Sparky Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 Hey gang, I know this a bit off topic, but I am about to throw down a wad of cash on a computer that needs to last me my last two years of undergrad, and possible my entire graduate career. Im going to by buying a new (my first new mac) 15" G4 powerbook, and was wondering if you all feel that the additional 340$ expense for the "Apple care protection plan" was worth it. Ive never bought any kind of service plan before on electronics, but now that im spending close to 3K Im wondering if I should just eat that extra expense. its a tough call for me as that 340$ would buy my food for the next three months, but I would be pissed if my three large laptop took a crap in the first year or two. anywho, any words of wisdom (besides "get a dell dude") would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Phailure Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 I usually dont get service plans but if I were you, I would strongly consider getting it. I think the added assurance of the service plan is good. As you said, if your nice expensive laptop broke in a year or two, you wouldn't be too happy. I am also not that mac savy and thus, I would be more hardpressed to fix something on my own if I broke it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Z-fried Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 I use Macs as a graphic designer as well as most of my friends. One of them has a G4 15" powerbook and the screen started getting hotspots. He had the Applecare plan and Apple took his powerbook and replaced his display, no questions asked. If he hadn't had it he would have been screwed. It's a lot upfront, but with a laptop (any laptop, Mac or PC) I think it's worth it because of the amount of abuse they have to endure. You never know when somone is going to accidently knock it off your desk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Posted August 6, 2004 Author Share Posted August 6, 2004 It's a lot upfront' date=' but with a laptop (any laptop, Mac or PC) I think it's worth it because of the amount of abuse they have to endure. You never know when somone is going to accidently knock it off your desk.[/quote'] Very true, The do take alot of abuse, even though I try to be extra gentle with mine. its strange that the ACpp is 349 through macmall.com , but 229$ through apple.com using my student discount. bah! so many decisions. so much money. $ to $ would you consider saving 150$ to drop 512 megs of ram in order to gain a faster processor speed? 1.33MHZ VS 1.5Mhz. the memory can always be upgraded later. and I feel that 1.5 is the most they will get out of the G4 in a laptop form. thoughts on this? thanks again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Z-fried Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 What do you plan on using it for? Any particular programs? Just need a little more info before I can recommend anything. Also, I'm guessing on you keeping this laptop five years total? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Posted August 6, 2004 Author Share Posted August 6, 2004 Yes I will have this machine for five years. I am an architect student that will not be doing any extreame graphics or design until next year, but need a machine that I know can handle it, and can be upgraded with memory when the time comes. the program that my school uses is called Form-Z, easy enough to remember eh?! thanks again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Z-fried Posted August 7, 2004 Share Posted August 7, 2004 Ok, I'm not that familiar with Form-Z but I did look up it's ram requirements and they are as follows: Minimum: 64 Mb Recommended: 256 Mb * Note that complex models or large texture maps may require additional memory. OSX 10.3 requires a minimum 128mb of ram. So you are basically required to have 192mb to run Form-Z and OSX. But, you need to consider that you might need to run other other apps. all at the same time. Plus OSX is ram hungry and the program you will need to run recommends 256. I would not short yourself on ram. This is what allows your computer to multiple things at one time and the more you have the smoother it will run. I personally run 1.5Gb of ram in my dual 500mhz G4. Also, you don't have to buy your ram from mac. I buy mine from http://www.macsales.com/ and it's a good bit cheaper. Now, I haven't looked at it through educational discounts but the 1.5Ghz machine doesn't appear to have a 256mb option, it only comes in the 512. However, you can downgrade the Superdrive to a Combo and save $200, unless you need to write dvds. The 1.33Ghz doesn't have that big of an advantage over the 1.5Ghz, with one exception. Under the 1.5Ghz menu you can select your processor Video Memory. For $100 you can double the video ram of your machine and this is huge. This will be a very noticable upgrade for heavy graphics work especially when using some type of rendering