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In need of advice about a possible PB upgrade

faintember

faintember

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Hey MR folks, i hope yall can give me some advice in this.

Here we go...
My main mac is a Ti PB 1ghz 512mb ram 60 gig hd, superdrive, running 10.4.2.

Basically the computer is two years old, and still runs fine (other than the screen really doesn't like to come clean).

My question is, should i upgrade the ram to 1gig, and possibly upgrade the internal HD to a 5600 or 7200 rpm (prob go to 100 gig range), or should i wait and see what the next rev of PB brings the mac community?

My PB is great for everyday tasks, but sometimes i find it a bit lacking in processor speed when running certain real-time audio processing programs that i use and or have written. Other than having Airport extreme and bluetooth built-in the newer PB's don't really offer many things that i "need".

I am hoping that i can do the upgrade to my PB, and have it last through to the rev b of the Macintel PB. That and i am a frugal grad. student, so dropping $2500 or so on a new PB is not really possible at this moment, although i am thinking of selling my iMac (i just don't use it anymore).
If anyone thinks i should do the upgrade, i know where to find the ram, but what would be some recommendations for the HD, and possibly where to purchase?

Thanks to all..

-cameron
 
I suggest that you get the current gen PB or wait till the next gen, if a small speed bump is that important to you.
 
Adding another 512MB of third-party RAM, especially if your 512MB is on one module, would be a cost-effective performance bump I would think.
 
Keep It (or sell it to me on the cheap)

sounds like a great machine to me, I'd keep it around for a bit, just put more RAM in (that really helps performance) upgrade the HD (or just get an external one if you don't need the portability, get an airport card (I assume you don't already have one??) and a usb bluetooth adaptor. With that, I'd guess you'd be good to go for a few more years..... unless you just really want a new machine 🙄

P.S. - I would imagine you could do all that for well under $500 instead of $2500 for a loaded powerbook

--I'd wait, Powerbooks are due for some sort of major processor / design upgrade well before the usefulness of your current machine expires.

where to buy:
RAM - Crucial.com
HD - I have a Western Digital External that I like a lot (maybe newegg.com)
Airport - if it won't take an extreme, maybe a used one on ebay?
Bluetooth - get a mini usb adaptor anywhere
 
Thanks for the help yall.

Unfortunately the ram is two modules, as that is how i bought it. Basically i did buy the PB right after Mac released the Al PB. Why did i get the Ti instead of the Al? I need the dual boot ability.

Oh, it does have airport built in now, but airport extreme would be great. Hummm, i wonder if my logic board would recognize an airport extreme card?

Portability is key for the PB. I use it frequently to record audio, perform in clubs (IDM stuff) and for live performances at my university, so a external is only good for non-portable use/back-ups. Bluetooth would be nice (i have an instrument that can transmit MIDI data wirelessly via bluetooth), but once again, having a BT dongle hanging out of my PB would probably mean death for the BT dongle within a month. Processor speed isnt that big of a deal (i can use the schools G5 PM if needed). I guess my processor speed upgrade will have to wait until the next rev (or two) of PB's.

So here is my plan:
2 sticks of 512 ram from OWC: model number OWC133SO512328L =$200
100 gb 5400 rpm Segate Hard drive from OWC:model#OWCMOTGFW =$210

So all of that for under $430. Hopefully it will keep my PB running for at least 2 more years. Any other recommendations of the hard drive? Other brands?

thanks once again to the posters.
 
Well, you might wanna look at a 7200rpm internal drive. Hitachi makes one, and you can get the 60GB for $160 at outpost.com, and Seagate makes a 100GB version, but it's over $200 and out of my budget so I don't even know where to look for that. If you really wanna max out the performance on it, spend the extra little bit of dough to get the best possible, so you don't have to upgrade down the road again.
 
faintember said:
Thanks for the help yall.

Unfortunately the ram is two modules, as that is how i bought it. Basically i did buy the PB right after Mac released the Al PB. Why did i get the Ti instead of the Al? I need the dual boot ability.

Oh, it does have airport built in now, but airport extreme would be great. Hummm, i wonder if my logic board would recognize an airport extreme card?

Portability is key for the PB. I use it frequently to record audio, perform in clubs (IDM stuff) and for live performances at my university, so a external is only good for non-portable use/back-ups. Bluetooth would be nice (i have an instrument that can transmit MIDI data wirelessly via bluetooth), but once again, having a BT dongle hanging out of my PB would probably mean death for the BT dongle within a month. Processor speed isnt that big of a deal (i can use the schools G5 PM if needed). I guess my processor speed upgrade will have to wait until the next rev (or two) of PB's.

So here is my plan:
2 sticks of 512 ram from OWC: model number OWC133SO512328L =$200
100 gb 5400 rpm Segate Hard drive from OWC:model#OWCMOTGFW =$210

So all of that for under $430. Hopefully it will keep my PB running for at least 2 more years. Any other recommendations of the hard drive? Other brands?

thanks once again to the posters.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a lot to spend for a temporizing upgrade in my opinion. I had no idea two 512MB sticks would cost so much. A 1GB stick for my G4 aluminum 15" PB was considerably cheaper. I may be mistaken, but wouldn't these work in your PB?: http://tinyurl.com/akhy2
 
Here's what I would do:
1) Get a firewire external HD and move non-portable needs there.
2) Upgrade the RAM using one of the cheaper Newegg options after confirming they are compatible.

That way, when you eventually upgrade your laptop, you still have the external HD for backups, which is always handy.
 
livingfortoday said:
Well, you might wanna look at a 7200rpm internal drive. Hitachi makes one, and you can get the 60GB for $160 at outpost.com, and Seagate makes a 100GB version, but it's over $200 and out of my budget so I don't even know where to look for that. If you really wanna max out the performance on it, spend the extra little bit of dough to get the best possible, so you don't have to upgrade down the road again.
Click to expand...
So i really will notice the diff b/t 5400 and 7200?

Did some searching and found a Segate Momentus 100 gb 7200 rpm hd here. I have never even heard of this company, but it is the cheapest price i have found, at $279. I dont mind spending the little extra now to keep my PB happy for a few more years.
 
amin said:
Sounds like a lot to spend for a temporizing upgrade in my opinion. I had no idea two 512MB sticks would cost so much. A 1GB stick for my G4 aluminum 15" PB was considerably cheaper. I may be mistaken, but wouldn't these work in your PB?: http://tinyurl.com/akhy2
Click to expand...

Yeah, i dont understand why 1gig dimm for the Al PB is cheaper than two 512 pc133 sticks for my Ti book.

Thanks for the link amin, it looks like the Kingmax ram will work, as it has about 4 reviews of people using it in macintosh notebooks, including a Ti PB. Cood call on that...already saving me some $$.
 
amin said:
Here's what I would do:
1) Get a firewire external HD and move non-portable needs there.
2) Upgrade the RAM using one of the cheaper Newegg options after confirming they are compatible.

That way, when you eventually upgrade your laptop, you still have the external HD for backups, which is always handy.
Click to expand...
I have an external hd, which is actually the university's hd that we use to back up the PM. I guess i could buy an external fw hd for myself, and move some of my mp3's over to it. Off to look at that option.

thanks once again everyone


edit:...Oops..i didnt notice that i had three posts in a row, my apologies to the forum mods, and to the readers.
 
faintember said:
So i really will notice the diff b/t 5400 and 7200?
Click to expand...

I can't honestly say if you'll feel the difference on your 1Ghz Ti, but I know that they are reasonably faster than 5400rpm drives. On my 667Mhz I plan on getting a 7200 drive, just because usually hard drive speed is a bottleneck in system performance.
 
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