[Beginnerdude]

Hey Im going to try to live up to my name as best as I could. I know nothing about macs and PBs and etc so treat me like a retard.

Im a graphic design student thinking of purchasing a Mac. Im thinking of getting a 12" PB G4 for my 4 year program. Im wondering whether I should get it NOW or wait til a PB G5 comes out... I dunno when G5 is coming out and if the wait is too long I dont want to put myself thru hell waiting for it. Also when G5 comes out its bound to have some problems right? I mean most new things do, so my logic is that I should buy G4 now since its been perfected thru the years and is relatively stable? Also Im from Canada and if I order off the site what do u think I should get as extra with the PB I purchase like ... RAM, memory, Do I need an extra battery, an extra AC Adaptor, and should I apply for the applecare plan? Also how long does shipping usually take? Thanks so much for putting up wit my lack of knowledge.

[iREZ]

Are you just starting school, if you're already taking your graduate courses I say go for it and get one. If your just starting your general ed then wait till the next release, you might see a dual core PB which will be lots faster then what is out right now.

[Beginnerdude]

Yea Im just starting first year of university. I dunno how long I can last without a mac to do my work since everythign is used on the macs and etc. How much longer will the new PB G5 be coming out I heard it was supposed to be out this year but it never came obviously. And I heard there might be heating issues/battery with the G5 PB?

[iREZ]

I could say confidently that the next release of the PB will not have a G5 in it, unless the next release is in Jan (which I highly doubt). If your waiting for a G5 just get one of the 'book's now, if your waiting for an update, wait cuz they seem to be right around the corner Nov. at the latest. The machines out now are work horses, but with rumors of dual core, I personally would wait and buy a cheaper 'book on ebay to hold me over till the new model comes out, then I'd sell the old 'book on ebay with a $50 loss and get the new system. That's just me though.

[runejoha]

Originally posted by Beginnerdude:
Yea Im just starting first year of university. I dunno how long I can last without a mac to do my work since everythign is used on the macs and etc. How much longer will the new PB G5 be coming out I heard it was supposed to be out this year but it never came obviously. And I heard there might be heating issues/battery with the G5 PB?

I had the same problem. I had a very important summerjobb this year (Europeean nuclear research center) and needed badly a new laptop. I wanted to stick to my old compaq until a new PB G5 etc. came out. Well, in the end I just bought the PB G4 15", and it works very well, and it will be fast enough for scientific work for a loong time (today it runs games pretty good). I am very happy I didn't wait. In this "waiting time" I have learned a lot more mac and can use it as a effective tool etc.

I recommend you to buy one now when you need it (I really do, stop wasting time in order to understand Apple). The last "upgrade" was nothing, and there will be several months before you see a PB G5. A dual CPU in a laptop will spend to much power, so I don't think we will see any upgrades before the G5. If you want a fast gamer computer buy a desktop AMD/Intel computer, which is much better for this purpose than a G5 anyway

[iREZ]

Here check out this Link.

[V12]

i was thinking the same thing, get my powerbook now or wait til i see a g5 (i doubt a duel proessor will come out for the pb - have you seen the cooling needed in the powermac?) i asked a apple associate at the store and he said that it is likely that we won't see any major upgrades on the pb for at least 2 year (due to cooling issues)

this is just what i heard...have no clue if it's true, although i can understand where they are coming from with the cooling issue problem

[runejoha]

Originally posted by V12:
i was thinking the same thing, get my powerbook now or wait til i see a g5 (i doubt a duel proessor will come out for the pb - have you seen the cooling needed in the powermac?) i asked a apple associate at the store and he said that it is likely that we won't see any major upgrades on the pb for at least 2 year (due to cooling issues)

this is just what i heard...have no clue if it's true, although i can understand where they are coming from with the cooling issue problem

So, nobody knows. Buy a PC if you want raw speed, it is faster anyway. Mac has other qualities, don't wait for speed - it is old news on the PC platform (Pentium M!) :-) Mac is fast enough, but you can get it faster.

[macaddict0001]

I'd say wait unless you can't. It won't be long until ther is a g5 in it. THERE WILL BE NO DUAL CORE. Its not like apple to use a processor for just one revision.

[iREZ]

Whose to say it's one revision? I still don't think we'll see the G5 in a PB for awhile.

[macaddict0001]

That's my opinion and it seems most likely, because it is probably possible to do so apple just hasn't released it yet.

[Lancer409]

it'll be a minor revision i think ...


something bigger announced at MWSF and out a little later ... that's my guess


and as someone else posted... i'll quote him/her .. (forgot the name)


1. Faster processor=more battery drain, the 1.5 took a hit on battery life from 1.33mhz, who knows what a dual core G4 will do. Maybe they will come out with a larger battery which is find by me. Caveat: some fancy new g5 tecnology that is more effecient and also more powerful would be nice

2. G5 is a long way off, I give it a year although seeing the imac there is hope for something a little sooner.

3. 95% of the people will never use the power of a 1.5 g4. I'm an architect I do 3d modeling, CAD, intensive photoshop and with 512k I get good performance. I plan on maxing out to 2 gigs of ram and I'm sure will increase the performance substanially. Yes its slow if you toss around 200meg photoshop, but that brings up the question "do you really need that resolution" Unfortunately most people have little understanding of resolutaion and file size, big is better, only if big is needed

4. New is more $$$$, has anyone forgotten these things use to cost close to 4k all decked out??

5. The g4 book has been thorougly tested. I'd rather buy a rev C product then one hot off of the designers table.

[runejoha]

12" is not sufficient if you are working with computer scientific work, just to mention if any computer/engeneer students read this. OS X is a welcome party to the professional computer world, so be aware which HW you are buying. It can be better to buy a G5 desktop and a cheap PC laptop.

Originally posted by Lancer409:
it'll be a minor revision i think ...


something bigger announced at MWSF and out a little later ... that's my guess


and as someone else posted... i'll quote him/her .. (forgot the name)


1. Faster processor=more battery drain, the 1.5 took a hit on battery life from 1.33mhz, who knows what a dual core G4 will do. Maybe they will come out with a larger battery which is find by me. Caveat: some fancy new g5 tecnology that is more effecient and also more powerful would be nice

2. G5 is a long way off, I give it a year although seeing the imac there is hope for something a little sooner.

3. 95% of the people will never use the power of a 1.5 g4. I'm an architect I do 3d modeling, CAD, intensive photoshop and with 512k I get good performance. I plan on maxing out to 2 gigs of ram and I'm sure will increase the performance substanially. Yes its slow if you toss around 200meg photoshop, but that brings up the question "do you really need that resolution" Unfortunately most people have little understanding of resolutaion and file size, big is better, only if big is needed

4. New is more $$$$, has anyone forgotten these things use to cost close to 4k all decked out??

5. The g4 book has been thorougly tested. I'd rather buy a rev C product then one hot off of the designers table.