[Scooterboy]

MCE is now selling brand new iBook G4's with installed Superdrive through their online store.

How does the 12" PowerBook compare now?

Is it worth an additional $600+?

[NYCFarmboy]

Originally posted by Scooterboy:
MCE is now selling brand new iBook G4's with installed Superdrive through their online store.

How does the 12" PowerBook compare now?

Is it worth an additional $600+?

Wow.. well for the additional 600 you get a more compact case, a faster chip (slightly anyhow)....and that nice aluminum case.

I suppose iDVD works just fine with this built in superdrive?

Very interesting!!!!! If money were not a constraint I'd go with the Powerbook..but for this price...this is an incredible laptop with a superdrive.

[chabig]

Let's see...the MCE iBook at 800 MHz with superdrive is $1294. Apple is still selling the 867MHz Powerbooks with superdrives for $1399.

For my money, I'd pay the $105 extra for the Powerbook.

Chris

[Scooterboy]

The PB 12" 867 has the nVidia GForce4 420Go, while the new iBook G4 has the Radeon 9200 32 MB DDR VRAM. I like to Game occasionally so video card is important to me. Also these are refurbished PowerBooks and ship with Jaguar, and the iBooks w/SuperDrive are new and include Panther. The MCE 2x DVD-R SuperDrives are twice as fast as the 1x DVD-R PB 867 12" SuperDrive.

While I love the looks of the Al PowerBooks, I also love the durability of the iBooks, and I like how they look as well. I think that if money were not an issue, I'd go with a 15" or 17" PowerBook with all the ports and Radeon 9600. Money is tight, though, and I have set a limit of less than $1,400.

New iBook G4 800 12"/40GB/640MB/SuperDrive from MCE is $1369

[hldan]

Originally posted by chabig:
Let's see...the MCE iBook at 800 MHz with superdrive is $1294. Apple is still selling the 867MHz Powerbooks with superdrives for $1399.

For my money, I'd pay the $105 extra for the Powerbook.

Chris

Curious to know if Apple would support the Superdrive since they don't even offer it as a BTO option?
The drive is not Apple installed so I would be a bit cautious. On the other hand it's a great option for anyone who wants an iBook that does everything.

[ae86_16v]

Originally posted by hldan:
Curious to know if Apple would support the Superdrive since they don't even offer it as a BTO option?
The drive is not Apple installed so I would be a bit cautious. On the other hand it's a great option for anyone who wants an iBook that does everything.

Apple probably won't support it. But MCE is a quality company though.

But I think I would probably go w/ a 12" PowerBook.

[mintcake]

Originally posted by NYCFarmboy:
I suppose iDVD works just fine with this built in superdrive?

This is the question I want answering.

If the answer is "yes" then I feel like a right sucker for ordering my 12" PB last week. >:p

[terrancew_hod]

Originally posted by mintcake:
This is the question I want answering.

If the answer is "yes" then I feel like a right sucker for ordering my 12" PB last week. >

It probably doesn't. I think from what I read it comes with it's own DVD software, which it wouldn't need if it was iDVD-compatible. But definitely you should direct this towards their tech department if iDVD-compatibility would be a dealbreaker for you.

Terrance

[fanboy]

Check again.........they say they have full compliance with iDvd and iTunes. They're bootable as well.

[chabig]

The choice between a new iBook and the older Powerbook has to be a personal one.

Scooterboy brought up some good points...

1) The OS. The iBooks ship with Panther preinstalled and the refurbished Powerbooks ship with Jaguar preinstalled. But the Powerbook has Panther upgrade CDs in the box. So I think that's a wash.

2) The drive speed. The iBooks have 2X superdrives while the Powerbooks have 1X superdrives. That's true, but you can download a firmware upgrade at www.cynikal.net that ups the Powerbook drive to 2X.

3) Durability. The iBooks beat the Powerbooks in durability, I think.

So there you go. Make up your own mind.

Chris

[stotan]

12" ibook with superdrive is 1300. You probably can't get a student discount from that store right?

I don't know anyone who actually buys apples without a student discount, because everyone knows a student who can buy one for them. this said, 12" powerbook 1ghz is 1399... 100 bucks more for a faster, smaller, lighter, notebook... also a much better video card

edit. ahh i lied.. i forgot that the 1399 powerbook is with combo drive
so i guess its 1599 for the powerbook, so 300 bucks more

[Scooterboy]

It's a tough decision. Really it is. I love my current iBook but I'm beginning to do more design work with Photoshop and want to start video editing.

I'm a bit leary about spending extra for PowerBook G4's because I have a feeling that PowerBook G5's aren't too far off.

