Apple.. or Gateway ?

[Srfrbum]

My first Post !!! Yay !!!

Ok, down to the dirty facts.
Im lookin for a Laptop..

Its either a 15 incher Powerbook:
? 1.5GHz PowerPC G4 w/ 64MB VRAM
? 1GB DDR333 SDRAM - 2x512 SO-DIMMs
? 80GB Ultra ATA drive @ 5400 rpm
? Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
? AirPort Extreme Card
? Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
? ATI Mobility Radeon 9700
? 15.2-inch TFT Display

Estimated Ship:
1-3 business days

Free Shipping

Subtotal $1,934.00

Or a 17 incher Gateway:

Intel® Pentium® M Processor 750 (1.8GHz, 533MHz FSB, 2MB L2 Cache)


[ +US$115.00]



1024MB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2-512MB modules)


[ +US$135.00]



ATI Radeon X700 128MB Graphics


[ +US$50.00]



60GB 7200rpm Ultra ATA hard drive


[ +US$90.00]



Primary 12-Cell lithium ion battery with AC pack and 1 yr. limited battery warranty (To accommodate additional cells, this battery extends beyond the end of the system)


[ +US$20.00]




How do I remove an item?






Base Price
$1,399.99




Additional Items +$410.00




Total
$1,809.99



Ok, I will be usin it for the follwoing things. I mean gaming, that would be fricken awesome if it would be possible. BF1942 on Laptop. Dang. Well anyway, I will be usin it for music, lots of it. Editing some photos would be a pretty intense app for me and my school. Microsoft Office, gotta have that. Umm.. Internet wirelessly , bluetooth, WiFi. I could also consider teh 12 incher power book, with its awesome portability. The specs for that would be :

? 1.256GB DDR333 (256MB built-in + 1GB SO-DIMM)
? 80GB Ultra ATA drive @ 5400rpm
? 8x SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)
? AirPort Extreme Card
? Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
? 1.5GHz PowerPC G4
? NVIDIA GeForce FX GO 5200 with 64MB DDR Video Memory
? 12.1-inch TFT Display

Estimated Ship:
1-3 business days

Free Shipping

Subtotal $1,882.00



Thank You very much, and feel free to suggest any other types/brands types of Laptops. Thanks

 

[jdiddy]

If your going to do any gaming at all then you have to go with the Gateway. Other then that Powerbooks even with specs that are not quite up to par with the Gateway own.

 

[Srfrbum]

Originally posted by: jdiddy
If your going to do any gaming at all then you have to go with the Gateway. Other then that Powerbooks even with specs that are not quite up to par with the Gateway own.

What about this ?


? 1GB DDR333 SDRAM - 2x512 SO-DIMMs
? 80GB Ultra ATA drive @ 5400 rpm
? Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
? 1.67GHz PowerPC G4 w/128MB VRAM dual
? AirPort Extreme Card
? Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
? ATI Mobility Radeon 9700
? 15.2-inch TFT Display
$2,189.00

128 MB ATI 9700 Video Card.... That has to be purdy good , rite ? To play video Games.

 

[paulip88]

Software should be "easier to find" with the Gateway since it's Windows. Also more games.

You can probably save some of the cost off the Apple if you add some additional RAM yourself after you get it. Same with the Gateway.

 

[Kipper]

Use your educational discount for a cheaper price as well.

Or are you already doing that? They also offer an Apple Student Developer discount which can be useful (~20% I believe, once in a LIFETIME only) if you're picking up a high-end laptop (i.e. $2000+).

Edit: Amazon is also running a sale on those powerbooks with $150 mail-in-rebates. Although you can't customize them (i.e. add a 128MB Radeon, etc.) it might be worth checking out.

 

[fbrdphreak]

The second apple w/the 9700 you mentioned will do okay for games, but not much longer.
If you want a DTR that games well and will last longer for that purpose, get the Gateway. If you need mobility and mainly internet/e-mail access, get the Apple. Why not consider other non-Apple notebooks?

 

[Commodus]

For gaming... well, you don't want Gateway anyways, since they're not the most reliable.

For everything else: Apple. I love the looks, convenience, and keyboard on the aluminum PowerBooks (I have last year's 12" model with 768 MB of RAM). There's connectivity up the yin-yang, and they can wake/sleep instantly just by opening or closing the lid.

