Looking to buy a powerbook...

[UglyCasanova]

For some of my classes I'm going to take in the fall I am required to have an Apple laptop, and I need it to last me at least 3 years. I am a graphic design major and the whole purpose of this laptop is to do design and production work so I'm going to go all out. Apple just updated their iBooks and Powerbooks so would now be a good time to buy, or do you think that there will be any significant updates from now until July. I am not waiting for the G5 powerbook to come out partly because I highly doubt it will be out before August and also I would rather not be the guinea pig on first generation G5 laptops.

My parents are paying for it and my budget is ~$3000. Here are my specs so far:

Powerbook 15.2-inch TFT Display
1.5GHz PowerPC G4
512MB DDR333 SDRAM - 1 SO-DIMM (going to add another one from crucial to bring me up to 1GB later)
80GB Ultra ATA drive @ 5400 rpm
ATI Radeon 9700 128MB Graphics Memory
SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
AirPort Extreme Card
AirPort Extreme Base Station (without modem and antenna port)
APP for PowerBook (w/ or w/o display) - Enrollment Kit (The 3 year warranty, and does anyone know if I put in 3rd party memory will it void this?)

Total: $2,897.00 with free shipping


So what do you think? Will this last me 3 years and does anyone know of any rumors flying around about ubdates to the G4's anytime this summer? I know that Apple is slow about updating and since the newest versions came out only a few days ago I would think they wouldn't have any more updates for a while, at least past July or so.

 

[Dark54555]

i can tell you there won't be a g5 anytime soon, but not sure on a newer g4.

 

[MonstaThrilla]

Nah, the iBook line and PowerBook line won't be updated for a good while (maybe not until "Tiger" comes out). Knock yourself out...

 

[UglyCasanova]

That's what I wanted to hear!

 

[Frightcrawler]

Wow, I didnt know that powerbooks now have the 9700. Nice.

 

[UglyCasanova]

Yeah, now they just need some games!

I think I'm going to opt out of buying the superdrive and just get a plain ol' cd burner. All is well though because I already have a dvd burner and I rarely put it to any use. I'm still looking at another $3-400 for the Adobe Creative Suite but that beats the $1000 retail price. Thank god for academic prices!!!

I've heard that Apple host Macworld in July and they always release new products around this time. Is this true and something that I should keep in mind, or do you think that the new products would be out (assuming there are any, like I said I do not follow apple) by the end of July?

 

[vexingv]

ummm get it now..since it was just updated. i'm in the market for an ibook and will probably order one soon. i found this cool page that has predictions on apple hardware updates:
buyer's guide

 

[manko]

Originally posted by: vexingv
i found this cool page that has predictions on apple hardware updates:
buyer's guide

Yeah, that is a cool site.

It would be nice to have one like that for Windows PC desktop and notebook technology outlining the product cycles for all major components, but I'm sure that would be infinitely more complicated.

 

[UglyCasanova]

Well, it should ship Wednesday. I got the 1.5 Ghz Powebook with a 15.2" screen, 512mb ram (which I payed $90 more to get it on one chip because I am about to order another one from Crucial), 128mb radeon 9700, 80gb 5400 rpm hd, airport extreme base station, and a backpack from here (it's the one on the bottom).

Now I get to go buy the Adobe Creative Suite for about $400.

If anyone on here has a powerbook, especially one of the new ones are you having any sort of problems with it? I've heard that Apple has had major problems with white spots on the lcd, especially in th 15" model. I've also heard that the latch has a defect and the top of the case warps upward. I guess there is no use worrying over it though, because I have to buy an apple.

I'll post a review up as soon as it gets here.

 

[paranoidandroid]

nice lappy. i've seen the warping, and its niot that ad. supposedly more prominent on the 12 and 15' inchers. i've also seen the white spots on the lcd. you cant really notice it up close, but from far away it is really clear. hope u got the warranty

 

[frazzled]

Nice laptop!

I should take delivery of the same config except on a 17" model (+ superdrive) later this week.

This is a great time to buy becasue all three sizes are at least on their 2nd (and some 3rd) revisions.

Enjoy,

fraz

 

[jdogg707]

Originally posted by: UglyCassanova
Well, it should ship Wednesday. I got the 1.5 Ghz Powebook with a 15.2" screen, 512mb ram (which I payed $90 more to get it on one chip because I am about to order another one from Crucial), 128mb radeon 9700, 80gb 5400 rpm hd, airport extreme base station, and a backpack from here (it's the one on the bottom).

Now I get to go buy the Adobe Creative Suite for about $400.

If anyone on here has a powerbook, especially one of the new ones are you having any sort of problems with it? I've heard that Apple has had major problems with white spots on the lcd, especially in th 15" model. I've also heard that the latch has a defect and the top of the case warps upward. I guess there is no use worrying over it though, because I have to buy an apple.

I'll post a review up as soon as it gets here.

Most of the problem you described were problems with second generation Al Powerbooks. The newer ones seem to be fixed, and I will hopefully be getting mine here in a day or two. I got the same configuration as you did, minus the backpack, AE Base, and I didn't get a superdrive sinc I didn't need one. Can't wait for it!

 

[bastula]

I bought a 1 GHz 15 inch PowerBook in February. Had no problems whatsoever except for the fact of 3rd party memory.

I didn't have good luck with a 512 MB PC333 Crucial stick or Kingston stick from Newegg. Ended up getting a stick that worked from OtherWorld Computing. Seemed to be a problem that the machine has stricter specifications for memory timings. The ram from OWC was guaranteed to work with my PowerBook; on the other hand the other sticks were not. After I got that stick in, it was smooth sailing.

