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treebark7182 · Aug 9, 2004, 12:30 PM

Im on the edge of getting a new 12inch powerbook w/ superdrive. Problem is is that im kinda gotta have the latest and greatest kinda guy and im not sure if i should get it. I only really need it to do office type stuff, watch movies, and do simple video editing with imovie etc. ill put another 512 of ram in it if i get it. I like things to be quick, open quick, not bounce for too long etc. For how long will this setup be super fast. Is the next gen. going to have dual proccessors or a g5?? is getting $200 off a new ipod worth getting one now/?????? please give some input

kafoochy · Aug 9, 2004, 12:40 PM

I completely think it is worth it. I had a 1.25Ghz 15" and now have a 1.5Ghz 15" It's an amazing machine, not G5 amazing, but great for what you need. Get more ram, and if you're interested in the "zippiness" of the system, upgrade to the 80gb HD. In the 12", when you BTO with the 80GB it is automatically the 5400rpm model and people have posted notable increases in speed over the stock 4200rpm. If you don't have an iPod, you almost have to go for this deal! I bought my iPod when I got the 1.25Ghz 15" and I use it all the time. The new 4th Gens are very nice and have much better battery life. I wouldn't worry too much about a dual-G4 PB or G5 PB anytime soon, especially in the 12". $200 off with an iPod is a deal not to miss in my mind. Head over to the CambridgeSide store, Chestnut Hill, or NorthShore Apple Store if you have any doubts! By the time they announce G5 PBs, you probably would have been able to save up enough to get a 20" cinema display too, which would go perfectly with the 12" and make it much easier to use.

treebark7182 · Aug 9, 2004, 12:52 PM

thanks for the reply. I have a 20 gig ipod but its completely full. Plus my finace wants one and she doesnt have nearly as much music as i do so she could have mine. I just hate to think about spending this much dough on something that could be updated soon. Is the next gen supposed to even be a g5?? I have a 20 inch lcd on my powermac that i could use. I want the 12 inch for the pure portability. Im in maine right now so im going to head to rockinham and not pay any tax

that saves a lot right there. Im still leanient. Thanks for the reply.

treebark7182 · Aug 9, 2004, 12:56 PM

will it be fine for tiger??? im worried about missing the 64bit boat. This is what im really afraid of. or will it really not be all that different

kafoochy · Aug 9, 2004, 01:16 PM

I think you're doing the right thing and I actually bought my 15" at Rockingham Park as well to skip the taxes. Nobody really knows what is going to happen with updates, but most people don't believe G5 PBs until next year and I believe there was an Apple employee quoted on that. Motorola has actually been doing work on the G4, and there would more likely be an incremental speed increase before the G5. MacRumor's buyers guide says the PBs are in the middle of their product cycle so you'd probably be safe to purchase. http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/ If you really were paranoid about having the latest and greatest you could wait until the end of September (9/25 specifically) which is when the $200 off iPod+Mac educational offer ends in case they were to make an update before then. As much as I love my 15", ideally I'd like to have a Powermac at home (with 20 or 23" Cinema Display) and a 12". It's a great little machine, and very portable.

kafoochy · Aug 9, 2004, 01:29 PM

Originally posted by treebark7182:
will it be fine for tiger??? im worried about missing the 64bit boat. This is what im really afraid of. or will it really not be all that different

It should be perfectly fine for Tiger. First reports of developers putting it on their 600 G3 iBooks noted great speed improvements. It isn't that they just tacked on 64-bit memory extensions, they made system-level improvements to the OS. The 12" would also take excellent advantage of CoreImage.
Although 64-bit processing is going to be huge, the biggest advantage now is being able to address large amounts of memory. No Powerbook today can even handle the maximum 32-bit addressable amount of memory and from what it sounds like, no programs you would run would take advantage of it anyways.

The other thing is that even if G5 PBs any time within the next six months, they are not going to be anywhere near as fast as a desktop G5. If you are worried about speed (including a 64-bit processor and Tiger) your best bet would be to upgrade your PowerMac at home. In your original post you said you wanted something portable. That is exactly what the 12". If you want something powerful you get a PowerMac. The 12" PB will handle almost anything to can throw at it for years to come and if you get it now, you can enjoy it longer and get a new iPod out of the deal to make both you and your fiancee happy.

Snake · Aug 9, 2004, 01:29 PM

Powerbooks last awhile. I plan on having mine for a good many years to come. I have a friend that is still using his Titanium PB 667Mhz with zero problems (other than sluggish loading apps).

Keep in mind, Apple's have a higher-than-average resale value, so you could always purchase, then sell and upgrade when a new release comes out.

wuzup101 · Aug 9, 2004, 03:22 PM

My guess would be the next rev of the PB line is going to occur at the end of the year-ish and will simply include faster G4 processors and maybe 9800pro video for the 15 and 17 (maybe an upgrade for the 12 to something like a 9600 or 9700 too). Basically you'll just have a slightly faster PB. I think you'll be perfectly happy with a new 12" right now. The current PBs really are snappy machines... and very portable. In 2 years you likely be able to pick up a nice G5 powerbook after all the bugs are worked out. The very first ones (as stated above) probably won't even be close to what you would expect from using a dual g5 tower.