[mariahlullaby]

I am getting ready to buy my first Mac and I have decided on a Powerbook. I am cannot decide which one I want. The 12" is in my price range ($1300-1950).

For $1700 (approx. and with student discount), I can get 1.25 GB RAM, 80 GB hard drive, Superdrive, and a 1.5 ghz processor.

For $1934, I can get 1.5 ghz 15", 512 MB RAM, Superdrive, 80 GB Hard drive

And for $2099, I can get a 1.67 ghz G4, 512 MB RAM, Superdrive, 80 GB Hard Drive

I think the 12" will just be too small for me, as I am used to and love a larger screen (I am on a 15"' now). I could always get an external monitor, though. Is there a big difference in the 1.5 and 1.67? I could upgrade RAM later (though I'm worried if 512 will run slow; I'm on 1 GB on my PC). And then there's the 1.67 ghz, which I think would be my best fit; I'd have to wait a few months before I can afford it though, and I need a computer...and I figure if I'm getting it, I should boost the VRAM since it's only $90 extra.

Please help!! I have no idea what to do.

My uses: Internet, image/video editing, web design, Power Point, word processing, watching/burning DVDs, iTunes and syncing with my iPod

I'm looking for something comparable or better than my PC specs: 3 ghz processor (P4), 1 GB RAM, 80 GB 5400 rpm HD, 15" widescreen.

Thanks!!

[Cheetah223]

I suggest the superdrive 1.67 15". Even if you decide to get the 12" through apple, don't upgrade your ram in their store unless you've got money to burn, it's much, much cheaper to do on your own. I'm not saying you shouldn't support the apple store at all, but their ram is far overpriced. If you're going to be doing video editing, it will be nice to be able to burn DVD's, and the extra screen space would be much loved, i'm sure. Image editing will also benefit from a bigger screen, which allows a higher resolution.

[mariahlullaby]

Thanks for the reply. I think that's what I'm leaning towards, the 1.67; and I will definitely upgrade the RAM myself (the RAM upgrades I was quoting came from 3rd party prices). I guess I can live with being computerless for 2-3 months. I can use my parents' desktop PC, which is on it's last legs (6 years old) and wheezing away at 128 MB of RAM on Windows XP...and they won't let me upgrade it. Anyways, thanks!

[NYCFarmboy]

go with the 15"

the screens on the 12" powerbooks suck. (I have a 12" 1.3 g4 powerbook and the screen is very dark and has a very poor viewing angle).

the 15" models have a MUCh better screen..go look at them in a store to compare.

[mariahlullaby]

Yeah, I have seen them both (though none of the Apple laptop screens compare with some of the newer PC ones) and I agree the 15" is much better. Is the 15" hard to lug around? I love the compactness of the 12".

[phoenix78]

Hi!

the 15" is not difficult to carry at all. I have recently ordered a 17" and it is not overly large (not THAT much beigger than the 15"). one plus with the PB is that they are very thin and not bulky as a windows based model and so they are fairly light. Just make sure you get a good cary case that allows you to house it properly when you are on the go and choose a strap that you find comfortable.

as for which model to buy... go for the 15" 1,67 as this is the only version of the 15" that can have vram upgraded to 128Mb. the 1.5 ghz model cannot. you cannot change afterwards... but you can add ram afterwards as you need it. for now concentrate on getting a base system and applecare and worry about upgradeable parts later (ram).

i have seen the 12" in store and it is quit small. even a friend of mine who has a 12" says that when he is browsing the web or working on a doc he has to constantly scroll left and right as well as up and down because he cannot fit the document inside the screen lol. for me personally that is simply a horrible way to work on a pc and i would get frustrated with it eventually.

as far as installing ram... do it yourself! lol... you can find downloadable manuals on how to access the user accessible ram slots and it shows you how to add them and all. save some dough.

my 2c worth.

cheers.
rob

[PMDaly]

I'm along with the masses on this one, go for the 15 incher @ 1.67 all the way. I do a lot of image/video editing (I can't program so I'm a GUI engineer for my product team haha) and every day I regret the fact that I hadn't spent the measely 100bux for double the vram... ugh. Even if you don't need it at the moment it's still a good investment since it's rather diffucult to upgrade later. Agreeing with phoenix on installing the ram yourself. It's so easy. The only thing you need to worry about is being overly rough and not grounding yourself (touch anything metal... "theoretically" you could damage something). As mobility goes, I recently "made the switch" (that sounds lamer and lamer the more I say it) and I bring my laptop to class every day and it's no more a burden than an extra EE book. My theory on buying new computers/technology is to buy the best there is b/c technology advances at such a fast rate... chances are your new purchase will be outdated within a couple months. Go for the 1.67 super and purchase 3rd party ram. Currently there are very good deals on gig sticks... I got mine for 139 and it works perfectly.
-Pat

