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g4baker · Dec 3, 2003, 10:22 PM

Alright, I'm just confused. I had an 800 MHz G3 iBook/640 MB RAM/bla/bla/Jaguar. It seemed a bit too slow for me, so I bought a Dell Inspiron laptop. I really like windows, but I'm finding that I'm missing the Mac side. I've been offered a trade for the same thing, but with Panther. How much of a speed difference is in Panther, and would you recommend the trade? I don't know, I'm just confused. I like the keyboard on the iBook, but I don't want to give up the Dell 15-inch screen, but I like MacOS, but I like the speed of the Dell....ahhh just please help me....

imactheknife · Dec 3, 2003, 10:39 PM

Hi, I have a ibook 800 12.1" screen 640 ram, combo drive, 30 gig with panther....the difference between panther and Jaguar is amazing....so my .02 is the ibook with panther is worth it....I myself had a 14.1" ibook..and I loved it....but as far as weight goes..portability etc...the 12.1 kicks but...I also helped my step brother buy a PC laptop (Had no choice) and it had a 15.1" screen etc...as nice as it was it is totally dumb if your trying to travel and work on your laptop unless your flying first class! so I feel the 12" laptops fit the bill, have great screen size, battery life, and don't weigh 300 pounds...they are my choice now...and if I need bigger screen size I hook up my 17" screen with monitor spanning and there you go...Mark

d4nth3m4n · Dec 3, 2003, 10:58 PM

panther is a huge upgrade. sped up my 700mhz noticeably. go for it. you realize you posted this in a MAC forum. if you get one person to say go for the dell, ill be really surprised.

g4baker · Dec 3, 2003, 11:09 PM

How quick is the boot time versus panther? My old 800 with panther took FOREVER....is it any better? Thanks, and keep the advice coming!

forkies · Dec 3, 2003, 11:26 PM

go for the dell

g4baker · Dec 4, 2003, 08:51 AM

Any other advice? I'm still not sure, I miss the MacOs pretty bad, but I like the Dell!

adamjh · Dec 4, 2003, 09:59 AM

Originally posted by g4baker:
How quick is the boot time versus panther? My old 800 with panther took FOREVER....is it any better? Thanks, and keep the advice coming!

The boot time on my G4/933/640RAM is about 45 seconds. Seems pretty snappy to me.

anaphora68 · Dec 4, 2003, 10:04 AM

If you're wavering go to an apple store and play around with a 12'' and panther, see for yourself.

Why are you so attached to the dell?

gonadman · Dec 4, 2003, 12:01 PM

If you want a bigger screen, you might like to think about the 14" iBook. I just got one myself and I can say they're plenty big.

I used to have an 800MHz w/640 Combo and it was ok with Jaguar, but even better with Panther. I just couldn't go back to Windows even if I wanted to.

divermac · Dec 5, 2003, 09:52 AM

I've just switched from windows to a 14" ibook. The ibook scores well on size, weight and battery life and the 14" screen looks pretty big! It's a great machine for travelling, stuff just works better on the mac machine and it is so much more stable. If you really need the portability aspect, go for the mac. If lugging it around isn't really an issue but a nice stable working OS is - go for the mac!

g4baker · Dec 5, 2003, 01:08 PM

Thank you to everyone for the advice! I am actually leaning torwards doing the trade and giving up the Dell system. Please keep the advice coming; anything relating to speed, size, the OS, everything...it really does help me more than I think you know. Thanks again, and keep it coming!

Aaron Baker
abaker@seburntech.com

g4baker · Dec 5, 2003, 01:10 PM

Also, if someone could elaborate more on the speed difference of Panther, I'd really appreciate it. I had this exact iBook and didn't like it, because it was slow. I've heard Jaguar speeds it up, but I hope it's a good amount...I'd like to keep this laptop for a while. Thanks again!

Aaron Baker

g4baker · Dec 7, 2003, 08:57 AM

It's now really more of a speed difference between a 900 MHz G3 and an 800 MHz G4. Any significant things?