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I'm back, I'm sorry and I'm looking for advice!

Chrispy

Chrispy

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Dec 27, 2004
2,270
524
Indiana
Hey all, Sorry about the long post :eek:

It seems like I have been a stranger around MacRumors lately. I always complained about how my macs gave me nothing but trouble. I eventually got so fed up I switched back to PC. To be fair to my argument my PowerMacs chirped, my PowerBooks had bad screens and my iBooks had dead pixels haha. BUT, that is nothing compared to what I just went through in the PC world! I want to say I'm sorry for any mac bashing I may have done out of frustration in my last few days as a mac user haha. So here is what happened....

I decided to order a Dell Latitude D610 back in December 2005. When it arrived, I noticed that the screen had some major issues. Anytime something moved it would cause lines to be drawn in whatever was moving. I called Dell and they told me to return it, which I did.

I then decided to get a Thinkpad T43. When I got that, I noticed the screen was bowed and IBM told me to send it back for a replacement. After almost 2 and a half weeks, I got my replacement computer. BUT, after about 36 hours using it the motherboard fried. I sent it off for repair and in about a week I got it back today. It ran for about 2 hours and then BAM.. the same problem all over again. I got fed up today and called IBM to get them to refund me my money…. Uhhhh.

Oh, here is my dilemma. I need a computer and I need it NOW! I have been without a computer of any real speed since mid December. I am using Adobe Creative Suite 2 right now for work and class (Advanced Desktop Publishing). I am currently using the windows version but I can get my hands on the mac one if I need to ;-) What should I do?

I am really torn since CS2 does not have Intel native support on the new macs. I really want to stick with a portable but I don’t want to get outdated technology. If I did get another PC I would try the D610 again probably. Do you think I should do that or should I go Mac again. Also, if I go mac what should I get?

I can get the following for the following prices

Latitude D610 - $1250 + tax
Apple 12” PB - $1350 after rebate
Apple 15” HD PB - $1800 after rebate
MacBook Pro - $1800 + tax (student discount)
12” iBook - $800

(I paid $1450 + tax for the T43 that is going back)

I really don’t know what to do right now as it is a bad time to be buying Apple laptops. I need a laptop that will be strong with CS2 and good for graphic design. I’m afraid of the HD Powerbook 15” because of the screen issues. I need a new computer within the next 2-3 weeks so I need to decide soon. What would you all suggest I do. You have all been very helpful and supportive in the past so I look forward to your assistance :) :D
 
Have you considered a second hand/refurbed PB? And I'm not just suggesting this because I happen to be selling one. If you spend a bit of $$$ now, and then once CS2 is universal, you can sell whatever you, and use that to buy a MBP.
 
I'm sorry for your bad luck. That is a really unfortunate series of incidents, especially with a Thinkpad, since their quality is really very good.

I agree though, that the idea of a refurb PB, or possibly the iBook on your list, sounds like a better buy, than a new PB at this point. Don't know about the Lattitude. You might give IBM one more shot....
 
Other brands you might want to consider:

Acer
HP
Toshiba

Or, just go with a refurb PB for now, then upgrade to a MBP once your main programs go Universal. Trying to run any Adobe product under Rosetta will bring it down to a crawl.

Read this AppleInsider review of the Intel iMac running Photoshop under Rosetta. He says that Rosetta makes things simply unusable.
 
Chrispy said:
(...) I need a computer and I need it NOW! (...) I am using Adobe Creative Suite 2 right now for work and class (Advanced Desktop Publishing). (...) What would you all suggest I do. (...)
Click to expand...

travel to your nearest apple store and buy an ibook that’s ON DISPLAY, after you’ve checked it out.

sell it within the next year or whenever the revision b of the merom mac book pro is out.

- : time & money for traveling
- : g4
- : lost value of ibook

+: easy software transition
+: 99% guarantee of perfect machine in a few days
+: faster, more efficient next generation cpu after upgrade
(compared to actual core duo)
+: no risk of revision a issues
(i'm not a big believer of this, but in your case …)
+: maybe even new cool form factor

just my 0.2€
 
Thanks for the replies. I will have to look at the refub PowerBook and mabe an iBook. Perhaps I should give IBM one more chance to get it right. I thought about getting the X41 tablet but I really would have no use for a tablet PC haha. The T43 was a great match of power and size... sigh.
 
I also have a stick of DDR2 1GB Memory that I was going to use in the T43. If I don't buy something that uses DDR2 then it will go to waste. I'm past the return policy so I can't return it even tho it has not been used :( Maybe I should just keep using my old computer for a bit and see what happens.. I don't know.
 
