[Mithras]

Hi everyone,

I have a tough dilemma. I'm looking to buy a laptop + an external LCD together.

My budget ($2000) can get me:
(1) used Powerbook DVI + 17" LCD
(2) iBook + 21" LCD

Option 1: Powerbook 667DVI + 17" LCD


Option 2: iBook + 21" LCD


The Powerbook+LCD combo is nice because the Powerbook has more screen real estate when I'm on the road. And the DVI connection makes for a crisper experience.

The iBook + 21" LCD is nice because, well, a 21" LCD is veeeery nice. The screen real estate at home will be enormous. And watching DVDs on a single 21" LCD will be great, compared to watching on a 17". But I'll have to use the iBook's VGA connector, which might make the lovely 21" a disappointment.

This gives you an idea of the difference between the 21" and 17" resolutions:


Any opinions? What would you do?

[ChadC]

Powerbook and 17" I have a 17" Display and it is great for watching movies on. Not to small like I thought it might be before I got it.

-Chad

[Kissargi]

Go for the powerbook and 17" or buy the powerbook and save up a little longer for the 21" if you need that much screen, the apple 17" lcd does me fine tho

[average]

what ibook are you considering?

[Eug]

iBook + external monitor = desktop mirroring, unless you do a hack.

Anyways, I don't like the iBook's screen so much. Not quite bright enough, and the 106 dpi on the 12" makes my eyes hurt. Plus the VGA output quality isn't the greatest. (Or at least it wasn't on my iBook 600.) DVI rules.

By the way, I have this combo:



TiBook 1 GHz DVI with 17" 1280x1024 Samsung 172T.

[neutrino23]

I went through a similar decision process and decided on the 15" PB. As I already have a couple of Macs I can afford to wait for the 15" Al PB to come out. However, I visited our local Apple store recently and played with the 15" Ti PB. It is really sweet. I should have bought that last December.

[Mithras]

Thanks for the feedback everybody.

I agree, the TiBook would make me happy to think, "this is my computer."


Great-looking setup, Eug. That picture is what me on this quest to begin with --- I saw it in your thread about the 172T, and said, "great monitor." Then I saw the 213T, and fell in love...

I am concerned about the quality of the VGA output from the (hacked) iBook. That's the main thing holding me back from that option.

The reason I like the idea of the big screen, though, is because it seems like a longer-term investment: One giant screen can serve me (hopefully) for many years, (I think? isn't the lifespan of an LCD 8-10 years with normal use?)...

...while even the greatest Powerbook will be obsolete in 3 or 4 years.

So in that sense, with $2000 now, shouldn't the larger bulk of it go towards the longer-term item (the screen)? A 1200:800 split screen:ibook seems like a better long-term investment than a 500:1500 split in favor of the powerbook...

...except that the laptop is the thing actually doing all the computing, after all, so it does make sense to make that great.

Argh. This is tough. I guess I'll try to plug a (hacked) iBook into a giant LCD at a store and see how it looks.

Hasn't anyone done this?

[tritonus]

Originally posted by Eug:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/eug/Apple/L...rs_cropped.jpg

Eug, do you still have the plastic protection cover on your TiBook? Or what's that glitter on the pic?

[iMacfan]

If your budget can stretch to it, I'd say get a PB12" with a Samsung 172T - I've got the superdrive and If I can muster the money will get the Samsung and monitor span. Also, the PB will support spanning right out of the box, you will get the benefit of Altivec and the smallest volume portable that Apple has ever produced. The best thing about the Samsung 172T, apart from the very good specs and the reasonable price is that, in the future when you have another computer which does have a DVI out, you will be able to switch between them with a touch of a button - almost like a free KVM switch!

David