New iBook, new iMac, or used TiBook?

lucaluca
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
These are the three choices I'm considering, once I get to college. Here's how I see it:



A new iBook will be cheap and very portable, and capable of doing everything I need for the moment. But I'm afraid it'll become outdated too soon. Also, the screen is small, and my vision isn't the best (bad enough to notice it's not great, but not bad enough to need glasses yet, probably 20/30).



A new iMac (combo drive version) would do everything the iBook could but faster and with a much larger screen. It costs about the same but it isn't portable (which I'm not sure if I'll need or not when I go to college). It would certainly last longer before getting outdated, and the video chip is much better.



A used TiBook (probably a 550 MHz) would be slower than the other two overall, but faster than the iBook for AltiVec apps. It would cost about the same, have a really nice screen (esp. for DVDs) and be portable and of course really cool. The only disadvantage to this is that at 550 MHz, it'll probably be out of date rather quickly, and the video chip is no better than in the iBook (or is it?)



While I'm not overly concerned with being "up to date" (I mean geez, I have a limited budget and a 4 year old laptop), I would like the computer to be able to chug along usefully for another four years or so, and I think saving a few bucks on an older machine will come back to bite me in the a*s later. So I'm not looking for a high end machine that I'll replace in two years, just an adequate computer for running current applications until about 2006.



Also, I don't expect to be buying anything until August, because I will have saved up plenty of money by then, and because Jaguar (and hopefully an iMac update also) will be out by then.

edit: changed *** to a*s, just in case *** isn't obvious enough for you



[ 05-30-2002: Message edited by: Luca Rescigno ]</p>

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    cyko95cyko95 Posts: 391member
    First of all, buy what you can afford. Next, way the odds of portability vs. non-portability. From there, I think you'll leave the iMac, while it is a good system, in the dark. Personally I just bought an iBook 700, and it should be graced through the doorways by FedEx literally any minute. This this is everything I need in a Mac and plan to use it for time to come.



    Just a note, yes the video in the TiBook's are better, they have ATI Radeon 7500's (32MB) vs. the iBook's ATI Radeon Mobility (16MB).



    And to those out there that say that the iBook has an junky video card, I own a Dell that isn't that old, and it shipped with a 4MB Intel. THATS CRAPPY, not a 16MB ATI. Just my 2 cents.
  • Reply 2 of 10
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    I was comparing the new iBook's nice Radeon Mobility 16MB to the 2nd generation G4 Powerbook's 16MB video card. I had checked apple-history.com and it said that it had a "Radeon 128" which I didn't recall as being an actual video card. I checked everymac.com and it said that it has a Radeon Mobility 16MB, so the two video systems are the same.



    I'd enjoy either one of the portables. At about the same price, it would be nice to have the slightly higher resolution (horizontally only, and only a tiny bit) and larger wide-aspect screen of the TiBook. Either one would probably be enough computer to last me 3-4 years, and if more AltiVec stuff gets implemented, the TiBook's G4 would be a nice advantage.
  • Reply 3 of 10
    cyko95cyko95 Posts: 391member
    Well I can now speak from experience. Go for the iBook. I runs GREAT! I have no complaints. I games well, runs apps well, multi-tasks well. Just remember, the more RAM the better. :eek:
  • Reply 4 of 10
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    If you're going to bring it with you a lot go for the iBook. It's more portable and it seems more sturdy. Also, don't worry about the iBook being outdated quickly, it's a great little laptop. I love my 500MHz iBook, and the 700MHz ones are much better.
  • Reply 5 of 10
    faxthatfaxthat Posts: 64member
    The iBook because: Its resale value, should you decide after using it for a few months that you must sell it and get a TiBook, will be much closer to what you pay for it than if you proceed from the high end. The 700 Mhz iBook puts you at the forefront of technology for that product, which means it's less likely to be made less valuable by an upgraded product. The used TiBook would put you at the trailing end of tech for the G4 books. Used TiBook prices recently dropped because of the release of the new DVI TiBooks and will continue downward as those new TiBooks become more prevalent. Plus, the iBook has been proven more durable than the TiBook.
  • Reply 6 of 10
    i-bent-my-wookiei-bent-my-wookie Posts: 326member
    I also am trying to decide what type of mac to get. I basically want to run iApps for pics and movies. I finally decided to move away from a Ti because of the cost and had decided on an iMac. Now, Im reconsidering with the update to the iBooks because of the video connectivity.



    The ibooks can bridge into almost any video subsystem with the extra video adapter, and thats super handy for a quick slide show or showing movies to friends/family on their TV with no complicated setup.



    Question: does the iMac's video out port support the video dongle for he new iBook (composite-video and s-video)? Because as I understand it now you can only go to a VGA display. I know they use the same connector but I haven't seen anywhere that it would support the composite and s-video dongle.



    Any help on the subject would be appreciate, or if you rich folk that own ibooks and imacs could do a quick test that would be cool too! This might be one of those things apple doesn't advertise (for some reason beyond my cranial capacity... I'm due for an upgrade, myself



    thanks y'all (although Im not s'uthern)

    <img src="confused.gif" border="0">
  • Reply 7 of 10
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    Why would you want to use an iMac to show pics to people on a TV? Do you know how much of a hassle it would be to set up the iMac and then hook it up to a TV? First, you'd have to shut it down and unplug it. Then you have to move its 30-odd pound bulk next to the TV, then you have to plug it back in, start up, and hook it to the TV. With the iBook, you just unplug it and leave it sleeping with the battery. Then you move it (only 5 lbs) to the TV, plug it in, and wake it up. That's why notebooks are considered so good for presentations.



    Taking it a step further, a tablet (which we unfortunately don't have) would allow you to display the pics on the tablet itself and pass it around like a photo album. But a notebook is great for that sort of thing.
  • Reply 8 of 10
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    [quote]Originally posted by Luca Rescigno:

    <strong>Why would you want to use an iMac to show pics to people on a TV? Do you know how much of a hassle it would be to set up the iMac and then hook it up to a TV? First, you'd have to shut it down and unplug it. Then you have to move its 30-odd pound bulk next to the TV, then you have to plug it back in, start up, and hook it to the TV. With the iBook, you just unplug it and leave it sleeping with the battery. Then you move it (only 5 lbs) to the TV, plug it in, and wake it up. That's why notebooks are considered so good for presentations.

    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    Well that wouldn't be a problem if the iMac was near the TV, would it?
  • Reply 9 of 10
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    No it wouldn't be a problem. Sorry, my tone was too harsh.



    But he did say he may show pictures to his friends and family on their TV, not his, so I assumed he meant he would be going over to their house with his Mac and hooking it up to their TV. That's why I raised the issue of transporting it.
  • Reply 10 of 10
    i-bent-my-wookiei-bent-my-wookie Posts: 326member
    [quote]Originally posted by EmAn:

    <strong>



    Well that wouldn't be a problem if the iMac was near the TV, would it?</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Exactly, I wanted to take advantage of the iMacs DVD player as well if I could. This is going to be strictly a media maching so...



    Anyways, anyone know about those video dongles for sure? do they work with the imac?



    <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" />
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