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WindowsXPuser

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 15, 2020
52
34
Functional PowerBooks that are in acceptable condition have soared in price lately, and I'm just not willing to pay what people on eBay are charging for them. I'm mainly looking at building a 1.5GHz 15" machine because I found a board for one for $20. Are there any parts (palmrest assembly, display, WiFi, etc) that I should be aware of that won't be compatible with a 1.5GHz model? Are there any other speeds that would be fairly affordable that I should look into? Basically, what should I know going into this? My other option is to convert my 867MHz PowerBook G4 12" to a hacky Mac mini, but that sounds a lot tougher, especially since the dumb logic board is stuck in there because the standoffs are broken.
 
I do not know if Apple did this to the 15" but maybe something to be aware of. They did, they are not inter changable.
 
I think the top lid - keyboard and palmrest went through at least three revisions on 15" notebooks. The DLSD one is unique. Things like PRAM batteries changed a little as well.

IMHO the quickest and cheapest route would be to source a broken/dead 15" of the same era and build from that rather than a jigsaw puzzle from scratch.

From what I have seen, when you add the price of each individual component, usually tested and guaranteed to work, sold on the usual markets, you are not going to save on the breathtaking price of a working PowerBook and you still have to put in the less than enjoyable labour of putting it together and testing that it all works once assembled. Good luck anyway.
 
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