I feel like buying a rev A product is just not a good call. If I just bump up the memory, will I really see a big difference? I am mainly using it for web surfing, typing papers, and some protools editing. I am not really a photoshop guy or final cut guy, so that stuff won't apply to me. I just feel like by the time the pb's come out, are ready to buy, and have fixed all the bugs (I even think they might not come out with a 17" till the rev b's)....it will be a whole quarter I will be without a good computer. Should I get a solid last gen of the old pb's, or get a first gen new powerbook? Also, do you think their will be a price drop on the old pb's once the new ones come out? I don't want to buy one around christmas...only to see a 400 dollar price drop in a month.
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17" Powerbook- Should I wait?
- Thread starter supersalzme
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I, personally, would avoid a rev. A product. I think you should go ahead and buy what you need now. It'll be a long way off until the rev. B PowerBooks show up, and even longer until the Intel machines outnumber the PowerPCs. By that time, you might be ready to buy a new computer, and you'll avoid the growing pains associated with an all-new architecture.
I doubt we'll see that much of a price drop over a month's time. Take a look at eBay...Apples always fetch high prices. Nevertheless, there will be a price drop, and you'll just have to deal with it, like everybody else.
I doubt we'll see that much of a price drop over a month's time. Take a look at eBay...Apples always fetch high prices. Nevertheless, there will be a price drop, and you'll just have to deal with it, like everybody else.
aquajet said:I, personally, would avoid a rev. A product. I think you should go ahead and buy what you need now. It'll be a long way off until the rev. B PowerBooks show up, and even longer until the Intel machines outnumber the PowerPCs. By that time, you might be ready to buy a new computer, and you'll avoid the growing pains associated with an all-new architecture.
I doubt we'll see that much of a price drop over a month's time. Take a look at eBay...Apples always fetch high prices. Nevertheless, there will be a price drop, and you'll just have to deal with it, like everybody else.
Yeah....would the current 17" last me a good 3 years? If I'm going to drop 2,500 bucks on a computer...I want it to last me through college.
i'd say hold out as long as you can.
i think apple have learned a lot about notebook case design (and paint) from the last 2 powerbooks so that shouldn't be an issue. they make it sound like software is going to make a transparent transition, but im skeptical about that- the big guys will be fine but the small utilities may have problems so getting the powerpc version and using rosetta may be the way to go with some of them, thus negating any intel related speed increases. the only problem i see will be hardware. there are likely to be hardware bugs, probably lots, but firmware updates and standard applecare should take care of that with minimal disruption (i hope).
what i'm trying to say is that no, i dont think the current 17" will last you 3 years without some pain at the end. I'm currently at 1.5 years on a 1.33ghz/768mb/64mb/15" powerbook and photoshopping a 50 layer 6120x5196 file is feeling pretty slow redrawing and saving (5400 rpm drive can't help). maybe that's unreasonable though...
i think apple have learned a lot about notebook case design (and paint) from the last 2 powerbooks so that shouldn't be an issue. they make it sound like software is going to make a transparent transition, but im skeptical about that- the big guys will be fine but the small utilities may have problems so getting the powerpc version and using rosetta may be the way to go with some of them, thus negating any intel related speed increases. the only problem i see will be hardware. there are likely to be hardware bugs, probably lots, but firmware updates and standard applecare should take care of that with minimal disruption (i hope).
what i'm trying to say is that no, i dont think the current 17" will last you 3 years without some pain at the end. I'm currently at 1.5 years on a 1.33ghz/768mb/64mb/15" powerbook and photoshopping a 50 layer 6120x5196 file is feeling pretty slow redrawing and saving (5400 rpm drive can't help). maybe that's unreasonable though...
i have, however, used a digital performer/motu combo with a dual 800mhz g4 powermac and it felt pretty fast (admittedly only using 8 stereo tracks, not 50 huge layers). so maybe a powerbook from today would last you fine for just web, typing, and audio production.
Go with the 17" PB. 15" seem to have problems but I barely hear about 17" problems. I wish I had that choice
go for it!
go for it!
TodVader said:Go with the 17" PB. 15" seem to have problems but I barely hear about 17" problems. I wish I had that choice
go for it!
you barely hear about it because apple sells far fewer of them. who's gonna pay an extra $500 for 2 inches and 40 gigs of hard drive?
chaos86 said:i'd say hold out as long as you can.
i think apple have learned a lot about notebook case design (and paint) from the last 2 powerbooks so that shouldn't be an issue. they make it sound like software is going to make a transparent transition, but im skeptical about that- the big guys will be fine but the small utilities may have problems so getting the powerpc version and using rosetta may be the way to go with some of them, thus negating any intel related speed increases. the only problem i see will be hardware. there are likely to be hardware bugs, probably lots, but firmware updates and standard applecare should take care of that with minimal disruption (i hope).
what i'm trying to say is that no, i dont think the current 17" will last you 3 years without some pain at the end. I'm currently at 1.5 years on a 1.33ghz/768mb/64mb/15" powerbook and photoshopping a 50 layer 6120x5196 file is feeling pretty slow redrawing and saving (5400 rpm drive can't help). maybe that's unreasonable though...
So you think even if it's a first gen, I will still be ok and it will last me longer than the pb's out now?
