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General discussion

HElp me decide, please.

Oct 21, 2006 10:37AM PDT

Hi there today I went to Compusa, and purchased an ibook G4 the 12", 1.33 ghz, with combo drive, they have them in special for $749.00 including 3 years of apple care. But now my question is this, for 100 dlls more I can have the 14" with a super drive and 1.42 ghz, I don`t know what to do. Do I keep the 12" or should I spend 100 dlls more and go for the 14". What are the pros and cons of each model?

Discussion is locked

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For $100 you get...
Oct 21, 2006 12:56PM PDT

A speed increase in the CPU,

A CD/DVD drive that can *write* DVDs (not just read them),

2 more diagonal inches of screen space.

The biggest (and only?) issue I see is that they are the PowerMac G4 chips and not the new Intel Core Duo chips... but they would cost more, anyway.

Plus, I bet the hard drive is 60 gig instead of 40. I say that is good value for $100 more... Presuming this is what your budget can handle.

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To late....
Oct 22, 2006 3:00AM PDT

Well, I went to get the 14" because I decided it was woth it, but they ran out of them, so I`ll have to keep the 12". The reason I did not get the macbook is because my budget is not that good, I would have to expend and extra 500 dlls just to get the lower macbook. So can you guys tell me if I have a good deal considering my budget, and I just need the laptop for normal stuff nothing fancy, just the internet , pictures and music. Basically the laptop is 499, plus the 250 for the apple care.

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For brand new? It's a good deal.
Oct 22, 2006 4:36AM PDT

I've had a 12" G4 1.2 ghz for almost 2 years now and I still use it more than any other computer I have in the house. I do wish I had gone with the 14" just for tthe bigger screen but the 12" is better for portability on the road.

2 things... max out your ram... get a larger external firewire hard drive. Both add ons will serve you well for music and video.

grim

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agree with grimgraphix...
Oct 22, 2006 5:14AM PDT

"2 things... max out your ram... get a larger external firewire hard drive. Both add ons will serve you well for music and video"... Additionally, the external hard drive can back up data (not the applications or OS - those can be re-installed) on the laptop. The chances of the internal and external failing at the same time are very slim. frys.com has an ACOMDATA 250 gig drive for $129 (which is WAY big for your needs). You *could* make your own:

Case: http://shop4.outpost.com/product/3862997?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Drive: http://shop4.outpost.com/product/3683765?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Some would say to install a System on the external drive, too, so you could boot from it... but you can boot from the System discs if you need to...

No... I don't work for Fry's, but I do shop/buy at their store which is pretty close to where I live.

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Nice case but,
Oct 22, 2006 5:56AM PDT

unfortunately not Firewire. While USB 2.0 is good, Firewire gives you the speed without the processor hit and it is also capable of booting the Mac if necessary. Mac's do not boot from USB devices!

I did see that they had a Firewire enclosure but without the SATA support

P

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I meant to link to the FireWire
Oct 22, 2006 6:21AM PDT

enclosure - MetalBox makes the firewire enclosure I got my kid to do back-ups... and cool blue neon light that reacts to what the drive is doing...

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(NT) (NT) Firewire is definately the way to go with externals
Oct 22, 2006 6:30AM PDT
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No powerpc Mac for me.
Oct 21, 2006 1:02PM PDT

There's so many tricks the new Intel Macs have that I can't consider the old units. Especially at no bargain prices.

Bob

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Discontinued Line
Oct 22, 2006 12:28AM PDT

This machine is no longer in production and is based on the G4 processor, which is no longer used in any of Apple's products. The fact that it is marked down AND has 3 years of AppleCare with it shows that CompUSA is trying to move it. On the subject of AppleCare, be careful that the extended warranty is actually AppleCare and NOT something that CompUSA offers.

However, your main concern appears to be price and what they are asking is not too bad. The extra $100 for the superdrive is also reasonably OK.

If you think that this machine will work for you and do everything that you need a computer to do, then spend the extra $100 and get the one with the SuperDrive.
However, I do think that you will be better served, in the long run, by getting a current iBook instead of a discontinued one.

