[theokandroid]

Hey guys, I've been pondering this in my head for a while, and was wondering you're opinion. I've currently got a 15" Powerbook 1.5ghz, and it serves me well. Im a college student but other than the ease of taking it with me when I go back home, I rarely if ever take it out of my room. After boot camp I've been yearning to sell my PB and buy a new 20" Core Duo iMac, It's got a bigger screen and is much faster, plus it can play HL2, probably my favorite game of all time, now it can boot windows. So what do you guys think I should do. Thanks.

[uicandrew]

defintely imac. my reasons:

1. ergonomics. your neck will thank you later
2. higher screen resolution. great for looking at pictures taken with a 5, 6, 7, or 8 megapixel camera
3. built-in isight. you never know who else has ichat. i've personally used ichat with my friend who studied abroad in the asia.
4. brighter screen
5. "smaller" (yes, i'm serious). desks in dorm rooms are seriously small. when i'm using my powerbook, i can't put anything else on my full size desk because the keyboard is attached to the screen. and even when i'm not using the powerbook, the footprint is still considerable and you don't want to put anything on top of the powerbook because it might get damaged. For the imac, with a wireless keyboard, you can put the keyboard anywhere whenever you're not using it. and all you have left on your desk is a flat panel display.

my favorite example: eating a bowl of cereal in front of your computer. with the powerbook, you have to put the powerbook at least 10 inches away from you because you need space to put the bowl down in front of the computer, and the powerbook is roughly 12 inches deep, that means the screen is going to be almost 2 feet away from you. (reading small text with a laptop 2 feet away fom you is also tough.)

with the imac, without the keyboard/trackpad to get in the way, you can move the screen roughly 10 inches closer to your face compared to the powerbook, but you won't need to because the screen is bigger

6. number pad. so much easier to input numbers
7. cable management. it is horrendous compared to pc's. You have usb ports on the side and if you need to use a usb mouse, a usb printer, and a usb flash drive, you'll need a hub. not to mention the powercord sticking out.
8. boot camp/expandability - any pc game is within reach with boot camp. also figure in that the default hard drive size is 250gb in the 20" imac. all your songs, movies, etc are all within reach. no need have external drives that take up more deskspace.

i had a preorder for a macbook pro. i cancelled it and spent my money on a nicer intel imac. best decision i've made. reasons #1 and #2 are so important that you don't realize it until you've used an imac for a week, and then go back to bending your neck awkwardly to look at a powerbook screen.

[theokandroid]

Thanks for the advice, Im seriously thinking about it now, but i guess it all depends on how much I could get for my Powerbook g4, 15" 1.5ghz, 80gb DVD/CDRW. 512mb.

[quiklee]

uicandrew . . i don't think you should be that close to your screen anyways . . bad for your eyes . .

[uicandrew]

Originally Posted by quiklee

uicandrew . . i don't think you should be that close to your screen anyways . . bad for your eyes . .

yeah, i have a 15" 1920x1200 laptop screen. and i'm used to having it close to my face. otherwise, i can't read anythiing because the text is so small

[theokandroid]

Hey, I've found this refurbished 20" Imac core duo, but it only has 128mb of ram, is it possible for them to add the 256 in? Because that's a whole 200 dollars less than the brand new one.

[uicandrew]

no. it is not like desktop ram, where you can add in a stick of ram. the cheapest place where i found my 256mb vram 20" imac is b&h. here's the one i bought...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...ughType=search

they didn't charge tax in my state (IL) and it was free shipping. it was even cheaper than apple's edu discount (after tax was added).

[theokandroid]

I couldnt find a good price for the basic imac with 256mb vram on that site, how much different will the 256 make?

[uicandrew]

realistically, there really is no such thing as the "basic" imac with 256mb vram. all the retailers that sell custom models sell the different "bundles" that always include extra upgrades. kind of like cars. you can't just get power doors. you'll also get power windows and other stuff that you may not need, but they'll force you to get it because they can.

i don't think 256mb makes a difference right now. But i bought my imac specifically for the future. especially with the fact that the imacs (and NOT the macbook pro) have socketed processors, and it already has been demonstrated that the next generation of intel processors (currently it is Yonah with 2mb of L2 or L3 cache; next is Merom with 4mb of L2 or L3 cache) I'm planning on buying the applecare eventually because i plan on having this imac for a long time.

also, people talk about the future versions of OS X have resolution independent GUI, or something like that. essentially, it will put more of the burden of computing on the vram, instead of the main cpu. also, the extra vram will definitely help with future games and vista, whenever it comes out.