The gaming performance does matter to me, and I've heard that the ATi Radeon 9200 is a little better than the GeForce. Are there any benchmarks? Of course I'd love to have a 9600 equipped PowerBook.
The G4 in the PowerBook has twice the level 1 and level 2 cache than the iBook.

I'm not a student and I have to use this purchase for business. Apple Store price for the 12" PowerBook G4 SuperDrive is $1,799.

[terrancew_hod]

Originally posted by Scooterboy:
It's a tough decision. Really it is. I love my current iBook but I'm beginning to do more design work with Photoshop and want to start video editing.

I'm a bit leary about spending extra for PowerBook G4's because I have a feeling that PowerBook G5's aren't too far off.

The gaming performance does matter to me, and I've heard that the ATi Radeon 9200 is a little better than the GeForce. Are there any benchmarks? Of course I'd love to have a 9600 equipped PowerBook.
The G4 in the PowerBook has twice the level 1 and level 2 cache than the iBook.

I'm not a student and I have to use this purchase for business. Apple Store price for the 12" PowerBook G4 SuperDrive is $1,799.

If you're going to use it for business, then you will probably be looking at the Powerbooks; you can put a DVD-R in a G4 iBook, but it will still be a consumer laptop. You're gonna get your best performance for a Powerbook.

I would have loved to get a G4 iBook, but I know the way I use a computer, I usually stress the processor with video and processor intensive tasks--Games, Photoshop, Final Cut Pro. So I got a powerbook and I'm happy with my purchase.

Terrance

[Scooterboy]

Yes, but the 12" PowerBook and the iBook G4 are very, very close in performance and features. Especially with SuperDrive now available in both. I'm not so sure I can justify the price of the 12" PowerBook over the iBook G4. The only thing the 12" Powerbook can do that the iBook can't is DVI out. The iBook can get the job done and it's only a little slower but costs nearly $500 less.

I wish I had the budget for a 15", but I don't yet and I'm hoping I will in time for a PowerBook G5.

My business uses are mainly Airport Admin, FTP, web, Mail.app and MS Office X, with ocassional sessions using BBEdit and Photoshop.

My non-work time on the 'book is consumed by iTunes, iPhoto, web, and Games. I want to learn video as a hobby and see how I might incorporate that into business. Right now I'm learning how to make VCD's but DVD would be better, I'm thinking.

[anaphora68]

You can use an iBook or an iMac as a business machine. Just because Apple markets the iBook as a consumer product does not mean it cannot be used as a business machine. The iBook is a very capable machine. As long as it can run the apps you need, then go for it.

However, it is risky putting a superdrive in an iBook, it was not originally designed to support one and there could be problems down the line. I would invest in the Powerbook, it's more expensive, but it is proven to work with that particular device. The extra couple hundred dollars is worth it if you NEED it to work.

[Tomster]

One problem with unsupported third party drives is, one is always worried about the next upgrade breaking whatever hacked kext one installed to get the show going. Irreversibly.

BTW, what is this thread doing in the Powerbook forum? There is a pretty good discussion in the iBook forum.

[x user]

Originally posted by chabig:
The choice between a new iBook and the older Powerbook has to be a personal one.

Scooterboy brought up some good points...

1) The OS. The iBooks ship with Panther preinstalled and the refurbished Powerbooks ship with Jaguar preinstalled. But the Powerbook has Panther upgrade CDs in the box. So I think that's a wash.

The RevA PB 12" isn't a good option, because... It's a revA.

2) The drive speed. The iBooks have 2X superdrives while the Powerbooks have 1X superdrives. That's true, but you can download a firmware upgrade at www.cynikal.net that ups the Powerbook drive to 2X.

3) Durability. The iBooks beat the Powerbooks in durability, I think.

I highly doubt that. I've had iBooks (Clamshell and 500/800mhz), and currently have a RevB PB 12". All are extremely durable, but the PB seems a bit stiffer, as well as being much more scratch resistant.

So there you go. Make up your own mind.

Chris

I choose the PB and I'm very happy with it.

[terrancew_hod]

Originally posted by fanboy:
Check again.........they say they have full compliance with iDvd and iTunes. They're bootable as well.

Just pulled this off of their website:

* Compatible with iTunes, Disc Burner and Apple DVD Player

Nowhere does it say it's compatible with iDVD. That's why they include the DVD Authoring software, because it's not. I believe they use a driver to enable the compatibility with the above applications. The problem with that is a upgrade (such as panther) or a system update can easily render the driver useless. I think this had already happened with their other "Superdrive" installs for the powerbooks.

So if you're not happy with their authoring solution, then you have to shell out the $499 for DVD Studio pro or use Toast.

So if you want to use the full iLife suite, this wouldn't be the solution for you; get the Powerbook instead.

