[xec17]

Hi...I'm heading off to college in a month and a half and I really can't decide whether to buy a new powerbook or to try and wait a year to see what comes out.

I currently have a 500 mhz TiBook. I got it just about three years ago just before the TiBooks were updated. Now it seems that the laptop is getting to be underpowered. It's fine for casual internet surfing (although sometimes Safari freezes up when I leave too many windows open for too long a time) and instant messaging, but simple programs like MSWord take forever to start up and eat away system resources while open. iTunes is another program that seems to use up a lot of memory and processor speed. I plan on being a pretty big multitasker next year when I'm on a university network...so my question is whether I should do my best with the TiBook for another year and wait for PB G5s or get a 1.5 GHz 15" AlBook now?

It is also worth mentioning that I do occassionally film movies that I edit in Final Cut Pro, and I do some picture editing in Photoshop. FCP takes forever to render video on my current machine, and would be much quicker on a machine 3 times as fast, but a G5 would perform a lot better.

Do you forsee G5 PBs coming out in the near future (read: before next summer)? If not...should I go for the AlBook now?

Also...if anyone has benchmark specs comparing G4s and G5s of about equal processor speed and can share, I would appreciate it.

Thanks,

Eash

[MrForgetable]

No, the G5 PBs will not be coming for a while.

Yes, I would get one, with the educational discount now you can get a 20GB ipod for 70 bucks!

[tooki]

There isn't now (nor is there ever) an answer to this question: if you wait, there will always be something faster, better, or cheaper down the road.

tooki

[wuzup101]

Have to agree with tooki on this one (not like I don't agree with him all the time anyway). This is what you have to deal with when buying technology that is constantly evolving.

I will say that I just bought the powerbook in my sig and I love the thing to death. It's my first mac and it's really an outstanding machine. It's definitely quick and even with only 512mb of ram the multi tasking is great. I rarely see the beachball... and when I do it's because I'm using flash or fireworks while listening to iTunes, on AIM, and surfing the net all at the same time. I imagine that when I upgrade to 2gb of ram (going to replace both of my 256mb sticks by xmas) that it will be even nicer. Definitely spring for the 5400rpm drive and if you have the cash go for the extra vram also. The only thing I would love to see in the 15" that isn't currently avaliable would be the IBM/fuji 60gb 7200rpm drive.

Anyway, great machine that you won't regret getting. Runs games very nicely to boot. I was playing the demo for Call of Duty today and it was very enjoyable... and I'm an avid PC gamer...

[xec17]

Originally posted by MrForgetable:
No, the G5 PBs will not be coming for a while.

Yes, I would get one, with the educational discount now you can get a 20GB ipod for 70 bucks!

When you said 70 bucks...did you mean 270 bucks? If I can get a 70 dollar iPod i most definitely will go for it...

Eash

[TailsToo]

Originally posted by xec17:
When you said 70 bucks...did you mean 270 bucks? If I can get a 70 dollar iPod i most definitely will go for it...

Eash

$200 rebate with an iPod and PowerBook Purchase.

[MrForgetable]

Originally posted by TailsToo:
$200 rebate with an iPod and PowerBook Purchase.

yes, that is what i meant

[H * � �]

Originally posted by xec17:

Do you forsee G5 PBs coming out in the near future (read: before next summer)? If not...should I go for the AlBook now?

You will feel ripped off when the G5 PBs come out if you buy new now.
Wait.

[wuzup101]

Originally posted by H * � �:
You will feel ripped off when the G5 PBs come out if you buy new now.
Wait.

Care to back that statement up with anything logical?

[MrForgetable]

Originally posted by H * � �:
You will feel ripped off when the G5 PBs come out if you buy new now.
Wait.

Ok. And by the time we are at Rev. C G5 Powerbook I will start to panic.

[olePigeon]

I would just go for the PowerBook now.

Even if the G5 PowerBook comes out within the next year or so, you can sell your current PowerBook for at least half of what you bought it for (at least, maybe more.) Hell, I still see clamshell iBooks on eBay go for $600 or $700.

I'd go for the current PowerBook (I did, actually.)

[xec17]

Thanks all for your advice. I think I'm going to get one now...that'll also leave me the freedom to take the PB to central park on nice days with the built in airport extreme. Plus that 200 dollar iPod rebate sounds really nice...

Eash

[Macpilot]

Get one. It rocks. Just got mine. One bad-ass machine. Got the 128 vid card and this thing does everything well.

[azdude]

Originally posted by Macpilot:
Get one. It rocks. Just got mine. One bad-ass machine. Got the 128 vid card and this thing does everything well.

And, for the record, it's a bad-ass machine without the 128 vid.

Got the stock 1.5ghz model, and plan to upgrade ram sometime early 2005, but I'm happy for now. VERY happy.

BUY.

