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Scylla · Oct 25, 2005, 10:36 AM

Hi all

I love my 17" Powerbook but I never use it outside my study at home - so it may as well be a desktop. Thinking of Ebaying it and buying a new 20" iMac.

Can anyone give me a good real-world idea of how much faster the iMac will be? I'll be increasing the RAM to 1.5GB..

It'll be used for FCP, DVDSP, PSCS, and a game called World War 2 Online (which really struggles on the PB).

Any other thoughts and observations would be very welcome.

Thanks.

iREZ · Oct 25, 2005, 12:10 PM

the front side bus difference alone will show significant speed when it comes to FCP. i dont know the other stuff you want to run, so ill keep hush about that. i bought a powerbook when the powerbook n imacs werent all too different, but now they have a big gap in performance if you ask me, i'd totally go with the imac over the powerbook if portability isnt wanted/needed.

SoCal_BigFoot · Oct 25, 2005, 12:33 PM

I'm doing the same. Have two Powerbooks right now and just ordered an iMac 20"
There is no value in Powerbooks now unless you really need portability. You don't,
so don't even think twice. Get an iMac. G5 will help PS and FCP, plus the bus, the screen
is great, brighter and better than Cinema 20". I'm gonna keep one of my Powerbooks,
but I think Apple needs to really prove themselves with the next gen models. No more
cr@p like old GPU, not enough RAM, prahistoric bus etc. without even starting on CPU speed.

Macpilot · Oct 30, 2005, 12:17 AM

You will love the iMac. Much faster than any Powerbook. You should get some good cash for your Powerbook, as any Mac holds its value very well in the marketplace.

Whichever one you choose, 17 or 20, definitely get the AppleCare. $169 for 3 years of coverage on a computer with an LCD, big hard drive, etc. Worth every penny.

Randman · Oct 30, 2005, 12:44 AM

Increase the ram on the Powerbook (sounds as if you're massively under-rammed) and an external monitor for dual-monitor setup. Best of both worlds. Then you can get a Mactel next year or early 2007.

Scylla · Oct 30, 2005, 04:24 AM

Thanks for all the replies.

I chose a 20" Rev. B over one of the new iSight models, and got £250 knocked off the price.

What can I say? I absolutely LOVE the new machine! It blows the PB away in terms of power (as it should) and it's a joy to behold. I increased the RAM to 1.5G and it's running all my apps beautifully.

Now to eBay the PB. It's got 2 years' Applecare so I hope to get a pretty good price on it.

Spaceman Spiff · Nov 1, 2005, 04:42 PM

Originally Posted by Scylla

Thanks for all the replies.

I chose a 20" Rev. B over one of the new iSight models, and got £250 knocked off the price.

What can I say? I absolutely LOVE the new machine! It blows the PB away in terms of power (as it should) and it's a joy to behold. I increased the RAM to 1.5G and it's running all my apps beautifully.

Now to eBay the PB. It's got 2 years' Applecare so I hope to get a pretty good price on it.

Will you post the item number so I can check it out? It might go cheap. (just joking, it sounds like a good setup.) Now that I think about it, PM it. LOL.