Ridgeburner Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 I know there's a ton of other ibook vs. powerbook threads in here but none of them really cut to the point in the way that I need them to :-D This is going to be my first venture into Mac, I'm not looking for anything super fast to render a bunch of 3D stuff while encoding a movie blah blah. Basically, I'll just be running typical applications (Safari, iChat, etc.) maybe some photo editing in photoshop, surfing the internet like i said, downloading all kinds of programs and applications and trying them out, etc. I'm wondering if the iBook would be good for me? Will some of the older ones like a 700-800mhz iBook be able to run OS X Panther speedy enough? I'm scoping out some on ebay for $500-$700 and I'm wondering if the small 300mhz jump in CPU speed from the 700mhz to the 1ghz on apple's site is really worth the extra $400? I know everyone suggests that you add some after market memory, so I'll probably do that if it doesn't already come with some. Oh yeah, I also have to sell the PC in my sig to get the mac if I decide to :pinch: Would it even be worth it? I have NO other option than to see the computer in my sig to buy the iBook. Thanks for your time in advance :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetman Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 get a 12" g4 ibook itll last much longer for the price than the g3 would. if you are really strapped for cash get a refurb 800mhz one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerry Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Go for it (iBook G4 12") and you may never look back :p Now that the cpu in the iBooks have 512k cache, its equivalent to the old 12" P'Book. You should be able to do pretty much everything that a P'Book can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron901 Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 don't get the old G3 700-800mhz iBook, they're dog slow. you should at least look at the G4 iBook. but honestly your PC is much faster than the iBook you're getting so don't get your hopes up. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixlnet Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Before you sell your current rig I'd go spend some time with an iBook somewhere. If you sell your current PC and don't like the mac you're in a bad position. So definetely give the iBook or Emac what have you a good test drive. BTW, maybe check into the Emac. It's pretty cheap and has pretty good components for the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User009172271 Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 I personnaly made the switch 2 months ago, from a athlon xp 2500 1024 megs ram, 80 gig. Now I have this great Ibook G4 12' with 640 ddr ram in it. it,s true that it's not as fast as my old pc but I don't mind ... I use dreamweaver, ichat, safari, as my main tools and it just works great. I kept the pc in case I would not have liked the Ibook and it's true that during the first week I had to go back to the pc to do some things. but now i'm fully converted ... and I realy don't think i'll even go back to the pc ... maybe for games but that's. All the unique fact that i'm running mac osx is the main reason. as for the powerbook I don't know if the difference would be big but as far as I can see what you want to do is about the same as I do right now and let me tell you that it more than enough ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgeburner Posted June 2, 2004 Author Share Posted June 2, 2004 Wow thanks for the replies everyone! Sadly, the cheaper G3 iBooks are all that i can afford! :cry: I doubt i could ever get enough from selling my PC to get a new G4 iBook so.. :ninja: Yeah I'll have to take a drive up to Menlo Park here to the Apple Store and spend a little time on one, none of my friends are Mac-ified, so I can't even ask them to bring it over and lemme check it out.. :( I want to switch to Mac, PC's are SOOOO boring to me anymore, it's always the same applications, the same stuff, the same games, the same this and that, it's getting really monotonous, and everyday I come on the computer, I find myself getting bored quicker and quicker. I think once you get insaneouly fast broadband, and you download every application/game out there the computer gets really old :laugh: Hmm, trying to think what else I can sell to get money...I could sell my 27" Wega TV, but then I'd have no TV! I could sell my Gamecube and all my games...got like 6 or 7 games, two wireless controllers...could sell some DVD's....could...sell...my...mother :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebaz Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 they apple store under the special session has refurbished, or maybe even new Ibook G3/G4 for a cheaper price that what u would pay for one new. Check it out. http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebO...0.3.1.1.0?81,66 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oik Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 who needs a tv? seriously. i only watch a few shows anymore anyway, and you could go over and chill with a hottie and watch it on her tv ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron901 Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Wow thanks for the replies everyone!Sadly, the cheaper G3 iBooks are all that i can afford! :cry: I doubt i could ever get enough from selling my PC to get a new G4 iBook so.. :ninja: Yeah I'll have to take a drive up to Menlo Park here to the Apple Store and spend a little time on one, none of my friends are Mac-ified, so I can't even ask them to bring it over and lemme check it out.. :( I want to switch to Mac, PC's are SOOOO boring to me anymore, it's always the same applications, the same stuff, the same games, the same this and that, it's getting really monotonous, and everyday I come on the computer, I find myself getting bored quicker and quicker. I think once you get insaneouly fast broadband, and you download every application/game out there the computer gets really old :laugh: Hmm, trying to think what else I can sell to get money...I could sell my 27" Wega TV, but then I'd have no TV! I could sell my Gamecube and all my games...got like 6 or 7 games, two wireless controllers...could sell some DVD's....could...sell...my...mother :laugh: lol :laugh: sell your tv and watch tv shows on your new iBook. