Can i use my 17" PB as a desktop?

ok

use my ti powerbook with a macmice cooler underneath it and touch wood it keeps it preety cool although the thing is made out of plastic so it bends a bit but a bit of swift counter bending straightens it for another 3 months




ps any ibooks ?

i use my 12" powerbook rev a. as a desktop replacement basically

its on all the time and i just leave it plugged in, no problems here, although i do use a cool pad for it as well, to make sure it doesnt overheat

I have used a Powerbook G3, a Tibook 500 and now my Albook 1.25 as desktop computers. I never have had any problems with them being on all the time. I do not have any sort of extral cooling device like some of the other posters here. Actually with OSX it is handy to have it on and not sleeping all night so the automatic cron jobs run.

Solafaa said:

Should i be worried? can i have my laptop on for like 10 hours? Should i keep the power pluged in? for 2-3 hours?

I use my laptop for gaming sometimes not a lot thou, i download torrents on it (ya ya i am a bad boy) and use it to check websites, email extra. The thing is it gets really hot, i dont want to break it or overheat it, any ideas?

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No you can't if you do your computer will die a horrible death!!!!











Seriously though it's fine. I've used a Wallstreet G3 and my PB 1.33 12" as desktops for years and it took me trying to jury rig the Wallstreet to finally kill it. The 12 inch on the other hand is awesome as a desktop.

i think a 17" would be brilliant as a desktop. i use a rev b 12" pb and it is basically plugged in all the time, and is running all the time. yeh a slightly bigger screen would be nice but i get by!

i use my 17 as a desktop no problems here

You bought a Mac, not a Dell.

It'll work fine for years this way.

if you use it long time not on batterypower but plugged into the main, take out your battery for a better batterylife (they tend to discharge 2% and then charge again and so on, so thats not good for batterylife if you use it like that for a very long time... for the rest I see no reason why you can't use it as a desktop I did it too with my Ti-Pb before I got the G5...

Ti and Al as a desktop replacement

I basically use both my PBs as a desktop replacement (I have a studio apt and I don't have too much space for a large desktop equipment). I used Targas cool pads for both PBs and keep them on when PB is on. I set the power management to let PBs go to sleep after one hour of no use. I let the screen sleep after 10 min. of no use. No overheating problem with the cool pad on.

As far as battery is concerned, I don't do the full charge/drain thing (I did it when I got my PB new as that calibrates the battery; but that is only required once). Sometimes you may need to drain the battery to re-set the power manager (or whatever it is called) since sometimes OS forgets at what point is the full charge.

i use my 12" rev A PB as a desktop all the time. i dont do a lot of proccessor intensive activities very offten. but when i do i always keep it proped up on something (i use a carabiener but ive heard of people using pieces of wood or books lying on their desks) and that seems to cause the fan to come on less frequently. probably doesnt matter that much, but does make a little differnece if you want your fans to outlast the rest of your computer!

bosrs1 said:

No you can't if you do your computer will die a horrible death!!!!

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damn you! i was going to say that...

anyway. fear not Solafaa, i use my 15 inch powerbook as my primary computer. it is on 24/7. aside from when i am walking from train to metro to bus to class. then it is asleep in my school bag.

other then that it is always on. at night happily singing me songs from itunes. durring the day, happily doing what ever i am doing.

great computer, aside from piss terrible battery life. though i have it pluged in whenever possible.

YS2003 said:

As far as battery is concerned, I don't do the full charge/drain thing (I did it when I got my PB new as that calibrates the battery; but that is only required once). Sometimes you may need to drain the battery to re-set the power manager (or whatever it is called) since sometimes OS forgets at what point is the full charge.

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Bad idea. Do what this site says to care VERY good care of your battery OR ELSE!

12 inch pb

I use my 12 inch pb rev c as a desktop replacement, and I leave it on all the time. I do unplug it to bring it places and it uses the battery then, I mean isnt that the reason to get a laptop anyway, for portability. Also my pb stays pretty cool when its left on and im not doing anything real processor intensive.

Yes!

I keep my 15" PB on all the time, folding away for team MacRumors. A 17" will just give you more screen space. Go for it!

FYI - Battery Life

I used my apple laptop for about 10 months constantly as a desktop machine, rarely turning it off...HOWEVER...all of a sudden i went from 3 hours battery life, to no battery life (wouldnt even recognize the battery...Leaving the laptop plugged in with the battery installed, ruined my battery (contstant charge/discharge) had to replace it (thank God it was under warranty), my advice - using it as a desktop is fine (no need for cooling, just make sure the fans have room to circulate air under the AiBook (or whatever you have))
Just if you know your going to leave it plugged in for a while, lift up the laptop, hold the battery (learned this the hard way) and turn the release screw, remove your battery and run from a/c power...(APPLE recommends storing batteries with about a 50% charge for longer life)...I just set my battery on the desk to remind me to put it back in before I unplug.
Hope this helps!
merman637