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hughdiggity7 · Mar 8, 2006, 09:40 PM

ok, heres my deal. im in the market for a new computer. my old laptop crashed, stupid windows. and ive heard great things about macs, so im going with them. i primarily use it for the web, downloading music and my pics and stuff! now ive heard that you can do a lot of kick butt video editing on these machines so i might get into that! so heres my dilemma, go with the ibook 1.33 or 1.42? that and what are the refurbs like? are they decent, any bad experiences? Help Please!

Steve · Mar 8, 2006, 10:16 PM

I would recommend going with the 12" iBook. The 1.42Ghz machine has a 14" screen, but the same resolution as the 12" iBook. The speed difference between the 1.33 and 1.42 is negligible, and you would see a much bigger difference saving the money and spending it on extra RAM. There are not many other differences between the two machines.

From what I've heard and read, the refurb machines are typically pretty good, but I haven't had any personal experience with them. It may be a good idea to buy it "used" from the Marketplace here, or some place like eBay. Price would be lower and you may get some added bonuses.

volcano · Mar 8, 2006, 10:28 PM

If you can, I would wait until April 1st - it's rumored that a new line of iBooks will be introduced with Intel processors in them, and they may be renamed the "MacBook" as well.

Let's just say video editing isn't what you buy a current iBook G4 for. With an Intel processor, the outlook will be significantly brighter. Don't get me wrong - they're great machines for wireless, browsing the internet, e-mail, iTunes, and perhaps some Photoshop every now and then - but the G4 processor is showing it's age and the iBook is overdue for an update.

So if you can, wait. Even if you're not interested in the new models when they are released and you believe you'll do just fine with a G4, the prices should drop.

hughdiggity7 · Mar 8, 2006, 10:44 PM

thanks for the help! i hope they update them in april. that would be sweet!

Heavy · Mar 9, 2006, 01:35 AM

Me too. Even sooner! I've been holding off for a new one as well.

How does Apple go about that anyhow? Do they usually announce beforehand or do some press stuff, or does it just pop up on the site one day?

JoshKurtz · Mar 12, 2006, 07:51 PM

Originally Posted by Heavy

Me too. Even sooner! I've been holding off for a new one as well.

How does Apple go about that anyhow? Do they usually announce beforehand or do some press stuff, or does it just pop up on the site one day?

They'll definitely hype it as much as they can.

Heavy · Mar 12, 2006, 10:30 PM

Thanks. I was just thinking if they hype it up early, no one will buy the remaining stocks at dealers and Apple.

fesdds · Mar 13, 2006, 02:15 PM

I have a refurb iMac G5 & refurb dual 1.8 G5 Power Mac. Unless I am desperate and need computer immediately, I will always buy refurb. The only problem I had was with the Power Mac, they didn't match the processors appropriately and the machine was not happy. The quickly sent out a new refurb and not one problem since. You can't beat the price, unless you want to take the ebay risk. Which I also have done.