in the market for a new powerbook.....

[aishabag23]

well, reason 3 is coming out and i need to up my ram capacity..... which means i need a new powerbook. i was just curious to see what some of you folks thought would be important components for me to make sure i get when i finally purchase my new laptop. i know i definitely want a 15" with a superdrive.

what are some things i should have in there?

[alexdingley]

I went on ebay about 5 months ago, and bought a slightly used (in great condition) 15" PB [ 1ghz, 1gb RAM, 60GB HD, SuperDrive ] for around $1675... and it's a great machine.

Make sure you get a powerbook, and not an iBook. The powerbook has dual monitor display support built in, and they have a PCmcia port for card expansion... if you get one of those FW PC cards, you can really expand your Pbook. they have 1 FW port onboard, but a second would be handy if you are doing anything CPU intensive... then you can add a TC powercore for more DSP... but I digress.

Mine has treated me well... I use it as my Nuendo studio at home and my Reason 2.5 synth with my band. Our entire live show is centered around Reason. I have a USB audio I/O with 4 ins and outs... so a stereo mix of my electronic drums & synths comes out of the 1-2 output, and the 3-4 output is hooked to a headphone distributor. I use reasons mixer to send a discrete click and headphone mix of the other synths to our drummer who then plays his acoustic kit in perfect sync with the software. it's a great setup, and with the 1ghz G4 chip, I have yet to create a sequence in reason that maxes out the system.

Definitely try to put a full 1gb of Ram in it though... very helpful.

and personally, I would not want the newer PB's (1.33+ CPU's) all the newer ones have the data ports located on the side... and if you're doing a lot of connecting to externall devices... it looks really trashy to have a bunch of ports connected to the side.... but that's just my personal feeling on the subject.

cheers!

my web site will have mp3's up very soon of our live / electronic band's demo.... I'd say within a week. I'm taking a break from overdubs right now, and I expect to have some songs posted by the end of the week.

[aishabag23]

thanks for your input.... i did think about getting a TBook, but i figure if i'm going to get a new computer, i'd like to get a more current model. i'm currently using a 1 year-old 12" ABook (with the ports on the side) and i like not having to turn the laptop around to plug stuff in..... it's all about personal preference, huh?

[yardleyone]

i think if you buy 15 inch screen or bigger you'll definitely get a firewire 800 port with it, but if it's optional, it's an option i'd opt for.

[aishabag23]

good to know!