POWERBOOK G4/400 Should I buy it for Under $1400.00

[tbeatty]

I have an IBOOK combo drive which is 2 months old. I have an opertunity to buy a POWERBOOK G4/400 which is almost BRAND NEW. stock model for under $1400.00 prob about 1200 to 1350. Should I buy it and sell my IBOOK? Which is better? I dont need the CD-RW.

[Edited by tbeatty on 10-13-2001 at 09:50 PM]

 

[Speaker]

i say go for it! the difference between the ibooks and the titaniums is the drive, cpu, screen, and price. the big screen is nice, but i dont think its as easy to see as the ibook, so im neutral in that category. plus it makes the G4 have a bigger footprint. if you dont care about the drive, and you can get a good deal (and thats a great deal) on the G4, i think long term you will really appreciate it. i have a G4/400 tower that i bought close to two years ago, and with OS X and all the new apps that are coming out, the G4 is just going to last you longer. apple has really been using their G3 chip out; its just not the chip for all the new applications being made. for current apps, sure the laptops are comparable. the ibook might even be a little quicker because of more mhz. but that wont be the case for long. bottom line - the ibook gives you better bang for buck, but the G4 will be a great machine for years to come. and if youre getting them for the same price, well...

i would just be very suspicious of a titanium for that price. make sure youre not getting a lemon machine.

 

[ThlayliTheFierce]

Now that's a good deal!

Definitely get the powerbook! Speaker pretty much said it all, except that the MHz do not matter, the G4 is a much faster chip. The ones in the powerbooks have a 4 stage pipeline, so it might even outdo a desktop. I would add that the coolness factor is larger with the powerbook as well.

 

[mnkeybsness]

except that the G4 has a 7 stage pipeline, not a 4

i'd be very skeptical and want to try the powerbook out before paying for it

 

[jefhatfield]

USED GEAR

many techies can work their way around almost any desktop that is not up to par...but if there is something wrong with a laptop, it is much harder to fix if you embark on it yourself

the safe thing would be to keep your ibook and only consider buying desktops if the computer in question happens to be used

that's just my 2 cents.

 

[Ensign Paris]

Get the PB

The Powerbook is great, I would get it. But not if are going to be rough with it its not the best option the iBook rules there. My Powerbook is scratched to death!

 

[mymemory]

Sell both and save your money for a new TiBook with combo drive, they may be around the corner. The actual Ti won't worth anything in a few months, is lke the first line of Powerbook G3. The iBook is a better invesment. But, who would complain in having a Ti.

 

[kiwi_the_iwik]

As much as I love the look of PB's, tread carefully when buying second-hand. Jef's right - they're buggers to fix if they go wrong.

I've got 2 friends who bought them new, and they're scratched to bits. They treated them like eggs as well - and put them in bubblewrap before they put them in their carrybags.

Sorry PB lovers - give me a desktop any day of the week...

 

[hinkhous]

Titanium Powerbook

My wife has a TiBook 400 and she loves it. The biggest problem she has noticed is that the screen gets marked up by the keyboard. I think that all in all, the machine is pretty rugged and able to withstand more abuse than any previous laptop from Apple. The biggest example of that is the port door--no more plastic to break off. Another neat feature of the TiBook that not many have made note of is the fact that you don't need to get behind the machine to plug periperals in. If you look between the gap between the screen and the keyboard when it is open, you can see the port icons, and therefore know where each port is. Pretty nifty engineering.

I would echo the sentiment of all other posters in this thread that caution you to try to use the machine first. Unfortunately any and all problems with the machine might not be clearly evident, but you have to ask yourself--Why would they be selling this machine for so cheap. If they sold it on eBay they could get about $200-$400 more. Sometimes you get what you pay for...check it out before you commit. If you do buy the Ti and it works like new, you will own your favorite Mac ever!!

 

[SPG]

As I love to disagree with MYMAMARY, I should point out that the general consensus has been that there won't be a combo drive in the G4tiBook since it just doesn't fit. The keyboard screen marking thing is easily solved with a screen protector available for a few bucks at any mac store. If you need one and it's a good and reputable seller, get it and enjoy it.
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