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PB or MBP?

R

RyuMD

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 29, 2006
16
0
San Diego, CA
hey all. my gf is a photojournalist and she is considering purchasing a new laptop at the moment. we talked over the deal, and here's what we came up with.

1. 1.67 GHz Powerbook G4 (15")

2. 2.0 GHz MacBook Pro

we're able to receive discounts on the powerbook at $1399 through my brother, who is eligible for student discounts. i know that buying the powerbook will leave a lot more money for additional software, but then again, the new macbook pro's, the whole mactel switch, future softwares, the whole intel deal - that's making me think this through more carefully. in all other cases, without the whole intel thing, the powerbook is a sure buy, but is the macbook pro worth all the hype? how much faster can it be? and it's a first revision too, so, let me know what you guys think i should do. we've seen the rev. e powerbooks several times and the horizontal line problem doesn't bother us at all, if there are any. the macbook pro - come on, magsafe? no fw800? the pc-cards haven't moved on to the express card tech yet either, and we're used to using verizon's net service.
 
RyuMD said:
hey all. my gf is a photojournalist and she is considering purchasing a new laptop at the moment. we talked over the deal, and here's what we came up with.

1. 1.67 GHz Powerbook G4 (15")

2. 2.0 GHz MacBook Pro

we're able to receive discounts on the powerbook at $1399 through my brother, who is eligible for student discounts. i know that buying the powerbook will leave a lot more money for additional software, but then again, the new macbook pro's, the whole mactel switch, future softwares, the whole intel deal - that's making me think this through more carefully. in all other cases, without the whole intel thing, the powerbook is a sure buy, but is the macbook pro worth all the hype? how much faster can it be? and it's a first revision too, so, let me know what you guys think i should do. we've seen the rev. e powerbooks several times and the horizontal line problem doesn't bother us at all, if there are any. the macbook pro - come on, magsafe? no fw800? the pc-cards haven't moved on to the express card tech yet either, and we're used to using verizon's net service.
Click to expand...

Get the Powerbook. I am getting the 1.83 Ghz MBP, but am bummed I will have to wait a few months and for now emulate CS2 at Mac Mini speeds.
 
RyuMD said:
hey all. my gf is a photojournalist and she is considering purchasing a new laptop at the moment. we talked over the deal, and here's what we came up with.

1. 1.67 GHz Powerbook G4 (15")

2. 2.0 GHz MacBook Pro

we're able to receive discounts on the powerbook at $1399 through my brother, who is eligible for student discounts. i know that buying the powerbook will leave a lot more money for additional software, but then again, the new macbook pro's, the whole mactel switch, future softwares, the whole intel deal - that's making me think this through more carefully. in all other cases, without the whole intel thing, the powerbook is a sure buy, but is the macbook pro worth all the hype? how much faster can it be? and it's a first revision too, so, let me know what you guys think i should do. we've seen the rev. e powerbooks several times and the horizontal line problem doesn't bother us at all, if there are any. the macbook pro - come on, magsafe? no fw800? the pc-cards haven't moved on to the express card tech yet either, and we're used to using verizon's net service.
Click to expand...

Unless you're girlfriend heavily relies on Adobe CS2 for her photojournalism, she should get the MBP. The 2.0 GHz is damn fast compared to the 1.67 GHz PowerBook, and she (and you) would be very happy with a new MBP. The magsafe is a nice feature in the new MBP, and Rosetta runs just dandy for the majority of professional applications. Also there are no horizontal line problems in this revision.
 
RyuMD said:
...we've seen the rev. e powerbooks several times and the horizontal line problem doesn't bother us at all, if there are any. the macbook pro - come on, magsafe? no fw800? the pc-cards haven't moved on to the express card tech yet either, and we're used to using verizon's net service.
Click to expand...


I think youve already answered your question. It appears that for what you are wanting to do, the PB would suit your needs absolutely fine - plus you will have cash to spare.

As for the hype, I am a switcher and I think the MBP is totally worth the money, but as many have said before me, its all about your computing needs and how much you are willing to spend. If money is not really an issue, and you want the newest and finest - MBP. If you are looking for the best value that will accomodate your computing needs - PB.

Dont really think you will regret either decision - definitely a win/win.

Good luck!
 
MBP all the way. Much faster computer except for rosetta but even then still fast.
 
Until the M$ comes out with Virtual PC that will work on the MBP I'm stick'n with my powerbook.

On a side note I remember running Virtual PC on my 400 MHz TiBook... This 1.67 Powerbook makes it screem! Virtual PC is like a P III ... which for Window 2000 is all you ever needed!
 
I'd suggest the MBP over PB.

Firewire 800 is not that important unless you already have firewire 800 external hard or something. And the speed gain you will gain is pretty substantial.
 
Pb

I would opt for the PowerBook simply because there is more screen real estate. On paper, the resolution difference seems insignificant. But in day in and day out working on photographs, it makes all the difference.

