get my son new iMac G5 or iBook/Powerbook???

Question

Level 1

85 points

get my son new iMac G5 or iBook/Powerbook???

hello,
should I get my son a new iMac G5 or a laptop iBook or Powerbook?? He has a 4 year old iMac flatscreen computer, and would like to get another one for his current computer is starting crash and burn if you know what I mean...he has recently begun the 7th grade. Should I wait till' high school for a laptop or would he enjoy a laptop and have 2 computers more than just replacing his current computer with a G5? thanks, and please get back to me as soon as possible

Posted on Sep 19, 2005 9:59 PM

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Answer 1

Sep 19, 2005 10:03 PM in response to Ann Spears

Hi Ann,

well first question you should be asking is what does he use it for?

Work or Play?

Peter.

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Answer 2

Sep 19, 2005 10:04 PM in response to Ann Spears

IBooks are good all rounders, they can be used for a range of thing, they do however lack really good graphics cards and cant be used for high end graphics...

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Answer 3

Sep 19, 2005 10:05 PM in response to Ann Spears

Powerbook are good too, but they focus more on the "Power" they are a high-end laptop, in quality and price...

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Answer 4

Sep 19, 2005 10:08 PM in response to Ann Spears

G5s are standard for large-scale graphics designers and movie production, they can do almost anything.

High-end graphics - they can run all mac programs
High-end everything, except possible sound.

They are aso EXPENSIVE as you have to buy the computer and the screen, which is othen about the same price as the screen.

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Answer 5

Patrick F.

Level 4

3,203 points

Sep 19, 2005 10:09 PM in response to Peter Miller

Powerbooks are not a good idea for a 7th grader.

As they take damage worse than the ibook, which features durable plastic, a METAL frame, etc. compared to the PB, witch scratchs easy, and will have a hard time surviving a fall.

The ibook was just updated.
Whereas the powerbook was not

macrumors.com <---

that says it all..

iMac G5s are nice... and should be fine for basic gaming.

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Answer 6

Sep 19, 2005 10:10 PM in response to Ann Spears

seeing as your son is a student you could also consider an eMac, however they are heavy, but not too expensive.

I personally, however, would recommend getting him an iBook G4, Superdrive model - they have the power of a good desktop combined with the portability of a laptop.

Regards,

Peter.

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Answer 7

Patrick F.

Level 4

3,203 points

Sep 19, 2005 10:12 PM in response to Peter Miller

get a high-end 14'' iBook,

I m thinkin a gig of ram total

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Answer 8

Sep 19, 2005 10:12 PM in response to Patrick F.

Powerbooks also overheat, the case is supposed to disperse the heat, it doesn't.

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Answer 9

Sep 19, 2005 10:14 PM in response to Patrick F.

that doubles the price... don't forget, laptop RAM isn't cheap...

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Answer 10

Patrick F.

Level 4

3,203 points

Sep 19, 2005 10:14 PM in response to Peter Miller

G5's allow for ALOT of expansion...

I am going to be upgrading my G5 in order to stay on top of the tech. curve... this process costs less than a new mac

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Answer 11

Sep 19, 2005 10:15 PM in response to Patrick F.

personally i think that iBooks are good, if i had the $ i would get a G5, but they're big....

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Answer 12

Ann Spears Author

Level 1

85 points

Sep 19, 2005 10:16 PM in response to Patrick F.

ok thank you all...I don't like eMacs because I used one recently and it crashed, so that's definitely a no no...but the iBook sounds like a good idea...the only problem is I don't want to get one too early for him so that when a newer even more hightech iBook comes out when he begins highschool I would get one then. I agree that the G5 is exspensive, but I'm going to get him a laptop anyways for highschool so why not get 2 new computers within 3 years! The money doesn't matter at this point, it's always the childs happiness that counts!

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Answer 13

Sep 19, 2005 10:19 PM in response to Peter Miller

It is pretty cheap-if you get it from some place other than apple.

Currently, I gb of memory for a G4 iBook is $164.79 from my favored provider, Crucial.com.

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Answer 14

Sep 19, 2005 10:20 PM in response to Ann Spears

getting a high-end iBook tends to last about 5 years, so you'll have no problems there, if he needs extra hard disk he can always get an external hard drive, they're cheap.

Peter

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Answer 15

Sep 19, 2005 10:21 PM in response to Ann Spears

money doesn't matter??? coughs... the poor university student cries out!

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