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Thinking about getting a MacBook and would appreciate your advice

S

somevelvet

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 13, 2006
63
2
Hi!

I currently have a 12" Powerbook that's served me well over the last three years. I'm a journalist/videographer/photog, and I've largely used it for writing and photography stuff, as well as casual use, communications, web etc etc. Video editing I do seperately on a dedicated PowerMac (though being able to do cut on my laptop would definitely not hurt).

I was thinking of waiting another 6 mos to a year to buy a new Intel-powered laptop but a lightbulb went on over my head this weekend, as I realized that there is probably a quickly-shrinking window of time in which I could sell my old Powerbook and get a decent price for it (say $800-$1200CAD). It occured to me that it might be smart for me to sell it now and put the money towards a shiny new laptop.

My question is... is this a smart idea for me now if my old PB is not giving me any particular trouble but I'd appreciate the extra powerful goodness? Will the resale value drop drastically in the next year or so? For my needs is will a MacBook suffice? Will the MacBook's notoriously meh graphics card impact any Final Cut/Photoshop work I am likely to do? To be honest the MB and the MBP look startlingly similar otherwise, screen size aside (and I'm not really into doubling my price for an extra 2 inches of screen). Obviously I'll max out the RAM and bump up the HD either way.

And is it worth waiting for Rev B? I'd kind of like to take advantage of the free Nano program, if only so I could sell it or offer it as an incentive to a prospective buyer of my old PB, as I already have an ipod. Think the revision might come in before Sept 16? Or soon thereafter? I'd kick myself if I bought the Rev A only to see a new one out weeks later...

Anyway if anyone would like to respond to my unfocused ramblings I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

M
 
For one, PPC resale values are already steadily depreciating and the longer you wait, the less you'll get.

Also the programs you want depend more on the CPU than the GPU so you'll be ok. Photoshop will be ok for now since it runs in Rosetta but once CS3 is released you'll notice a big change.

So, if you are already considering selling it, do it now cause you'll still be able to get a good amount for it.
 
Thanks. So--yeah, this was another question I had--the current iteration of Photoshop will run OK on Intel until the new one arrives?

(Honestly it has to run better than it does on my Powerbook! I should have never upgraded from PS 7!)
 
Incidentally does anybody have any idea if I'm correct on my price assessment for my old computer? It's a PB 12", 1GHZ, 512MB RAM (I know, I know), with a brand new battery I bought this summer, and a 60GB HD, & Airport Extreme card.
 
honestly, I'd wait 1 month, as the cpu will become 64bit where current intel chips in mb and mbp are only 32 bit, and with the release of leopard the 64 bit cpu's will become even better!
 
somevelvet said:
Incidentally does anybody have any idea if I'm correct on my price assessment for my old computer? It's a PB 12", 1GHZ, 512MB RAM (I know, I know), with a brand new battery I bought this summer, and a 60GB HD, & Airport Extreme card.
Click to expand...

A MacBook will run just a bit faster than your PB, but don't experience a drastic change in Adobe apps or anything else running under Rosetta.

ALSO, put in at least a gig of ram in the MacBook, anything less is an embarrassment if you are running Pro Apps.
 
Yes of course that's a given!

Really, it'll only run a "bit" faster at 1.83/2Ghz?

(By the way, is there any reason to spend the extra $150 or so on 0.17Ghz?)
 
somevelvet said:
Yes of course that's a given!

Really, it'll only run a "bit" faster at 1.83/2Ghz?

(By the way, is there any reason to spend the extra $150 or so on 0.17Ghz?)
Click to expand...

Yes there is for an extra 150 you can get a faster machine and a SUPERDRIVE. Remember to total in the extra gig of ram that u can either get 3rd party or possibly get ripped off by Apple because they overcharge people with memory.
 
As I have a fast external DVD burner I don't think I need the Superdrive... although I guess it could be useful on the road.
 
sure you get a superdrive,if you need it get it, but you said you have a powermac, so if you want to burn to DVD use that, besides the next big thing will be here soon, (Blu-Ray)
 
somevelvet said:
Yes of course that's a given!

Really, it'll only run a "bit" faster at 1.83/2Ghz?

(By the way, is there any reason to spend the extra $150 or so on 0.17Ghz?)
Click to expand...

The reason wouldn't be the speed factor. The 1.83 only has a 'combo drive,' the 2.0 has a superdrive.
 
somevelvet said:
As I have a fast external DVD burner I don't think I need the Superdrive... although I guess it could be useful on the road.
Click to expand...

Yeah I think you'll want the Superdrive on the road, and a little boost of speed, I think you'll regret later that you didn't get the fastest MacBook you could have gotten if you don't get the 2 ghz Macbook.
 
somevelvet said:
As I have a fast external DVD burner I don't think I need the Superdrive... although I guess it could be useful on the road.
Click to expand...
Especially if somebody hands you a DL DVD.
 
What's the consensus about 64 bit by September? I know this is what I'm really going to agonize about.
 
If I know me I'll basically be waiting until the last day of the iPod promotion to see if something new drops!
 
I had another question.

What's the consensus on the MacBook keyboard in terms of ease & comfort of use? I write for a living so a good keyboard is pretty essential. I've always been mostly satisfied with my powerbook keyboard, it's pretty comfortable although I occasionally mash a neighbouring button with my big clumsy fingers. The MacBook keyboard looks a little... weird. How is it?
 
Also a purely uh recreational question: think I'll be able to run Half-Life 2 on Boot Camp if I jack up the ram to 2gigs?
 
I popped into an Apple reseller today specifically to try out the MacBook keyboard.

TBH I didn't particularly like it compared to my 12" PowerBook, but I would probably get used to it in time. IIt's fine, but lacks the quality feel of the PB. However, it was enough to confirm to me to get an iMac, and keep the PowerBook for mobile needs, rather than sell the PB and get a MacBook. I will be doing a lot of my typing on the go.

Others will of course disagree with me, as it's a personal feeling. I'd suggest trying it out somewhere if you can.
 
Uh-oh! That's not what I wanted to hear. But maybe I'll start a new thread for people to weigh in...
 
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