Considering a PowerBook

Dump the 1 gig of RAM and get extra on the cheap from places like New Egg.

If price is a concern get an iBook, but otherwise you won't find any Apple laptops cheaper unless you buy used.

I waffled back and forth so much before deciding to buy my PowerBook and even after I bought it I had reservations. I found out in the end that it was worth it.

yeah, get the ram elsewhere. I signed up for apple credit so I only have to pay $50 a month, lol. I owned two inspirons (700m & 6000), but I returned both and got me a PB and so far I have loved it.

your multitasking needs should be taken care of even with the stock 512MB of RAM. unless your doing any kind of work that would tax your system, like working in a media editing/authoring sowftare while wanting to email, write, surf, chat, etc., it should suit u fine. but if it floats your boat, 1GB extra will give you room to play. read the RAM sticky. do not buy RAM from apple. it is easily self-upgradeable and the process is even supported by apple.

if $ is an issue, u can always just wait to get the extended applecare. just sign up next year before the 1st year is up. if u r going to order a stock powerbook, consider amazon w/ their $150 rebates on the 15" PB. u'll be charged tax thru apple, so be mindful of that in calculating your cost. in ordering from amazon u'll likely be able to get it tax free and w/ free shipping. throw in the rebate, and it should beat the academic price + tax, by ~$50. so the PB would run you $1850 flat, after rebate, + a 1GB stick from newegg for ~$100, and u'd be all set for ~$1950. (based on the 1.5Ghz machine, which would suit u very well for the next few years.)

in any case, if u have your heart set on the 1.67ghz, consider the same options re: apple's total price compared to amazon.

If you can swing the initial cost, I bet you'll be very happy with the PowerBook. The included iLife apps save you lots on software, and you should be able to get the Microsoft Office for Mac at low cost from your school (hopefully). The PowerBook will be great for multitasking, and has a better video card than the latitude (you may find that handy for video applications and for the odd game or two).

A 1.67 GHz PowerBook should last a long time. I use a 1.33GHz 12" PowerBook and it is amazingly speedy and powerful - I also have a Dual 2.5GHz Power Mac and for most things, the PowerBook is comparable. I wouldn't hesitate to get the PowerBook if looking for a laptop to last for 3 yrs. It's also sleek and looks great!

Agree you can save a few bucks by adding the RAM yourself. If you get 512MB on 1 SO-DIMM, you can add 1GB later when you have the cash.

Good luck with your decision.

Hey guys, I was looking at the Acer 4402 from zipzoomfly.com, and am just now starting to have reservations, and am considering a Powerbook. Would it benefit me to look at Apple's?

Basically, what I do is Photoshop, and am wanting to get into 3d animation/design and some video editing. Are there any PCMCIA slots on the new Powerbooks? I am going to get a PCMCIA TV tuner, so that is a huge for me.

Thanks,

Will

yes, the 15" and 17" PBs have PCMCIA slots.

Currently, if you're wanting to get into 3D don't get a PowerBook. Unfortunately they aren't very equipped at the moment for 3D work. It'll be great for Photoshop and for video editing, but a PC laptop is the way to go right now for 3D.

Alright, thanks for the input Kakaze. Do you think the Acer 4402 w/ 2GB of memory will handle it?

Thanks again for the honesty.

lol, 2GB would do u quite well. the x700 will likely serve u well up to midrange kinds of 3D work, and the Turion/AMD64 chip is typically better at rendering than the PMs are, so it seems a wise choice. if you are doing any kind of high-end/professional 3D rendering u may want to consider a workstation notebook w/ the nvidia or ati GL GPUs.

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en...f1-462857.html
ironically a PM machine...

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/prod...=04&l=en&s=bsd
and that one too...

oh dear, i just suggested a dell product. i have to go now, and lash myself with my iBook's power cord 100 times.

The Quadro/FireGL workstation laptops offered by Dell would do wonders for 3D work.

I'm not going to lie to you just so you get an Apple. As much as it would be nice to get someone else using a Mac I can't in good conscious recommend something that would be totally wrong for what someone needs. Now, a PowerMac desktop on the other hand...they're used quite a lot for Maya by the big studios.

I don't know anything about the Acer, but Tria's advice seems to be quite sound.

Thanks fellas... I've not even started into the whole 3D design, so I'm sure I wouldn't need a workstation at the moment. However I do a whole lot of multitasking which is why the extra memory will be worth it for me. Plus, for less than both of the workstations, I will have a higher spec machine... although I know specs aren't everything.

But maybe you can help me w/ this... How can an XP machine, such as the dell that you linked me to, with only 256MB of Memory, do anything? I don't know much about Workstations, but other than the GPU, what is the big deal with them?

The reason he linked the Dell is because it has a Quadro video card. Quadros are very very good at OpenGL which is used in the displays for 3D software. The Quadros aren't designed for games, they're designed for AutoCAD and stuff like that.

As far as the memory...256 ain't shit as far as system RAM goes but for Video RAM it's good. You'd definitely want to upgrade the system memory for 3D.

If you haven't already, it might be a good idea to visit Apple Discussions and query re the use of the 15" Powerbook for 3D applications, before you make your final decision.

u couldn't do much w/ it. u'd have to get some 3rd party RAM to take care of it. Dell charges thru the nose for a decent RAM upgrade.

u also may want to look into notebook w/ nvidia chips in them. while it may not be a huge issue, nvidia GPUs have typically handled OpenGL code better than ATI chips. if you are starting out in the field however, i doubt it'll be a huge/noticeable difference. if u have your heart set on the acer, go for it!