[theokandroid]

I like to play games but i guess it's not important enough to spend that much extra money, As long as I can play Hl2 with high settings.

[bastula]

I did the exact same thing - went from a 1 GHz AluBook to a 20" Core Duo iMac with 256MB of VRAM. Haven't regretted it since. Now just trying to put my PowerBook for sale. I wonder how much it will go for.

[theokandroid]

Hopefully I can sell my Alubook, it's up on craigslist right now, for around 1400, because the refurbed one is only 1600, and then id only end up spending 200 bucks.

[badnewsblair]

@theokandroid

iMac. Periord.

I had a 17-inch Powerbook (albeit first gen.) and though I loved that machine, even during it's last days when it was 3 years out of date, once I received my brand new iMac Core Duo I fell in love with a new computer. I have to admit, I always had an issue with the "home" (read "white") line that Apple offered. Just the fact that they are supposedly not marketed toward power users made me think twice about buying an iMac. But I didn't look back and I absolutely love this machine!

uicandrew has great reasons all around. I agree with the eye strain thing and the space issue in particular. I like to draw and sketch and with all that extra space on my desk, I can throw a pad up on my desk and enjoy. Plus, I have more space to do my bills (but that is not as fun). Having a 17-inch screen on my Powerbook meant even less eye strain than what you are experiencing with your 15-inch. And mine didn't have that ultra crisp resolution!

Grab yourself an iMac. Throw Bootcamp on there (which is something I have done as well, and I tell you it has reinvigorated my technolust) and have a blast!

And don't forget the "Marketplace" here on the MacNN message boards. It is the last link from the drop down menu on the homepage. You will definitely get a few hits within a few hours from there. I know I did!

http://forums.macnn.com/forumdisplay...amp;forumid=59

[theokandroid]

The only problem is that I refuse to use Paypal, i've been screwed over one too many times to use it again, so Id prefer local pickup only.

[badnewsblair]

I agree with that! On my Powerbook sale I was absolutely owned by service fees.

[theokandroid]

Luckily Im in a big city, Chi-town, so there's bound to be someone interested.

Also, badnewsblair, how much of a difference do you think the 256mb vs, the 128mb ram would be in a game such as Hl2, Far Cry, or Doom3 ? Id really like to get the 256, but the refurbed imac 20" with the 128 is too much of a good deal.

[harrisjamieh]

Originally Posted by badnewsblair

And don't forget the "Marketplace" here on the MacNN message boards. It is the last link from the drop down menu on the homepage. You will definitely get a few hits within a few hours from there. I know I did!

http://forums.macnn.com/forumdisplay...amp;forumid=59

The marketplace is good and all, but one reason I won't be selling my iBook on there is because most people here are so clued up on everything.

For example, I know that on ebay, the majoirty of people who are potential buyers will not know you can buy a current gen iBook from Apples refurb store for £560, which gives me more chance of selling my iBook (last gen) for £525+.

This may sound harsh and maybe slightly 'conning' people, but just like everyone else, I want the most money possible out of my iBook. Yes, I can be concerned over other peoples issues etc, but in the end, you have to look after no.1

[theokandroid]

I would sell it on ebay, but they only do business with paypal, which is the devil.

[harrisjamieh]

As I said, im selling my iBook on ebay, and will be asking for payment via cheque, postal order, or cash on collection. I do not do paypal. This has worked for me before

[mjames]

I'm a college student who switched from a PB 15" 1.25 Ghz to a 20" iMac Core Duo and have no regrets. I rarely used the PB for portability, so it made more sense to get the iMac and get more bang for my buck. However, I can't bring myself to sell my beloved PB. I want to keep it around for trips when my iMac must stay at home, and I'm basically too attached to sell it. Yes, it's pretty silly as I have a relatively new Dell Inspiron, too, but I'm a geek who loves his three computers.

[eddiecatflap]

the biggest thing for me was the keyboard

my brother has a powerbook and one of the keys broke , it has to go in for fixing , could take ages , who knows ? plus he'll be macless

with my imac , i just buy another usb keyboard

no hassle and no downtime

i had an icebook and that keyboard was terrible compared to the usb one apple sells now