[D14852001_neko]

er... hi... i'm new here (actually, i have been reading most of the posts here that had something to be with either PB or PM).

i just entered medicine university (¬¬ the only bad thing are the medical checkups, damn syringes), and my father gave me the option to buy a new pc...

i'm a wintel user, and sick of it ... i have used windows since 3.1... and i'm not comfortable with linux, is too... constrictive (i know, you must spend time to get used to it (aka mod the insides), but i don't have that time). and i when i saw mac os, i was hypnotized ... i even "modified" my pc to look like a mac (windows dll modification thingy).

so, now i have the opportunity to get a mac, but i'm torn between the powerbook 17" and the dual 2.5ghz powermac.

here are my pro's and con's

powerbook
portable
mid level capacity
its available
its not g5, and the next rev is going to take a loooooong time
i can't upgrade it

powermac
powerful
more capacity
upgradeable
its not available yet
non portable

the portable pro and con is strange, because sometimes i DO need to move the computer (i never had a notebook, so in highschool, i often brought my pc to the classroom, kinda heavy and troublesome), but that was on rare occasions, so if i buy the powermac, i might move it from time to time, so, is there any person out there that does that?

now, some questions about both of them
PM/PB - Does the sleep LED pulses or fading?
PM - Can I use regular agp cards, or they have to be mac editions?
PM - Is there any risks of moving the mac (safety is applied of course)?
PM - Is there any chance to get the mac sooner? i don't want to wait 1 and a half month...

and thats it... er... sorry for the big and clumsy post, my native language isn't english

thanks!

[Chinasaur]

Originally posted by D14852001_neko:
... sorry for the big and clumsy post, my native language isn't english

No need to apologize..you type better English than many Americans speak

Best of luck and welcome.

[clarkgoble]

For 90% of what you'll do machines made years ago are more than powerful enough. For most of what I do on Windows my old PIII does just as good as my 2400+ Athlon from last year. I only notice the difference when the "gee whiz" animation features happen. Of course that's because most of what I work with is text.

I'm eagerly eying an dual 2.5, but right now my Mac is a dual 800 G4 and it frankly is fine for most of what I do. It only has a 17" monitor and that's the biggest limitation.

So you have to ask yourself, what will I primarily be doing with the machine? If you type notes at the library then get the Powerbook. The 17" screen is good enough and the speed is good enough for email, most animations, web browsing and so forth.

If you are going to be doing programming, heavy database use, FCP or lots of iMovie, or 3D graphics then the G5 is a must have and is worth the extra expense. Get a big monitor as well.

So it really is the debate between big screen & speed or portability. If you don't need the speed and screen then go with the portable.

With regards to your other questions. You can move the G5, but it is big and fairly heavy. It's a pain but you could put it in some kind of rollered carrier to move it around your house. I don't think that would be that big a deal (so long as you don't need to go up stairs).

With regards to AGP cards, yeah, you need the Mac editions. They are typically more expensive than equivalent PC cards and typically not as optimized for games. (Although I don't see that latter part as a big deal as I only play a few games) The card that comes with your G5 should be plenty fast and powerful for anything you're likely to need.

[D14852001_neko]

Chinasaur, thnx =^^=

clarkgoble
i'll may use it for some video editing, and heavy photoshop usage (my pc here is an ol' p3 750 with 384mb in ram, so, it is sloooooooow with photoshop (takes aprox 1 min to start ).

taking the pb to a library, i really doubt it, but here in medicine they offer wireless connection everywhere (except for auditoriums, they even use cellphone jammers in there), so a notebook might be good in that aspect.

buuuuuuut... i'm also a heavy irc user, i'm an admin in some channels, ops in others, and autovoiced several others, so i leave my pc all day long turned on, with a few minor reboots here and there (damn windows and its popping up critical updates, they are everywhere!!), in that case, the pm is better.

video editing (how's final cut?), and photoshop are optimized for g5, so.... | how do they run in pb?

and.... if virtual pc 7 supports direct x or something alike (they said it was going to use the graphic power to its max, i hope so), and HL2 is released... i think pm might get the advantage here

well... er... another big post, ejejjeje sorry =^^U=
thnx!

[D14852001_neko]

hmmm thnx... after something, i decided to buy the following...

• Dual 2.5GHz PowerPC G5
• 1GB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 2x512
• 250GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
• ATI Radeon 9600 XT w/128MB DDR SDRAM
• Bluetooth Module
• 8x SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
• Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - Western Spanish
• Mac OS X - U.S. English

With an estimated arrival of 4 - 6 weeks, not a big problem...

Thnx for those who answered back =^^=
Hope to be a new memeber of the mac world in a few... er... months =<.<=

EditO.- I'll order it in the following 2 weeks or so if everything goes according to my evil plan.... (er... sorry, milk does stranges thinks... so does vaccines ¬¬)

[cmoney]

very cool. congrats on the decision. i got a dual 2gig back in april and it's been awesome! can't wait for doom 3 to show up now. you'll enjoy the machine trust me!

[booboo]

Although i may not be in time, how about a Dual 2 Gig AND an iBook? That's both bases cover for a fairly insignificant drop in speed - plus they're both available now.

you're going to LOVE Mac OS X multi-tasking compared with Windows. Mac OS X actually works!

[videian28]

Only thing I would have added, is that the 17" PB while being a notebook and probably the lightest of any 17" notebook, not the most portable thing in the world.. I had the rev a, awesome machine, but if you like to move around with your laptop alot, (to the couch, to the desk, to the table, etc...) it is BIG, I ended up selling it and buying a 12" PB and a desktop for the same price

[MrForgetable]

Originally posted by booboo:
Although i may not be in time, how about a Dual 2 Gig AND an iBook? That's both bases cover for a fairly insignificant drop in speed - plus they're both available now.

you're going to LOVE Mac OS X multi-tasking compared with Windows. Mac OS X actually works!

i was thinking about posting that actually

[D14852001_neko]

damn...

the action of buying the PowerMac involved my aunt and an AppleLoan... as you can guess... my aunt didn't applied for the loan and everything has crumbled... that's in the usa...

here in mexico, the powermac, 2.0ghz with standard options is $1500dlls more expensive, so its out of question (thats stealing, i don't understand WHY apple does that...)

so... thanks for all the replies, but is useless now... ._.U damn...

EDITO
Out of curiosity, could you answer my questions??? (first post ^^)

EDITO 2
clarkgoble answered 2 and 3, question 4 might been answereed already (have to wait now...) but the LED thingy????