[Jonosss]

hello.
im getting an iBook and id like to know what you guys think would be the best buy
i want to get the best stuff to have it function well for a high school student but without spending too much extra
heres what im thinking of getting:

� 256MB DDR266 SDRAM !!+ extra RAM to put in as expansion !!
� 60GB Ultra ATA drive
� Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
� AirPort Extreme Card
� Keyboard & Mac OS X - U.S. English
� 12-inch TFT XGA display
� 1.2GHz PowerPC G4
� ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 w/ 32MB DDR video memory

any input would be greatly appreciated
thanks

[B Gallagher]

new iBooks are rumoured to be released very very soon (ie. end of April). Wait a while and see if anything's released, which it almost certainly will be.

Aside from that, it seems that 768 of RAM is a good minimum, so get another 512 of RAM at least.
It's a shame Apple doesn't let you get the superdrive on the 12" iBooks...

When do you need the iBook by, and what will you be using it for?

[yogi]

iBooks are great! suggest you get the built in bluetooth option so Mom/Dad/Grandma can buy you cool things for your birthsday like wireless keyboard! otherwise, when you wanna get wireless peripherals, you gotta block one of your usb ports with bluetooth dongle. definitely upgrade the ram too.
yes, iBook due for upgrade, but dont hold your breath for something amazing, iBook already getting too close to powerbook specs.

[Chimpmaster]

Originally Posted by yogi

iBooks are great! suggest you get the built in bluetooth option so Mom/Dad/Grandma can buy you cool things for your birthsday like wireless keyboard! otherwise, when you wanna get wireless peripherals, you gotta block one of your usb ports with bluetooth dongle. definitely upgrade the ram too.
yes, iBook due for upgrade, but dont hold your breath for something amazing, iBook already getting too close to powerbook specs.

Yeah I would definitely up the RAM - go for 768MB. If cost is an issue buy it through an apple store who will sell and install 3rd party ram for you more cheaply.

If it is to be your primary machine I would recommend the 14.1" over the 12" - i bought it and the screen size difference is immense.

If its a secondary machine to your desktop, or you will purchase an external display, by all means get the 12".

[sminch]

i reckon you should try both sizes - i've got the 12" as my only computer at home and it's fine for me, could have a bigger screen for watching dvds or whatever but it's far more portable. i guess whichever is the better tradeoff for you. just remember that they're the same resolution but the 14 has bigger pixels, so you don't actually get any more on the screen, it's just that what you do have is a bit larger.

768mb ram is all good, but if you're not doing anything too intensive you could easily survive with less (though the current 256 stock might be pushing it). i guess this comes down to $$$. more is always good.

i may be about to get shot down here, but it might be better to spend money on ram rather than the larger hard drive. i've got 30gb and only have a few gb of mp3s, and i've currently got around 18gb free. that fills up when i drop a dvd or two onto the hd but aside from that there is no chance of me needing more space. your milage may vary.

sminch

[storer]

Thanks, I didn't know about those rumours and I am in the same situation as the orignal poster! I want at least 512 RAM though.

So do you think the updates will be so that tiger can used?

[yogi]

there is no reason to think Tiger won't run perfectly well on a current G4 iBook-but i guess we will get lots of input in the coming days.
as above, the 12 and 14 inch models have the same rez, so if yuere looking to save money, the 12 is a good buy, especially if you will haul it all day every day to/from skool and classes.
remember the iBook only has one open expansion slot for adding ram, the first 256 being soldered in, so if you only go for 512 and decide to upgrade later, your old mem module will have to be replaced, making it ebay fodder. still, my first G4 iBook ran well enough on 512. if there is any update to the iBook soon, hopefully its an upgrade to 512 base configuration.
Unless you already have or are planning to buy an external hard drive, go for a bigger internal HD config. Sminch suggested a 30GB is plenty, but if you are into music or digital photography, 30 gigs is going to fill up fast.

[storer]

Oh that's excellent. Thank you very much.

I am tossing up between 14" iBook with 512MB RAM and a PC with more for less. I really want OS X.4 and iLife and everything though.