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Is this worth $650

bobjob186

bobjob186

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
I'm looking into buying a PowerBook G4. Specs: 1.67ghz, 15", 1GB, 100GB, 8x SuperDrive, The casing is in mint condition, a couple scratches on the bottom case. No Dents at all, screen is clean. No applecare though. I can get it for $650, am I getting a good deal, or do they go for this much usually?
 
You can get a refurbed macbook for $750 when its listed on the apple website. $100 more and you get a basically new machine that has 1 year warranty.
 
I would say that's a reasonable price for what will be a decent machine - those PBs were great workhorses and by that time all the problems were resolved. So I'd say why not, providing you can test it + you trust the seller.

Stainlessliquid - that link to eBay is very dodgy - when the Macbooks began in May 2006 at 1.83 Ghz they were Core Duo, not Core 2 Duo as it says in the advert - clearly it's a lie and a con so I wouldn't compare it to a PB on the basis of that.
 
Dimwhit said:
Maybe $200. Granted, I'd be very hesitant to buy a non-intel at this point, so I think being a G4 plumets the value.
Click to expand...

In case you don't know, Apple products retain their value. There are certainly many people who are willing to pay much more than $200 for that powerbook.

Just check the local craigslist.

PowerBook G4, if you don't need to run apps that requires lots of processing power, are actually superior in some ways.

- Instant sleep, instant on
- Does not lose battery power as quickly as intel machines while sleeping
 
Consultant said:
In case you don't know, Apple products retain their value. There are certainly many people who are willing to pay much more than $200 for that powerbook.

Just check the local craigslist.
Click to expand...

Doesn't mean it's worth it. I know it's all about market tolerance, but if you factor out the ridiculous, and just weigh the performance and value of the machine without the nostalgia, it's not worth $650. The LCD backlight wears out with time, so what you have here is an old 15" PowerBook with a relatively weak backlight and slow processor. For $650, it's not worth it, and believe me, I loved my PowerBook. However, since there is no way I could survive with one, I wouldn't go back to a PowerBook.


PowerBook G4, if you don't need to run apps that requires lots of processing power, are actually superior in some ways.

- Instant sleep, instant on
- Does not lose battery power as quickly as intel machines while sleeping
Click to expand...

I guess you don't understand why the sleep mechanism was changed, then. I also assume that you don't know how to switch the sleep function back to the PowerBook days. 😉 Mine behaves the same as it did when I had my 12" PowerBook.
 
jonswan said:
that link to eBay is very dodgy - when the Macbooks began in May 2006 at 1.83 Ghz they were Core Duo, not Core 2 Duo as it says in the advert - clearly it's a lie and a con so I wouldn't compare it to a PB on the basis of that.
Click to expand...

Its probably just a typo. A lot of Ebay powersellers tend to be illiterate psychotic idiots, an accurate ebay auction is almost impossible to find. But hes still a powerseller, so you will be getting a 1.83ghz Macbook of some sort. Even if its just a Core Duo its still a hell of a lot better than the crappy G4.

Its true that powerbooks can sell for $650 pretty easily, but theres also a sucker born every minute to pay such a stupid price. The macbook is a better machine in every category except screen, even the oldest and slowest macbooks trample powerbooks. It is not hard at all to find a used macbook for $600-700, making a $650 powerbook totally not "worth it" since something much better can be had for the same amount. You also need to consider how long you want a $650 device to last, a powerbook is really pushing it today, how much longer can it really last? I have never heard anyone give a good reason as to why someone should buy a powerbook instead of a macbook at the same price, it seems to always boil down to nostalgia or the way they can pretend that they have a "pro" machine just because of how it looks.
 
Abstract said:
Doesn't mean it's worth it. I know it's all about market tolerance, but if you factor out the ridiculous, and just weigh the performance and value of the machine without the nostalgia, it's not worth $650. The LCD backlight wears out with time, so what you have here is an old 15" PowerBook with a relatively weak backlight and slow processor. For $650, it's not worth it, and believe me, I loved my PowerBook. However, since there is no way I could survive with one, I wouldn't go back to a PowerBook.

I guess you don't understand why the sleep mechanism was changed, then. I also assume that you don't know how to switch the sleep function back to the PowerBook days. 😉 Mine behaves the same as it did when I had my 12" PowerBook.
Click to expand...


I didn't say it's worth $650. I said the market value is more than $200. =)

You are right, the back light is weak, extremely difficult to read outdoors under the sun.

I never ran out of battery on PowerBook or iBooks. However, I do know about why Safe Sleep is implemented. Some PC person was telling me about that his friend had a Mac and ran down the battery all the way, thought all work was lost, but didn't lose any work. =)

I have tried to change the sleep mode, neither my attempts or attempts by my Mac Genius friend was UNSUCCESSFUL.
 
Dimwhit said:
Maybe $200. Granted, I'd be very hesitant to buy a non-intel at this point, so I think being a G4 plumets the value.
Click to expand...

Why don't you take a little stroll through the marketplace threads here and find out why $200 is the most insane offer for that model PB.

First, yes, it's dated. I've had mine 3 years and it has successfully ran Photoshop CS, Aperture (though slightly slower than I'd like to deal with), and various other applications. It was my primary computer for 3 years and it wasn't "replaced" but I added a desktop to the equation as I do need more processing power.

I would buy a $650 powerbook over a $650 windows machine any day. That's a fact. I also know I can get $650 for my powerbook today. I would tell the fool offering me $200 what he could do with it. 😉

Bobjob186, Not knowing your computing needs I would say that $650 is indeed on the high end but not at all out of the ordinary. If you can get out under $600 then good for you. If you just need something portable and you have the power you need in a desktop then go for it. It is and has always been quite the workhorse. I would also like to know what video card and what RAM is in there. Is it the 2700 or the faster RAM? I believe in the last model they increased the RAM speed, but I don't recall if that was in the 15" models or just the 17" models.
 
jessica. said:
Why don't you take a little stroll through the marketplace threads here and find out why $200 is the most insane offer for that model PB.

First, yes, it's dated. I've had mine 3 years and it has successfully ran Photoshop CS, Aperture (though slightly slower than I'd like to deal with), and various other applications. It was my primary computer for 3 years and it wasn't "replaced" but I added a desktop to the equation as I do need more processing power.

I would buy a $650 powerbook over a $650 windows machine any day. That's a fact. I also know I can get $650 for my powerbook today. I would tell the fool offering me $200 what he could do with it. 😉

Bobjob186, Not knowing your computing needs I would say that $650 is indeed on the high end but not at all out of the ordinary. If you can get out under $600 then good for you. If you just need something portable and you have the power you need in a desktop then go for it. It is and has always been quite the workhorse. I would also like to know what video card and what RAM is in there. Is it the 2700 or the faster RAM? I believe in the last model they increased the RAM speed, but I don't recall if that was in the 15" models or just the 17" models.
Click to expand...

I agree with Jessica on this one.

At $200 I would snap up a half dozen. I do think that $650 might be a little high, maybe by 50 or 100, but if it's in as good a shape as you say, it's a good price.
 
Consultant said:
I have tried to change the sleep mode, neither my attempts or attempts by my Mac Genius friend was UNSUCCESSFUL.
Click to expand...

Go into Terminal and type in:

sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 0



There's also a Dashboard widget that lets you change it quickly, but this would get you started very quickly.

If you want to change back to current sleep settings (for MB and MBP)

sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 3
 
I wouldn't pay anything for a G4 if I could put that money towards and Intel mac. I'd expect any C2D to spank even the best G5 in most processor intensive tasks.
 
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