08-02, 22:24

Quote:
Originally Posted by Luca
DVD burner mechanism: $47
5.25" external Firewire case: $57 (after shipping)

You can get less expensive enclosures, but a lot of them have gotten bad reviews. I got a cheap enclosure myself for my 250 GB hard drive, and it's now causing me problems. That MacAlly looks like a good one.
I just recently bought 2 of that exact combo from NewEgg. Works great.
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MacUser06
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
 
2005-08-05, 21:03

Quote:
Originally Posted by Luca
DVD burner mechanism: $47
5.25" external Firewire case: $57 (after shipping)
Can you burn DVDs using iDVD with these external burners?? I thought I read somewhere that you can't.
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faramirtook
A for effort.
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: New Jersey
 
2005-08-05, 21:28

Latest iDVD lets you burn to image, and then you can use Disk Utility to copy the image's contents to that disk. Very simple.
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