ibook best all round performance, portable notebook for under $1000

There's nothing really like it on the PC side for under 1500.

It's a different scenario when the price is raised to $1500, there are better notebooks than the ibook when you add $500. But at the sub $1000 range there isn't much in comparrison other than the Dell 700m.

I'd agree it is probably the best value out there. Sounds perfect for your needs. Even though the video card is not great, you'd be surprised at how well it does for most applications. And, if you are a casual gamer, there are quite a few titles available that will run on the iBook (no flaming needed by hard core gamers - I'm not saying the iBook, or Mac for that matter, is a gaming machine).

I always thought mac sucked for games..

Did a quick search and found this..

http://www.gamedb.com/ssps/0/0

Just goes to show ya you can learn something new every day.

yeh, and the dell is thicker and has shit battery life w/o the extended battery. also lacks discrete GPU.

you're on track. not much has changed since i was shopping and researching just over a year ago. at that time Sony had the S series w/ a radeon 9700 64MB BTO (which u might be able to ebay for a little over what the 12" iBook is going for), but it cost an arm and a leg. since then they've switched to the semi-discrete nvidia chips, a step down imo. if u can live w/ a stock 40GB drive built in, the amazon rebate deals make the iBook a wicked bargain ($899 flat) amongst the 12-13" notebook (per the GPU in particular).

Completely wrong. First the 700m waste the ibook in battery. I get 5 hours of USE. Second. the screen on the ibook sucks,total crap. The 700m screen is unbelievable. Third, while the dell is a little thicker the difference is not even worth talking about. Fourth, both lappys have crapy graphics so don't even go there.

Spend the extra $100 (just above "sub $1000') and get a 12" PowerBook.

um, lol, i did go there and you're off. unless dell is now offering the larger battery as standard it will get ~2 hours and that's been the case from day one of it's release (roughly a week after day one a friend of mine got one, and sat in pissed of fashion at me when her system had to be plugged in when my iBook had 2+ hours left). since then i've used it on occasion to test it out. don't assume ppl don't have hands on experience w/ a system in question, it's just lame.

i don't doubt that the screen is better, but then again i never made the assertion that the iBook was better in this regard. seems like you're kneejerking.

if differences in thickness weren't worht talking about there wouldn't usually be a price premium for thinner and lighter laptop right? i believe w/ the larger battery, the 700m actually weighs in at the weight of the iBook, thought i'm not absolutely certain of it. try finding some reviews of it that discuss the weight of the 700m to check it out.

arguably, "crappy" or not, most who are in the know or has a need, might say that a system lacking a discrete GPU for any real use, lacks a GPU. my parents have 2 desktop systems w/ integrated graphics and for the most part they are only useful as email/surf/word machines. it's rather pitiful to see ppl defending intergrated solutions over discrete (radeon 9550) ones apparently bc of it's association w/ a Mac.

Traide don't take things so damn personal man. All I'm saying is that my 8 cell battery gives 5 hours of actual use. Second don't even bring out the graphic thingy because the ibook graphics (while better than the 700m) is not worth the time to benchmark it on any performance scale. If i want performance i would use my alienware not an ultra-portable.. Thirdly, the real use difference of the size of the ibook is inconsequential compared to the 700m. But anyway I'm not going to get into an argument defending two completely different lappys. As long as we are both happy with our laptops thats all that matters.

12" 1.5GHZ G4, 60GB, 512 MB, 64MB NVIDIA, COMBO DRIVE, Bluetooth, Airport Extreme, $1099 on Apple's refurb website, free shipping. Go look for yourself if you don't believe me. $100 more and you get the SuperDrive and 80GB HD. $100 more than that and you can get a 15". No gherkins are being jerked, I assure you.

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL....3.1.1.0?88,48

It's sort of hit or miss. Some retail stores have demo and display models for sale, but I think your best bet is ordering online. You can go to apple.com/retail and find the store closest to you and call them up and ask them if they have any refurbs or display models for sale at the moment.

the refurbs are online, but should be free shipping so u pay the same as u would in store. also Apple is one of very few that offers the usual 1 year warranty onf their refurbed stuff. i don't know of anyone else that does that. usually they give u 90 days and getting the 1 year warranty is extra $.

i'm not taking anything personal, just stating what i know. u proved my point, the 700m will only get durable battery life w/ the larger battery. also, u admit that the radeon 9550 is better than the integrated solution, and then u dismiss it? lol funny how it's (the GPU) associated w/ a mac now isn't it? actually most people would prefer a dedicated GPU in a thin and light or ultraportable. why do u think the Sony S (1xx-2xx) w/ the radeon 9200 and 9700 was such a hit? sure, let's all be happy w/ our lappies, but if u spread misinformation don't be surprised if someone calls u on it.

No misinformation. The 8 cell is a substantial upgrade in power that completely mitigates its size. Also any idiot that believes that the ibook video should even be benchmarked has no business speaking about graphic performance. And here i am not referring to you or our discussion. I'm just relating a fact that separates people like me who seek after performance from others who are happy with any gpu no matter how weak it is eventhough its dedicated or not. No one who buys a ultraportable buys them because of there performance video performance alone. but because of their size, looks, etc etc.

So if the dedicated video in the ibook tickles your pickle than more power to you. But from where i stand, i can never consider any ultra portable as anything other than whats its intended for. In other words whether you have a 9200 or a 9550 or even a 9700. I completely consider such graphics cards as weak for what i consider a true performance laptop.

fwiw, i didn't say that the iBook GPU should be benchmarked against a windows gaming rig. that would be just silly. i do think however if u offered someone a 4-5lb laptop w/ discrete video vs. one without, they'll take it with, not for the gaming but for an all around better experience moving around the OS. the usual issues around not having a discrete GPU tend to manifest around heavy load situations where even basic display elements aren't rendered or redrawn as promptly as possible bc of the shared RAM. w/ discrete, it's less of an issue if at all.

i guess that's the difference between apple and the rest of the bunch. they'd rather give ppl a more complete solution, even if it is in a thin and light. personally i'm very curious to see what they turn out as a 12" PB replacement. word is it'll likely be widescreen and 3-4lbs in weight, and if they stick to their usual formula u'll have a discrete GPU on board as well.

Actually I'm in the market for the 17 inch apple model. I don't own an apple but i want one (i love computers and try to get a new one at least every 9 months and out of these i use the ones i don't want to run my business). But my next one will be an apple 17 inch but waiting until the Intel thingy gets inside the darn thing.

I sure hope your prediction of the 12 inch model comes true because that thing will be mine.