i9200 compared to a Powerbook G4

The Apple will be more aesthetically appealing to most people. It's sleeker and the two-color combination is a bit, in my opinion, more seamless than the color scheme of the 9200. I'm a bigger fan of the Dell keyboard than I am of the Apple; I like the "tapping" of the Deff better then the mush of the Apple. (I'm talking about the sound the keyboard makes.) The Apple keyboard is a bit more solid as far as I know, but do the mod and everything is fine.

I can't speak for the Dell, but I love my PowerBook. It's very solid; doesn't feel fragile at all even if I do try and treat it with kid gloves, and I love the keyboard, myself. I wish they'd taken advantage of the extra space and added a true numeric keypad, but otherwise.

the build quality of the mac will be better. i think it's amazing they can build a 17" laptop only being 1" thick and less than 7lbs. If only i liked macs...

I"ve seen the 17" mac and it looks really nice! I can't really comment, the guy was in my PH105 class and was using it to program that day. I've never seen it since. I would go with the apple when it comes to looks though

hahaha... so true... if only...

my couson has a apple G4 and he has his all under warranty thank god via the local shop he brought it from because i messed up his...i went to test it out and spilt my drink on it by accident....he didn't mind under warranty but i was pooping myself thinking i'll need to buy him another. but all in all...it's good and he doesn't let me use it.

I can't compare the 9200 to the 17" Powerbook but I just sold my 17" Powerbook last week. It is beautiful, a real work of art. The downside is the display is not up to the best displays used on some PC laptops and I'm not just talking about the shiny Xbrite type of displays. My new Thinkpad T42 has a better display and it's not shiny. As far as the quality of the notebook itself it's terrific.

Why even consider a G4?

I'm not really sure why everyone here is only talking about the way the G4 looks. Sure it looks good...it better for that price.

The real issue's for me are based on performance/price. The g4 display is only 1440 x 900. That is terrible for a 17" screen. Then take a look at the graphics card. Weak. In fact why continue. There are so many downsides to the G4 its not even worth talking about.

kilgor

Pedram wanted to know how the two looks compared... I would tend to agree with you that the Apple isn't really meant for gaming or GPU-intensive work. But hey, it does look nice.

The G4 looks good, but kilgor is right about the screen. Not only that, but the G4's hard drive *will* fail at some point (every mac owner I've met had a hard drive failure at some point) and you have to send it back to them; they won't send you a new hdd. Plus, yeah, the performance isn't nearly as good.

Is this your first computer ever? If not, why are you even thinking about mac / pc? You should have all the software for one or the other... ?

Powerbook: Lit keyboard in low lit areas, slot type drive- but 4x DVD-R/RW only, 1394b (firewire 800), gigabit ethernet, OS X's 5 point gamma color management allows perfect gray scale, SXGA+ w/ATI 9700 64M, no subwoofer for internal speakers, 1.5Ghz G4 max, very slim, no fan so its very quiet but can get warm because aluminum case dissipates the heat.

i9200: 8x dual layer +/- R/RW DVD option, WUXGA & WXGA+ options (both brighter than on the powerbook, but on my WUXGA screen it's not as evenly lit), ATI 9700 w/128M, 2.1 Ghz max P-M, 1394a only, no gigabit ethernet (10/100 only), about twice as thick as powerbook, scrolling on touch pad, internal speakers sound better w/built-in subwoofer, uses fan that's still quiet.

As they use different operating systems, one's collection of software adds to the decision also.

I'm sure there's more differences, so just get one of each!

1440x900 is in keeping with Apple's philosophy about a comfortable and easy computing experience. All Apple monitors and the displays on the 15 and 17 inch laptops are at 100 ppi, which they've proven to be the most comfortable resolution with which to use a computer. And until, what, a month ago, everyone here wanted a laptop with a Radeon 9700 in it because it was the best. The next revision of the PB is rumoured to have the 9800 in it.

All hard drives run the risk of failure, not just the ones in PowerBooks. Saying all PowerBook hard drives will fail is unfair considering they're the same hard drives you find in other computers.

Oh, and PowerBooks do have fans; they run constantly, actually. You can just about hear them if you're in a very quiet room. When the temperature hits 138 the turbo fan kicks in until it goes down to 131. That you can hear, but even then it's not super loud.

my girlfriend has had 2 15" powerbooks in the last 2 years (one her dad took for work). both had horrible hardware failures. the first one had everything go: screen, hd, motherboard. they replaced everything under the cover pretty much. the second one had the hd poop on her in the last few weeks and just got replaced. and of course when she got it back, the case was bent above the super drive and so she sent it in again to be fixed. she still perfers mac over pc, and i will say i like the system but i dont trust them now to buy my own. also ive burned myself with her laptop before, they get that hot. as for service i know that if you have the APP you are set for three years and dont have to worry about anything. however, the people in the mac store near me are some of the most conceited people in the world. they prey on the 75% of mac users who know nothing about the system and buy them only for looks and status. they know that they know more about macs then almost everyone who comes in so they just assume youre an idiot when you walk in the door. there was a nice guy who was very helpful the last time we walked in, he solve all our problems with the lappy, but he was in the minority at that store at least.

bottom line: service is good if you buy it, but people skills are lacking. hardware is questionable. if i had the money i might buy a powerbook because id like to own one of each OS and id take my chances with the hardware and get the protection plan (a must for any laptop). but they are not worth the limited money and patience i have.

There are a few difirence betwen Power Book G4 and the Inspiron 9200, but just one of them are important one.

If you are going to use photo, video editing or 3D creation (such Adobe Photoshop, Illustraitor, 3D Studio, Maya) get the Power Book. Also I like how the OS works is a real user friendly.

If you are going to use more mathematical programs, or games (such AutoCAD, Sketch UP) get the ) 9200.

There were a lot of problems with the last version of the 15" Aluminum Powerbook, the one with the 1.25ghz processor. White spots on the display and all sorts of fitting problems, it was a real mess. Apple definitely dropped the ball on that one. The current 1.5GHz version is much improved and problems are more the exception than the rule. Which one did your girlfriend have, the current one or the last one?

Sure, all computers use the same hard drives, but for some reason everyone I've talked to who had a mac had a hard drive -- among other hardware -- failure.

RE: The user-friendly OS: It's nice to cruise around in OS X but if you want to get anything done it takes soooo much longer. Believe me, I have extended experience in both so I'm technically used to them.

I have no bias, honestly. Macs look great and feel great but they just aren't practical.

I agree on it

lozx

I think I read about this recently. You'd think if ATI could fit the 9800 in a PB, it could have fit in 9200. Isn't PB thinner than 9200? IMHO, the slickest feature of PB is its slot loading CD/DVD drive. I still don't understand why PC laptops don't come with one.

I'm hoping Apple switches to the new nVidias for the next version, personally.

And yeah, the slot loading drive is very nice, though I don't particularly care for the way they have it on the 17. On the 15 the slot is in the middle of the chassis, but on the 17 it's at the very top, and if you, without thinking, pick up the laptop by that corner, you can bend it.

I don't have a permanent bend, but I noticed it bent pretty badly when I picked up up there one time.