Go with an iBook now, and then wait for all the software to come out in Universal Binaries and wait for a revision of the MacBook Pro and ebay the iBook and then switch to an Intel Mac. That is what I would do if I were you. Good luck with whatever you do...sounds like you have had enough horror stories with computers to last a lifetime:)
 
Here's another vote for the refurb Powerbook route. As for the Windows options... I'd agree that you should give IBM another try. Their computers are rock solid and more ruggedly designed than almost anything out there. If you get one that has no serious incidents in the first month, then it will last for 3 or more years, easily.

I would stay far, far away from the Dell Latitude 610s -- especially because of your bad track record with computer problems. My school has standardized on 600/610s, and I've seen MASSIVE numbers of them failing after a year or less with logic board problems and random component failures.
 
I think the ThinkPads may be losing their quality now that Lenovo has taken over. I'm starting to see/read about more issues with them.
 
Hey Chrispy!

I would say to go with a 12" iBook right now to hold you over until the transfer. However, rather than but a brand new one, I would go with a used one from someone here on MR. Say a 1Ghz+ iBook that you know has been working good for them, and has no dead pixels. That's one advantage to buying new...
 
Apple has a refurb Powerbook 15" 1.5GHz, Combo, 80GB, Radeon 9700 for $1399. This seems like a pretty good deal. Perhaps I will go this route.
 
Adobe on 17" iMac

I have a friend that got a new iMac so of course he wanted my Adobe CS2. Well, we loaded it on and it really was not all that slow. It was almost as fast as it was on a PB 1.67. I really was supprised. It worked fine. I really did not do much other than a few filters and some touch up on a few things just to try it out but it works. I am going to upgrade to CS3 which hopefully will be out by the end of the year. So, if I were you I would just go with the MBP for now and upgrade to the Universal Binary later. It is not as bad as I would have thought. Cannot wait to see how it goes once it is final. Imagine...Adobe running quickly. Never seen that before personally.
 
AJBMatrix said:
I have a friend that got a new iMac so of course he wanted my Adobe CS2. Well, we loaded it on and it really was not all that slow. It was almost as fast as it was on a PB 1.67. I really was supprised. It worked fine. I really did not do much other than a few filters and some touch up on a few things just to try it out but it works. I am going to upgrade to CS3 which hopefully will be out by the end of the year. So, if I were you I would just go with the MBP for now and upgrade to the Universal Binary later. It is not as bad as I would have thought. Cannot wait to see how it goes once it is final. Imagine...Adobe running quickly. Never seen that before personally.
Click to expand...

Well said. Anyone else used CS2 on the Intel macs? Even more important, has anyone used it on an Intel mac after having used a 1.5ish range powerbook? Thanks :)
 
If I were you I'd go this route: Get a used/refurb PowerBook. Use it until the MacBook comes out - sell the G4 and buy the MBP. You might even wait till a Rev. B MBP comes out. It really comes down to how well Rosetta handles CS2 and how complicated your projects are.

Alternately, if you do decide to go with a PC, I'd stay away from Dell. the ThinkPad is pretty much the best Wintel laptop.
 
I would say don't spend any money on the lottery- you seem to have some bad luck- but maybe it is only with electronics. I have never heard of this many problems with computers= maybe it is all due to your UPS/Fed Ex driver- maybe you pissed them off one time and they are throwing your computers around- it doesnt' seem that one person could have that many issues in that short of time period?!?!?!

I would also get a used PB to get you by if you go/stay in the Mac world or an IBM if you stay/go wintel. Dell sucks 150% more than they sucked before. Every school I have been in in recent years went Dell and they all are breaking down constantly.

As a pro for the Mac world- I have owned/worked with 11 different Macs and only have two problems with them ever. One was the fact that my refurb. iMac that I was sent was not in fact refurb. It was dirty, un-repacked (is that a word) and had a loud fan noise- which apple replaced within four days! The second problem I had was a recall on my 5300 all in one that was dropped off at the tech store for two days and returned free of charge. I don't even remember what was wrong and I never saw a problem- just received some notice of something needing to be replaced or something like that. I have never had a modem, mother board, pixel, processor, hard drive, etc. go bad in those 11 computers! I have never reinstalled the operating system either on any of those machines and of course never a virus or spyware.

On the flip side, my siblings have owned many wintel machines and gone though several mother boards, five modems, three hard drives as well as dozens of reinstalls of software and virus issues. If you needed it for serious gaming then of course you would probably want to stick with the Wintel world.

Good luck no matter what you decide- dark side or Mac side!:D
 
flyfish29 said:
I would say don't spend any money on the lottery- you seem to have some bad luck- but maybe it is only with electronics. I have never heard of this many problems with computers= maybe it is all due to your UPS/Fed Ex driver- maybe you pissed them off one time and they are throwing your computers around- it doesnt' seem that one person could have that many issues in that short of time period?!?!?!
Click to expand...

