[ASZ993]

I am sure you have heard this many times.

I am currently looking for a good laptop that has 768 MB RAM, SuperDrive, Bluetooth, and AirPort Extreme.

I also want to take advantage of all of the new features of Tiger.I also expect on-screen effects (e.g. Expose) to be smooth

Battery life isn't nessecairly a top priority.

Durability: A good amount of durability would be nice, but I use it in a secondary school environment, tucked away in a backpack.

My budget is ~$1900 and my choices were:

14" iBook 1.33Ghz w/ SuperDrive ($1749) from Apple w/BTO 768 MB RAM+ Bluetooth, and PowerBook G4 1.5Ghz w/Super Drive from Apple w/BTO 768 MB RAM ($1774)

It's too close! Help me!

[FFL]

Unless you are old with failing vision and you need your pixels spread apart so everything is bigger, you should go with the 12" PB instead of the 14" iBook... especially right now! If you check the Red Tag deals at store.apple.com, there's a Refurbished 12" SuperDrive PB for $300 off retail.

[Luca]

This is an easy one. Get the PowerBook.

Think about it. Both have a Superdrive, both have Airport Extreme and Bluetooth, both have 768 MB of RAM... except the PowerBook also has a smaller, more compact size, a faster processor, a faster video card, and a faster hard drive.

If you want something cheap, go with a low-end iBook without the frills. Adding features to the iBook rapidly closes the price gap between it and the PowerBook, since PowerBooks come with more standard features.

I'd suggest buying your RAM elsewhere. Don't buy from Apple; they overcharge by a ton. You should be able to save about $100 buying from somewhere else.

EDIT: As usual, FFL and I deliver the one-two punch! OWNED!!!

(but in a good, helpful way)

[ASZ993]

Thanks, Luca and FFL.

But, I have decided to hold off for a couple of reasons:

• The AGP bus is quickly becoming obsolete.
• OS X Tiger... no system requirements yet, especially for Core Image and Core Video
• iBook approaching "end of cycle" according to MacRumors buying guide

But thanks anyways!

[Luca]

1) AGP, PCIe, doesn't matter. Unless you're concerned about future upgrades (which aren't possible in a laptop), it doesn't matter whether the computer you have is using AGP or PCIe. Even the highest end cards today, the GeForce 6800 Ultra Extreme and Radeon X850XT Platinum Edition, don't even saturate an AGP 8x bus. Most video cards don't saturate an AGP 4x bus either. There is absolutely no reason to wait for PCIe in laptops unless you're specifically looking for a higher end video chipset that is PCIe-only, like the Radeon Mobility X800.

2) Tiger's CoreImage requirements were published earlier and I doubt they will be very different from back then. Besides, Tiger ought to run REALLY well on any currently shipping Mac (provided you give it enough RAM). Including the mini and low-end iBooks. CoreImage is the ONLY thing you're concerned about here, and I don't think you need to be.

3) The iBook's cycle doesn't matter since the 14" iBook with Superdrive is a bad deal next to the 12" PowerBook anyway.

Originally Posted by Luca 2) Tiger's CoreImage requirements were published earlier and I doubt they will be very different from back then. Besides, Tiger ought to run REALLY well on any currently shipping Mac (provided you give it enough RAM). Including the mini and low-end iBooks. CoreImage is the ONLY thing you're concerned about here, and I don't think you need to be.

As far as Tiger is concerned, don't worry. I have been running it (latest seed) on several systems, from a vintage cube to a 1.5GHz Powerbook. It runs flawlessly on the entire scale of systems. It will run great on any system you buy currently.

[allam89]

Hi
I have decided to convert to macs and so my choices are to either buy an ibook or powerbook. the ibook 14" costs about the same as the powerbook 12". i am kind of on the powerbook's side because it is more classy, has a faster processor and has a better videocard. however, the ibook has a bigger screen. i play games occasionally and i watch movies a lot. i am in highschool and would like to take the laptop with me so portability is a plus. what do u think? is a 12" screen to small? thnx.

[kretara]

12" is a little on the small side (mostly because I used to have a 15" PB and I have 2 17" LCD's and 1 19" LCD hooked up to my work computer) but I have no problems with the screen of my 12" PB.
If memory serves me, I believe the iBook and 12" PB both have a resolution of 1024x768. So, with the 14" you are not really gaining anything.

I would suggest that you go with the 12" PB. Its a great computer.

[Mac+]

A thread already exists for this topic (it might have some answers for you) ... here!

Also, please don't duplicate threads - use the Search feature if you're unsure.

[FFL]

What Mac+ Said.
Merging threads...