[HasanDaddy]

I don't think its fair to say that 'if you need speed now, then buy it'

were talking about the BIGGEST update ever, in any Laptop computer

However, I'd agree wholeheartedly that you could always sell the computer and use the money towards a G5 PowerBook

if you bought a 1.5 G4 right now, I would bet its resale price would drop to around $1500 or so, with a G5 out

however, I'm sure the G5 PB will be cheaper, as the PB's only get cheaper --- so you would probably be looking at a $2500 G5 PB, or so

with that in mind, you'd be losing around $1000 ---- which isn't too bad, as having a 1.5 G4 might be worth that, itself, instead of a 500 mhz Ti

and of course, the iPod deal is a sweet one

the main thing here though is that, it is an Apple, and you can't go wrong with Apple ----- the 1.5 will be a HUGE improvement over your 500 Ti, G5 or not.....

[MrForgetable]

Originally posted by HasanDaddy:
I don't think its fair to say that 'if you need speed now, then buy it'

were talking about the BIGGEST update ever, in any Laptop computer

However, I'd agree wholeheartedly that you could always sell the computer and use the money towards a G5 PowerBook

if you bought a 1.5 G4 right now, I would bet its resale price would drop to around $1500 or so, with a G5 out

however, I'm sure the G5 PB will be cheaper, as the PB's only get cheaper --- so you would probably be looking at a $2500 G5 PB, or so

with that in mind, you'd be losing around $1000 ---- which isn't too bad, as having a 1.5 G4 might be worth that, itself, instead of a 500 mhz Ti

and of course, the iPod deal is a sweet one

the main thing here though is that, it is an Apple, and you can't go wrong with Apple ----- the 1.5 will be a HUGE improvement over your 500 Ti, G5 or not.....

they still have a long ways to go until the G5 gets into a powerbook.

[power142]

Even if Apple were to launch a G5 Powerbook tomorrow, I suspect that the clock speed of the processor wouldn't be significantly higher as to make a vast different to the performance of the machine in most applications. There are exceptions of course.

As others have said, if you need or crave it now, get it and be happy

[kafoochy]

You probably won't be disapointed with the 1.5Ghz, although I can tell you I don't think it will be as much faster than you think it should be, or at least that was my initial reaction when I got my first 1.25Ghz 15". I was upgrading from a 400Mhz G3 and assumed that everything would happen instanteously and it would be leaps and bounds faster than my G3. It is much faster, and I'll concede that the 7200rpm HDs in my G3 made the finder much zippier, but I don't think upgrading from a G4 to a G4 will blow you away. You mention using FCP, Photoshop and iTunes, all tasks that are highly optimized for the G4 and yet I was "only" seeing a doubling in speed compared to my G3 which was three times slower and without the Velocity Engine. We have some dual G4s here at work, including a 450Mhz, and I think it is much faster than my G3, but not horribly slower than my 1.5Ghz G4.

If you get a new G4, your getting a computer that has a bus that is only 66Mhz faster than your old computer. If you were to wait for a G5 PB, the bus could be many times faster, and there are many other underlying technology benefits as well. You probably won't be disapointed with the 1.5Ghz G4, but if I had a G4, instead of my G3, I probably would have waited for a G5. I think you need to ask yourself how difficult is it to use your current G4. Is the lack of speed merely an inconvenience? If so I'd say wait, but it's up to you.

[rareflares]

"If you were to wait for a G5 PB, the bus could be many times faster,"






Apple would cripple the FSB in the Powerbook. They can't operate a G5 on a Powerbook battery for longer than 30 minutes if it's running on the full-FSB (50% clock speed) as in the PowerMacs. I'd expect a 1.6 Ghz G5 processor to have something like a 400 Mhz FSB or lower in a Powerbook. Granted that still would be faster than a G4 but even with that, the heat would be crazy in such a small enclosure. It's still a lot of power to take from the battery.

I'm not too keen on recommending someone to buy a Rev. A G5 Powerbook.


i think most people just want to say they have a G5 Powerbook instead of buying something that will legitimately increase their productivity by leaps and bounds (which a single G5 won't really do compared to a top of the line G4 in most tasks).

[stefls]

if apple announces a g5 pb within 2 months, it will be available like three months later and actually arrive at your doorstep another three months later... buy one now and be happy for another three years

[tkmd]

I had the same dilema, I thought I could wait and use my Pismo till then. But the G5 PB wont be out till next summer earliest- and remember it will be a first production model meaning the "kinks" in the produation will have to be worked out. I would buy now and thaen update when the 2nd version comes out. Besides, at slow speeds (less than 1.6GHz the G5 is NOT as superior in overall speed compared to the a G4 running the same speed. It has to do with the shallow pipeline or better implementation of altivec on the G4. Now, of course as Mhz increases the G5 triumphs. I think this was a comparison on bare feets. Again wait till the second generation of the G5 PB comes out- stick with the 1.5 Ghz PB now. You'll like it.