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jer2eydevil88 · 10:19 AM

Let me say that while I am new to owning a Mac I have been using them since 2002. I bought a Mac Mini last year when they launched after falling in love with OS X on my roommates Ibook. Now after nearly a year of using it for ever imaginable task I am in the market for a new laptop. There are a ton of reasons for me to leave the pc notebook I currently use but it comes down to my sister currently having abducted my Centrino for school this year.

Right now I know I want OS X and all the benefits of the ADC (Which I currently subscribe to) but I really think the PPC hardware is antique and slow (maybe it’s just the mac mini talking) but my Athlon 64 desktop (which cost less than the mini) is 12 times faster. My real reluctance to drop nearly $2,000 on a notebook with PPC comes from my playing with OSx86 on my Intel notebook and having it boot up 10 times faster.

So to help you give me advice on the decision let me list what exactly I plan on using my notebook for. At the very least the machine will be an Apache test server as well as my software compiler/production machine. I currently use the (1.42ghz, 512mb, 80gb) Mini to test websites and host an array of other server side applications. I intend to use my notebook in a similar fashion. The Mini is very quick at first but once I start running 5 – 10 applications OS X tends to lock up frequently, finder locks up more often than anything else.

I tend to play games on my pc and I heard rumors that transgaming will support point2play in os x on the x86 hardware which might be a big benefit to me when I have spare time.

The options are bottled down to whether I should buy a cheap (probably used) sub $400 notebook and use it until the Intel launch of PowerBooks? I know already that such a slow machine would cramp my style and possibly lower my productivity so I’m a bit reprehensive to do this.

Could someone who uses a 1.67 GHz 15” PowerBook tell me if I’m being way too cautious about this platform switch or if it is wise for me to wait?

ajprice · Oct 2, 2005, 10:14 AM

Get a secondhand Powerbook or iBook for now, then get an intelMac later next year after they are released and they have got the 1st generation niggles out.

bradoesch · Oct 2, 2005, 10:16 AM

How long do you generally keep computers between upgrades? Apple will be updating the consumer line with Intel chips first (iMac, iBook, mini) and waiting longer to update the pro line. The press release states they want to finish the transition by the end of 2007. That could be over 2 years from now.

jer2eydevil88 · 10:26 AM

I upgrade my notebook after 12 months then I purchase a new one after 24 months.
This past year I spent $400 on a new cpu and extra ram for my Centrino...

.:: edit ::.
I took the time to organize my thoughts to help people help me.

OreoCookie · Oct 2, 2005, 11:01 AM

I'm not sure why you think an Athlon is 12 times faster. OS X will not boot 10x faster with a Yonah-based portable (or whatever they'll use).

Also, nobody knows for sure when x86-based Mac portables will appear, so the question is: are you willing to wait another year or two?

OS X will also make you work differently. My brother was telling me that I was crazy using 10 apps at once

Altair · Oct 2, 2005, 11:08 AM

It sounds like you just need more ram. What 5-10 apps do you usually run? If they are heavy on the memory than 512 MB is not going to be enough.

JKT · Oct 2, 2005, 11:12 AM

If your mini is "locking up" when running a number of apps, it suggests you don't have enough RAM for the apps you are using. How much RAM does it have and what apps are you using?

Given that the PowerBooks are long overdue an update (they haven't been for 240+ days) I would expect a new revision within the next month (though, of course, there is no guarantee of that). Hopefully, if there is an update, they will have the latest G4 from Freescale which should offer a pretty good performance boost as it'll remove some of the major bottlenecks currently holding back the PB line. I'd wait to see if that upgrade happens and what it brings.

The prospects of a MacIntel version is non-existent - I would not expect to see one within the next 9 months or so at the very earliest and probably a lot later than that.

CandyApple · 12:52 PM

hmm.
[edit]

jer2eydevil88 · Oct 2, 2005, 11:49 AM

The mini has 512mb of ram and yes it probably has a great deal to do with that but I don't want to throw another $100 at it to make it a gig.

