[trialsboy50]

Hey Guys,

I had a few questions for those with Powerbooks or who have worked with them.

1) Is the 12" version very cramped and small? I want the 15", but after a few upgrades, I think it may be a bit expensive, thus I'm curious how the 12" compares.

2) Ive used PCs my entire life, but for college I really wanted a Mac since I do a lot of photo editing and PCs have always pissed me off, and Macs seem more reliable, at least the ibooks I used were. Is 512mb of ram sufficieint on a Mac for Photoshop CS and fairly large memory eating programs like that? On my PC, I have 512, and find it to be slow and yadda yadda when working with large photos and whatnot.

Thats all for now, thanks a ton,

Byron

 

[Toshi]

the 12" is small. keyboard is ok but screen is, well, 12". go for 768 or a gig of ram. but don't buy it from apple (or any other oem). get it from cdw or the like, much cheaper and it's easy to put in on powerbooks iirc.

 

[stinkyboy]

Whatever ya got, ya always want bigger. Spring for the 15. 512 is not enough.

 

[trialsboy50]

thanks for the quick responses,

one other thing: is the applecare protection plan worth it? does it cover accidental damage?(I couldnt see it in the description). Its rather expensive, so Im not sure if its something more buyers spring for.

 

[Five]

If you're going to be doing a lot of photo editing, a 12" screen is way too small. I have 1.2g of RAM in mine - runs great.

 

[dfinn]

my GF recently got the 12" iBook and for a computer that is designed to be taken places and used on the go I don't think the screen or keyboard is too small at all, and I have pretty big hands. If it's gonna just sit on a desk then I would probably consider the bigger version, but then again if it's gonna just sit on a desk maybe you should be looking at a iMac or PowerMac.

 

[stinkyboy]

thanks for the quick responses,

one other thing: is the applecare protection plan worth it? does it cover accidental damage?(I couldnt see it in the description). Its rather expensive, so Im not sure if its something more buyers spring for.

I've never bought one or needed one in 16-17 years of owning Macs.

 

[trialsboy50]

hmm, well its for college this fall, so it will be at a desk, but be taken home and elsewhere as well

i think i may opt for the combo drive instead of the superdrive, save some money there and put that into more ram. i would like to stay under the $2k mark, and apple gives students a bit of a discount

thanks for the replies

 

[trialsboy50]

stinky- thanks for the response

one more thing, i notice on the super drive computers, the processor is 1.67, while in the combo, its 1.5. is this difference noticebale, and if i were to upgrade to a dvd burner, would it be fine with the 1.5 GHZ processor? sorry for all the questions

 

[stinkyboy]

stinky- thanks for the response

one more thing, i notice on the super drive computers, the processor is 1.67, while in the combo, its 1.5. is this difference noticebale, and if i were to upgrade to a dvd burner, would it be fine with the 1.5 GHZ processor? sorry for all the questions

No problem. I have a 1.6 and a 1.8 G5 in the office and can't tell a speed difference...

 

[Barbaton]

the 12" is small. keyboard is ok but screen is, well, 12". go for 768 or a gig of ram. but don't buy it from apple (or any other oem). get it from cdw or the like, much cheaper and it's easy to put in on powerbooks iirc.

Ditto about the memory. We buy ours from http://www.datamem.com. They're cheap and it's really easy to find the right chip since they're geared towards macs...

12" also doesn't have the nifty lighted keyboard. the keyboard is the same size on all three, it's just the size of the screen that can feel cramped on the 12. They are significantly easier to carry around. I've recently wished I had one so I could keep it in my camera bag...

 

[Barbaton]

oh, and I personally think Applecare is worth it if you can spring it. I've made good use of it. I beat on my laptop pretty hard (never turn it off and ride with it to and from work) and I've had to have a few things done...

I think it's lame Apple doesn't include a 3 year which is pretty standard in the industry now

 

[Discostu]

1 gig of ram is a must for photo editing. I use a 17" PB and G5 2.5 dual at work, while having the 17" screen is nice for photo editing, the thing is just too damn big for it to be practical. I've used a 12" before, and that won't cut in my opinion. I am very happy with 15" on my personal laptop, all around I think it is the most versatile size.


For memory add a stick of this stuff. I use it and I know it will work with the Powerbook:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820155122

Good choice on the mac by the way. I use macs half the time and pcs the rest. I don't feel one is better than the other in general, but for what you're doing the mac is the right choice. Workflow with graphics and dv is a much better experience on a mac.

 

[trialsboy50]

So, is it possible to install RAM after buying the powerbook through a non Apple store? They charge a ton for another 512mb oof RAM, so if its not too hard to get an aftermarket chip, Id rather do that. SOrry, that may have been a dumb question.

I'm still wondering, for the AppleCare people, does the AppleCare thing cover accidental damage (like if you spill coke all over the computer) or is it only defects?

Thanks
Byron

 

[merrrrjig]

never used a powerbook, I personally think that 512 would be enough, but if you are doing big projects I would upgrade

 

[James]

I have a 12" PowerBook, have had a 12" iBook. It's cool, the PowerBook is soooo much smaller than the iBook, same size screen, but smaller in every dimension. It's great, but I just use mine for general surfing, nothing major. Travel a bit, so it's great for that, fits perfectly on any airline tray, no matter what cabin you're in...
Been using Apples since the IIe though, way back when. I love 'em...

JJames

 

[gigapower]

Get the 15" version, I've moved up to 17" laptops and can't ever see going back to smaller ones. I've never used the AppleCare on my PB or my G5, yet my dad has had to use it on his iMac G4 twice now. The piece of mind is worth it, especially on a laptop. Buy the PowerBook with as little RAM as what you can, then right after you order it go to Crucial and get 1GB of RAM for the system.

 

[trialsboy50]

Thanks for the RAM idea giga, is it fairly easy/cheap to put aftermarket ram in?

 

[gigapower]

Thanks for the RAM idea giga, is it fairly easy/cheap to put aftermarket ram in?

So easy my wife could do it....after I show her what screw driver to use.