I would wait, the moment the Intel Macs hit the shelves, the resale value for the PPC ones will drop like a sack of rocks.
Why so?
Unlike previous transitions (eg from G3 to G4.. or G4 to G5), this transition means no forward compatibility for existing macs, which means should some developer just not feel like checking the "PPC" checkbox during compilation you will be totally screwed.
It is not in the dev's best interests to do that of course, but I am pretty sure some apps will still not target PPC macs at all.
Why so?
Unlike previous transitions (eg from G3 to G4.. or G4 to G5), this transition means no forward compatibility for existing macs, which means should some developer just not feel like checking the "PPC" checkbox during compilation you will be totally screwed.
It is not in the dev's best interests to do that of course, but I am pretty sure some apps will still not target PPC macs at all.
supersalzme said:
yes, if i were in your position, i would wait for rev a intel 'book. you'll know about it in the first 2 weeks after their release whether the intel powerbooks have any major issues, and then you can get a hell of a price on a refurb ppc p'book if there are some horrendous issues with the intel ones.
generik said:
Yeah. I'm so bad at waiting...but I think waiting just to see what they shell out is probably in my best interest. Do you think they will come out with a 17" right away?
I personally think that when they upgrade one PowerBook from PPC to intel, all three will go to intel. I can't see them switching one to intel, or taking the 12" and !5" over and leaving the 17" behind. It wouldn't make any sense.
Switching the iBook without the PowerBook and vice versa, yes, but not within a model range, especially on laptops.
Switching the iBook without the PowerBook and vice versa, yes, but not within a model range, especially on laptops.
Despite the good advice I gave previously on this forum some time ago, I suddenly too have been smitten by the "gotta get a PB now" bug. It's barely a month to the big January event, and I'm really debating whether I go with a solid piece of technology now (the 17" PB RevE), or wait for the new Intel ones.
For me, it's not a case of dire need: just the fortunate luxury of wishing I had one and actually being able to muster up the funds to get it. But given what I do at work, a faster processor and an Intel one to boot (future Windows related opportunities) would be a huge plus.
I'm not particularly dissatisfied with my Windows setup: it's just that it's so... well... mundane. It's almost a perverse lust for the 17" PB. Err... maybe too much info there...
Every other day, I'm convinced I should wait, and then I wake up thinking I should just go and buy the damn thing now...
For me, it's not a case of dire need: just the fortunate luxury of wishing I had one and actually being able to muster up the funds to get it. But given what I do at work, a faster processor and an Intel one to boot (future Windows related opportunities) would be a huge plus.
I'm not particularly dissatisfied with my Windows setup: it's just that it's so... well... mundane. It's almost a perverse lust for the 17" PB. Err... maybe too much info there...
Every other day, I'm convinced I should wait, and then I wake up thinking I should just go and buy the damn thing now...
chaos86 said:
ummm, you wanna tell me where you got $500 from??
with a student discount, there was only a $120 difference between a 15" and a 17" of matching specs.
i know because i was originally planning on a fully loaded 15" untill i noticed how small the difference was...
human657 said:
You are very right. Two reasons why I want a powerbook over an ibook:
-ibooks biggest model is a 14"
-I just think the ibooks look like crap, and since I have the money to spend...I rather get something that looks like it's worth, rather than a ibook which honestly to me looks like a cheap PC
Thanks to all who have givin me advice thus far!
I still am very torn on what to get....they will have to come out with a pretty amazing laptop in january for me to want to get a new one....
plinkoman said:ummm, you wanna tell me where you got $500 from??
with a student discount, there was only a $120 difference between a 15" and a 17" of matching specs.
i know because i was originally planning on a fully loaded 15" untill i noticed how small the difference was...
When did you get a 17"? Also...what applications do you use on it?
supersalzme said:
Don't forget there are very strong indicators that Intel iBooks will be out in the coming MWSF. Let's just throw everything out by the "Altivec fanbois" alright? Because the sad truth is, even if they put in a puny 1.6Ghz Pentium M into those new iBooks, it is still going to seriously rock the current G4 1.67's boat.
With native apps (iApps? Safari? Apple mail? Etc?) the difference will probably be really substantial, and you sure as heck won't really want to be caught dead with a $2000 PB that is virtually instantly deprecated right out of the box.
Realistically however, Rosetta does impose a small performance penalty, but even in those worse case scenarios it should be no worse than the current iBooks we have.
And *that* is assuming Apple is going to use the current Pentium Ms that will be EOL very soon.
Just wait a month, it won't hurt. If you got money to burn go to the casino or something and burn it, for all you know you might walk out richer.
apple.complinkoman said:
the standard 15" is $1999, the standard 17" is $2499. that's $500 difference if i'm not mistaken. i'm not talking about a 15" upgraded to match the 17" in specs. my comment was regarding the overall sales of 17" powerbooks in comparision to 15" pbooks, comparing their feature
rice ratio. therefore student pricing on an upgraded 15" vs a standard 17" has nothing to do with it.dont roll your eyes at me.plinkoman said:
chaos86 said:
my advice to you for next time: read the post, think of what to say, reread the post, make sure youre not gonna sound dumb, then reply.
Haha no fighting boys. All I want to know is if I should buy an old powerbook or the gen A powerbook...and I'm not waiting for the rev B because I need a laptop for next quarter.