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Should I buy the current PowerBook G4?

D

d.garcia.long

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 8, 2005
3
0
I need a laptop, and the PowerBook looks like a great choice, but then the question always arises: "when will the next one come out." Do any of you have any leads?

What I want to be able to do is mostly writing, some design work, a little editing, and a little dvd authoring. In your opinion, do you think I could get this done with this machine, and a little more ram. I need portability, because most work is away from home.

Thanks for any help/advice you could provide.
 
Not only do I think the Powerbook can accomplish your needs, but I'd maybe even look at an iBook if you are using it primarily for writing.
 
Xeem said:
Not only do I think the Powerbook can accomplish your needs, but I'd maybe even look at an iBook if you are using it primarily for writing.
Click to expand...
I'm assuming you meant to include the 14" with iBook because he won't be able to author DVDs on a 12" without getting an external drive. :)

Other than that, I would say Xeem's advice is spot-on... the current iteration of the PB will more than adequately handle your apparent needs.

One word of advice however, how urgent is this need for a laptop? If you can wait until MWSF (January), the possibility of new iBooks is there depending on who you talk to. If you've waited for awhile, what's another month? [/evil] ;)
 
I say no. I have had 2 of them both with lines issue, one with vibrating hard drive issue. The current rev sux. Just look at the forums response to it. To little to late. wait for the intel rev in my honest opinion.
 
i say "yes" also. i have a new pb and i love it. (still need to add more ram though). if you can wait another month, just to see what happens in january, it might be worth it though.
 
Thanks guys

Thanks a lot for your responses, although I will gladly take more. If this were a race, buying the pb now is ahead by a nose, with waiting for the possible new ib in close second, but the race is not yet finished.

Thank's everyone.
 
d.garcia.long said:
I need a laptop, and the PowerBook looks like a great choice, but then the question always arises: "when will the next one come out." Do any of you have any leads?

What I want to be able to do is mostly writing, some design work, a little editing, and a little dvd authoring. In your opinion, do you think I could get this done with this machine, and a little more ram. I need portability, because most work is away from home.

Thanks for any help/advice you could provide.
Click to expand...


always buy when you need it... you need it now, not a few months from now
 
I say go ahead and purchase one of the current PowerBook G4s. They are elegant, powerful, and very portable machines. For your mentioned uses, the 1.5GHz (12" PowerBook) or 1.67GHz (15'/17" PowerBook) PowerPC G4 would provide you plenty of horsepower.
 
I say absolutely NOT. This board is full of more problems w/the current Powerbooks than any Dell forum I've ever seen. In addition, wait 'til MWSF, which is ONE month away. Let's see what Stevie has up his sleeve. Also, "Powerful" DMW007? Come on now, let's be realistic. The current Powerbooks are dated machines, and the next line will completely blow them out of the water in terms of performance, function, and quality (hopefully addressing all of the horizontal lines/hard drive/superdrive issues). JUST WAIT.
 
Veritas&Equitas said:
and the next line will completely blow them out of the water in terms of performance, function, and quality (hopefully addressing all of the horizontal lines/hard drive/superdrive issues).
Click to expand...

Where did you get that information? Do you happen to be Steves best friend? What makes you so sure about all these things? The current powerbooks are nice machines and atm the fastest apple portables around. For the uses the op has the powerbook will be enough for some years. I have a 15 incher since April and it's a nice, fast machine. It is my primary system working as a freelance graphic designer/illustrator. Unless you are editing video/audio for a living or are really into gaming you won't need more power.
 
I just bought a powerbook 17 inch and i couldn't be happier. The powerbook g4 is actually faster than my imac g5 1.8 ghz. buy one you'll be happy you did plus you mention doing some movie stuff and the new powerbooks when they do come out will not have firewire support.
 
If you need one now then I would say yes get one, but they dont represent the value they used to. When I bought my TI 867MHz I went from a 2 or 3 year old 300MHz G3 ibook so it was a big jump. I messed up and didnt buy the 1GHz but the new ones have evolved so little from the last TIs that I dont see too much reason to upgrade.
 
Should I buy the current PowerBook G4?

Yes...buy it now! I have the current OB 12" unit and I love it. I've taken it everywhere and have had no problems with it. I got mine with the Superdrive and it's great. I have saved things to DVD's with no problem. The machine is fast, although I think you might want more than 512 MB RAM.
 
If you take good care of your toys... powerbook

if you dont ... ibook

I love mine, its just scary what might come out in 3 or 4 weeks...

$
 
If you can, wait about a month for possible MacWorld announcement.

Although current PowerBooks do the job, they represent very small evolution from first aluminum PowerBook shipped 2-3 years ago. Most telling is how easily it chokes when running Apple's pro apps.

For instance, 15-inch AlBook was announced over 2 years ago, and today's 15-inch add only these significant changes:

  • CPU clock speed raised from 1.25 GHz to 1.67 GHz
  • Sudden Motion Sensor for hard disk
  • Hard disk speed raised from 4200 RPM to 5400 RPM
  • Faster SuperDrive with DVD+RW and dual layer support
  • Updated Bluetooth 1.1 to 2.0+EDR
  • LCD resolution increased from 1280x854 to 1440x960
  • Replaced ATI Mobility RADEON 9600 with 64 MB to RADEON 9700 with 128 MB
  • Dual-Link DVI output
  • Optical digital audio output
I suppose to some, these represent significant changes, especially since retail price fell from $2,599 to $1,999 (whopping 30% reduction). And if you will be putting in light load on the system, there's probably little reason to prolong the purchase.

But I think far more dramatic updates are saved for Intel PowerBook due next year, just like PowerMac G4 to PowerMac G5 transition. Even if you are unwilling to purcahse the first Intel model, it would be interesting to see what changes are in store (and prices for existing G4 should drop if the replacement is announced).
 
Although I have contributed to the "should I wait or should I buy" threads and am often tempted and undecided myself...

* If you have to ask and debate whether you need the unit, you probably do NOT need the unit right *now*, and should probably wait.

* If you need the unit immediately because you need to work on projects *now*, you would not even have had to ask and in fact, would have already bought it.

Notice I didn't say anything about the qualities of the PB now or possibly one month from now after MWSF: whether you buy it should rest mainly on need.

(And given that you're mainly going to be doing mainstream computing, I doubt you would care if your Word document opened in 1 second, or 1.25 seconds.)

Let's put it this way... if a stranger came up to you and suddenly gave you $1000 US, would you: a) use it right away to help pay for a PB; or b) put it away for one month until you saw what else was available?
 
If somebody is going to shoot you if you don't buy a new PowerBook soon, by all means put off the purchase -- they're only going to take it from you anyways. :eek:
 
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