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When To Replace 12" PowerBook?

J

jamieg

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 28, 2006
37
5
Glasgow, United Kingdom
I will be looking to replace my 12" PowerBook when the intel replacement comes (will it be a 13" MacBook or 12" MacBook Pro? - I can't afford the 15" MacBook Pro!), I'm getting a bit confused!

Will these coming processor price drops affect the price/spec of the MacBook straight away? I dont want to shell out for one to find the has been a drop in price or bump in spec soon after.

With these price drops are apple likely to put 2.33GHz T2700 into higher end laptops (or even in MacBooks)? Do you think its wise to wait and see what happens once the 2.33GHz T2700 is out there before replacing my 12" PowerBook?

In fewer words, WHEN will it be safe to replace my 12" PowerBook without wishing I held out for a few weeks/months more?

Thanks in advance for any informed/inteligent replies.

Jamie
 
jamieg said:
In fewer words, WHEN will it be safe to replace my 12" PowerBook without wishing I held out for a few weeks/months more?
Click to expand...

The boring answer is "when do you need to replace it". If you're struggling along now on a 12" PowerBook wasting valuable time waiting for tasks to complete, or pulling your hair out at the sluggishness of the whole thing, then "As soon as possible" is the answer.

If you don't really need to replace your 12" PowerBook, then the correct answer is "as long as you can possibly wait". This will mean you can wait until after the Intel price cuts have had a chance to trickle through the system, and you can see if Apple drops their prices accordingly.

Will these coming processor price drops affect the price/spec of the MacBook straight away? I dont want to shell out for one to find the has been a drop in price or bump in spec soon after.
Click to expand...

More boring answers: nobody knows, and anybody who says they do is talking out their arse. Apple has a history of keeping prices stable for fairly long periods of time, even across entirely new revisions of a product. It is unknown if Apple will pass on a CPU price drop from Intel or not. They may. They may not. Again, if you don't have a really desperate need to replace your 12" PowerBook now, then you can wait and find out. If, on the other hand the speed and features of your 12" PowerBook are costing you money (and time), then a potential price drop in the future shouldn't worry you, as the savings in time you will have recouped from the new MacBook should have covered the difference.

Well that's the way I look at it anyway :D
 
jamieg said:
12" PowerBook- 1.33 GHz PowerPC G4, 512 MB DDR SDRAM, OS X 10.3.9
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Get 10.4 and wait for a new model with Leopard. Maybe a new stick of memory?

The Intels are overrated right now, IMO.
 
Tiger's overrated too. Don't waste the money on an OS whose main differences include Spotlight and Dashboard. Those two features aren't worth an extra hundred bucks. I have the same computer as you, except with Tiger and 1.25 GB RAM. My theory is to wait at least until next Fall ('07) because that's when my AppleCare runs out. But from a purely financial standpoint, it's not worth replacing the computer until it dies, you completely outgrow it, or some idiot offers you a ton of money for it.
 
I won't buy a new Mac until Leopard is included. I'm factoring the cost of Leopard into the total cost, because if I buy a MB when it comes out (and it will soon since they're reportedly in production), I don't want to pay and buy Leopard later. I don't have that much money, and I really want to see where all this Windows/Linux (Intel distributions) on Macintoshes leads. I wanna see if Microsoft somehow tries to ruin the party.
 
dferrara said:
The Intels are overrated right now, IMO.
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Amen.

Your computer's just fine for now. Your PowerBook is still a great computer. As long as it's doing everything you need it to do, there's no reason to upgrade. I really wouldn't worry about upgrading to Tiger either. Save up some money, see what happens in the next few months, and go from there. As others have said, I wouldn't buy a replacement until Leopard comes out, as you'll probably want to upgrade to that anyway, so save yourself a little bit of money there.
 
jamieg said:
In fewer words, WHEN will it be safe to replace my 12" PowerBook without wishing I held out for a few weeks/months more?
Click to expand...

NEVER, if it holds true that the 12" line is going to be discontinued. I won't give away my 12" PB before either the PB or I have passed away (whatever happens earlier) ;-)
 
weg said:
NEVER, if it holds true that the 12" line is going to be discontinued. I won't give away my 12" PB before either the PB or I have passed away (whatever happens earlier) ;-)
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Hahaha, yeah I feel the same way about mine. Just have to sort the fan issue out somehow...
 
jamieg said:
In fewer words, WHEN will it be safe to replace my 12" PowerBook without wishing I held out for a few weeks/months more?
Jamie
Click to expand...

You would consider hanging on to it. So far, Apple did not announce a replacement for this form factor. There are talks of a 13.3", but I would consider that an ibook replacement. I have a 12" PB and a MBP.
 
