running a "low-end" laptop?

well, as i've mentioned on here i've been looking at upgrading my box at home, what i have is fine for general web/print stuff (currently an 800mhz athlon) but i'd like to upgrade it for video and 3d (i'm learning maya). what i'm realizing is that once i upgrade the cpu, motherboard, replace the hard drive (which needs to be done anyway), and add RAM, for a few hundred more i can look at getting a lower end laptop. when i say lower end i'm thinking something in the sub-$1000 range, and that looks like its about a 2.8ghz celeron cpu, 256mb RAM, probably some kind of integrated video, and a resolution of 1024x768. my question is, is this even worth considering for doing 3d? is there another option i'm missing? should i save up a couple hundred more and invest in a better laptop? how's the ibook performance? i would love to get a powerbook but the price is rather limiting right now.

any comments welcome, thanks.

The iBooks are relatively nice. They definitely lack the polish and "sturdy" feeling of the Powerbooks though. My wife has a 800mhz G4 iBook and it is fine for her. If you got one of the 1ghz models it could run Photoshop and everything just fine, but not video and 3d stuff I wouldn't imagine.

And I don't need to comment on PC laptops... 'cause they all run windows and they suck. ;)

well, you know me and my general opinion of macs, if i could go all mac i'd do it in a heartbeat two things slow me down tho, the price of the box and the cost of software. i've got several grand in pc software that i don't have the resources to replace.

i have a friend with a 900mhz iBook that he loves (and i've played on it, i love it too), i may see if he'll let me borrow it and install the maya ple on there and see how it runs. my roommate also watches way too much tv and my pc is in the living room so you can imagine the other reason i want a laptop

chris

Yeah laptops are pretty handy. I always use mine on the desk anyway though, because I hate trackpads. The eMacs are a great deal right now... Extremely cheap, but also quite speedy. Or you can get a G4 tower for around $1,200...

And if you have a government job or an educational job you get a discount. :D

[QUOTE=deker]The iBooks are relatively nice. They definitely lack the polish and "sturdy" feeling of the Powerbooks though. My wife has a 800mhz G4 iBook and it is fine for her. If you got one of the 1ghz models it could run Photoshop and everything just fine, but not video and 3d stuff I wouldn't imagine.

And I don't need to comment on PC laptops... 'cause they all run windows and they suck. ;)[/QUOTE]


well the new 15" powerbook do not have the same sturdy feel of the titanium and ibooks, mainly from the gap between the screen and the base (to prevent oil from the keys from getting on the screen, and it still does it) ibooks are sturdy and a good deal

I have a souped up 933mhz iBook and I can run my full (legal) version of Adobe CS all at once without problems. And that's for print work. The only issue I have is screen size and the RAM. I have it maxed out and its only at 640 megs. But you know what? This computer is light years ahead of my old PC which did everything I needed perfectly, so what you need to ask yourself is, do you need to be the biggest dog on the block? Except for maybe slower render times, any new computer should handle the work adequately. I hope to upgrade to a Powerbook in the coming years when I get more money, but for now, I work like a hot damn on this iBook. It's amazing. Computers are so powerful now, I don't think there is a way you could go wrong. Just compare anything to what you have now. Hope thats some good insight.

thanks spectra, some good points. btw, do you have the 14" or the 12"? as most of you guys know i could give a flip about system specs and having the newest versions if it gets the job done (heck, i'm still running photoshop 5.5 on an 800mhz athlon) but i do want to make sure it'll do what i need it to.

my biggest concern is the 3d performance, i'm also thinking screen res could be an issue with some 3d apps as well. where's cyb when you need him? ;) he was running some 3d on an imac if i remember right, he might be able to give me a bit of insight into this...

chris

The aluminum powerbooks feel a ton more sturdy than the iBooks to me, and I have both... The trackpad on the iBooks is also huge and my thumbs are constantly getting on it while i type, or when I don't expect it. Then I wonder why the damn mouse is moving all over the screen.

I wouldn't expect 3d performance to be that great... I mean even the newest powerbooks only have 64 mb of video ram, and i think the ibooks have 32, which isn't much for 3d rendering. if you got a g4 tower you could put in a faster video card down the road.

I have the 14" iBook. I am getting used to it, I just am more accustomed to a 17" monitor with higher screen res.

The trackpad IS huge, but who uses it? I actually wonder if I can disable it. My Wacom or my optical mouse is always plugged in. For sturdyness, I wish I could compare the two. Deker should not be allowed to talk about all the Macs he gets to work with, but the iMac is like a rock. The screen never moves and the hinge is tucked away so perfectly. If the PowerBook is stronger, then wow, you won't go wrong on either front. This is coming from a guy who works in the worst posture and whos computer sits at weird angles all day.