[rozwado1]

So I type away at 'NN on my 500MHz iBook G3, hampered with endless beachballs, squinting eyes (12.1" screen) and a teetering backlight (screen-hinge problem). I need change.

It is time for an upgrade and I give myself 2 choices: Powerbook or PowerMac. Deep in my heart I would like a Powerbook - backlit keyboard, 15" screen, 128MB VRAM. I like how they perform and I think they are beautiful machines.

My common sense says NO. It tells me that I should get a desktop because I already have a functioning laptop - at least for basic apps. Price is a limitation because I'm saving for a house - so I'd like to keep it around $2500.

So help me pick from the 2 educationally-priced options...

Choice A: Powerbook 15" 1.67GHz G4, 100GB, 128MB VRAM, Superdrive, bluetooth, 512MB Ram (upgrade myself) = $2279

Choice B: PowerMac dual-2GHz G5, 2x256MB Ram (do it myself), 160GB SATA, Radeon 9600 XT 128MB VRAM, bluetooth, superdrive, gigabit ethernet = $2479 w/o monitor

I'll have to settle with an el-cheapo monitor for a bit, maybe even a CRT until I can upgrade. Even if it's 17" I'll consider that an improvement.

[sugar_coated]

The answer may be found in the corner of a dark quiet room.

[rozwado1]

Originally posted by sugar_coated:
The answer may be found in the corner of a dark quiet room.

Wow, do you know ankle_brains?

[Sarc]

what will be the machine's use ?
FinalCut, or Word ?
do you spend much time on the road or you rarely take it out ?
is physical space an issuee ?

etc.

and you should also consider ... posting a full size pic. of your sig.

[dreilly1]

Are you ever going to need any of those snazzy bells and whistles on that desktop?

I think Apple laptops are the bees' knees. Unless you need the horsepower of the desktop, get the laptop.

[phantomdragonz]

well here is my story

I got a 400Mhz sawtooth G4 right when they came out, also before they messed with all the prices. That was a long time ago... and here I sit, on that SAME machine, although I have upgraded the hard drive to a 60gig(plenty for me) and just this past christmas I had upgraded it to a 1Ghz processor. this machine is awesome, still works like a champ.

but, my point is that it was either this mac, or one of the fruity colored laptops they had way back when....


and let me tell ya, i am glad I sprung for the desktop, it has proven itself time and time again...

Zach

[Mafia]

i suggest a rev a dual 1.8 ghz machine. upgrade the superdrive.

[tictactoe]

I'd go with the 15" Powerbook.

[Eug Wanker]

Dual 1.8 Power Mac, and then get a 12" iBook when it gets updated to 1.33+ GHz.

[Daemon2]

Do you travel a lot? If you plan on using it mostly at home, then you'll appreciate having a desktop as laptops can be rather annoying to use at times. If you plan on traveling with it alot, then I would go with a laptop.

[lavar78]

Originally posted by D�mon:
Do you travel a lot? If you plan on using it mostly at home, then you'll appreciate having a desktop as laptops can be rather annoying to use at times.

I disagree. It's nice to be free to move around the house when you want. I have a 15" PowerBook that is usually hooked up to a 22" Cinema Display, but sometimes I like to use it while watching TV in the living room.

[iREZ]

Two options if you ask me. Either run your iBook till the next architectural changed PB hit the market (dual core G4 or single G5) and then spring for a new 'book. Or keep your 500MHz iBook and get a Dual 1.8 G5, so that you have all the horsepower if you really need it, but still have some portability when you wanna sit in front of the TV and surf the net, or word process or whatever else that isn't too demanding for your book. I still believe that a powerful desktop and usable notebook is the best combination.....right now (who knows if Apple smacks us upside the head with a 3.0 G5 Powerbook...I know I know not likely but I could dream).

[Brien]

IMHO, since I find myself using my iBook quite a bit more than the Powermac... go with the Powerbook.

[macaddict0001]

Change the powermac to the 1.8 model. Keep the 256 ram in and add 512. Get a high end crt.

[malvolio]

PowerMac. It's easy to upgrade and will give you years of service.
Then down the road apiece, you can get a new PowerBook and have the best of both worlds.

[cszar2001]

I know it`s not on your list - but why not go with the PB 17?
All the screen space you`ll ever need and it`s a perfect desktop replacement.

[rozwado1]

Sorry, I was out at the bar last night...

I recently got a Canon 20D, so I'll be doing alot of large scale PS work. I use Illustrator and Flash too - as a hobby. The thing is: my iBook gets beachballs and slows to a halt with iPhoto, and I've never been able to use Garageband or iMovie/iDVD - and I really want to mess around with those apps. Keynote is dog slow too - and I've been using that for work lately.

