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Lundh · May 18, 2006, 12:54 PM

I'm planning om buying a new laptop soon but I can't decide if I should buy a new MacBook 2.0 GHz, 1 GB RAM or a used PowerBook 15" 1,67 GHz and 2 GB RAM, the one with the high resolution display. They cost about the same and weigh about the same too.

Since I would use the laptop mostly for school (I'm a student at a technical univeristy) that would include programming and a lot of writing. I'm thinking that the PowerBook's screen seems really nice, the extra pixels would be great when viewing documentation and looking at references. On the other hand, it's a PowerPC and quite slow compared to the Core based MacBook. I don't care about gaming, but raw porocessing power is another thing and with the rapid transistion to x86 I wonder how long small third party developers will continue to support the PPC.

What I really would want is the MacBook Pro but unfortunally it is a bit too expensive for a student's economy. Does anyone have a good advice on what to decide? I could use them!

Zeeb · May 18, 2006, 01:37 PM

I would go with the Macbook if the choice is only between that and the PB you mentioned-- especially since you are not a gamer. The MB will last you a lot longer and will give you the power you need. If you find the screen on it too small, you can connect it to an external display.

If you really want a Macbook Pro, Apple sells refurbished models at a good discount.

Bryanmc · May 18, 2006, 01:47 PM

No question, go for the MacBook.

amazing · May 18, 2006, 02:32 PM

If you're a student at a tech univ, are you going to need dual-booting into XP, or even Linux? MacBook all the way, especially if the U has bulk licenses on XP, Office, stuff like that, for its students. Get 3rd party RAM.

The HD in the Macbook is easily user serviceable, so you can always get more HD space as your needs grow. You can throw the MB HD into a fw-400/usb 2.0 external case and have a backup.

Lundh · May 18, 2006, 04:39 PM

My plan changed a bit thanks to your responses. I have ruled out the PPC-based macs. They are too weak, old and outdated if i want to keep the computer for a while.

The plan now is to sell my PC and add that money to my laptop budget and buy a lower end MacBook Pro after all. I will move to a small apartment soon and figured that the space I save this way are more important then the PC.

Dual-booting is always nice but I don't see myself using it all that much. All important software is available for Mac OS X and the rest could be run through VirtualPC or by X-forwarding from one of the servers.

amazing · May 18, 2006, 05:12 PM

Just so you know, virtual PC from MS doesn't work on the intel Macs. You have to use Parallels VM beta (which is slated to be $50 when finalized) or Boot Camp. The Parallels Beta is free to try, but you do need a Windows install disk. Check out the forum here devoted to Alternative Operating Systems.

The low-end Macbook with the Combo drive is not a bad idea. When you eventually need to burn a DVD, you can buy an external firewire 400/usb 2.0 case for around $50 and put a $40 Pioneer 16X Dual-layer burner in it. Much, much faster than the superdrive, which doesn't burn DL in any case.

masugu · May 18, 2006, 07:28 PM

Originally Posted by amazing

Just so you know, virtual PC from MS doesn't work on the intel Macs. You have to use Parallels VM beta (which is slated to be $50 when finalized) or Boot Camp. The Parallels Beta is free to try, but you do need a Windows install disk. Check out the forum here devoted to Alternative Operating Systems.

The low-end Macbook with the Combo drive is not a bad idea. When you eventually need to burn a DVD, you can buy an external firewire 400/usb 2.0 case for around $50 and put a $40 Pioneer 16X Dual-layer burner in it. Much, much faster than the superdrive, which doesn't burn DL in any case.

Oooh Good reminder on the DL. I totally got consumed in the other MacBook revelry. Thanks!!!

NateEssex · May 18, 2006, 09:42 PM

Originally Posted by amazing

low-end Macbook with the Combo drive is not a bad idea. When you eventually need to burn a DVD, you can buy an external firewire 400/usb 2.0 case for around $50 and put a $40 Pioneer 16X Dual-layer burner in it. Much, much faster than the superdrive, which doesn't burn DL in any case.

Can you recommend (link) a DL drive so I can try to do that? Do you need special software to take advantage of DL DVDs?
Thanks!

kcmac · May 18, 2006, 10:13 PM

MacBook. Why do you need a big screen to write or program? Portability alone will be the best feature if that is your main use.

The new screen dimensions on the MB are wonderful. You can see a lot with the widescreen. I was simply amazed how much roomier it is than my 12 inch PB for the templates in Word, Pages, omnigraffle, etc. Even iCal is more usable on the MB.

amazing · May 19, 2006, 01:02 AM

Masugu: I'll copy my post from another thread, which has links to the Pioneer DL burner. I've got 1 12" 1.33 with combo, so I burn DVDs on my external. Haven't tried DL yet, still waiting for the prices to become reasonable.

For an external burner, you can choose from any 5.25" enclosure, tho I'd recommend getting one that has both fw-400 and USB 2.0 for versatility. I've assembled several of these $50 Macally enclosures, and love the fact that they don't have fans, so they're quiet. They work on PC or Mac:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817146607

Once you've got the enclosure, it's easy to insert a burner, like this Pioneer. Note the 16X DVD-R burn speed, most superdrives seem to burn like 4X from user reports. Yep, 8X DL. If some new fast burner comes along for cheap enough, sell the Pioneer to a friend (they work great in desktops, with native support in MacOS 10.4). Check out the reviews at xlr8yourmac.com

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827129001

Cache: 2M
CD-R: 40X
CD-RW: 32X
DVD+R: 16X
DVD+R DL: 8X
DVD+RW: 8X
DVD-R: 16X
DVD-R DL: 8X
DVD-RW: 6X
Type: DVD Burner
Model #: DVR-111D
Item #: N82E16827129001

Lundh · May 19, 2006, 02:15 AM

Originally Posted by kcmac

MacBook. Why do you need a big screen to write or program? Portability alone will be the best feature if that is your main use.

The new screen dimensions on the MB are wonderful. You can see a lot with the widescreen. I was simply amazed how much roomier it is than my 12 inch PB for the templates in Word, Pages, omnigraffle, etc. Even iCal is more usable on the MB.

I tent do have alot of windows open at the same time when programming. VIM, references in browsers, lab-assignments and such things. The higher resolution is really usefull in such cases. The only factor in regards to portability is weight, I always carry it in a backpach and the added size is neglectible there.