program. My only other advice is to buy the best machine you can afford. The better you buy now, the longer it will be before you have to upgrade again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Phailure Posted August 7, 2004 Share Posted August 7, 2004 While you shouldn't skimp on your computer, I feel like buying the most expensive one you can afford is not always the best idea. For example, the p4 3.2C is approximately $300. The p4 3.2 EE is approximately $900. The performance different between the two cpus is maybe 10% at best. It is obviously not the best idea for a poor college student to go with the p4 3.2EE. While this is an extreme example, I feel like it illustrates my point well. Often times in the computer industry, prices are ridiculously high for the newest items because manufacturers will announce a product before they are fully capable of producing. This means it may not always be the best idea to buy the most you can afford. On a seperate note, don't skimp on the ram. Ram is crucial... I'm running 768mb on my laptop. It came with 256 and put on 512 myself for $100. Cheaper than paying someone else like $200 to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Z-fried Posted August 7, 2004 Share Posted August 7, 2004 Phailure, I should have stated the best bang for your buck that you can afford and I agree that there is problem sometimes of a manufacturer charging too much for a little more performance. I said there is not much difference between the 1.33Ghz processor and 1.5Ghz processor unless you get the 1.5Ghz with the upgraded video memory. This takes the video ram from 64mb to 128mb and will be quite noticeable with heavy graphics rendering. IMO for $100 it is a worthy upgrade. Remember you can also drop the Superdrive for the combo on the 1.5Ghz($200 savings). The 1.33Ghz is a great machine and should handle what you need if you supply enough ram. If you get this one, order it with just the 256 and then go to an aftermarket supplier and add a 512 stick. macsales.com has it for $99(instead of $200 at apple). The ram is going to make big difference in the performance, I was just trying to make the most out of your purchase. I wouldn't get the 1.5 unless you do the video upgrade because the performance vs. price over the 1.33 is not worth it, like Phailure said. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Phailure Posted August 7, 2004 Share Posted August 7, 2004 z-fried, well put. I agree as well that you should try to get the 1.5 GHz with the video upgrade but drop the drive if you do not need to burn dvds. If you are going to be rendering and what not, might as well try to get the better video card. On a seperate note, what I have noticed is that 200 MHz can make a decent difference on efficient architecture cpus such as apple systems and intel centrino cpus. I know theres a fairly noticable difference between my 1.5GHz centrino and my brother's 1.3. We both basically have the same system except the CPU speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Posted August 7, 2004 Author Share Posted August 7, 2004 Cool, thanks for the info. I make my purchase tomorrow, so I have a lot to think about and sleep on tonight, I want to make sure I make the right decision, and get the best price. Once again thanks for the info! This sight is my home away from home and I know I can always count on the HybridZ family! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HolyLlama Posted August 7, 2004 Share Posted August 7, 2004 I'd go for the 1.3 ghz and upgrade the memory.I've got an iBook G4 and an iMac G4 both 800mhz, iBook has 256 megs mem , and the iMac has 128 megs, the iMacs' slower than I would like it to be, but the iBook has no problems. Right now I'm running software update, iCal, iChat, text edit, mail, iTunes and 4 windows in Safari with no problems, so with 1.3 ghz and 512 megs of memory, you could have enough computer to last you through college. I'm not buying another computer till I graduate college (3-3.5 years) or the newest version of Mac OS won't support the computer. Apple Care is prolly a good idea, but the only time I used it was when I screwed up my sudo command, something you'll prolly never do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innerware Posted August 7, 2004 Share Posted August 7, 2004 Just wondering since you are going to become an architect why a mac is your kind of computer. Form Z is sold on a pc platform too. As well as autocad and many other architectural programs. I build architectural models for a living and thus deal with the big boys here in the SF bay area. Of my 4 plus years doing this I can say that only a hand ful of architects use a Mac based platform. I just thought I would inquire because pc laptops are way better priced and offer all the same software choices. Good luck either way and it is always wise to get extra protection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.