[bovie]

I have a 12inch Powerbook and sometimes wish I bought the 15. However, I almost always use a external monitor. You also have to think about buying a case and other needed laptop accessories. It might seem cool to burn your whole buget on a laptop but how cool is a $1500+ laptop with out a nice case to keep it nice and with out scatches.
Moving on, I love my 12inch but, when the day comes to replace it sometime next year you can be sure I will be buying a 15incher. I will keep the 12incher for war driving and other stuff where a SMALL laptop is better.

[SpaceRockness]

A stock 15" will be good enough out of the box, I still have my first gen 15" AluPB(1.25Ghz) with the original 512mb(back then I paid extra for a single sodimm) and is good enough for my workload of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Final Cut Pro. This was my desktop replacement as the iMac G4 didn't fit my needs and I still had some software which only worked on a G4...having FW800+Bluetooth helped my decision.

Don't bother with the 12" PB, the viewing angle sucks and Apple geared it towards those who wanted a PBized iBook 12". While I also own a 12" PB(1.33Ghz) with 768mb, the ultra-light design is useful for lecture halls & traveling but serious work is really painful with the resolution... I refuse to use FCP on it. I can't wait till I get a 1GB sodimm so I can reuse the 512mb in the 15". Once you've used a large screen with a higher resolution, its hard to fall back to a lousy 1024x768. I'm planning to keep my 12" for 1.5yrs and then jump for the next PowerBook which I hope is a dual core G4. If all you use is MS Word, Excel and Powerpoint, the resolution isn't that bad... try Illustrator, Photoshop or InDesign and you'll cringe with the floating toolboxes filling up an already cramped screen.

Keep in mind you should budget for a decent case($100+), memory(3rd party as noted) and some accessories, those alone will push the total cost ~$2000+ w/AppleCare. With an edu discount, its like getting AppleCare for $50 before tax... students/teachers get $200 off PBs and $100 off AppleCare.

[mariahlullaby]

Hi,
Thanks for all the replies . I already have a carrying case from my old HP laptop, and it will fit, I've checked. I might still get a sleeve though to protect from scratches. RAM-wise, I'll be installing myself. However, if I get the 1.67, I'll need to wait a bit before I can afford popping a 1 GB stick in there. I just need to save up before I can afford it, as I'm about $500 short if you include taxes, RAM, etc.

Thanks!

[amazing]

Originally posted by mariahlullaby:
Hi,
Thanks for all the replies . I already have a carrying case from my old HP laptop, and it will fit, I've checked. I might still get a sleeve though to protect from scratches. RAM-wise, I'll be installing myself. However, if I get the 1.67, I'll need to wait a bit before I can afford popping a 1 GB stick in there. I just need to save up before I can afford it, as I'm about $500 short if you include taxes, RAM, etc.

Thanks!

At this point, not a bad idea to wait: Apple just announced Tiger shipping on April 29. You'd want to wait until the laptop source you choose to order from has Tiger at no extra charge with the laptop. No sense spending an extra $130 when you could've got it included by waiting 2-3 weeks.

My strategy is slightly different: I know I'm going to be tempted when the eventual G5 chip gets into the Powerbook line, but I'm not going to buy the first generation model (I'll let the early adopters be the beta-tester guinea pigs.) So I got something that will tide me over that period, something that meets my immediate needs while allowing some savings towards the eventual upgrade.

I went from a 15" Titanium screen to a 12", and I do miss the screen. Both viewing angle and sharpness are a disappointment. On the plus side, it is much easier to carry around, even in the very same backpack. Weight does make a difference, especially if you're carrying it any distance on a regular basis. I'm much more likely to take it with me, where with the Ti I'd be deciding I could do without it.

I use an external 16X firewire Pioneer DVD burner, that I assembled for around $125. Much faster burning than the superdrive (I got the combo drive internally) and I've burned hundreds of DVD seminars. Time savings from a faster burner add up...Mostly, it's just in my "office" but I can carry it around if needs be.

If you can swing the 15" budget-wise, go for it. Keep your eyes open for educational bargains and/or promotional freebies, likely in August.