I've got a 12" PB and am in the same boat. I'm definitely looking to sell mine before the 13" iBook replacement crushes the resale value.
 
sjshaw said:
I've got a 12" PB and am in the same boat. I'm definitely looking to sell mine before the 13" iBook replacement crushes the resale value.
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People on ebay do not always think the way all of us do. A Powerbook 12-inch will not be hit too terribly bad by the MacBook. Some yes, but it won't cut it in half or anything. The current 12-inch with max memory seems to get about $1050-$1100 right now on ebay.

I'm keeping mine thus far because Apple is not giving me anything better to buy! The Mac Book Pro is phenomenal, but the display is too big. I don't want to haul that around.

Next, the MacBook may come out as a 13-inch, which would be perfect for me. However, it is going to be white like an iBook. I don't want that. In my opinion, the aluminium notebooks by Apple are one of the most beautiful products people have ever devised.

Overall: I'd be happy to sell my Powerbook and get a Mac Book or Mac Book Pro 13-inch, but I need it to be the aluminium case. If that doesn't come out, I guess I'll keep the Powerbook a long time.

However, I would not say the intels are overrated. The intel machines are so far ahead in performance. The G4s are still usable machines, but the intels are just amazing. I have an iMac Core Duo I use at my desk, and it is a different world, so much more I can do with it.
 
powerbook911 said:
People on ebay do not always think the way all of us do. A Powerbook 12-inch will not be hit too terribly bad by the MacBook. Some yes, but it won't cut it in half or anything. The current 12-inch with max memory seems to get about $1050-$1100 right now on ebay.
Click to expand...

Agreed, but I prefer to sell my Apple stuff to knowledgable people, which means they're also knowledgeable about price. I've had too many bad experiences on eBay.
 
powerbook911 said:
In my opinion, the aluminium notebooks by Apple are one of the most beautiful products people have ever devised.
Click to expand...

Yes! I'm so glad the MBP retained its aluminum heritage. After all, it is basically perfect. :) Maybe find another alloy to prevent dents or increase heat dissipation, but other than that...

Pass on Tiger, I know I suggested it, but they're right. You have Exposé, which is all that matters on a 12-inch. If you're a student you get it for cheap, but with Leopard coming up, there's no rush.

I just bought a 12-inch PowerBook. My decision was time-constrained, but what's so hot about MacBook? Display improvements aside, an iSight, a marginal boost in performance, not "Pro"... and if it features an iBook-style keyboard, I'll laugh all the way to Cupertino with my PB.
 
same boat

I personally know a bunch of people who have exactely that problem. I suppose as soon something (12/13" whatever) gets announced, you won't be the only person trying to get some money for the G4 PB.
But as most of us don't know what will be announced, it's a game.
Sell it tomorrow for good money and wait 300 days for the replacement or use it another 300 days and loose maybe another 500$.
md11
 
Yeah, myself I am upgrading the moment MacBooks come out. Why? Simply because ever since getting my 15 inch in 2003 I have wished I went for the 12. But back then the 12 was underpowered and I needed a laptop for college. Well in one year I'll be graduating and leaving college, and I was originally just going to update then - however - with this news of Intel, Windows booting, and a MacBook rumored to be 13" with the same horizontal res as my 15"? Where do I sign up ;) My Tibook's warranty just ran out last month and I felt it would be good using a small laptop for my last year at college. Anyway, what sold me to upgrade was Boot Camp. I have lots of old games from before I bought my TiBook that I just couldn't play anymore. But now with the prospects of picking them up again just closes up the deal. Initially I was going to wait for a tablet Mac but I figured that a small MacBook would suite my needs better - even if I really like touchscreens.

And I do use Adobe products professionally and I do find it funny that people are telling people to hold off on purchasing. Most Graphic Designers I know use 7 year old machines exclusively. Then at work most places I've seen just cycles every 4 years. I'm assuming from Jobs keynote that these Adobe apps will run at least as fast as my 1Ghz on these duoCore machines. If so that'll suite my needs just fine until CS3 debuts.

(normally I'd want to upgrade every 4 years but it seems I typically upgrade every 3, mostly to situations like this - got my first PC in 2000, first Mac in 2003, now I am grabbing another in 2006)
 
7on said:
And I do use Adobe products professionally and I do find it funny that people are telling people to hold off on purchasing. Most Graphic Designers I know use 7 year old machines exclusively. Then at work most places I've seen just cycles every 4 years. I'm assuming from Jobs keynote that these Adobe apps will run at least as fast as my 1Ghz on these duoCore machines. If so that'll suite my needs just fine until CS3 debuts.
Click to expand...

7 years!? :eek: You know some strange designers, my friend. I'm typing this on a Dual 2.7 GHz G5 at my university.

Then again... tuition rates do go up every year.

(normally I'd want to upgrade every 4 years but it seems I typically upgrade every 3, mostly to situations like this - got my first PC in 2000, first Mac in 2003, now I am grabbing another in 2006)
Click to expand...

Ah, so true. Every once in a while, a machine is so amazing you keep it for 5-6 years plus. Lets hope we get some of those. :)
 
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