Da Bomb. I use mine heavily, and it's never skipped a beat. Still looks great and new, runs like a champ, and is sooooo freakin' easy to carry around.
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Is the POWERBOOK really that Bad???
- Thread starter FRRYY
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It can even handle its drink!
I've had my PB 15 for over 2 years now, it is excellent. Slightly scratched from being carted about, but that's life. Yes there'll be a more powerful version along in 2-3 years, but that's computing for you. Buy it now, you won't regret it an instant. Two days ago I spilled a glass of Medoc over the left hand corner, the screen went all wiggy for a day or so, but it eventually got over it and is now out of traction and back in action... Bet you couldn't say that about one of those Pentium based clones! What? Oh. I didn't know...
I've had my PB 15 for over 2 years now, it is excellent. Slightly scratched from being carted about, but that's life. Yes there'll be a more powerful version along in 2-3 years, but that's computing for you. Buy it now, you won't regret it an instant. Two days ago I spilled a glass of Medoc over the left hand corner, the screen went all wiggy for a day or so, but it eventually got over it and is now out of traction and back in action... Bet you couldn't say that about one of those Pentium based clones! What? Oh. I didn't know...
chaosbunny said:
heh i'm 18 and even i agree with him...her? can never tell on forums
i got a PB 12" a few days ago and LOVE IT The PowerBooks are fabulous. Portables have a higher failure rate than desktops but these issues usually manifest themselves when your warranty is still in effect. My hard drive died three weeks after I got this PowerBook but it was fixed within a week and no harm was done. Stuff does happen, but you will not be sorry to have a PB. I have the 12" model and I am absolutely in love.
ive been using a Powerbook since Feb and its a bloody lovely piece of kit. does everything i want it too (video editing, documents, photoshop, itunes. sometimes all at once!) and very well too.
no pitting problems yet. but it does wobble a little. think its because ive been holding it in the wrong places
no pitting problems yet. but it does wobble a little. think its because ive been holding it in the wrong places
I truly believe you are just speaking from threads you've read. If you owned a PB you'd know that these problems aren't nearly as common. As far as the pitting, this has been reported, but it has not been a problem for enough people to make it a reason not to buy.ITASOR said:
I say get the PB, don't wait for Intel. Buy what you want and what you can afford.
Well, the previous posters speak the truth. The powerbook is a fantastic machine, *but* yes, it is very aged hardware. The G4 is really not the fastest chip on the block because of its crippling front side bus speed, so quite honestly if you think you may want a faster computer a year or two down the line (once Intel's offerings are integrated), I would recommend you buy an iBook. It's half the price for 90% of the computer, and you can still do just about everything you would on a powerbook except heavy-duty video editing.
The powerbook is a great machine, i have had zero problems with mine and it is running tiger.
FRRYY said:Hi all,
I am currently in the market to purchase a 15in Powerbook w/ Superdrive.
Thing is, after doing a lot of reading and searches on this forum, it seems as though there are alot of threads about the problems with the PB.
The most common that I've seen are:
-Logic board failure
-lower ram slot problems
-various operating system problems
My question is, are my searches/the threads totally misconstruing the overall quality of the PB?
I understand there are some people who's PB have not failed on them, but rarely do I see anyone chime in, in any of the threads that talk about the quality of the PB.
Its starting to make me think that Applecare is a necessity when purchasing a PB. Its just that Apple's selling point is that ," It just works..."
But does it really? I've read a lot of posts talking about having to reboot,restart,repair different things, and it seems like a bit too much for me.
Can anyone shed some light on this for me, as I'm starting to lose faith in the Powerbook. Is there anything I can read that will reassure that the PB is a solid piece of equipment?