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VGVL Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 who needs a tv? seriously. i only watch a few shows anymore anyway, and you could go over and chill with a hottie and watch it on her tv ;) Very True. I don't have time to watch TV, I am too busy using my PowerBook. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgeburner Posted June 2, 2004 Author Share Posted June 2, 2004 You're all very correct, i BARELY watch TV. But I spent a lot of money on the whole "entertainment" center deal, got a buttload of DVD's, nice surround sound, comfy couch in front of it, DVD player, etc. I do watch DVD's now and then with people, and I wouldn't wanna burden them with having to watch it on my monitor :pinch: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oik Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 hmm... well you will always be able to play dvd's on your laptop, and you can probably find a way to hook up your laptop to your speakers (minijack to rca cables (Y) gotta love radio shack)... as for the people who come over... two routes: 1. screw 'em 2. get a cheap projector or a second monitor. if you go with 2, you can pick up a cheap 19" crt and it will be loads easier to connect your laptop to it if you ever need something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeWolf324 Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 put it this way...you NEVER want to use an ibook if u plan to do stuff that is going to be super processor intesnive...ibooks are great but they arent designed to have all of the super powered features your gonna need... so choose on what u plan to do. i'd recommend a powerbook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgeburner Posted June 4, 2004 Author Share Posted June 4, 2004 All I plan on doing, is iChat , surfin the web, and installing typical applications (also learning about OSX in general) I'm already running OSX 10.3 in PearPC on my PC, but I'd like to play with the real deal (not to mention be wireless, which no doubt i'd have to add to the iBook unless it came with one) I found a couple of nice ones on Ebay, 600mhz G3, 640 ram, 20 gig drive, blah blah OSX 10.3 pre-installed for $600 buy it now. Gonna look into them more (Y) again, Im not looking for anything super intensive, just something to play on and learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VGVL Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 An iBook would be perfect for what you want to do. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User009172271 Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 I'm already running OSX 10.3 in PearPC on my PC, but I'd like to play with the real deal nice this reminds me of a reply from somebody who said that pear pc would encourage people to try and then want to buy a mac ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Patriot Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 One other thing to keep in mind is that iBooks don't have PC Card slots, only PowerBooks do. Also, if you plan on using an external monitor with it, iBooks only support mirroring the display, not spanning the monitors (without a hack, that is). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SabaTime Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 Get a new iBook, there great and a little cheaper than a powerbook. You really get the performance that you pay for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgeburner Posted June 4, 2004 Author Share Posted June 4, 2004 nice this reminds me of a reply from somebody who said that pear pc would encourage people to try and then want to buy a mac ... That's exactly what got me started on wanting one so bad :laugh: Hmm, no PC Card slots, so this means I won't be able to add wireless to it without using a USB device then huh ...that kinda stinks...The display thing really doesn't bother me, if I WAS going to use my regular CRT monitor, I would wanna be mirroring it anyway so that's okay. edit: just read on Apple's website that the new(er) iBooks are AE ready, or the $1,500 one has it already built in....so if their AE 'ready' what does that mean? If they have no PC Card slot, how would you add one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilsbury Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 Airport Extreme cards are mini-PCI and go into a slot internally. The 12" PowerBook doesn't have PC Card slots either. However, no-one I know actually uses PC Cards on their current PowerBook, and hasn't done since PowerBooks had USB... (Pretty much the same with x86 machines as well from they had NICs built in) So, no great loss in not having then, IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rstroud Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 You can add a AE card to an iBook (G4) and PBs support AE natively now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tariq Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 AE Ready just means there's no AirPort Extreme Card installed. When you're buying it, you can choose to purchase one or not. The iBook's don't support PC Cards, but they all have a proprietary? slot underneath the keyboard where you can install the AirPort Extreme Card. Read this if you want to see how/where its installed. http://www.info.apple.com/usen/cip/pdf/ibk...g4-apc-cip1.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgeburner Posted June 4, 2004 Author Share Posted June 4, 2004 ohhhh okay i gotcha now guys :) Thanks everyone for helpin me with this, I'm tryin to get the best for my buck, as funds are a bit tight at the moment, but I need my toys :woot: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHALE Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 If you are thingking about an iBook. Go with the new G4. They are a hell of a lot faster then the old G3. I just got a new 12" iBook G4 1ghz to replace my old 12" iBook G3 600Mhz. And you can really tell the difference. One suggestion do. Load it with RAM. I got mine with 512. I hope you enjoy your new iBook, let us know what you think about it after you get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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