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When will PowerBook G4 die; worth it to replace screen?

A

Alleyoop

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 25, 2009
87
0
I have a Powerbook G4 17" screen laptop. The screen just cracked and I either need to replace it or buy a new computer. I think this model came out in 2003, so it is about 7 years old. (Model M9110LL/A, 1.33 GHz)

What I am wondering is if it is worth it to replace the screen in terms of the rest of the computers life. How long until something major malfunctions? Is there some kind of typical life-span for this guy?

I am just not sure if I can shell out the money for a MacBook Pro right now, but on the other hand don't want to put money into something that may just start to fall apart anyway. I'd rather wait and get the MacBook Pro if there are a lot of reports of PowerBooks dying around this age.
 
TSE

TSE

macrumors 68040
Jun 25, 2007
3,970
3,299
St. Paul, Minnesota
It depends.

If it was a Titanium Powerbook, where to replace the screen you literally have to disassemble every part, it definitely isn't worth it.

If it was an Aluminum PowerBook, and it did everything you need, if the screen replacement was 100-250 dollars I would consider it.

You can also consider selling your PowerBook on ebay as a non-portable portable computer if you get what I'm saying if just the screen is broken. Connect it to an external monitor and market it as a desktop on ebay, and put that money towards a new computer.
 
E

Eddyisgreat

macrumors 601
Oct 24, 2007
4,851
2
powerbooks last a number of n years, where n is a combination of the handling over its life, its condition off the line (no underlying problems), and how much it's been used. They shouldn't spontaniously die 'just cause', except of course the battery.

So if everything has been working fine up till this point there's no reason to junk it, providing a screen replacement can be had at a reasonable price, that being substantially less than a used macbook pro of any generation. Otherwise if you want upgrade you could easily pawn it off and let someone else deal with the screen.
 
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