Thanks to anyone with info
Just to say that i posted a similar thread a few months ago stating my concerns with the powerbook line. I went ahead and got one despite of all the threads about them being problematic. The two weeks that i spent waiting for it were hell because i was sure that i was going to get a dud machine, but there just weren't any problems (fingers crossed there wont be any in the near future too). It all "just worked" and i was kicking myself for not buying it earlier. About whether you should buy one or not, i'd just go ahead, by the time this whole intel thing actually becomes a problem you will probably need a new laptop anyway. Don't let anyone kid you, these powerbooks are FANTASTIC machines!
Powerbook is JUNK!!! Mac Service is Worse!!!
Here's my Powerbook nightmare story... A quick summary...
Purchased brand new PB 12" 1.5g w/ superdrive....
Had to exchange it 3 times in 1 month:
1. DOA CD Drive
2. DOA HD
3. Warped Frame and a latch that didn't work...
About 10 trips to the Apple Store, which by the way is a total nightmare!!!
Eventually I got totally fed up and asked for a full refund... to that they explained "Its passed the 14 days of original purchase, we can't refund you!!" I was infuriated... I hadn't had a working computer for more than a few days!!!
To end the story, I had to raise all hell at the Apple Store, rallying up other angry Genius Bar customers (many of them who also had defected PBs)... go absolutly crazy before someone finally gave me a refund just to get me out of the store...
Now I'm stuck with a 1 gig ram stick that I can't use anywhere... oh and get this.. when I posted this on the Apple.com forums... they deleted my post!!!!
and that reminds me.. my Mac didn't come preinstalled with Tiger, why? I dont know... but they sent me a copy for 10$... which I'm also stuck with....
Thanks Apple!!!! Loved my Mac Classic, Loved my Imac, Loved my Ti Powerbook, might not EVER get a Mac ever again!!!!
Here's my Powerbook nightmare story... A quick summary...
Purchased brand new PB 12" 1.5g w/ superdrive....
Had to exchange it 3 times in 1 month:
1. DOA CD Drive
2. DOA HD
3. Warped Frame and a latch that didn't work...
About 10 trips to the Apple Store, which by the way is a total nightmare!!!
Eventually I got totally fed up and asked for a full refund... to that they explained "Its passed the 14 days of original purchase, we can't refund you!!" I was infuriated... I hadn't had a working computer for more than a few days!!!
To end the story, I had to raise all hell at the Apple Store, rallying up other angry Genius Bar customers (many of them who also had defected PBs)... go absolutly crazy before someone finally gave me a refund just to get me out of the store...
Now I'm stuck with a 1 gig ram stick that I can't use anywhere... oh and get this.. when I posted this on the Apple.com forums... they deleted my post!!!!
and that reminds me.. my Mac didn't come preinstalled with Tiger, why? I dont know... but they sent me a copy for 10$... which I'm also stuck with....
Thanks Apple!!!! Loved my Mac Classic, Loved my Imac, Loved my Ti Powerbook, might not EVER get a Mac ever again!!!!
No problemo
I have a Rev.C powerbook, two complaints :
- I HAVE to clean it at leas twice a day, aluminum NEEDS to be shiny
- the keyboard gets really hot after 4 hours of WoW raids
Go for it, you won't regret it.
I have a Rev.C powerbook, two complaints :
- I HAVE to clean it at leas twice a day, aluminum NEEDS to be shiny
- the keyboard gets really hot after 4 hours of WoW raids
Go for it, you won't regret it.
jonomo said:
Sounds supremely frustrating! I feel your pain.
There's always a chance of bad luck, with any brand. Apple has the TOP record for laptop reliability--but it's still not a perfect record. Warranty fixes issues that may come up, but I cam image getting fed up after THAT much bad luck. Sounds like your PB may have been damaged in shipping to you, if the latch, HD, and optical drive ALL failed immediately.
Sounds like you got some bad people helping you too. I'd report them for sure. Apple ALSO has the best record for effective support--but again, there are still exceptions, and it's still very aggravating when it happens.
