Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

alfric · Oct 7, 2003, 05:24 AM

Hello everyone

i'm an OSX newbie (still on MacOS 8.6), wanting to move to a new Powerbook 12" (rev B). I'm not sure what configuration offers best value for money. Obviously i'd love to max out everything but i just can't afford to as i need a new printer, software, etc...

anyway, WHICH CONFIGURATION (BTO) offers the best value for $$$:

256, 512, 768 or 1.1 gig RAM?
40, 60 or 80 gig HD?

Thanks for your sugestions...
alfric

dennis88 · Oct 7, 2003, 06:10 AM

I would choose 80gb HD and 768mb ram, if you can afford that.
You can always choose 256mb ram, and buy a 512mb chip from crucial and save alot of money.
I bought 2x512mb chips from crucial, they are working superb.

I think you should go for the 5400rpm drive, because you get alot extra performance.

michael_on_mac · Oct 7, 2003, 06:36 AM

Originally posted by dennis88:
I think you should go for the 5400rpm drive, because you get alot extra performance.

The OP was considering a 12", so there's no BTO option for a 5400 rpm drive...

Howsoever, I'd recommend the additional 512MB RAM (total 768 MB), unless there are real requirements to buy one of the really expensive 1 GB pieces. If you promise not to do large image processing, 512 MB total could also do. I wouldn't recommend less.

I believe all the drives used in 12" PBs are of the same density, so there should be no performance gain from 60 or 80 GB drives. Of course, if you need more space, buy it.

If you're tight on budget, you could think about whether a later upgrade (out of warranty) of the HD could be a viable option for you...

Best, Michael.

all2ofme · Oct 7, 2003, 06:38 AM

Edit - timing - the poster above beat me to it.

Bear in mind that the 12" won't take two DIMMs (it has only one slot) and also doesn't have the 5400rpm drive as a BTO option. You could add the HDD yourself after you've bought it, but I'm unsure as to the situation you'd be putting yourself in with regards to warranty.

LeeG · Oct 7, 2003, 07:09 AM

I did exactly what is stated above - 80Gb 768 ram - 256 from apple, 512 from crucial.

I think this is the sweet spot. Unless you turn over your macs frequently (I don't), then I feel you should get the most drive you can when you purchase. HD upgrade is a little more involved (not much) and powerbook HDs can be pricey - I went with the 80Gb and bought a 512 from crucial-

Lee

xGrape · Oct 7, 2003, 07:34 AM

Obviously you would want to max it all out. Like me though, you need to prioritize.

I opted for a 60 GB HD and 2x256 MB RAM.

The extra money for the 60 GB HD is well worth it if you ask me. Cheap storage. Get 80 if you can afford it, but keep in mind that storage (hard drives) are fairly cheap these days, and you could as well get a external FW-based drive - if you don't need to be ultra-portable.

Now memory on the other hand is quite expensive these days. Especially from Apple. If you get it with the stock 256 MB, you could probably pick up a 512 MB chip cheaper elsewhere.

Good luck

stotan · Oct 7, 2003, 12:26 PM

does the new 12 inch powerbook use PC2100 DDR266 sodimm or PC2700 DDR33 sodimms?

C-Bear · Oct 7, 2003, 01:08 PM

Originally posted by alfric:
anyway, WHICH CONFIGURATION (BTO) offers the best value for $$$

Why go BTO if you're looking to get the best 12" set-up for the money? BTO forces you to buy through the Apple Store, which necessitates paying a sales tax.

If you're looking for bang-for-the-buck, I'd suggest buying the stock 12" Superdrive model from a third party reseller that won't charge sales tax � that's a couple hundred you're likely to save right there. Spend the saved money on third party RAM (go with a 512MB chip, again, most bang-for-the-buck), and if you need more space than the stock 40GB HD offers, invest a little money in an external � you'll get a bigger, faster HD for about the same change you'd be spending on the BTO.

C-Bear · Oct 7, 2003, 01:10 PM

Originally posted by stotan:
does the new 12 inch powerbook use PC2100 DDR266 sodimm or PC2700 DDR33 sodimms?

According to Apple's site: PC2100 (266MHz) DDR SDRAM

C-Bear · Oct 7, 2003, 01:20 PM

Originally posted by dennis88:
I think you should go for the 5400rpm drive, because you get alot extra performance.

Although it's been established that that's not an option for the 12", just out of curiosity, what is "a lot of extra performance" and how do we know that the 5400 offers it over the 4200?

I know that in Bare Feats' tests the 5400 edged out the 4200 (as it should), but not by a significant margin if I understood the numbers, not, in fact, enough to seem to justify the $125 Apple's charging.

Otherwise, I've seen no objective or subjective comparisons yet. I'd appreciate hearing your perspective.

shabbasuraj · Oct 7, 2003, 06:39 PM

Originally posted by C-Bear:
Why go BTO if you're looking to get the best 12" set-up for the money? BTO forces you to buy through the Apple Store, which necessitates paying a sales tax.

If you're looking for bang-for-the-buck, I'd suggest buying the stock 12" Superdrive model from a third party reseller that won't charge sales tax � that's a couple hundred you're likely to save right there. Spend the saved money on third party RAM (go with a 512MB chip, again, most bang-for-the-buck), and if you need more space than the stock 40GB HD offers, invest a little money in an external � you'll get a bigger, faster HD for about the same change you'd be spending on the BTO.

this guy is right, if your budget is to be considered get the SD, save on the tax by buying from an online retailer, or use an education discount, and when the need arises down the road buy an external HD, as they are by far the most bang for the buck..

lates...

Fellow2000 · Oct 7, 2003, 08:02 PM

just in case anyone hasn't mentioned this yet... NEVER buy ram from apple, get the lease amount you can and then just buy it somewhere else, you will ususally save about 50 percent.