[tbd]

I just (2 days ago) got a 15" 1.5 model. Granted, you cant update video ram later but 64mb is enough for MOST people. I never do video editing or stuff like that (I mainly do programming in various languages and then normal computer stuff) so 64 MB is enough for anything I will ever need (oh, I cant power a 30" apple monitor..when i can afford that I'll buy a new powerbook), 1.5ghz is plenty fast--1.5->1.67 is negligible;I know people using 1.25 powerbooks and they say that theirs are more than fast enough. And you do save 200-300 dollars by getting the "lower" model. So yeah, unless you do heavy video editing or w/e then I wouldnt blow the extra 200-300 on 128mb vram and .17 ghz faster. Go buy an ipod to go with that money instead.

The 15" is wonderful. It is very portable and gets great life (I did that grep ioreg thing and get almost 4600 for capacity)--do a full discharge recharge when you get it. I turn the processor on reduce when I am mobile and with wireless I still can push 4 hours.

My only annoyance is I purchased it LAST Monday so I got screwed with Tiger.

[tbd]

You dont need to worry about Tiger if you purchase now-- you get a free (or nearly free) upgrade if you order after april 12th. I would take an upgrade anyway, let other people work out any initial bugs for a month and then install it myself.

[Lancer409]

as others have said, install the ram yourself. you can find 1gb sticks for a bit over a hundred .. i remember when it was over four times that at apple =P.

i'd say go 15. dont be dissapointed. i own a 12. i'm not dissapointed, i love how it's small. the 15 has a nice screen and a backlit keyboard (which .. really is just eye candy if you can touch-type). No regrets on my 12, but hey .. play it safe and get the 15 =)

[webb3201]

It depends a lot on your mobile needs. I travelled 80% of my work time last year, and the 12" Powerbook was suberb as a traveller. I cannot tell you how many airport bar tables, tray tables or small hotel tables that I used, that would not have accomodated a 15" and my papers. The 12" was really the best option for me in travelling. I was a bit cramped until Expose came out and helped. It was so great being able to place my laptop in the little pocket in the seat in front of me on the plane.

At home, I would hook up to an external monitor and it was no issue.

That said, I no longer travel and have moved to a 15"

I guess my point is they will both serve your needs based on the PC you currently use. If you want to be highly mobile, go smaller.

[mariahlullaby]

I am not highly mobile, but I do light travel fairly often. I like to take the computer into the living room on my lap, which I can do on my current 15" bulky PC but it's cramped & hot, use it on car trips when I have papers to write. I'm on the swim team at school, and meets last all day and are oftern 3-4 hours away, so it would be nice to be able to bring it with me to work on papers/projects (I know you're thinking "A PB AT THE POOL?! CRAZY!!" but don't worry, we usually sit above the pool where spectators are or in a separate, dry room. I also take my computer on babysitting jobs and I plan on traveling this summer, so it would be nice to have on the plane, etc.

That's why I was leaning towards the 12"; the 15" is perfect performance wise (and size wise if it's just at home) but I might rather like the smaller screen and use the extra $$ to save up for a 20" cinema display. A 15" has a bigger screen, but it's dim and not vibrant like some notebook displays, so I'd probably end up getting a monitor for it anyway.

However, I hate the idea of squinting at a cramped screen for 6 months while I wait for a monitor on the 12" when I could just get the 15. Does anyone have experience using one in cars, on the plane, etc.?

[macaddict0001]

loaded 12 inch

[kirvin]

I recently upgraded to a 1.5 Ghz 15-inch from a 1.0 Ghz 12-inch. The only reason I was able to upgrade to a 15" was that I snagged one of the reconditioned models recently available at the Apple Store 'Special Deals'.

The screen on the 15-inch is far superior to the 12-inch, not just in size but in overall quality. I never noticed it until I compared them side-by-side. The 12-inch actually looks washed out. So if screen size/quality is your primary focus, get the 15-inch.

However, screen issues aside, I must say that I really miss my 12-inch PowerBook. The overall build quality of the 12-inch, in my opinion, is far superior to the 15-inch. Here's why:

The 12-inch feels tighter overall. I guess because it is so companct, everything feels solid. The 15-inch feels like it may torque a little. Also, if you carry your laptop out and about, the 12-inch is much, much easier to handle. The 15-inch is HUGE in comparison.

Another thing is the keyboard. My powerbook has the backlit keyboard, and it is night and day in comparison. The backlit keyboard feels mushy compared to the 12-inch. The keys feel crisp on the 12-inch, it may be one of the best keyboards I've ever used.

Hope this helps.