[tpxstyle]

so i'm in quite a pickle right now.. i just sold my 15" Tibook 550mhz and have about 1500 cash right now.. i am debating whether or not to get a new 12" AlPB or sell my Powermac 733 at home and then get a G5.. i don't travel that much, and i have another dell laptop at home.. but i'm in the mood for some new gadgetry.. what would you guys do???

[Eriamjh]

he answer is simple. Which do you want more, portability or a G5?

If you can do without portability, go with the desktop. If you MUST have portability, get the Powerbook.

(Personally, I'd get the G5)

[Eug]

If you don't travel much and don't have much need for a laptop...

As much as I dislike Dell laptops, I'd sell the G4 733 and buy a G5, perhaps a 1.8 if you're short on money.

I find my TiBook 1 GHz only tolerably fast. I don't think I'd like using a G4 733 as my main desktop.

Oh wait, what I'd probably do: Sell both the Dell laptop and the Mac desktop and get a new G5 Power Mac and a G4 AluBook.

[jetta_gt]

i'd get the laptop, unless you are doing some gnarly video or photoshop stuff, the benefits of all the new mobility stuff that the new PB's have would seem to outwiegh the speed increase of the g5... of course, only you know what you really need, but my computing needs stopped being about speed about 6 months ago and i am now more concerned with things like good airport reception, bluetooth, and battery life...

[tpxstyle]

how much do you guys think i could get for my powermac G4 733?

512 MB RAM
40GB HD
DVD/CD-RW combo drive
Radeon 7500 graphics card..

everything is immaculate condition as if it were new.. in actuality it is a little over a year old.

[AssassyN]

Originally posted by tpxstyle:
how much do you guys think i could get for my powermac G4 733?

512 MB RAM
40GB HD
DVD/CD-RW combo drive
Radeon 7500 graphics card..

everything is immaculate condition as if it were new.. in actuality it is a little over a year old.

eBay's your best bet, and I'd guess between $1,000-1,300.

[Eug]

Get the G5 Power Mac, and get a new laptop in 2004 or 2005. The current laptop design is fairly limited.

[Shaddim]

Sell the powermac and get the G5, sepcifically the 1.8GHz machine. It'll be a great system for you for quite some time.

[alpha rays max]

Yeah, if you don't travel much I'd go with the desktop. I too have a Power Mac 733 and I've never had any problems with its speed, but I'm sure a year or two down the road I'll be wishing for a G5.

The portability of the PowerBooks it nice, though, although I tend to travel quite a bit, so.

[ort888]

My advice would be this... unless you spend 8 hours a day earning money on your machine, you don't need to upgrade it at all. A G4 733 is more then enough power for anything you will ever do as a student. Ever. Spend your money on something else.

[PSU guy]

Unless you are a engineering or a art major, I would think a 12" PB would be fine. OR, you could just take that $1500, build yourself a fairly decent gaming PC, and take the money left over and buy a iPod, and since the 12" will be get updated, you can probably just get that PB (or even a G5 PB) next year.

[idyll]

I'd get the G5. You already have a Dell laptop. The G5 will make you very happy and last you quite some time.

[killer_735]

I would go with the PB...I had a desktop for the first three years in school, and after I got a laptop, I couldn't believe I had wasted my time sitting in a dorm room.

In addition to that, the G5 is in first revision. I hear it's a great system, but I'm also sure there are a few things people will eventually find wrong with it. The Powerbooks, on the other hand, are in their second revision, and have a kick-a$$ set of options with them.

The PB has a LOT of cajones, despite whatever people will tell you about L3 cache and whatever. Max out the ram, and you'll have no trouble running Photoshop, InDesign, Maya, whatever.

Really, the main thing is that a desktop in college can kind of own you...specially when you have to spend hours in front of it. It's a lot more tolerable when you can do work in a coffee bar, under a tree, or in the midst of a sorority party, surrounded by scantily clad and slightly tipsy women. Hopefully you know better than to do work in that situation, though.

[HotSoup]

Lets put it simply:

You are in college, you will be moving around and need a comp in class (most likely), get a TI 12" PB.

But if you don't really need to move your comp around and have it with you all the time, get a G5. you figure with a G5 you won't need a new Mac for years.

But if I were in your situation i'd get a PB, it's perfect for school.

[Eug]

Yeah, but he already has a PC laptop which probably works fine.

[tpxstyle]

yeah my laptop is a Dell Inspiron 800Mhz P3 800mhz
it's fast enough for the things i need, but it's so damn heavy! like carrying a bag of bricks around..i think i'm going to hold out for a bit after they announce new Powerbooks, then i'll pick up a 12" AlBook 867 with combo drive.. how much do you guys think those will go for after the new one's come out? i can get it right now with student discount for 1399

[macfreshman]

Get a 12" powerbook, free printer, and $200 off iPod with the education rebate that's good up till the end of september!

link to program

$1399 for 12" + $269 for 10GB ipod + $99 for printer = $1468 after $300 rebate

Pretty sweet with the ipod, too!

Remember that with the G5 its $2G gone without even a screen.

[tpxstyle]

thanks for all the input guys, buti've decided that i will get a 12" AlBook AND a G5 a friend of mine who deals macs offered me a new 12"AlBook 867/Combo Drive for $1100. However, the catch is that i have to wait 2 weeks, which is when he said the new Powerbooks should be coming out. I'm not trying to add speculation, but I do hope that he is correct. I have also ordered a dual 2 GHZ G5 from him, which should be arriving soon. I will post pics as soon as possible.

[TheIceMan]

tpxstyle:
Wow, 12"AlBook 867/Combo Drive for $1100 is a $500 discount from the list $1599. Great deal!