My post here may be relevant. Hopefully they fixed those issues in the newer revisions and you shouldn't have those problems.

Hope you guys enjoy your new PowerBooks. I know it was worth it for me.

 

[dcdomain]

Originally posted by: UglyCassanova
Well, it should ship Wednesday. I got the 1.5 Ghz Powebook with a 15.2" screen, 512mb ram (which I payed $90 more to get it on one chip because I am about to order another one from Crucial), 128mb radeon 9700, 80gb 5400 rpm hd, airport extreme base station, and a backpack from here (it's the one on the bottom).

Now I get to go buy the Adobe Creative Suite for about $400.

If anyone on here has a powerbook, especially one of the new ones are you having any sort of problems with it? I've heard that Apple has had major problems with white spots on the lcd, especially in th 15" model. I've also heard that the latch has a defect and the top of the case warps upward. I guess there is no use worrying over it though, because I have to buy an apple.

I'll post a review up as soon as it gets here.

How much did you pay for it?
Freaking Thinkpad T42's are so expensive, I'm thinking about jumping ship.

 

[addragyn]

Yo dcdomain, besides buying used there are 3 ways to save on an Apple laptop.

- Use the instutional discount
.edu discount - http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/routingpage.html
.gov discount - http://www.apple.com/r/store/government/


- Get a refurb
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore/
click on Special Deals, bottom left


- join ADC (Apple Developer connection), the discount is very generous
student membership in ADC is $99
http://developer.apple.com/students/sthardware.html
http://developer.apple.com/membership/hardware.html

 

[dcdomain]

Thanks... I'm a student so I've been looking at the .edu discounts, but the Thinkpads are still expensive.
I priced out a Powerbook:

? 1.5GHz PowerPC G4 with 128MB Graphics Memory
? 512MB DDR333 SDRAM - 1 SO-DIMM
? 80GB Ultra ATA drive @ 5400 rpm
? Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
? Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
? AirPort Extreme Card
? 15.2-inch TFT Display

$2300... pretty good price compared to what I would get from IBM...

 

[frazzled]

dcdomain,

Nice specs, that machine would be a beaut. Good choice going with the single SO-DIMM, nice for upgrading later. I've owned machines from IBM, Sharp, Fujitsu, Voodoo and Toshiba over the years and my G4 PB is still my favorite.

Enjoy,

JT

 

[UglyCasanova]

I (or my parents should I say ) paid $2300.

About the memory, I've also heard about people having problems with 3rd party memory. I was planning on going with Crucial because that is who I've always bought from, but should I look elsewhere?

 

[bastula]

Crucial is fine. If it doesn't work you can always return it and get another stick from a different company. In my case and in many other people's case with the previous revision of the 15" Aluminum PowerBook, the system was picky about memory.

Here is a link to a thread over at MacNN where other people (including me) were discussing memory problems.

 

[NakaNaka]

Hey guys. That macrumors site says buy now. But there's still no harm in waiting a couple months right? Just that the price probably won't come down much. But nothing adverse should happen.

P.S. - I'm a longtime PC user but thinking about getting a powerbook for college. I'm sick of all the crashing on XP and don't play computer games anymore. think its worth it?

 

[ceo2b]

There is nothing wrong with waiting; I doubt G5 will be out anytime this year. Even if it were, you might not want to purchase it at the initial releasing. Let someone else be the guinea pig in the beginning.

Tiger will replace Jaguar later this year and maybe they'll bump up the processor speed to create a Rev C 15" Powerbook.

 

[NakaNaka]

Do they have any idea when Tiger will come out?

 

[ceo2b]

Apple never gives hints like that to avoid making or breaking expectation. They'll show you previews give you an idea it's ahead in the future but nothing definite.

I'd guess September/October, but hell it could be released within the summer.

 

[axemanxt40]

Originally posted by: NakaNaka
Hey guys. That macrumors site says buy now. But there's still no harm in waiting a couple months right? Just that the price probably won't come down much. But nothing adverse should happen.

P.S. - I'm a longtime PC user but thinking about getting a powerbook for college. I'm sick of all the crashing on XP and don't play computer games anymore. think its worth it?

What crashes do you get with XP? I honestly never run into issues and Windows XP is an excellent operating system, just gotta make sure to stay on top of the critical updates for security.

 

[addragyn]

P.S. - I'm a longtime PC user but thinking about getting a powerbook for college. I'm sick of all the crashing on XP and don't play computer games anymore. think its worth it.

I bought an iBook on a lark. Curious about OS X. A 15" PB is now my main machine. If you don't play FPS games then you can definitely consider it.

I no longer need to supervise Win machines for $$ or at home. I'm enjoying using a computer like I used to when I built my first PC.

It feels like I've moved beyond building and maintaining. Now I'm more into doing.

I mean one can only make so many bootable Ghost/tools/rescue Windows cds before it gets tedious.

There are little details in OS X that you'll really get a kick out of. Background dragging(command(apple) + drag) is really cool. The printer icon in the dock will print little pages when you're printing. Expose - grouping windows by a single app is damn useful. The default browser being tabbable, blocking pop-ups, and having a Google search builtin. Great keyboard control. Not worrying about programs you don't want on your machine. Not worrying about programs you do want getting in your sys tray, run registry key, or otherwise. Having DVD support included (as if MS couldn't the license!). A good community, that also puts out tons of useful and often free software - I use Mail Scripts and Carbon Copy Cloner. Fanststic wireless support, 802.11 & Bluetooth. You'll quickly come to appreciate the system wide spell check. And that CLI!

On the flip side you're left out on many games and MS Office is an additional cost. Those can be biggies for some but neither both me. Starcraft does me right!