I have a Late '08 20" iMac (2.66 4GB RAM, 500GB HD) and now need a laptop for school, I have been looking around and seeing as the MB are out of my price range (>$1000) I'm thinking of going for a 15" PB G4. I need the machine to run CS3, FCE 4, Pages and Office. Nothing more, What do you think? I will keep the machine on Tiger because PB's seem to preform better on tiger than leopard.
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Powerbook G4 a good option?
- Thread starter iisarenotnobody
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It will get the job done, but any Intel machine would be a better option. The perks of a Powerbook compared to the cheapest Intel machine (Macbook) are the backlit keyboard and a firewire port.
All in all, the final decision depends on how much you could get the Powerbook for.
All in all, the final decision depends on how much you could get the Powerbook for.
sure
My powerbook G4 is chugging along just fine. I use iWork 2008 and Office 2004 in Tiger, which work fine. Not sure about FCE or CS3.
My powerbook G4 is chugging along just fine. I use iWork 2008 and Office 2004 in Tiger, which work fine. Not sure about FCE or CS3.
I can get a PB 15"
1.67Ghz 1GB RAM 80GB HD Superdrive HD screen (1440x960) from mac of all trades for $649,
a White MB with a
1.83GHz Core Duo 1GB RAM 60GB HD Combo Drive for $50 more.
1.67Ghz 1GB RAM 80GB HD Superdrive HD screen (1440x960) from mac of all trades for $649,
a White MB with a
1.83GHz Core Duo 1GB RAM 60GB HD Combo Drive for $50 more.
I'd go for the powerbook since you already have the speed that you'll need in your desktop. Performance of FCE4 might not be quite as good as it would be on x86, but it will be fine. The Intel mac wouldn't be much better.
Adobe CS3 is optimized for Intel Macs I believe. if I am wrong, someone please correct me.
If it will run, you will need to add more RAM if only 1 GBB is provided.
A 1.67GHz PowerBook G4 would work fine for you, but a MacBook (Pro) would be faster - but look for a Core 2 Duo model if you go for a MacBook. Since you already have a fast iMac for your main "heavy lifting" machine, I think you could sneak by with a PowerBook G4.
I use my 12" 1.5GHz PowerBook G4, 1.25GB RAM, 160GB HDD running Mac OS X 10.4.11 as my main portable machine, and it works fine for iWork '08 & MS Office 2008.
I use my 12" 1.5GHz PowerBook G4, 1.25GB RAM, 160GB HDD running Mac OS X 10.4.11 as my main portable machine, and it works fine for iWork '08 & MS Office 2008.
Comparing the latest powerbook to the base model current macbook, the macbook would double or triple the CPU speed in most tasks, slightly less in tasks that rely heavily on the GPU.
At this point, I couldn't go back to my old PowerBook G4, even though it served me fantastically for years.
For very non-scientific reference, at one point I ripped the same DVD with a 1.33ghz PBG4 and a 1.5ghz Core Solo Mac Mini. The mini did it in 50 minutes, the powerbook in 1 hour 36 mins.
At this point, I couldn't go back to my old PowerBook G4, even though it served me fantastically for years.
For very non-scientific reference, at one point I ripped the same DVD with a 1.33ghz PBG4 and a 1.5ghz Core Solo Mac Mini. The mini did it in 50 minutes, the powerbook in 1 hour 36 mins.
Very good posts here. My C2D MB is a portable work horse for me. However I love to travel (even to the family room) with my 12" PB 1.5 Tiger. My PB struggles with itunes coverflow and itunes video. I can open the same video straight to quicktime and it plays fine.
for $50 more go for the macbook. it is an intel processor which you will probably have a better times finding programs that are compatible. 50 bucks to go from a powerbook to a macbook. i wish my jump to have an intel macbook could have been that cheap. i love my macbook over my powerbook any-day.
happy shopping
happy shopping
I just bought a new 24" iMac 2.8Ghz back in October to run CS4 and do all my design work on it, but I still have my 15" Powerbook G4 1.67 Ghz from back in May 2005. I have CS3 and Office 2008 on my Powerbook and they run fine.
Comparing it to my iMac they run slow, but I used my Powerbook solely up until October. I think you would be fine getting the Powerbook and running CS3 on it.
Comparing it to my iMac they run slow, but I used my Powerbook solely up until October. I think you would be fine getting the Powerbook and running CS3 on it.
I would defiantly go for an Intel mac. You are getting like 3x the performance.
if you're wondering whether or not a powerbook g4 will be fine, i can tell you it will. as for the apps you asked, i use cs3, aperture, and final cut pro, amongst others like office (not pages) and regular stuff (entourage, firefox, etc.) on a powerbook g4 1.33ghz and it runs great. it's not fast but it works - if that's what you're wondering. it might get frustrating at times when you must wait for things to load but it won't crash. i've since upgraded to a mac pro because of my impatience and for efficiency purposes but my powerbook remains the machine i carry around wherever i go (where portability is crucial).
i've been using my powerbook g4 for so long now and it's never disappointed me. i can't get myself to dispose the machine. everything still works and is likely to continue working for some time. it looks decent too. i have the 17 inch model and the display is still great. i've since maxed the ram and the hdd space too.
however, if i was in your position, i'd get intel. i was just assuming your question was whether a g4 will be fine. it will.
i've been using my powerbook g4 for so long now and it's never disappointed me. i can't get myself to dispose the machine. everything still works and is likely to continue working for some time. it looks decent too. i have the 17 inch model and the display is still great. i've since maxed the ram and the hdd space too.
however, if i was in your position, i'd get intel. i was just assuming your question was whether a g4 will be fine. it will.
Forgive me for being blunt, but while the G4 may be adequate for your needs, $650 for a Powerbook G4, and $700 for a Core Duo MB (early 2006) is a terrible value.
I guess if you're dead set on getting a 15" mac, that would be the cheapest option, but it's just not a good value for the performance you're getting at $650. Aside from the fact that it's not an intel based laptop (which will run circles around the G4), the technology is over three years old (the 1440x960 powerbook was released in October 2005). A G4 running CS3 with only 1.5gb ram will probably chug pretty darn slow.
A better alternative... buy a Windows based 15.4" laptop (GASP!). I know.. but lets face it, any core 2 duo will pretty much destroy that G4 you're buying for $650. You could always just run a hackintosh anyway.....
thanks for all the posts! I do know its way easier for me to upgrade the ram and HD on a mb than the PB. I will probably go MB, because of the performance gain.
And i would never go windows again even if i could hackintosh it apple just builds it more solidly.
And i would never go windows again even if i could hackintosh it apple just builds it more solidly.