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Life Expectancy of PowerBook G4 Motherboard?

MACDRIVE

MACDRIVE

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Feb 17, 2006
1,695
3
Clovis, California
PowerBook G4 Ti 800Mhz DVI

It's humming along just fine now, but it is getting old and I've read somewhere in this section that the motherboard is the most expensive part of the computer and that replacing it would close in on the price of a new Apple laptop.

So I'm just wondering how long I've got; would you care to guess?
 
Honestly, it completely depends on the computer. Some die immediately, others go on for years. In either case, if you're past warranty, I wouldn't pour any more money into the machine. Save up for something newer, and if something happens that way, you'll be able to keep on going instead of pulling out hairs trying to fix the PB.
 
Well, one reason why I was asking is because I was thinking of replacing the top case because all the light gray paint around the edge has fallen off, but I just don't know how much longer the insides will last.

It's about 5 years old and has already had its HD and optical drive replaced.
 
As other people have said there is no way to tell. some people still have their apple Is with working motherboards from 30 years ago, so yours could last 30 years to or it could die tomorrow, or anytime inbetween.
 
My experience is short life!!!

MACDRIVE said:
PowerBook G4 Ti 800Mhz DVI

It's humming along just fine now, but it is getting old and I've read somewhere in this section that the motherboard is the most expensive part of the computer and that replacing it would close in on the price of a new Apple laptop.

So I'm just wondering how long I've got; would you care to guess?
Click to expand...

When I bought my Power Book G4, I problem in the first week starting it. I went to the apple shop and they tried again and again until it started. They didn't agree it was defect because it started in the end. Then it happened occasionally until it started to get worse and much worse. When I gave up and took it to the Apple Shop again they admitted it was defect, but the warranty time had run out, so I had to buy a new motherboard. The new motherboard has lasted 16 months and is not working properly now. At the Apple store I am told the warranty time has run out. So you can expect the life of your mac to be approximately 1 year.
:mad:
 
For what it's worth: we still have two 667MHz DVI TiBooks running perfectly (at least they were when shutdown over the last year to make room for upgrades).
 
Life Expectancy of mac?

MACDRIVE said:
PowerBook G4 Ti 800Mhz DVI

It's humming along just fine now, but it is getting old and I've read somewhere in this section that the motherboard is the most expensive part of the computer and that replacing it would close in on the price of a new Apple laptop.

So I'm just wondering how long I've got; would you care to guess?
Click to expand...

When I bought my Power Book G4, I problem in the first week starting it. I went to the apple shop and they tried again and again until it started. They didn't agree it was defect because it started in the end. Then it happened occasionally until it started to get worse and much worse. When I gave up and took it to the Apple Shop again they admitted it was defect, but the warranty time had run out, so I had to buy a new motherboard. The new motherboard has lasted 16 months and is not working properly now. At the Apple store I am told the warranty time has run out. So you can expect the life of your mac to be approximately 1 year.
:mad:
 
I bought my 12" Powerbook G4 in 11/04 new. The hard drive started acting up late last year and I replaced it. So far everything else is working perfectly. I'll use it until it dies.
 
I was a Tibook lover for many years and you should know my original 400ghz Tibook is STILL RUNNING, purchased in August 2001.

I replaced the top case on it as well, wanted it to be brand new

The best thing you can do for you tibook is keep the fan clean, and install the newest 250gb or 320 PATA hard drive that will actually run COOLER than older hard drives. ALso make sure you have maxed out your ram.

A stand helps and make sure the little rubber feet are in place on the TIbook. Apple told me a week after I got that first Tibook that the little feet were there to insure airflow underneath the casing.

Maxed ram and newest hard drives will take stress off the logic board.

One good thing about the DVI Tibooks is they had separate dc in boards. In case of failure you can just replace the dc in. Earlier Tibooks had the dc in built into the board, so it if failed, your whole board was dead.

Also upgrading to a new superdrive also takes stress off the machine.

Think about the upgrades this way: in case of catastrophic failure, you sell the new parts off. Easier to justify the money that way.

Also, somewhere, someone used to sell TiPaint just for the Tibooks. Good luck finding a bottle but it may save you from having to buy a new topcase.


OH CRAP just realized some NEWBIE from Iceland (Magnus Arnason) resurrected a 2 year old thread and I wasted my time on this.

Thanks noob for the time suck time warp.
 
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