I know it haha. I'm really hoping my luck will change on this. I just don't understand how I can have these many problems. I had a T42 stolen from me once and now bad T43s so perhaps it is a sign not to use IBM/Lenovo computers haha. Hell, maybe I should just get an Intel iMac and be done with it haha. I just wish CS2 was universal bianary. The old 12" powerbooks with combo drive are down to $1250 on amazon.com so that is tempting as well. If they did not have screen problems, I would get a current model 15" in a second and put my DDR2 ram that I bought for the T43 in that.. sigh it is always something in the computer world it seems. I think I'm really leaning toward mac again tho :)
 
I am in a similar situation...

I need a computer soon, because my pismo is slowly crumbling away. I do not want to spend the 200+ dollars to repair the hinges and battery (it is 6 years old). I heavily use office and endnote and filemaker. Any guesses on how this would work on rosetta?

Like Chrispy, I was torn between the t43 and the 12" pb. I don't like to buy and resell computers, and I'd like to buy something that wold hold out for at least three years. Is a ppc model really something that can do that now?

And for Chrispy: I say avoid dell at all cost. I had one 3 years ago, and it was built like a flimsy piece of junk, the screen was blurry, and had a loud fan. The new dells I've seen don't seem to have improved much. the t43 or the newly introduced t60 looks like the best pc alternative.

but still, amazon rebates on 12" pb look good...
 
I have had similar problems in the PC world. A dell laptop I had ordered in February (BTO) came a month after it was promised. Then when it came, the vent for the fan was broken, but I didn't realize it until the motherboard over heated. I thought it was a quiet computer, but obviously not a Dell laptop feature.

I would try to avoid the MacBook Pro for a couple of months to avoid any problems with software or potential hardware.
 
I've been using a 17" IntelliMac for a couple of weeks now, and I have a 12" 1.5GHz PB (and a dual-2 PM).

I understand that the Adobe Suite is not going to run native, and I don't have CS, so I cannot vouch for how it runs under Rosetta.

However, everything I have runs faster on the iMac (which is, for all intents and purposes, a MacBook Pro) than on the 12" PB, emulated or not. MS Office included. It's all faster.

The iMac is clearly slower running Office than the dual-2 PM, but that's to be expected.

My guess? A MacBook Pro, emulating Adobe CS, is going to be similar to a G4 PB or faster, but not slower - if it runs. The only real question is one of if it would run at all.

So, if it were me, I'd either get a new MBPro or a fairly old and cheap PB or iBook (as pretty much everyone else has already said).
 
a quick question...

jsw said:
I've been using a 17" IntelliMac for a couple of weeks now, and I have a 12" 1.5GHz PB (and a dual-2 PM).

I understand that the Adobe Suite is not going to run native, and I don't have CS, so I cannot vouch for how it runs under Rosetta.

However, everything I have runs faster on the iMac (which is, for all intents and purposes, a MacBook Pro) than on the 12" PB, emulated or not. MS Office included. It's all faster.

The iMac is clearly slower running Office than the dual-2 PM, but that's to be expected.

My guess? A MacBook Pro, emulating Adobe CS, is going to be similar to a G4 PB or faster, but not slower - if it runs. The only real question is one of if it would run at all.

So, if it were me, I'd either get a new MBPro or a fairly old and cheap PB or iBook (as pretty much everyone else has already said).
Click to expand...

Do you have any idea the cpu usage of the imac when emulating office or other apps? I ask because the ibook is likely to be core solo, and I'd like to see if rosetta performance really needs two cores to work well.

thanks very much for your help. this post helped clarify many things.

-c
 
typewriterchimp said:
Like Chrispy, I was torn between the t43 and the 12" pb. I don't like to buy and resell computers, and I'd like to buy something that wold hold out for at least three years. Is a ppc model really something that can do that now?

but still, amazon rebates on 12" pb look good...
Click to expand...

Those rebates on the 12" powerbooks are really nice. I just wish the 12" was using DDR2... sigh.
 
Chrispy said:
Those rebates on the 12" powerbooks are really nice. I just wish the 12" was using DDR2... sigh.
Click to expand...

yeah, it sucks to burn a stick of ram like that. ebay, perhaps? I mean, in the end, the computer is more important than the stick of ram, but it hurts to throw it away.

how is the thinkpad? no chance of keeping it?

-c
 
So if it boils down to apps...and you have testimony now that CS2 and Office run just as good if not better on the intel iMac than on a PB G4. I would think that there is only one thing to consider. Do you want to waste money buying a computer, the value depreciating because you owned it, and because they are going out. Or are you going to save some money and just upgrade completely now. I personally would upgrade completely. I actualy have a 4 hour long photo shoot to do on March 2nd. And I am going to have my MBP there to edit the photos. Pretty nice Green Screen Stuff. If you are planning on waiting till at least then, I could tell you how all that goes with the Photoshopping of all the pictures. I will have over 500 pictures to Photoshop within the next few days after that shoot. I will also be able to tell you about WoW by then too.
 
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