P

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Recap...
Oct 22, 2006 2:14AM PDT

Baseline = $749 = Discontinued G4 chip, No DVD write capability, 12" screen, 40 gig hard drive.

+ $100 = Discontinued G4 chip, DVD write capability, 14" (larger) screen, faster CPU, 60 gig hard drive.

+ $350 = current generation Intel chip (faster CPU), No DVD write capability, 13" (larger) screen, 60 gig hard drive.

+ $550 = current generation Intel chip (faster CPU), DVD write capability, 13" (larger) screen, 60 gig hard drive.

So your machine selecton boils down to what the sense of urgency is to get a computer *now* as opposed to saving for an Intel-based machine, what your budget can bear and what you are planning to do with it.

Do you REALLY need to be portable? Why?

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Nice recap.
Oct 22, 2006 2:26AM PDT

The powerpc unit was nice, but not a dual core. This new unit has other tricks that are noteworthy.

Bob

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iBooks are great!
Oct 26, 2006 10:33PM PDT

I've got the 12" iBook and it's solid and reliable - it does basic computing very well. It's light and sturdy + never overheats. I'd go for either. I must say the keyboard on the 12" is a bit annoying so with hindsight I'd have bought the bigger one. Get a Macbook when you can afford it, and just enjoy a very reliable computer for a couple of years.

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iBooks are great!
Oct 27, 2006 3:51AM PDT

I have a 12" PB with the 80 GB HDD and 512 MB RAM, and the 1.5 GHz Proc and I love it. Even though it is only a G4 it does everything I ask. While I did get the Superdrive, unless you plan on making a lot of DVDs, it's not necessary. Most of your backups, etc. can be saved to CDs as well. The only place where the DVD revorder has come in handy is when I was saving huge (scanned at 600+ dpi) photos. I think the iBook was a good deal for you in light of finances and projected use. Besides, you can always add an external DVD burner in the future. I agree with the others, though - get as much RAM as you can - it will really help. Good luck in the future and enjoy your iBook!

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Prefer PPC
Oct 27, 2006 6:36AM PDT

(1) The G-4 MICROPROCESSOR is as far as I know, not discontinued.
(2) The 14" iBook screen has the same resolution as the 12" one - the pixels are just proportionally bigger.
(3) The 12" iBook is missing the superdrive, which is great for backing up your files. Not sure if you can get an external firewire one for less that $100
(4) Steve Jobs, in another fit of pique, decided to dump the PPC microprocessor, even though the PPC achitecture is far superior to the Intel one. Also, IBM was ready to come out with THEIR versions of the PPC that would have been competitive with Intel.
(Notice that Intel rarely talks about GHz amymore...?)
(5) I hate the (higly refective) glossy screen of the macBooks.
(6) The only difference that I've seen on the Intel laptops, is their ability to get Windows based virusses.

I will keep my 14" iBook G-4 until I can no longer get the (mac) software for it that I need.

Either iBook is one hell of a deal!

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Logic is a little flawed
Oct 27, 2006 11:39AM PDT

1. Apple no longer has any machine in production that sports the G4 processor. No doubt it is still in production by IBM but not for the Macs.
2. Probably
3. Probably not, but not impossible.
4. If IBM were already producing the PPC. IBM did not have a G5 PPC that would work in a laptop. They also had problems getting the speed of the G5 up as high as they had promised. The Ghz myth was busted years ago, even Intel stopped using the comparison a few years back. It was still dragged out by "tech pundits" though.
5. I hate grits so I don't eat them
6. Just as a matter of interest, where have you seen, or read, about the ability of the Intel laptops to get Windows based viruses? What viruses in particular have you seen an Intel based MacBook running OS X, get?

Good, I shall be keeping my iBook (Clamshell) too. Glad it works for you.

The close out deal was a bargin

P

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Providing you're not totally locked in yet
Oct 27, 2006 4:18AM PDT

consider what I call the age factor. I'm no techie but am old now. I'd have a Mac laptop with 23" screen if they made them, just because I have tired, old eyes.

However, the big majority of road warriors I see have the smaller, lighter more handily portable. They may have just what the company provides rather than their own choice, but when you're stuck with lugging it most of the hours of the day, the lighter portability trumps bigger.