I'll still be able to use my iBook for Word, Safari, Mail and iChat; I'lll have to throw $100 into it to fix the screen hinge problem, but it's still pretty sturdy considering what I've put it through.

I'd like to get the dual-2, not the 1.8 bc of the increased features and I think it will last me a bit longer, technology-wise. I am also willing to get a refurb or a used machine bc I am willing to take it apart and fix something if it breaks. PB = not so much.

Also, I don't travel too often, but I like to take the iBook out to coffee shops and such once in awhile. I wouldn't be doing pro-apps on the road though - just safari/ichat usually.

The other issue is whether or not I should wait for Tiger-included (and pricedrops).

[dreilly1]

Is it an original dual-USB iBook with the 66 MHz Bus?

That thing was so slow, you may as well have been working on a 5300.

The new PB's are so much faster compared to that. They can probably handle everything you are going to throw at it.

[rozwado1]

Originally posted by dreilly1:
Is it an original dual-USB iBook with the 66 MHz Bus?

Well, technically System Profiler says 67MHz bus.

[willed]

Originally posted by rozwado1:
Well, technically System Profiler says 67MHz bus.

That 1MHz makes all the difference! I feel your iBook 500 pain. This thing is so slow it hurts. However, it always gets there in the end, and at least OSX multitasks well, so you can do lots of things, albeit all of them very slowly, at the same time!

[hart]

you don't seem to be expressing a NEED for the laptop. the kind of stuff you want to do on the road can be done with your current machine. YOu could plan an upgrade of your laptop to a used or refurb low end machine to meet these needs for next year or so.

Meanwhile, you also sound like you upgrade on the same schedule I do, ie, at very long intervals. Taking this into consideration, I try to buy the most power I can with each machine so it lasts as long as possible. The upgradability is also a key factor. My B&W G3 is still chugging along as the kiddy computer with all sorts of upgrades crammed in it (actually, my keylime ibook get's some usage too but mostly for kiddy software that was purchased years ago.)

In other words, looking at the needs you've expressed I'd go for a desktop right now. and as for monitors, they're getting so cheap now you should be able to find something that is a major improvement over your current screen for not so much, even in LCDs.

[OpenStep]

I'd get the laptop. The freedom of being able to relocate with wireless internet at any time in my house, work or car makes the investment in a laptop completely worth it. BTW I needed cash for starting a business and ended up selling my 17" PowerBook G4 and right now I'm using my old 333 MHz PowerBook G3 Lombard. As long as I don't heavily multitask (like check mail.app while something renders in safari) this system still runs fine. I've replaced the hard drive and added a Cisco wireless card and for normal use it suits me fine. I'll probably get a new laptop when the 10.4 is released and preloaded on the new PowerBooks.

[sworthy]

Especially since you're fairly cash-strapped, wait for Tiger. Besides scoring an extra $79 savings (educationally), and even more if you haven't yet upgraded to iLife '05, we'll also see PowerMac upgrades by then. The upgrades will either reduce the price of current machines by a good amount, or allow you to get even more power for the same dollars.

How badly do you need this right now?

[Exizl del Fuego]

Im a big fan of the iMac/iBook combo, which fits just within your $2500 cap. That's the course I took about two years ago with a 1GHz 17" iMac G4 and an 800MHz iBook G3 and have found the computing power to be perfectly adequate (regardless of web browsing, Adobe CS, of iMovie/iDVD) and the setup to be extremely flexible to meet my needs.

I'm now starting to consider upgrading to a 15" PowerBook - not because of power, but because of the increased screen size/resolution. I love having my iBook at 12" as it's very portable and can be viewed well on those tight airplane seats, but 1024x768 just isn't cutting it anymore with my graphic design stuff.

............it's still under debate.

[Captain Obvious]

Get the powermac for all your processor intensive needs and keep the iBook for web and email.

Anyone who spends time in here is probably the kind of person who should have at least two computers.

[rozwado1]

Originally posted by sworthy:
How badly do you need this right now?

Not very, but I finally have enough money to go for it. Jobs said Tiger will be the first half of 05 - correct? That means June at the latest...

it's to the point where I've dealt with the beachballs for so long, what's another 4 months?

[Mastrap]

Just a thought, have you considered the 20" iMac? It's pretty speedy and the screen is a beauty. I use it for Indesign, PS, Office and web development. With a gig of memory it has never slowed down for anything.