Mac vs PC Laptops

[Motion2082]

Hello Everyone

I have recently studied the latest laptops on the market & was interested to hear your opinion.

Item 1: Apple PowerBook G4

Featuring
> 1ghz Motorola PowerPC G4
> 17" Display
> Mac OS X 10.2.5
> NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go with 64MB DDR SDRAM
> 512MB PC2700 DDR SDRAM
> 60GB Hard Drive Ultra ATA/100
> 2xUSB, Gigabit Ethernet, Firewire
> RRP = AU$5400 US$3520 EURO3145

Item 2: Sony VAIO

Featuring
> P4 2.8Ghz
> 16" LCD Display
> Win XP
> NVIDIA GeForce4FX Go 5600 64 MB video DDR SGRAM
> 512MB PC2100 DDR SDRAM
> 60GB Hard Drive
> RRP = AU$4200 US$2740 EURO2450

Or something completely different.....

What would you choose & why?

[Eyenovation]

I'd say the Powerbook, but it depends on what you're most comfortable with. If you're already set up in Windows, you're better off sticking with it.

It's cheaper, and integrates well with your system.

[erova]

i didn't see what system he had that it would integrate better with...

anyway i know pc laptops in the past have had trouble using an external monitor as a second display...standard in powerbooks..

regardless, i'd wait because the powerbook line should be updated no later than september..could be earlier...

[Eyenovation]

Originally posted by erova
i'd wait because the powerbook line should be updated no later than september..could be earlier...

That's the hot rumor, isn't it. Though, I think if you're thinking it's going to be a G5 Powerbook, it might be a little further than Sept. It's the cooling that's going to be an issue, from what I hear.

Nevertheless, what I meant was... if he already has PC apps, etc. It's a lot more than the initial cost of the Powerbook to 'switch' OS'.

I use a Dual 1.42 GHz and a Stout AMD PC. As for performance, I think the PC has it beat, but as far as a joy to work on, the Mac wins every time.

It depends what you value more. The experience or the productivity.

[erova]

right, i hear you about having two grand worth of software that you don't want to re-buy again...

but i don't think the updates are going to be g5s (prob 1.2 - 1.4 G4s), but this guy is thinking about buying a machine introduced in january when apple usually updates their products every 6 - 9 months...

[Motion2082]

I think I will stick with PC for now. Just for the fact that it is compatible with most programs. The MACs are cool to use & look at, you all have a point.

Its just a matter of deciding between the Sony, Toshiba or Dell Laptop range.

Anyone got any idea which will best do everything a desktop can do?

[neurowave]

Check out PC Torque: http://pctorque.com/

You can customize the notebooks and make them quite a lot more powerful than any of the other notebooks mentioned in this thread. I'm considering the 4760 (check out that screen, and it has a 7200 RPM harddisk!).

They have some new notebooks coming out at the end of this month (their representatives post news at sagerforums.com) which will allow you to configure up to 2 Ghz of Ram and Raid 0/1 configurations. I believe I also read that you can you ship the notebooks back to them and get them upgraded, have a look at their forums... lots of information there.

[enemem]

A colleague of mine has just bought a dell laptop (this is in UK). According to him it was the only company offering high resolution (1920x1200 or 1600x1200??) screens at the time, though I think other companies have brought them out now - but you do have to pay for it!

So all in all, Dell came out best for him.

- n.

[hothousegraphix]

I would add this additional info about Dell, for an additional $99 (US) you can upgrade to a service package that gives you almost
direct contact with their customer service (not a bunch of phone prompts, and a ton of waiting) and that also provides next day on site service if needed < for 3 years.

[neurowave]

Just realized I made a mistake in my post, it should say 2 Gigabytes of ram, not Ghz. The last time I configured a Dell with 2 GB of Ram, it costed over $5000 US. Also, UXGA screens (1600x1200 resolution) are offered by most companies nowadays. You have to specify that you want a UXGA screen however, as most companies use XGA (1024x768) or SXGA (1280x1024) as defaults.

edit: You should also check if the LCD screen supports wide angle viewing. There are several LCD screen qualities available and you shouldn't judge them exclusively on resolution. Generally, screens that support wide angle viewing are also brighter and have crisper colors. The best way to judge a screen, however, is to view it in person... you can't just judge it on what's written on a web site. Even if you're buying online, I think you should visit a computer store and compare the screens to see the differences yourself.