Two important notes:

1. Be sure to get a good laptop bag or sleeve, no matter which laptop you get! You want to keep it looking and running in top shape.

2. Get extra RAM from a 3rd-party. Virtually every computer maker charges extra for memory (installation, typically). If you're not afraid of getting your hands near expensive electronics (grounding yourself so you don't zap it all, of course), it's usually a lot cheaper to install the memory on your own.

100th post!

 

[fbrdphreak]

100th post!

LOL, congrats

 

[Srfrbum]

Originally posted by: Kipper
They also offer an Apple Student Developer discount which can be useful (~20% I believe, once in a LIFETIME only) if you're picking up a high-end laptop (i.e. $2000+)

How do you get the student developer discount ?

 

[alent1234]

The question should be Apple or Dell or HP? Gateway is in trouble and I wouldn't buy anything from them. Personally I think Apple's are overpriced. I just bought an Inspiron 6000 with 3 years of tech support for $1298 shipped. I came with a lot more power than an Apple laptop for the same price would.

 

[Kipper]

Originally posted by: Srfrbum

Originally posted by: Kipper
They also offer an Apple Student Developer discount which can be useful (~20% I believe, once in a LIFETIME only) if you're picking up a high-end laptop (i.e. $2000+)

How do you get the student developer discount ?

http://developer.apple.com/students/

You need to be a registered student at a college or university and need to provide proof of current enrollment. Cost of signup is $99, and is good for a year. Keep in mind that you will still pay tax through the Apple Store AND the hardware discount is only good ONCE in a LIFETIME. That means you use it once, that's it for your discounts under this program.

Edit: Macs ARE more expensive than their PC counterparts. I don't think anybody would deny that. The question is whether you are willing to pay for the differences, and I personally am...in my experience the quality has been far superior and I prefer OSX to Windows.

 

[trikster2]

Weird thread.

"Should I get a light and expensive portable Apple or a cheap mondo wintel based laptop?"

Just looking at the two compared to what I find useful:

If you want games and play more than WOW/Doom 3/Unreal you need a PC.

The gateway can't do DVI? If you ever want to use an external LCD the apple (or pc laptop that does DVI) would be better choice.

If you have an ipod, 6pin firewire on the apple would be nice, not many (any?) pc laptop have figured that one out yet....

 

[kenan921]

Buy the gateway. If you want to play games, apple should not even be considered an option.

 

[jdogg707]

Games will play like crap on the G4 based Powerbook, even with the 128MB card. If gaming is your forte, go with a Windows laptop, though I wouldn't really recommend a Gateway. For everything else, the Apple will be awesome.

 

[w00t]

apple.

 

[thraxes]

If you are so concerned about games then don't go with an Apple. It's just the way it is, ATI and Nvidia don't optimize their MacOS drivers even half as much as for Windows, the hardware is capable but the drivers are severely lacking. It's not that games won't run at all, WoW on a mac runs pretty nicely but that game was developed for simultaneous release on the PC and mac plattform and is not a half ass port of a DirectX game - what unfortunately most games are on the mac. Perhaps we will see some good mac ports of XBox360 games as the architecture is similar but until then: Gaming == Windows (unfortunately)
But you said your main use will be for music... well then in no way will you be able to avoid a mac sooner or later. It's what most pros use, I work for a large TV broadcaster and our sound department (dubbing, mixing music tracks, recording and making music for programmes) runs primarily on a bunch of G4s and G5s. It's also what we use in school for sound and video editing so if you are going into that field a mac will serve you very well.

If you are going to be creative on your notebook get a 15" PowerBook - the screen estate IS necessary for the types of apps needed there. Plus: The Apple will be much much much better built than a Gateway or even Dell.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Have you considered this Gateway:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp...ctCategoryId=cat01174&id=1109938021195

The Radeon 9550 can be oc'd to 9700 speeds. Check out notebookforums.com, lots of Gateway folks on it.

 

[jldash]

Originally posted by: thraxes
If you are so concerned about games then don't go with an Apple. It's just the way it is, ATI and Nvidia don't optimize their MacOS drivers even half as much as for Windows, the hardware is capable but the drivers are severely lacking. It's not that games won't run at all, WoW on a mac runs pretty nicely but that game was developed for simultaneous release on the PC and mac plattform and is not a half ass port of a DirectX game - what unfortunately most games are on the mac. Perhaps we will see some good mac ports of XBox360 games as the architecture is similar but until then: Gaming == Windows (unfortunately)
But you said your main use will be for music... well then in no way will you be able to avoid a mac sooner or later. It's what most pros use, I work for a large TV broadcaster and our sound department (dubbing, mixing music tracks, recording and making music for programmes) runs primarily on a bunch of G4s and G5s. It's also what we use in school for sound and video editing so if you are going into that field a mac will serve you very well.

