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12" Powerbook!

F

frogcat

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 9, 2007
86
0
So, I just bought a 12" powerbook 1.5 ghz superdrive 512mb RAM.

I've wanted one since they came out, so this is almost purely sentimental. I have a macbook already.

It cost me $560 on ebay, which I felt was pretty steep for its age. But the computer had no dents, just a blemish where a sticker was stuck on (why do people do this).

Please powerbook owners give me some encouragement for my purchase, or else I will feel completely regressive and ridiculous. haha
 
frogcat said:
So, I just bought a 12" powerbook 1.5 ghz superdrive 512mb RAM.

I've wanted one since they came out, so this is almost purely sentimental. I have a macbook already.

It cost me $560 on ebay, which I felt was pretty steep for its age. But the computer had no dents, just a blemish where a sticker was stuck on (why do people do this).

Please powerbook owners give me some encouragement for my purchase, or else I will feel completely regressive and ridiculous. haha
Click to expand...


you got a great deal.. Im selling my 1.33 ghz model for 700
 
I used to own one of those (12" Powerbooks)
Currently I run a 13" Macbook but I would love to have the free cash to pick up a 12" powerbook, best portable apple ever made in my opinion. I wish they had continued to make it when they went intel, same form factor, everything, I didn't mind that it wasn't widescreen, I just loved the size, the weight, the build, everything.
I find the Macbook a bit big and don't want a 15" screen or bigger.
It was thinner and better built than the iBook and was more full featured, it also had a real graphics card which would be nice to have in the macbook or something equivalent.
Babbling but yes if I had the cash I would love to buy one of those.
 
Wow, $700!

Good luck to you, I know many apple fans who love to pay premiums for some really picky reasoning.

I guess I am one of them. I just hope leopard will run fine when I upgrade RAM.
 
frogcat said:
Wow, $700!

Good luck to you, I know many apple fans who love to pay premiums for some really picky reasoning.

I guess I am one of them. I just hope leopard will run fine when I upgrade RAM.
Click to expand...

It should, my gf has leopard running fine on a G4 iBook @ 1.33Ghz 1GB RAM
 
i love the 12 inchers

i will soon have one of my own (a hand-me-down 867)
as soon as the airport card gets fixed
 
i would happily pay $560 for it. plus i guess $100 for ram and maybe $100 and a bit work for a 160GB harddrive.

you made a great deal. that powerbook will serve you for another two/three years before it's outdated.

btw: i have a PB G4 1.5GHz 2GB 160GB HD and it works fine for everything ilife, internet, imovie powerpoint..... and i payed $200 for a emac 1.25 GHz because i couldn't find a 12" PB
 
The PowerBook G4 Series was the best series of Mac Portable ever! Because they're the original design, the PowerBook 12" was the cream of the crop for it's usability, portability and design - Apple will never do it again, sadly...

The newer MacBookPro's is a remake that didn't really improve all that much.
 
bcortens said:
It should, my gf has leopard running fine on a G4 iBook @ 1.33Ghz 1GB RAM
Click to expand...

Cool. How is spotlight though? I heard that spotlight takes a major hit on leopard with g4 computers.

Thanks for the replies guys! I totally agree with the powerbook line being the groundbreaker for apple laptops.
 
Congrats!

It will run Leopard just fine. Mine does and it's a 1ghz.

I gave up waiting for Apple to replace the 12" form factor when the MacBook Air was announced. As much as I'm digging the 'Air', I doubt I will ever like it as much as I did my Powerbook. The thin form factor aside, the MBA still feels bigger and while extra screen real estate is good, I don't really need it for surfing and MS Office tasks.

You'll love it. My wife inherited mine, so it's still in the family. :)
 
frogcat said:
So, I just bought a 12" powerbook 1.5 ghz superdrive 512mb RAM.

I've wanted one since they came out, so this is almost purely sentimental. I have a macbook already.

It cost me $560 on ebay, which I felt was pretty steep for its age. But the computer had no dents, just a blemish where a sticker was stuck on (why do people do this).

Please powerbook owners give me some encouragement for my purchase, or else I will feel completely regressive and ridiculous. haha
Click to expand...
Where do you live? Ha ha!

Sounds like you got a fantastic deal. Congrats.
 
You got a deal depending on the hdd and memory. I got mine off the forums for around $300 with a broken hdd, so I replaced it myself...120gb :rolleyes:.

I have a 1.33ghz 1.25gb 120gb Combo in PERFECT condition with a new battery lasting 4.5 hours. Just for $350. Sometimes you got to search for the right deal and wait to bite. I absolutely love this computer.
 
i got a really sweet deal of a 1.5ghz with superdrive for $200 but i have to replace the drive which is costing me $89 still cant complain. Ive seen the 1.5ghz 12 inch sell for $1500AUD on ebay so you still got a very good deal, i think one which was faulty just sold for about $350
 
Figured I would weigh in with my recent purchase...

1.5 GHz, 80 GB HDD, new battery (easily gets 3 hrs watching videos and wireless on). Set me back $470 US. Once I max out the RAM it will be about $500 even. Everything works perfect and it is VERY peppy, plus the screen is flawless. My only complaints are that it is slightly dinged up and has a small scratch on the front. On the plus side, since it has that slightly used look, I don't feel the need to baby it and I can take it anywhere. On the other hand, I keep having the urge to spend $100 on a replacement lid because I am that particular. Other notes: it's a lot heavier than I remember since I've played with the Air, wireless range is only so so, the internal speakers and the headphone-out are probably the best sounding that I've ever had on a notebook, the keyboard feels great and much more responsive compared to MBP's I've used, which doesn't make that much sense but it's true, and overall it just rocks.

