PowerBook 17" - Shall I?

[jacobj]

OK... so I can't think of a reason not to buy the new 17". I am so damned excited by the idea that I can think of no negative angles... OK, the hard drive is slow... big deal. The G4 1Ghz is not as fast as a pentium..but hey, it's still damned fast...

Someone said to me the other day.. "If you want someone to process, give them a Windows Machine; if you want to inspire them, give them a mac"...

that's it really... it's the mentality behind mac that makes me want one.... so, go on someone, play devil's advocate before I part with my hard earned cash..

 

[herr_neumann]

wait for the first revision?

I mean you would never by the first release of a car would you? Don't you wanna wait till they get the little things worked out? I have a 14" iBook 700 and it has been back to apple for a new logic board and I have been told that this is not as much of a problem with the 800.

But, if you can not wait a month or two (I am guessing an update should fall sometime within this time frame, prolly at wwdc) then get one.

 

[jacobj]

ibook problems

I might just wait...

by the way, I was just reading about problems with the ibook. I have the 14" 700Mhz model as well and, to be honest, have had no major problems. But it does crash occassionaly (more than my old PC to be honest), and Safari is next to useless. The damned thing crashes within 2mins of me opening it up. I am trying to find a trend, but it simply feels like I can do no right.

Can anyone think why that might me the case?

 

[sparks9]

If you want to buy a 17 inch you shouldnt wait... it's not long ago they shipped. I think you will wait 1/2 to 1 year before Apple updates it.

Check the Macrumors buyers guide.

 

[gotohamish]

Re: ibook problems

Originally posted by jacobj
I might just wait...

by the way, I was just reading about problems with the ibook. I have the 14" 700Mhz model as well and, to be honest, have had no major problems. But it does crash occassionaly (more than my old PC to be honest), and Safari is next to useless. The damned thing crashes within 2mins of me opening it up. I am trying to find a trend, but it simply feels like I can do no right.

Can anyone think why that might me the case?

If you need it, buy it.

 

[maradong]

Re: Re: ibook problems

Originally posted by gotohamish
If you need it, buy it.

right, if you can t wait go ahead, but i personnaly also think there will be a perhaps minor update to the pb, as the 15 '' is released. perhaps to give them the same features, or anything like that.

 

[Grimace]

Do it. I thought about waiting for the 15.x update or a 17" update, but since I got my 17", I've been ridiculously happy with it. I'm so thankful that I got it when I did instead of scraping by with some other piece of crap, waiting for a little speed bump in an August update.

 

[nanosound]

Hard drive slow? Never noticed. To me, it's the whole package that makes it an awesome workstation...um I mean laptop. With my L1, 2, and 3 caches, it's plenty fast. Unles your crunching the human genome or rendering the next Pixar movie, just go for it.

 

[nanosound]

Hard drive slow? Never noticed. To me, it's the whole package that makes it an awesome workstation...um I mean laptop. With my L1, 2, and 3 caches, it's plenty fast. Unless your crunching the human genome or rendering the next Pixar movie, just go for it.

 

[HasanDaddy]

I'm thinking about the same thing (buying vs waiting)

if we're talking a light speed bump, I"ll buy

but how many people out there are expecting to see a 17" with a 970 at WWDC 2003?

 

[ibookin']

Originally posted by HasanDaddy
but how many people out there are expecting to see a 17" with a 970 at WWDC 2003?

Not me, at least.

I think if you need the machine buy it. As for the iBook issues, the 700 was the 3rd revision of the IceBook, so revisions do not necessarily mean solutions to such problems. On a side note, my iBook 500 had 3 different logic boards, while my new 800 has not been having any problems so far (hope this keeps up...)

 

[jacobj]

right.. I've ordered it and am now having sleepless nights whilst waiting - well not quite, but I am a little excited.

I decided that waiting for a few small marginal performance increments wasn't worth it. I could end up waiting forever for the next rumoured increase.

I'll keep hold of this baby for a few years and then, who knows, I might have the luxury of changing again.

thanks for the majority opinion that I should buy. That's what I wanted to hear.

 

[Kwyjibo]

Originally posted by HasanDaddy
but how many people out there are expecting to see a 17" with a 970 at WWDC 2003?

i personally do not expect to see the chip if they use it in there that early.


Jacobj congratulations, waiting is the hardest part so stick through it try to get some sleep. Your right in thinkign that waiting for upgrades could leave you without a mac for a long time. Think about the ppl who have wanted to buy an ipod since like december. Everyone on the board said "THEY WILL BE UPDATED AT MWSF" because it was about the prduct cycle. Fast forware to the end of april or 4 months later i'm sure many of these people still do not have ipods but they would have loved them if they had purchased in december and been updated now (unless the features are extremely better)

 

[nanosound]

I am still am awed by this laptop a month later. I love the new smell of it. Friends drool over it.

I look at the waiting game this way: sure one could wait, but think of all the cool things you could have done in the time you wait. To me the form factor is the ultimate, so I am not so worried about chip speed, just having a better way to work.

 

[szark]

Originally posted by HasanDaddy
but how many people out there are expecting to see a 17" with a 970 at WWDC 2003?

Expecting? Definitely not.

Hoping? You'd better believe it!


I really want a 17", but I have decided to wait until they (hopefully) come out with a 970 version. I have a Ti 800 to placate me until then.

 

[TheMightyG]

As someone has already mentioned, first revisions usually have some bugs to work out. I'd wait until the 15" al book comes out and see if the 17" featureset gets a bump. Unless you REALLY need it, wait until the next Rev for them to get a better video card in there (ie Radeon 9600). The current Nvidia GF 440 Go is not even as good as the Radeon 9000 in the 15".
Just my $0.02....