Ibook Vs. Powerbook (running Lp7), Would an upgrade gain me that much? Options

[dj43]

I'm currently running an iBook G4 1.2 GHz with 1.25GB of RAM, and 30GB internal/50GB external HD space. I'm contemplating an upgrade to a PowerBook. I could probably still get $700 or so easy out of my iBook, which would mean the upgrade would cost about $800 or so after my student discount. I'm running Logic Pro 7 and Reason 3. I record primarly electronic beats with some basic live guitars and vocals, nothing too fancy.

My question is: would it be worth the $800 to upgrade for the recording I'm doing? I don't know much about Mac hardware yet, as I just converted but I'm not having any real trouble with crashes on the iBook, I just don't really know what I may or may not be missing. Does anyone have an opinion on this? Thanks.
-dj43

[tedthetrumpet]

$800 bucks is an awful lot to spend for a line-in, because as far as I can see that's about the only extra audio functionality you're going to get! Plus, new iBooks due in the new year with Intel processors, going to change the shape of macs to come, I'd wait and see what pans out...

[woodworm]

The PowerBook will also get you FW800 (instead of 400) which is worth it for ext HDs, provided your existing one is already FW800. The PB is generally faster with faster video and more screen space: a welcome nicety with LP7.

However, as the other poster pointed out, $800 is quite a bit of money for just that, and could be more wisely invested in other extras, or isn't that far from an iMac g5, where the improvement is superior. Sure, new Intel-based PBs are close, but then again, the value of your iBook will have tumbled by then. And no one knows yet how fast the new PBs will cost, neither what their performance will be like, neither if Logic will be a free upgrade to run on Intel-based hardware, neither when reason 3 will be available for those new machines. And, one might also expect a teething period with the new macs, which sends us another 6 months further back from a unknown as yet release date...

[rickenbacker]

Mmm… techno lust. Seriously, don't worry about the PowerBooks. I'd love one myself, but a G4 iBook isn't that far off them in terms of all-round performance and flexibility. As woodworm points out, if you really want a performance boost, you've got to go to a G5, whether that's an iMac or, the ultimate great leap forward, a PowerMac. If you "upgraded" to a PowerBook, you might be disappointed. And $800 poorer.