So far: Loving it.


p.s. - 12" powerbook owners should have their own forum in the MR's notebook section!
 
I still have and use mine!

I even just bought a new (used) screen for it, as the old one picked up a rather large scratch when it fell off the nightstand.

I upgraded mine to a new 200 GB hd and dual boot it with Linux (Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon)

Can't beat the size, and I agree - it runs Leopard just fine. I just stay away from doing things like ripping a DVD with it.
 
Just got mine...

Guys,

I see a lot of good things you're saying about the powerbook. I was at school the other day and my Acer laptop died. So, I asked for a laptop from the front desk. They gave me a 12" powerbook, 512MB RAM, 80GB hard drive running Tiger. It was love at first sight! So, I jumped on eBay, ordered one that was fully loaded with all the good software (iLife, MS office, Toast, etc...) with Leopard. I updated the software on it and installed Office 2008.

But, it simply crawls... everything is soo slow. It's no where near as fast as the one I used in the library. Can it be the RAM? It's got 512MB of RAM and the fan is always on. I tried popping a DVD in to test out the DVD drive. It sees the disk but the spinning wheel is on the whole time. I don't get it. Did I get shafted with a messed up one or is it the RAM? I already have a 1GB RAM on the way from Buy.com. Oh yeah, the battery is shot too on this thing... uugghh.... i feel sick from this all...

So lost. New to this all too. I feel bad cuz I dropped $700 on my Acer that died a little after a year and now this $600 investment doesn't look like it was a good one either.

Anyone have any good answers for this lost soul that is Amir?
 
amiroo79 said:
Guys,

I see a lot of good things you're saying about the powerbook. I was at school the other day and my Acer laptop died. So, I asked for a laptop from the front desk. They gave me a 12" powerbook, 512MB RAM, 80GB hard drive running Tiger. It was love at first sight! So, I jumped on eBay, ordered one that was fully loaded with all the good software (iLife, MS office, Toast, etc...) with Leopard. I updated the software on it and installed Office 2008.

But, it simply crawls... everything is soo slow. It's no where near as fast as the one I used in the library. Can it be the RAM? It's got 512MB of RAM and the fan is always on. I tried popping a DVD in to test out the DVD drive. It sees the disk but the spinning wheel is on the whole time. I don't get it. Did I get shafted with a messed up one or is it the RAM? I already have a 1GB RAM on the way from Buy.com. Oh yeah, the battery is shot too on this thing... uugghh.... i feel sick from this all...

So lost. New to this all too. I feel bad cuz I dropped $700 on my Acer that died a little after a year and now this $600 investment doesn't look like it was a good one either.

Anyone have any good answers for this lost soul that is Amir?
Click to expand...

512 MB RAM is not enough for leopard... try to get tiger if you can... you will not be disappointed

just read that you are getting a gig of ram, should help tremendously, but I would still try tiger...


you can find a battery for around 40 on ebay...
 
You actually got a good deal on it. 12" Powerbooks almost always bring premium $$ on eBay. I have a 12" 1.5 with a 150 G HD(add on) and 1.25 G RAM and it is almost mint!! It would bring big money on ebay but it ain't for sale!!
 
thechidz said:
512 MB RAM is not enough for leopard... try to get tiger if you can... you will not be disappointed

just read that you are getting a gig of ram, should help tremendously, but I would still try tiger...


you can find a battery for around 40 on ebay...
Click to expand...

Cool. Thanks for the advice. Regarding the battery, I just noticed it was one of the ones that was recalled! So, Apple will be covering this one (or Sony).

My real concern is if the system was damaged or something. I mean if the RAM is not enough, then should it really crawl so badly? I can't even load a DVD into it. The spinning icon comes up and it just sits there like that. I would think that it should eventually load.

But, I'll look into getting Tiger though. That was the OS on the one at school that I used and fell in love with. So, I take it I can run all the new software with Tiger (iLife, MS Office 2008, Toast, etc...)?
 
I kept my ancient 12" 867mhz PB

I bought a new computer, but I kept my 12" PB 867mhz w/640 megs of RAM (I was told it could not handle more than that but perhpas that was wrong?)

For what it is, it's fine. It can't handle Leopard for squat so I kept it on Tiger, and in an unusual situation involving an external HD, Disk Warrior, and whatnot, it was nice having an "old" machine around.

The hard drive is going to fail soon though and I'm debating whether to replace it or not. I love the MacBook I got, but it does not fit in my backpack like the 12" one did!

frogcat said:
So, I just bought a 12" powerbook 1.5 ghz superdrive 512mb RAM.

I've wanted one since they came out, so this is almost purely sentimental. I have a macbook already.

It cost me $560 on ebay, which I felt was pretty steep for its age. But the computer had no dents, just a blemish where a sticker was stuck on (why do people do this).

Please powerbook owners give me some encouragement for my purchase, or else I will feel completely regressive and ridiculous. haha
Click to expand...
 
Indeed, the 12" PowerBook is a great computer. My 1.5 Ghz is still chugging along after 2 years of life, though it is maxed out. It makes a great compliment to my Mac Pro, though not nearly as fast. I really hope Apple revives the form factor... I was looking at the MBA the other day and it's great, but IMO it's too wide compared to the 12" PB... I'd buy one in an instant of they revived it.
 
Fantastic deal. 12" 1.5GHz 1.25GB loaded PowerBooks generally go for $650-740 right now according to my ebay watching. Insanely high for a 3 year old computer. Just goes to show you that the 12" PB form factor is just right for many people.
 
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