If you are going to be creative on your notebook get a 15" PowerBook - the screen estate IS necessary for the types of apps needed there. Plus: The Apple will be much much much better built than a Gateway or even Dell.

Totally agree with thraxes. I have a G4 PB that I use for everything other than gaming and HTPC... that includes school, Java development, and of course using the iApps for managing 'my digital lifestyle' lol. Oh yeah, I play UT2k4 on my PB sometimes too...

 

[hopejr]

I agree too. Games and macs aren't a great combo until ATI and NVidia get on with optimising their drivers (it's been annoying me for a while). For everything else, a mac is great. I don't think the iBooks are overpriced (their quite competitive for their features and price range), but the PowerBooks cost a little more than I like. I also think that the iMac G5's are decently priced for their features (I've done a bit of research on this), but the PowerMacs are a little on the expensive side IMHO.

 

[alent1234]

soon it won't make a difference

word is Apple is looking to ditch IBM and go with Intel

 

[Lothar1974]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
Have you considered this Gateway:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp...ctCategoryId=cat01174&id=1109938021195

The Radeon 9550 can be oc'd to 9700 speeds. Check out notebookforums.com, lots of Gateway folks on it.

Just bought this one and love it! Great laptop, playing Doom3 and others with out any problems. If you do get this one from Bestbuy get the extended warranty, it's a bit pricey but you get a new battery every year for 3 years. Pays for itself. Good luck!

 

[Necrolezbeast]

Originally posted by: alent1234
soon it won't make a difference

word is Apple is looking to ditch IBM and go with Intel

Any links to this statement? I don't think Apple really could ditch IBM, the architecture is completely different and it would take a whole new, non backward compatible OS to do it. Also, every program would be forced to be re-programmed, nothing current on the MAC would run on this new one with an Intel processor...sounds like a bunch of crap to me.

 

[alent1234]

Supposedly it won't be very hard to recompile OSX for x86 and there may already be an internal Apple version that runs on x86. The apps are a different story. If this happens then the next version of the Apple OS will be on x86 and the next versions of the apps for it will be on x86. Anything current will stay on PPC.

The reason Apple is going to do this is because of economies of scale. It's cheaper using x86 hardware than making their own. They can then lower the prices of their hardware and reach a bigger market. It's not like there is a big perrformance difference. Reading through the slashdot story, they said that G5's run very hot and that is the reason there is no G5 Powerbook. I'm going to bet Apple wants to buy Intel Pentium Mobile chips so they can release a new Powerbook at the minimum.

 

[Wuzup101]

It really depends on what you will be using the laptop for. The two models you listed aren't really even comparable. Price wise apple's are very expensive, but you do get what you paid for. They are great machines that are very easy to use especially now with OSX Tiger (10.4). However, they do not play games very well. Now this being said, I have always been a gamer. I purchased a powerbook at the beginning of last school year (see sig). Now after a year I'm still in love with the machine. I do play WoW on it all the time, and that it plays very well at full detail w/ only the distance turned down... but like other have said, it is not the norm.

For purely productivity based computing, the apple wins hands down. IMHO it's much better at multi tasking, editing, etc... It's just plain easier to use, has more conectivity, more features, and the instant sleep is unparalleled in the windows PC market. I would highly advocate getting a mac laptop and using an xbox 360 for your gaming needs. I mean lets face it, the new xbox is going to be much more powerful than any of the current computers on the market PC or otherwise. Obviously it's a different style of play, but it might just be what you're looking for.

If you really want a machine that's comparable to the powerbook both in price and features check out the IBM T42p or higher end T43 series books. These are really what you should be comparing to the 15" powerbook. You'll also notice that they aren't cheep... build quality is of course very good, as it is with the powerbooks.

 

[IEC]

One thing you haven't noted - Macs aren't compatible with many new games (or should I say it vice versa? That would be more true ) For gaming, get the Gateway or a similar rig.