Looking into Macs need some advise

Hey all,

Im in need of a new laptop after my last one (hypersonic CX6) took a dive onto a concrete floor . I really like the looks of the apple laptops and dont really want to do more then surf the web, office tools, maybe some light photo work, and listen to iTunes ( love my iPod). Portability is key for this laptop, so light weight and battery life really do matter to me. I like the 12"s . So what would be the better choice? 12" PB or 12" iBook? I have heard the BPs have had heat issues but have gotten better.

 

They did a massive PB battery recall because a batch of the batteries was bad (getting too hot), but mine still gets pretty warm when running. It sounds like you'd be better off saving a few quid and going for the 12" iBook-for what you're doing there wouldn't be much advantage in going for the PB (although they are cool looking!)

 

when you mean hot, do you mean like scalding hot, uncomfortably, or like clothes out of the dryer warm? ALso where does it get hot? Thanks for your help. Anyone know if the sound is truely better on a PB then iBook? My GF (who owns an iBook) seemed to think it was but i have no real comparasion.

 

Performance on the PB will be better since it has a faster CPU and hard drive.

 

I mean too-hot-to-have-on-my-lap hot. The sound isn't much different between the iBook and the PB; we own both and use both to watch DVD's regularly. Zazonz is right and if you're looking for a high performance machine or are going to be doing heavy gaming or graphics work, get the PB-but if all you're doing is surfing the web and typing a few documents, the iBook should suit you just fine.

 

You need to get a laptop cooler. The one that I use is the Xpad. It doesn't use a fan, it's super comfy, and it works for my titanium powerbook.

They're sold online at Xpad4laptop

 

Get the 12" iBook. It is what $949?? Versus a 12" Combo PB is $1399. The PB is only .17ghz faster. It does however have a 5400rpm HD. But youre paying $400 for a HD. Sales on the 12" PB have dropped alot because the specs are so close to the iBook. The video card on the iBook (9550) is much faster but also has less ram. The maximum ram for the PB is 1.25 for the iBook its 1.5. The PB will be updated soon so I'd wait even if I were going to buy the iBook.

 

whats your definition of soon? ill need a laptop soon (prob month or so at max)

 

I just got the 12in ibook and it works like a charm. This is coming from a new mac user. If your not doing anything heavy with it like games graphics etc. then this is the way to go. BTW it doesnt really get too hot in your lap.

 

I've got a 1 Ghz 12" PBook, and it onlly gets hot when I'm ripping or compressing a DVD. Otherwise it's just warm. In no case does it get hot enough to burn bare skin. The iBook will be cooler, because the case is plastic, not aluminium, and doesn't conduct heat as well.

I had to choose between an iBook and a PBook, and went with the PBook for these reasons:

- better keyboard
- availability of a SuperDrive
- mini DVI and monitor spanning without a 'patch'
- line in
- (most important) it just looked and felt 'cooler' Just the click the display made as it closed screamed 'quality'.

In defense of the iBook, it is a whole lot cheaper, the WiFi range is better (metal vs plastic case), right now the max memory is 256 Mb more than the PBook, and the graphics card is a bit better.