I plan on getting at least 1.5gb of ram in the notebook especially since I want to play with some highly intensive software like Shake.

Does anyone have a link to a rumor page speculating on the new powerbooks due out?

pat++ · Oct 2, 2005, 11:52 AM

I would wait for the next (and last) PPC update and get a PowerBook G4. It's likely to come very soon, and you won't see any intel based Mac before at least 9 months, and moreover there is noone knows which model will get Intel chips first... This could be at least another full year before the PowerBook gets updated with Intel chips.

gee308 · Oct 2, 2005, 11:53 AM

Tuesday

Originally Posted by jer2eydevil88

The mini has 512mb of ram and yes it probably has a great deal to
do with that but I don't want to throw another $100 at it to make it a gig.

I plan on getting at least 1.5gb of ram in the notebook especially since I want to play with some highly intensive software like Shake.

Does anyone have a link to a rumor page speculating on the new powerbooks due out?

pat++ · Oct 2, 2005, 11:55 AM

Originally Posted by gee308

Tuesday

or the following Tuesday

jer2eydevil88 · Oct 2, 2005, 11:57 AM

Ok well then assuming the refresh occurs i'll be buying a 15" powerbook with a superdrive and i'll buy the ram upgrade from newegg.com (probably corsair because I have had great pc ram from them).

Does anyone think its worth upgrading the HDD to a 7,200 rpm drive? Or does this generate to much heat? I put one in my old centrino notebook and it flew.

gee308 · Oct 2, 2005, 12:14 PM

hopefully, 7200 rpm hds will be an option

PubGuy · Oct 2, 2005, 12:22 PM

Apple laptops operationally and functionaly last much longer than PC laptops. I'm still using my first generation titanium PowerBook (G4-400 with 384 MB memory) after 5 years! It is running the latest and greatest version of OS X (10.4.2). Only last month did my power adapter die and I had to replace it at the Apple Store. Take your typical 5 year old PC laptop with 384 MB memory and load Windows XP SP2 on it and see how it fairs (if it will even load on it). I'm actually still amazed on how well this TiBook works (I even run Virtual PC 7 with Windows 2000 on it).

Granted, right now I'm about ready for an update and am waiting until they announce the next updates before replacing the one I've got. I will clean install it and sell this one on ebay.

....just waiting for the updates....

JKT · Oct 2, 2005, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by jer2eydevil88

The mini has 512mb of ram and yes it probably has a great deal to do with that but I don't want to throw another $100 at it to make it a gig.

I plan on getting at least 1.5gb of ram in the notebook especially since I want to play with some highly intensive software like Shake.

Does anyone have a link to a rumor page speculating on the new powerbooks due out?

No one knows, though appleinsider.com suggest that it may happen this month (for all the pro lines, including the desktops). But rumours are just rumours... you can't rely on them too much.

Other rumour sites to watch are:

www.macrumors.com

www.thinksecret.com

The buyer's guide at macrumors is particularly useful as it shows how long it is since the last update and the average amount of time between updates for each model Mac.

Pao|o · 02:59 PM

I'd wait for an Intel-based Mac if, and only if you dont *really* need a Mac til June 2006. I really dont see why everyone's worried that Apple & software makers will stop writing software for PPC. There are tens of millions of people who have PPC-based Macs and not developing software for pre-exhisting platform is just plain stupid. Apple & software makers have a track record of supporting different OSes & chips. Fat binaries kept 68K users years after PPC became the Apple's chip of choice. 68K support really died when Apple moved to OS X. OS9 support & apps lasted at least 3-4 years after OS X came out. I'm guessing Apple & software makers will support PPC-based Macs until 2010-2012.

Long before that time I'd think you'd be able to afford & be inclined to upgrade. Who wants to use a computer that's more than 3 years old?

I few days ago I bought a 12" iBook & will inclined to sell it after OS X 10.5 comes out & second rev Powerbook Mactels come out.

MacRumors buyer's guide should break down the iPod into Shuffle/nano/iPod/U2.