Refurb Powerbook has derailed my train of thought

Gadgetron · Feb 28, 2006

Hello,
So i know this topic has been on the borads, but I need to ask your opinion. I had origionaly "pre-ordered" a Macbook 1.83, and have since canceled the order on the apple store. Mainly becasue I am sick of this pay for it now, and we will ship it when we can attitude that companies have gotten into.
Call me crazy but dont sell stuff until you have it in stock.
That aside, I am kind of glad that I killed the order, on the "sale" section of the apple store they have 1.67powerbooks for 1600.00. So I ask this question.

1. is a 1.67 powerbook all that bad a machine? (esp considering i would have enough money left over to slap in 2gigs of memory for well under the cost of a 1.83.)

2. should I just wait and get a 1.83 Macbook when the store says "will ship in 24hours"?

I mainly use the mac for Maya, and Photoshop (as a hobby) and dev/scripting for work. While I CAN deal with them in emulation, its something i keep going back and forth on. I know that universal .bins will come out for both apps.

Its just a lot of money I am about to drop, and I am afaraid I might paint myself into a corner buying a Powerbook, despite the savings.
Thank you for your time.
~/.Chris

calebjohnston · Feb 28, 2006

My recommendation would be for the powerbook. You won't run into any big problems with your powerbook for at least a few years which is the typical length of a computer's lifetime anyway (laptop rather). These revision A intel computers have been having problems, and I wouldn't spend the 2000 on one to have it not function properly.

The powerbook is an incredible machine, gonna miss it when it's gone.

However, the 1.67 with the money to buy more RAM sounds like a good deal to me.

pdpfilms · Feb 28, 2006

I'm pretty sure they don't charge you until it ships...

..so it's more like a "Pay for it later, get it later" attitude.

Aramis · Feb 28, 2006

Gadgetron said:
Hello,
So i know this topic has been on the borads, but I need to ask your opinion. I had origionaly "pre-ordered" a Macbook 1.83, and have since canceled the order on the apple store. Mainly becasue I am sick of this pay for it now, and we will ship it when we can attitude that companies have gotten into.
Call me crazy but dont sell stuff until you have it in stock.
That aside, I am kind of glad that I killed the order, on the "sale" section of the apple store they have 1.67powerbooks for 1600.00. So I ask this question.

1. is a 1.67 powerbook all that bad a machine? (esp considering i would have enough money left over to slap in 2gigs of memory for well under the cost of a 1.83.)

2. should I just wait and get a 1.83 Macbook when the store says "will ship in 24hours"?

I mainly use the mac for Maya, and Photoshop (as a hobby) and dev/scripting for work. While I CAN deal with them in emulation, its something i keep going back and forth on. I know that universal .bins will come out for both apps.

Its just a lot of money I am about to drop, and I am afaraid I might paint myself into a corner buying a Powerbook, despite the savings.
Thank you for your time.
~/.Chris

I am new to Macs and was in your shoes a few days ago. I went to the local Apple store and CompUSA where they have PBs on sale for about the same price ($1600-$2000). I was actually able to do a side-by-side comparison of a 15" PB (1.67) and a 15" MBP (1.83). After playing with both for about an hour, my personal obesrvations were a brighter screen, smoother app transitions, and better graphics on the MBP. There were a couple of other "little" things that made the MPB worth the extra money in my opinion (built in cam and remote for starters). Ultimately and unexpectedly I decided on the 2.0 MBP and ordered it from Amazon.com on 2/25 with an delivery date of 3/1. I figured it would keep me current for at least a few years.

Good luck with your decision!

jadekitty24 · Feb 28, 2006

pdpfilms said:
I'm pretty sure they don't charge you until it ships...

..so it's more like a "Pay for it later, get it later" attitude.

???
I think you get charged right away. All of my accounts have promptly been charged well before the shipping date.
As for your Macbook/Powerbook dillema, in your shoes I would (and have) get the already proven Powerbook. It is capable of doing the tasks you require, if you ordered one you would receive it promptly, it is way cheaper, and lastly, despite what everyone is saying it is not an "obsolete" machine, which can mean "out of date". It is only out of date if the user interprets it as so. I know of many people who make due with much older lower spec equipment than what you're considering buying. Max out the ram and you should be happy.

dmw007 · Feb 28, 2006

While the 1.67GHz PowerBook G4 would be a fine computer for you, I would recommend going with a MacBook Pro. It is much faster (especially when everything is universal), has more features (e.g., front row, built-in iSight, etc...) and will last longer (making it a better investment dollar for dollar).

Plus, you get the awesome bragging rights of owning a MacBook Pro!

Gadgetron · Mar 1, 2006

Thank you all for the advice.
~/.Chris

twoodcc · Mar 1, 2006

i would say go for a MBP. i have the 1.67 pb, and i love it. but i have had a few issues. i also have 2 gbs of ram in it as well. i also have an intel imac, and i wish that my powerbook had frontrow and the remote.

aside from that, the MBP will last longer, you can't deny that. and it's a dual-core processor. i would go for that, if i were buying now. but you might want to wait until they will ship in 24 hours, and that some people who have them have posted what they think of them

TheMac19 · Mar 1, 2006

Through edu-tinted glasses: $1600 for a 1.67 powerbook or $1800 for the macbookPro.

Tough call. Two things have would make me lean toward the powerbook. First, the powerbook's DVD burner is a dual-layer drive, which is very important to me, as I work with video and burn a fair number of DVD's. Having dual-layer burning is huge. (the media is getting cheaper by the day). Second, and on a much smaller note, after hearing about the Mogo Mouse I would prefer having the PC slot in the Powerbook rather than the new fangled bay in the MacBookPro. Not that I've had any use for the PC slot lately, but the Mogo Mouse is just too cool, and I'm perpetually traveling.

Also, having a built in modem is handy - one less thing to carry around. Although modems are getting rarer and rarer, when you need one, you need one, and I still use them when traveling.

Then there's the firewire 800 - which does seem handy for with external hard drives, but maybe that's going the way of the dodo?

The MBP is tempting for fun, but even near the same price, the Dual Layer burning is a big thing to give up.

Gadgetron · Mar 2, 2006

thank you all for the comments. Last night i went to my local apple store and picked up a 1.83 macbook pro, I am very happy with it!
also i ordered a 1gig stick from newegg, so i think with 1.5g of memory i shoudl be in good shape.
~/.Chris

Seasought · Mar 2, 2006

Gadgetron said:
thank you all for the comments. Last night i went to my local apple store and picked up a 1.83 macbook pro, I am very happy with it!
also i ordered a 1gig stick from newegg, so i think with 1.5g of memory i shoudl be in good shape.
~/.Chris

Congratulations!

Enjoy your new toy.

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