How Does One Find Out .....

[bayonic]

. . . . how much memory is installed on a PowerBook ;

. . . . how much memory is on the Graphics Card ; i.e 64MB or 128MB

. . . . and the speed of the Hard Drive ; i.e 4200 or 5400 RPM

before deciding to part with hard-earned cash . . .

p.s. also any other recommended accessories that should be added at the time of purchase of the main unit.



thanks in advance.

[ncarandang]

1. go to your local distributor/retailer and ask them.
2. or if you get your hands on the unit, the system profiler will tell you everything u need to know.

i'd go with the first one. it would hurt to ASK.

[Henjie]

If you're buying the PowerBook from a Mac reseller, then ask them for the exact specs. If you're buying a preowned unit and you wanna make sure that the specs are exactly what the owner posted (and you have access to the PowerBook), do the following:

Originally posted by bayonic
. . . . how much memory is installed on a PowerBook ;

Easiest way is by going to the Apple Menu and clicking on "About This Mac". It'll give you the OS version, processor model/speed and the amount of RAM.

. . . . how much memory is on the Graphics Card ; i.e 64MB or 128MB

At the "About This Mac" info window, click on "More info..." and System Profiler will appear. Go to "AGP" for the video card info.

. . . . and the speed of the Hard Drive ; i.e 4200 or 5400 RPM

This is a bit more tricky. You'll need an internet connection for this. System Profiler will give you the hard drive model (under "ATA" ) but it won't tell you whether it's a 4200 or 5400 or 7200rpm drive. Take note of the drive model and search for the exact specs online. ;-)

UPDATE: Toshiba laptop drives use this naming convention: MKxxyyGAS or MKxxyyGAX. GAS = 4200rpm drive; GAX = 5400rpm. XX will be 30, 40, 60, 80 or 10, for 30GB, 40GB, 60GB, 80GB and 100GB respectively.

Current Hitachi/IBM laptop drives use xKyy. X will give you the rotational speed: 4 for 4200rpm; 5 for 5400rpm; 7 for 7200rpm. YY is for the capacity.


~Henjie

[Edited on 5-18-2004 by Henjie]

[bayonic]

Originally posted by Henjie
If you're buying the PowerBook from a Mac reseller, then ask them for the exact specs. If you're buying a preowned unit and you wanna make sure that the specs are exactly what the owner posted (and you have access to the PowerBook), do the following:

Easiest way is by going to the Apple Menu and clicking on "About This Mac". It'll give you the OS version, processor model/speed and the amount of RAM.

thanks .... exactly what i needed .

[mgd]

Originally posted by bayonic
. . . . how much memory is installed on a PowerBook ;

. . . . how much memory is on the Graphics Card ; i.e 64MB or 128MB

. . . . and the speed of the Hard Drive ; i.e 4200 or 5400 RPM

before deciding to part with hard-earned cash . . .

I made my decision before I even went to a distributor. I tried out the Books of friends, read through the posts here and other review sites. Of course, I checked out the default configurations on Apple's site to figure out which one I felt best suited my needs. System Profiler (as indicated in previous posts) will verify that the very unit you are about to buy is up to specs.

p.s. also any other recommended accessories that should be added at the time of purchase of the main unit.
thanks in advance.

If you'd like to go wireless, make sure you have an Airport card. Some units don't come with this. Your distributor will probably have stock. Also, Apple doesn't supply bags. You might want to make sure your new Book has a nice safe place to call home. (watch for internal zippers or tags that might scratch the finish) An iSkin keyboard cover has proven to be quite popular with Books. It helps keep your keyboard and clean and minimizes scratches on your screen when closed. Coolpads are also popular. They help dissipate heat and provide a nice swivel stand for the Book to rest on. Again, local distributors should be able to hook you up with these fairly easily.

[penmanila]

my recommendations would be:

1. more RAM (as much as you can afford, at least 256mb)
2. a bag (something that doesn't scream "i'm a new laptop, please steal me!&quot
3. an optical mouse (if you're used to a mouse)
4. a USB floppy drive (if, like me, you still can't do without them in the office)
5. a USB printer, if you don't have one yet

Originally posted by bayonic
p.s. also any other recommended accessories that should be added at the time of purchase of the main unit.