Fanboy, check closer next time... if they don't say it explictly, then it probably doesn't. My intital comments came from reading the first articles about the superdrive install for the powerbooks; then some of the problems that came from the on xlr8yourmac.com and macfixit.com... I love having the installed Superdrive on my Powerbook, I have more latitude on my Corecrib (4x DVD-R 105) so I could gotten the iBook G4. But if I going to pay any amount more than $1300 on a machine, I might as well get everything I want...

Terrance

[Scooterboy]

I have a friend who can get a faculty education discount and he offered me to use his eligible hardware purchase. So that brings the PowerBook a little down in price: $1599

I'll let you all know which one I buy, iBook or PowerBook.

Thanks for all the advice!

[fanboy]

I did look closer, Terrance. Why didn't you?

http://store.mcetech.com/Merchant2/m...e=IBOOKSLDVDR2

I think the best point brought up so far is the question of whether future OS updates would ruin the supposed hack to get the SD's to work. Is this a likely scenario?

Scooter, I think we are in the same boat here. I REALLY am torn. I love the durability of the iBook but I also love the speed increases of the PB and the fact that it is not hacked. My question is this: do you really feel like you have to uses kid gloves on the PB 12in?

[terrancew_hod]

Originally posted by fanboy:
I did look closer, Terrance. Why didn't you?

http://store.mcetech.com/Merchant2/m...e=IBOOKSLDVDR2

I think the best point brought up so far is the question of whether future OS updates would ruin the supposed hack to get the SD's to work. Is this a likely scenario?

Scooter, I think we are in the same boat here. I REALLY am torn. I love the durability of the iBook but I also love the speed increases of the PB and the fact that it is not hacked. My question is this: do you really feel like you have to uses kid gloves on the PB 12in?

That page is updated since I looked at it, but still this item is included:

ImageMixer DVD Authoring Software CD

If it's compatible with iDVD, what's the need for this software? Maybe because you can't burn with it. The latest version of iDVD will allow machines to run the program, not burn with it.

I'm still going to stick with my original statement. Besides with the issues that may arise with using a driver (if it's needed), unless I'm willing to do without using the full capabilities of iDVD, I would still look at a powerbook.

Now if I have some other authoring software (Toast or DVD Studio Pro, or the provided software), and I'm willing to live with that then I would get the upgrade.

Terrance

[fanboy]

Terrance-

That may be the case or maybe they're just offering the software to "sweeten" the deal; they probably have some deal with the Imagemaker people or this is just some lite version that would be free anyway.

I know other people as well as you have said that new updates to iDVD or to the OS might ruin the hack invloved. However, one of my main concerns is durability. I plan on carrying this thing everywhere which means it will be thrown around a lot in my backpack. Is the PB 12in really that delicate? My Pismo feels VERY delicate and I would never dream of just sticking it in a bag unless there was some major padding. I'm almost willing to sacrifise losing my SD due to updates if the chance is pretty remote it will happen. Did those other SD updaters you mention from the xlr8yourmac forums eventually get it to work again?

[terrancew_hod]

Originally posted by fanboy:
Terrance-

That may be the case or maybe they're just offering the software to "sweeten" the deal; they probably have some deal with the Imagemaker people or this is just some lite version that would be free anyway.

I know other people as well as you have said that new updates to iDVD or to the OS might ruin the hack invloved. However, one of my main concerns is durability. I plan on carrying this thing everywhere which means it will be thrown around a lot in my backpack. Is the PB 12in really that delicate? My Pismo feels VERY delicate and I would never dream of just sticking it in a bag unless there was some major padding. I'm almost willing to sacrifise losing my SD due to updates if the chance is pretty remote it will happen. Did those other SD updaters you mention from the xlr8yourmac forums eventually get it to work again?

fanboy --

The powerbooks are made pretty well so I wouldn't be too concerned. I think of the plastic being used for grade school kids that scamper about and may drop and bang around their machines, which I don't think you will do. I bought a Booq sleeve for my powerbook and it it has some padding around the inside of the bag. I carry it around to work and to friends and really haven't had a problem with it. I like the fact it's light too so I'm not carrying a big bulky bag. I'm also careful with closing it (I bought a laptop protector for the keyboard at OWC (macsales.com)); but maybe because it's my new baby .

The 12 inch is very portable and light. They tend to get warm (ok hot in some cases) so if you work on your lap, then you would either get a pad to shield the heat or use the iBook.

I would have loved to get either of the smaller laptops, but then I got a windfall at my consulting job and opted for the 15 inch.

Terrance

[tooki]

For me, the iBook's lack of DVI and [officially supported] monitor spanning are enough to make me choose the PowerBook.

tooki