Should i get an IBOOK???

Hey Guys

So im confused - please help me out if you can.

I was going to purchase a PC but now im considering just getting a MAC. Heres my needs - i'll be using it for 2d and 3d software - Photoshop, 3D studiomax, Maya, Quark. Also portablitiy and lightwieght are very important as i'll be traveling with it alot.

I'll have a studio at school to work from but to do my own work i know i should go with the industry standard. So should i get an Ibook or a powerbook?? Im on a budget so if i dont need to splurge on a PB then i wont.

I did find an awsome deal tho on a Ibook - a local girl has it for sale cuz she getting a 12 inch. The ibook configs are:
Apple iBook G4 14". With super drive (dvd & cd combo + burner) and also has Tiger OSX. 80GB hard drive.
Only 10 months old with 2 years of apple care left.

She wants only 1,000 for it.

What do you guys think - go for it or just get new?

Comparing apple to pc - i know it has a better Graphics card, but what else is it about macs that make them outperform pc's in artdesign work?
How is the battery life and how about g4 processor? what does that compare to in terms of PCs? Would it be like a centrino/turion or more like a celeron/sempron??

Does ibooks get hot? how about media card slots do they have any?

THanks guys!

 

A few more questions...
What is the difference in Tiger and Panther OS?? Im a pc user sorry for my ignorance!
And how heavy are 14 inch ibooks? Im deciding between this apple or jsut dropping down to a compaq v2000z. The ibook seems to have a lower screen quality compared to the new widescreen/brightviews. What do you think i should do?

Also is the graphics card in here dedicated or shared? i think its only a 32 card also..

 

k, First off Tiger is the newest OS and is far better then panther.
G4 is older, but still performs well.
Ibooks can generally (when new, and at least the 12 in) can hit between 5-7 hours of battery life.
No, not enhanced screen, but still of a high quality.
No meida card slots.
my 12 in is just under 5 lbs, and the 14 inch isn't too much heavier.
The graphics card is dedicated (has its own ram).
Only starts to really heat up when you are running intense programs and the processor is running at full speed, otherwise its fairly cool.

 

Ok thanks for the info.
So the G4 is it comparable to a Pen 4? or lower?
How much better is a G5? are g5's coming into ibooks any time soon?

On your 12 inch u get 5-7 batt life?! is it a 12 cell?

Also have u had any problems with yours where you needed to use the apple care warrenty??
ANd this may sound like a silly question but can i put my copy of MS Office on apple or do they have a different version of word?

 

if u plan on doing max i would not recomend ibook.
u need high resolution screens. the ibooks just aceptable for webpages and wordproscesing.
u need a strong proscesor. the g4 its not really a strong one compared to what u can get on the pc market.
the video card its ok, but only 32mb on means it will hurt a loooot in max and maya.
it gets hot fast when pushed. so 1 hour of rendering will get it pretty hot.

get something with adm turion, ati x700 125mb ( not biased but its a common card ) and a atleast 15 inch high res screen. if u can afford a powerbook u can afford a nice machine with these stuff

 

Here's a site that compares Mac G4/G5 processors against processors from AMD and Intel:

http://www.systemshootouts.org/processors.html

 

So a AMD turion processor is auctually better than the ibook g4???!

 

the amd turion is pretty much the newest mobile processor out there. Its a sweet mobile 64 bit processor. Anyway, powerbooks (maybe ibooks) are getting the intel mobile dual core processors in the first half of next year anyway. so the old G4 is about to be put to rest.

 

oh, and to answer your question as to if the battery is a 12 cell, im pretty sure that its not a 12 cell, my best guess would be sixish. And for putting office on, you would need a mac version of office. Unless you just got virtual pc, and put windows on the mac, and then ran office in there.

 

Depends on how fast you need it (an iBook). I would personally wait until next year to see how the new processors from Intel effect the Macintosh platforms.

As to the right laptop for the job question, are you a die-hard Mac fan? No problem if you are, but your options are much more limited (its just a good thing that Apple makes some very good laptops).

IMHO you wouldn't go wrong with an iBook for everything up to graphics/video work. If you need that kind of power, consider a different machine and if your needs are immeadiate, a different platform.

 

and just to throw another factor into this decision, checkout this post: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=30744

You're not supposed to be able to run the new OSX developed for Intel x86 machines on anything but an Apple, but those with the dev version of the OS already are doing this, so we'll see if anything further is done before the release of this Intel OSX to prevent that -- if not then why not buy a cheaper PC that runs Mac OSX and Windows when you need it to

 

Well im not a die hard apple fan i just know that most people who work with 2d and 3d software tend to go mac b/c its the industry standard.

So if the ibook has a G4 processor which i shouldnt go with am i better off going PC? I need to get a laptop asap so im open to anything that fits my needs.

So im pretty much comparing the Apple i book 14 inc with a PC - HP specifically - either the dv4000/v2000z for my 2d software like Photoshop with a Wacom Tablet and some Maya.

What do you guys think?

 

Ok, I used both PowerBook G4 1.25Ghz model(Though not extensively, at work) and now V2000z. In terms of Power, I do not think it even comes close to Turion ML-37, and the Screen, though both are wide screens, I did not like PowerBook screen that much( not as bright as this one, also I felt it is not as sharp as this one). Video card also I think V2000z with 128MB shared memory easily equals or better than PowerBook video card.

But I really liked the slot loader, high regidity metal casing, ofcourse looks of PowerBook G4. I remember bottom used to get quite warm( or Hot), more than V2000z, but again it may be because of metal housing, it also heavier.

IMHO, I would go with bigger, high resolution screen for any Photoshop or Video editing work. Least 14", better yet 15.4" wide screen.

 

Lest we forget that the turion is pretty much the best mobile processor out there right now and in no way can you compare the g4 to the turion.
The new powerbooks have had updated screens and resolutions as well, and a slight vid card upgrade.
As for the bottom getting hot, apple books are designed to use the body to help dissipate the heat (as are prolly many other notebooks).
So, basically i am saying that it is tricky to compare an older powerbook to a brand new model.
Plus imo, apple is saving the greatest updates for when they install the intel chips next year. Prolly will have a radical design change. (actually, have already heard the 15/17 powerbooks will be thinner, and also have the isight camera integrated into them)