I currently have a combo drive 15 imac, and I'm trying to decide whether to upgrade to a 15' superdrive imac (800 mhz) or the 12' superdrive powerbook. Both have their pros and cons...the ibook is a nice computer, but I could use the portability every now and again. The powerbook would be all but perfect if it had a larger screen (I don't want the tibook, and I can't afford a 17', or even the 15 Albook, whenever they do come out)...I do DV work in FCP, and the PB may not cut it, with the small LCD. Other than that, they're basically a performance tie. The iMac may have a faster HD, but that's about all. The 12' has no L3 cache, so it's basically neck and neck....my only other question is this...I know the PB can't be hooked up to a cinema display, so what can I hook it up to via VGA? I don't really know what VGA is....
12' powerbook or 15' iMac
- Thread starter Dlatu1983
- Start date
Arden
Where mah "any" keys at?
First of all, VGA (video graphics array) is the standard connection for PC monitors. Some Apple monitors and computers have used VGA, between the beige G3's and whichever were the first to use DVI. Basically, just about any monitor will use VGA, except in certain cases (like Apple).
The main question between the two computers is portability. Do you really need portability, or can you live without it? Just because you could use it "now and again" does not mean you should get a laptop over a potentially better machine.
If your main priority is FCP, then you may want to lean toward the iMac. Even though its clock speed is slower than the PB's, it's probably got a faster bus (Apple's site does not tell the PB's bus rate, but it's probably 66 Mhz because it's an 867 Mhz processor). The iMac also has a bigger, faster hard drive, even if it's on a connection. You want a fast hard drive becaus you need that to write video to disk without skipping frames; the Powerbook probably has a 4800 RPM drive, since that's standard. That, coupled with the larger screen, leads me to recommend the iMac unless portability is absolutely essential.
The main question between the two computers is portability. Do you really need portability, or can you live without it? Just because you could use it "now and again" does not mean you should get a laptop over a potentially better machine.
If your main priority is FCP, then you may want to lean toward the iMac. Even though its clock speed is slower than the PB's, it's probably got a faster bus (Apple's site does not tell the PB's bus rate, but it's probably 66 Mhz because it's an 867 Mhz processor). The iMac also has a bigger, faster hard drive, even if it's on a connection. You want a fast hard drive becaus you need that to write video to disk without skipping frames; the Powerbook probably has a 4800 RPM drive, since that's standard. That, coupled with the larger screen, leads me to recommend the iMac unless portability is absolutely essential.