To buy or not to buy

[the_butcher]

hi guys, im currently using an ibook G4 867mhz with 640 mb ram, APE, 30g and Combo drive. Just bought it from a local reseller a few months back. Im happy with it, also my brother who got it from me yesterday. hence, my dilemma. Will i wait for a newer generation ibook or powerbook (hoping with a cheaper price and a g5 processor, will they come out this year?). or do i get myself a P130k powerbook 12" with 1.33 Ghz G4 processor, 256 mb ddr ram, SD, BT and APE? is it worth it? or should i buy a PC laptop, coz at the said price, i can get

1. an acer ferrari with athlon 64, 512 mb ddr 333, 60 g hdd, wifi, dvdrw, 15 inch sxga?

2. an acer tablet pc with the same specs

kaso acer nga lang. pero the athlon 64 is said to be comparable with the g5 processor of mac

what do i do? this is really my problem now. i need to get a new laptop for med school, but im in between getting the pb or the g5 comparable acer ferrari.. pls enlighten me.

to all muggers using both mac and pc machines, pls i need ur advice... thanks!!! all the best

[El CaMOTe]

Hi Mr. Butcher,

You should ask Assdoc and or docNap ... they could help you in this decision.

You are in/going to Med School, U.P. ?? Phew, good luck.

With your Mac lappie now, see if all the Medical software (you might need in future) running on PC will work with your Mac using Virtual PC. If it does not, and you really need this software, then (ugh!) get the PC lappie .

Cheers, and hang in there, the world always needs good Physicians !!

[dwin888]

buy the 12inch powerbook g4 with 1.33ghz super! ul never regret it.
besides according to some guys here, they don't suggest buying 1st gen ones. coz there might (are???) bugs. if im not mistaken

-baldwin :lol:

[Maverick]

I'm not sure how much of a resource hog your medical apps are but I'd think it would be really slow when using it via VirtualPC.

[extremyks]

If and if I really need to get a PC portable I guess it would be a Alienware.

This would be great for DV editing but overkill for basic school or office use.

Looks like it would be a while before a PB G5 comes out.... we are all hoping around Jan. next year... Just get a not so high PC laptops and the savings you get can be use later for the next generation of Powerbooks. :beer:

[CooLes]

As long as the applications you need are available for OS X, then you are better of with a PowerBook. Unless of course one of those applications is Doom 3.

[the_butcher]

@ ElCamote: yes I'm an intern in UP-PGH. And my previous ibook was a help especially in conducting clinical researches. I only had problems viewing, editing and slideshowing powerpoint files from my mac to a pc (font problem, though the font was Arial).

@dwin888: What do you mean by 1st gen? are the powerbooks available now (the ones with 1.33 Ghz, 256 on board RAM, 12", BT and APE) in what generation of powerbooks? Is it the first? Is apple selling both titanium and aluminum books pa? I just recently shifted from a pc user to a mac user, so I'm not familiar with this.

@Maverick, ExtremeMyks, Cooles: I'm not particular about the programs (medical) that should be compatible with the powerbook since I'm mostly using Windows for Mac for my internship. I'm more interested about the hardware specs the Acer Ferrari or any other PC laptops are offering compared to the Powerbooks at a similar price. It's like getting my money's worth... since the Athlon 64 inside the Acer Ferrarri is I think comparable to the Apple G5

[chairman]

Hi Butcher,

My question to you is, do you really need the power of the athlon 64? I've been a windows user most of my life and recently switched to the powerbook g4 15". When i got my pb i still had my desktop. My desktop is fast enough. I had a P 2.4 HT processor, 512MB RAM and a 256MB Video card in it. But you know what? As fast as my desktop was, I ended up giving it to my brother. Why? because I just had a better time with my powerbook. It's easier to use and gives me less headaches. Word, Excel and Powerpoint all have Mac versions and so do most of the tools I use.

In terms of value for money, i think the powerbook is worth it. The build quality alone sends shivers down my spine. Everytime I look at it, it makes me smile.

In as much as I'm a ferrari fan and was wowed by the Acer Ferrari, they can keep it. I'm not trading my powerbook in for it.

Apart from the 12" super, you might want to think of the 15" combo or just bite your tounge and go all out for the 15" superdrive. The 15" superdrive has a 1.5ghz processor and 512MB ram which should be more than enough for your med school needs.

Call up Bong of Ynzal and he might be able to give you a great deal on the powerbook.

Bottom line, if you don't need the speed don't buy the acer. ? By the time the new gen powerbooks come out, the powerbook you bought now would have a higher resalle value than the acer. HTH.

[Edited on 8-30-2004 by chairman]

[peter_ob]

Originally posted by the_butcher
hi guys, im currently using an ibook G4 867mhz with 640 mb ram, APE, 30g and Combo drive. Just bought it from a local reseller a few months back. Im happy with it...

You said it yourself so why switch? Unveilingof new models usually done in Mac World/January. If you can wait that long...

[rbpops]

butcher. i think you can stay with a mac. if the problem is in viewing and editing then you probably just need to use your own computer and not transfer files to someone else's. i would consider a pc if you want to access harrison's cd rom or those other medical text books pero nowadays your co interns would probably have them and the point of presentations is researching the new stuff you see in journals. i was getting frustrated before when i wanted to bring a cdrom of some of my huge books only to find that i cant access them on my pb. but, for me, the plusses do outweigh the minusses. plus, you'll always get that wow factor when you present in keynote. good luck.