Apple Powerbook Quest-ion

phono13 · April 2005

I'm having to turn in my Thinkpad, and want one of these. Where's the cheapest place to get one? Is it true that a Powerbook G5 is on it's way? If so, it'd probably be better to wait.

BreakSelf · April 2005

I'm having to turn in my Thinkpad, and want one of these. Where's the cheapest place to get one? Is it true that a Powerbook G5 is on it's way? If so, it'd probably be better to wait.

G5 laptop is not on its way any time soon. The main problem is that the mother board (i believe, though i could be completely wrong) heats up so much that it needs relatively large fans to cool it down. I'm sure they'll think their way out of the quandary, but for the moment your best bet is to get the new version of the powerbooks that came out a little more than a month ago. I just got one and I LOVE it.

powerbook g5:

AlGarth · April 2005

Apple has standard set pricing on all their current items so it will be the same price at any of the retail stores you visit. Your best bet is ebay or if you know a teacher who can get the educatiion discount.

pkny · April 2005

I know that a new version of the Mac OS is expected sometime in the next few weeks, if you can, hold out until it's released. If you're gonna spend that dough, you might as well get the most updated software

street_muzik · April 2005

Apple has standard set pricing on all their current items so it will be the same price at any of the retail stores you visit. Your best bet is ebay or if you know a teacher who can get the educatiion discount.

College students also get a discount. I'm not in school but my girl is. I had her buy my Powermac. Saved about 300 dollars and saved $500 on finalcutpro.

phono13 · April 2005

Apple has standard set pricing on all their current items so it will be the same price at any of the retail stores you visit. Your best bet is ebay or if you know a teacher who can get the educatiion discount.

I'm a teacher... how do I go about getting this discount?

BreakSelf · April 2005

Apple has standard set pricing on all their current items so it will be the same price at any of the retail stores you visit. Your best bet is ebay or if you know a teacher who can get the educatiion discount.

I'm a teacher... how do I go about getting this discount?

http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/routingpage.html

street_muzik · April 2005

what he said

Brian · April 2005

I would also recommend checking with your individual school because they tend to have better discounts than the Apple store one.

Swayze · April 2005

saved $500 on finalcutpro.

dude I did this shit...got motion,livetype,soundtracks and final cut for $600. Stupid.

anyway try macmall.com. I bought my powerbook and g5 from these dudes. Free ram, free shipping and whatever other deals they have @ the time.

Phill_Most · April 2005

Question: if you're looking to get the whole protools / mbox set up, how important is it to get a full blown powerbook G5 ? Does it really make that much of a difference if you get a lesser powerbook (one of the less expensive like $1,300 type jawns)? I am a cheap bastard and I need to finally get that protools thang goin', but I ain't tryin' to spend $3,000+ on a goddam computer again unless it really makes a big difference (this will be in my crib and nobody will see it but me, so I don't need to impress anybody with my full blown G5 powerbook- I just need to be able to run protools and whatever other music making programs on it properly). Computer geeks, let a brotha know what it is.

faded_glory · April 2005

on a similar note, is there anywhere to get apple displays for relatively cheap? i don't need the newest models, but eventually i'm probably going to need about three or four 20"-23" screens and i'd rather not spend $1300 on each one.

Jonny_Paycheck · April 2005

Question: if you're looking to get the whole protools / mbox set up, how important is it to get a full blown powerbook G5 ? Does it really make that much of a difference if you get a lesser powerbook (one of the less expensive like $1,300 type jawns)? I am a cheap bastard and I need to finally get that protools thang goin', but I ain't tryin' to spend $3,000+ on a goddam computer again unless it really makes a big difference (this will be in my crib and nobody will see it but me, so I don't need to impress anybody with my full blown G5 powerbook- I just need to be able to run protools and whatever other music making programs on it properly). Computer geeks, let a brotha know what it is.

Phil, you should be fine with the last run of G-4's, which are around $13-1500. Unless you're doing some serious sirius multitrack work, for your basic "made in the closet"-style hip-hop (

) it should be fine. Hell, I still run the FIRST G-4 in the studio.

Dubious · April 2005

im running an old ass g3 ibook.. ableton live.. gettin upwards of 15-20 tracks running.

it glitches sometimes but she's still holdin it down.

new laptop in the next couple months hopefully.

prof_rockwell · April 2005

im running an old ass g3 ibook.. ableton live.. gettin upwards of 15-20 tracks running.

it glitches sometimes but she's still holdin it down.

new laptop in the next couple months hopefully.

co-sign - my boy runs a G3 ibook with Digital Performer and says he can run up to almost 30 tracks at times. As for monitors, check online spots for closeout deals. And if you're just doing music, you can always go for a cheap, non-Mac monitor.

Phill_Most · April 2005

Phil, you should be fine with the last run of G-4's, which are around $13-1500. Unless you're doing some serious sirius multitrack work, for your basic "made in the closet"-style hip-hop ( ) it should be fine. Hell, I still run the FIRST G-4 in the studio.

Word up... well, I'm definitely making hip hop in the closet (no how you doin'), but I still be using up a gang o' tracks on some songs- sometimes up to 16+ bounces on my VS-1880 workstation. So I need to have a set up where I'm not really limited as far as how many tracks I can use. If the G-4 can handle that, then I'm all good.
For what reason or what type of situations / projects would a person really need to have the firepower of a G5?

rkwpark · April 2005

someone mentioned macmall.com etc... if you order online you may be able to forgo paying tax and/or shipping... plus palces have the hookups with free memory or deals to bundle w/ an ipod(if thats your thang) and a printer/software.

-rich

JoeMojo · April 2005

Going to be pissed if the G5s come out in six weeks... just bought a 12" G4 this week and it's treating me well. On the other hand, the first generations of new Apple laptops tend to be shakey, so it's probably worth waiting eight months after release until they get the kinks worked out.

AlGarth · April 2005

The main issue with Pro-Tools is processor speed, not necessarily make/model.

I have seen many, many, pro-tools LE setups and the smoothest system as far as 0 glitches I have ever seen was on a dual processor G4 tower. He set the prefs for one entire processor devoted to Pro-Tools and never had any problems.

Also...I say why buy a laptop if you plan on doing all your work inside your house?
I understand the appeal of cool gadgets and portablity (just in case) but desktop machines are better suited for the high demands of digital recording. A 7200 (at least) speed drive is essential as well as a substancial backside cache.

Also glitches with can also occur as a result of too many chops without consolidating auidio etc...

asscheese · April 2005

the new powerbooks are great..as for the power issue, a g4 would be fine (think that for years people got by without g5's and they were doing some heavy stuff then too).. on the new powerbooks though, you have to be aware that mac has experience issues witht the track pads.. some of them are defective. if you just bought one and it's acting up, i'd take it in, they'll hook you up with a new one right away... and for the g5 laptop.. not for a while.. it's the only desktop system that requires a built in air-conditioner to cool that shit off. so, they're going to have issues with that one for a while... hope this helps..

phono13 · April 2005

thanks... although i have a hard time taking advice from someone named asscheese.

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Apple Powerbook Quest-ion

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