12" Powerbook G4, too old?

[Finlandboy]

i would buy it, like others said you can sell it if you don't like it (but i don't see why you would want to)

i love mine: 12" powerbook g4, 1.33 GHz, 512 ram, 60 g HDD. There really great computers and as long as you don't plan on doing hardcore gaming or extensive video editing, then you should be fine

 

[Freyqq]

I found a decent deal on a 12" 1.5Ghz G4 Powerbook through craigslist. But, with Leopard around the corner and everything shifting to intel, how snappy will a G4 really be? I will mostly be using microsoft office and the internet, watching videos, and the occasional photoshop, etc. In other words, I don't intend to really push this machine to it's limits, but will a G4 be useful and quick for the next two years? Right now I use my 2.0 Ghz Core 2 Duo PC while I save up for my MBP, so will a G4 seem sluggish to me even on these simple tasks? I guess I'm just worried buying a 4 year old computer. Though, I would have already bought it if it weren't for the fact that I'd have to dip into my MBP savings. The form factor of the 12" pb is just so appealing. What do you think?

Thanks for any advice.

-Ado

I had that exact model with 768 ram for 2 years. I just got a new MBP. Huge difference. The pb is fine if you just do one thing at once. It is really REALLY slow compared to any intel machine. I did a lot of stuff with PDFs and I literally couldn't scroll through one to look for something. It was really really jerky. Its a fine computer to take notes in class with in office 2004. Wouldn't recommend anything beyond that though. I'd go for a macbook..even a rev A.

side note: it was significantly slower than the 3-4 y/o at the time intel-based DELL computer it replaced. Honestly don't know why people used macs before the intel switch. Way way to slow for the $1500 that I paid when i bought it. MBP is awesome though

 

[notjustjay]

I used my 12" PB (1 GHz, 512 meg) from the week of its release up until about mid-August when its hard drive finally began to give out. I needed a computer, and the aluminum iMacs had just been released, so I bought one of those.

This weekend I was finally able to bring my PB to a friend to swap out the hard drive. Not an easy task! There were some tense moments as we accidentally tore out the keyboard ribbon cable from its connector -- luckily we were able to figure out how to put it back, and it appears to still work fine. Whew!

So now I have a renewed PB, sporting a new 120 gig drive and Tiger (I was running Panther all this time). It needs a RAM upgrade, as it definitely feels a little pokey compared to the intel iMac, but I expect it to remain a useful little portable for some time to come. Sadly, its battery is down to only about an hour of runtime.

It's been just about 4 years, which is the longest I've ever had a laptop in active service.

 

[droo94]

The only thing wrong with my 12" G4 PB is that it cannot boot Windows. If I had that option available, this would be my only computer, ever. I love it that much.

I agree with this post with the minor exception that I would run Fusion instead of booting Windows. I'm actually running Panther now but I've pre-ordered the Leopard family pack to put on my PB 12", Mac Mini (PPC), and C2D iMac. I'll be curious to see how Leopard runs on the PB 12".

 

[brandon.vong]

Has anyone noticed sluggish responses with Stacks, playing videos, etc with Leopard on their 12 inch PB? My PB is the last revision with maxed out stats but it seems sluggish with Leopard. I did a fresh install and has the latest updates.

 

[ivan1234]

my brother has a 12'' PB and everything still runs great and he uses it on a daily basis.

 

[Reflow]

Has anyone noticed sluggish responses with Stacks, playing videos, etc with Leopard on their 12 inch PB? My PB is the last revision with maxed out stats but it seems sluggish with Leopard. I did a fresh install and has the latest updates.

How much free space on your HDD do you have? If you have a little left that will cause it to slow down. I have the same model and also have no issues with anything. I have 57GB left on a 80GB HDD

 

[droo94]

Has anyone noticed sluggish responses with Stacks, playing videos, etc with Leopard on their 12 inch PB? My PB is the last revision with maxed out stats but it seems sluggish with Leopard. I did a fresh install and has the latest updates.

No, I haven't seen any issues and I did a fresh install too.

 

[brandon.vong]

I have 40 GB free on my hard drive. Any other thoughts on this? Thanks.

 

[.Andy]

Has anyone noticed sluggish responses with Stacks, playing videos, etc with Leopard on their 12 inch PB? My PB is the last revision with maxed out stats but it seems sluggish with Leopard. I did a fresh install and has the latest updates.

I am in exactly the same boat. Same machine with maxxed ram and upgraded hard-drive. I especially notice with spotlight which is bordering on unuseable since the leopard upgrade. The other time I get beachballs is when I bring up the safari history, sometimes my machine takes 10-20 seconds to become responsive again. I'd upgrade to an intel if (a) I had the cash, and (b) they had a machine that filled the niche currently available. Leopard is great but from my experience I'd probably think twice before installing it again.

 

[brandon.vong]

I am in exactly the same boat. Same machine with maxxed ram and upgraded hard-drive. I especially notice with spotlight which is bordering on unuseable since the leopard upgrade. The other time I get beachballs is when I bring up the safari history, sometimes my machine takes 10-20 seconds to become responsive again. I'd upgrade to an intel if (a) I had the cash, and (b) they had a machine that filled the niche currently available. Leopard is great but from my experience I'd probably think twice before installing it again.

You took the words right out of mouth. I'm contemplating at the moment if I want to reinstall Tiger again, are you feeling the same way? I don't know why my computer is being sluggish. I'm just waiting... hoping... that there will be a suitable replacement. Bring it on Apple! You know you want my money!