Yeah sure the MBP kicks a$$ on the PB in raw speed, but when actually using programs (and not just opening and closing them) there is hardly any difference; this includes the iLife suite native to the intels.

My suggestion: go to an Apple store for yourself.
 
the Helix said:
I would opt for the PowerBook simply because there is more screen real estate. On paper, the resolution difference seems insignificant. But in day in and day out working on photographs, it makes all the difference.
Click to expand...

Huh?

The MBP's screen size is bigger (15.4") and resolution is greater (1440 x 900), so I am very confused by your post.
 
QCassidy352 said:
rev. E 15" powerbooks had a 1440x960 screen.
Click to expand...

Ah - I stand corrected, thank you.

..but does that actually equate to more screen real estate considering the actual screen size of the MBP is still bigger.

My apologies, but I cannot seem to find info specific to the rev. E PBs.

Thanks...
 
Well, I don't want to get into PB vs MBP because that's up to you. But unless your local Apple store has what you want as far as a 15" PB, good luck. Have a look here.
 
April 1st?

Personally, I think anyone considering an apple at the moment should just wait and see what happens on April 1st. The may lower prices, or you might find some apps you want are going universal sooner than expected. We can't say for sure what the normal MacBook is going to be like, maybe you might find that is the right balance between price and performance/future proofing.

Of course, if you desperately need to sort one out within next few weeks thats a different kettle of fish, but... :rolleyes:

Just my $0.02
 
i second that: wait til april 1st, see what comes, then mbp or the new stuff
 
QCassidy352 said:
rev. E 15" powerbooks had a 1440x960 screen.
Click to expand...

Just set your dock to autohide and there you go, that missing 60 pixels!

My vote is on the MBP though, the Mini is already surprisingly quick at 1.66Ghz, I can only dream about what the MBP 2.0 can do :)
 
thank you all for your suggestions. we went out this morning and purchased the 15" pb. along with that, final cut studio, aperture, a 20" dell display, bluetooth apple keyboard/mouse, and a adobe acrobat professional. plus, they gave out free iLife '06 and iWork '06, which i thought i had to buy. :) don't have the time to try all these softwares right now (i'm sure SHE will) but i'm assuming this will be one heck of a production suite. i must say i'm satisfied with the way things look now. again, thanks all.

as for the macbook pro, i figure, i'll just get one for myself after a few revisions.
 
RyuMD said:
thank you all for your suggestions. we went out this morning and purchased the 15" pb. along with that, final cut studio, aperture, a 20" dell display, bluetooth apple keyboard/mouse, and a adobe acrobat professional. plus, they gave out free iLife '06 and iWork '06, which i thought i had to buy. :) don't have the time to try all these softwares right now (i'm sure SHE will) but i'm assuming this will be one heck of a production suite. i must say i'm satisfied with the way things look now. again, thanks all.

as for the macbook pro, i figure, i'll just get one for myself after a few revisions.
Click to expand...


Holy cow you speant a metric butt load on software. FYI iLife 06 comes pre-installed, so they didn't really give you that. They did give you iWork though.
 
RyuMD said:
thank you all for your suggestions. we went out this morning and purchased the 15" pb. along with that, final cut studio, aperture, a 20" dell display, bluetooth apple keyboard/mouse, and a adobe acrobat professional. plus, they gave out free iLife '06 and iWork '06, which i thought i had to buy. :) don't have the time to try all these softwares right now (i'm sure SHE will) but i'm assuming this will be one heck of a production suite. i must say i'm satisfied with the way things look now. again, thanks all.

as for the macbook pro, i figure, i'll just get one for myself after a few revisions.
Click to expand...
Congratulations! I was about to respond to the thread by suggesting you go with the PowerBook and spend money on a large monitor to add to the setup. However, since I actually read entire threads before posting, all that's left to say is congratulations. :)
 
Id say go for the MBP... you dont want to be dissapointed in not having the latest notebook. And hey see what they come out with on April 1st...you never know. Maybe a price drop or something. Its only a couple weeks away!
 
Flyinace2000 said:
Holy cow you speant a metric butt load on software. FYI iLife 06 comes pre-installed, so they didn't really give you that. They did give you iWork though.
Click to expand...

Is a metric butt load bigger or smaller than a standard butt load?
 
Easy. PowerBook.
I have compared (unscientifically, I admit) performance of MS Office on 12' Powerbook and on an MBP in my local Apple store. 12' was about *twice* as fast.
Right now, pretty much nothing, except Apple's own apps, is Universal, so your MS Office (you plan to use it a lot, right?), Adobe apps, and a lot of other things are going to be noticeably slow.
So you will be living with rather dismal performance for almost half of typical laptop upgrade cycle time (2-2.5 years!). If you go with Powerbook, you will have *acceptable* performance during the whole upgrade cycle.
Battery life is pretty much the same... I have to admit, MBP has some nice gimmicks like the built-in camera, but PowerBook at this point just seems more practical.
 
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