I'm 22, starting law school in the fall. I've had my PB a week now and I am completely happy with it. I was stuck with a toshiba as an undergrad and after coveting my brothers pb for a year i am thrilled to be a switcher. While i've never done any major video editting i usually run multiple aps and my PB has handled everything i've thrown at it. Running ichat, itunes, word, and photoshop together would have locked my old computer down, but it doesn't phase my mac at all. Alot of the bitching you hear is very highend type stuff. Ok, so i might not be able to edit HD video at the speed of light, but i would never do it anyway. The powerbook is awesome for 99% of real life users and it is by far the best looking laptop ever. it is great to sit down on BART (san fran area metro line), pull out my PB to work on a document or two and see peoples jaw drop. 2 days ago i had a couple of banker looking types across from me whisper, "Damn, that makes my thinkpad look like a kids toy."
Buy your PB as soon as you can afford it, you will have no regrets. BTW, i think apple is giving students an extra 100bucks off if you buy in the next month.
Buy your PB as soon as you can afford it, you will have no regrets. BTW, i think apple is giving students an extra 100bucks off if you buy in the next month.
kallaway1 said:
Yea, I agree. The G4 has become a very dated CPU. Not so dated that it's worthless, but I think we're at the end of its usefulness. I don't think the current Powerbooks are bad computers. Not by a long shot, but they're not what they should be. I have a 1.25 GHz 15" Rev. A (that's had problems that took 6 months to fix) and I love it. But once the Powerbook line makes the Intel switch, I think the new Powerbooks are going to be incredible machines and a very noticable amount faster than the current models. That said, I don't think Powerbooks are worth their cost right now. Not because of any possible defects, but because of the CPU bottleneck. I would wait to buy one, but if you do buy one now you are definitely not getting a bad machine.
I've had my Powerbook 1.67GHz with Superdrive for almost 5 months now and I love it. Only running 512MB now, but I'm going to be getting a 1gig stick. Its been running great and will probably replace my desktop, since it is rarely used now. My job requires me to travel a lot, so my PB has plenty of flyer miles too. I'm still getting used to having people stare at my Powerbook in the airports I've been through, or it could just be that I'm so attractive . I ran into my first major problem with it thought just last week (see my previous posts). While on its way back from Apple repair, it was delivered to the wrong address, so I should find out tomorrow if the shipping company has found it, otherwise they'll be getting me a new PB. All in all, its a pretty capable machine and glad to have it.
. I ran into my first major problem with it thought just last week (see my previous posts). While on its way back from Apple repair, it was delivered to the wrong address, so I should find out tomorrow if the shipping company has found it, otherwise they'll be getting me a new PB. All in all, its a pretty capable machine and glad to have it.
jonomo said:Here's my Powerbook nightmare story... A quick summary...
Purchased brand new PB 12" 1.5g w/ superdrive....
Had to exchange it 3 times in 1 month:
1. DOA CD Drive
2. DOA HD
3. Warped Frame and a latch that didn't work...
About 10 trips to the Apple Store, which by the way is a total nightmare!!!
Eventually I got totally fed up and asked for a full refund... to that they explained "Its passed the 14 days of original purchase, we can't refund you!!" I was infuriated... I hadn't had a working computer for more than a few days!!!
To end the story, I had to raise all hell at the Apple Store, rallying up other angry Genius Bar customers (many of them who also had defected PBs)... go absolutly crazy before someone finally gave me a refund just to get me out of the store...
Now I'm stuck with a 1 gig ram stick that I can't use anywhere... oh and get this.. when I posted this on the Apple.com forums... they deleted my post!!!!
and that reminds me.. my Mac didn't come preinstalled with Tiger, why? I dont know... but they sent me a copy for 10$... which I'm also stuck with....
Thanks Apple!!!! Loved my Mac Classic, Loved my Imac, Loved my Ti Powerbook, might not EVER get a Mac ever again!!!!
Ok Mr. Angery. Reading this post, I know exactly what you did. Hell, I even knew before you wrote "I had to raise all hell." To get your way, you never throw a temper tantrum. You've probably already been blacklisted by Apple as a "difficult customer."