The Giant Has Arrived...

[Gamer9430]

After a month of anticipation, a failed deal, a lost bid, and a stroke of luck, I say hello from my 1.33GHz PowerBook G4 17in, or as I like to call it, "The Giant". I haven't used it yet, but from I can tell so far is that;
A) ITS BIG!
B) ITS REALLY BIG!
C) It feels like a desktop in my lap with how large the LCD is,
D) its really comfortable to use and type on
E) It suffers from 10-hours-to-charge-and-drain-itus, the same disease my 15in's battery has, where the Mac reports that it's going to take 10 hours to charge it, and after being fully charged, it will tell me it will go 10 hours until it dies.
F) ITS MASSIVE!!!
G) The resolution is great
H) The audio is great.

So far, I've written this write-up as I usually do with all my new machines (expect another one in the next few days as I have some surprises!), and I've cloned the HDD from my 15in to here. I haven't really done too much. Also, i can tell that the fans in this thing turn on very easily. They may be clogged, but who knows. Eventually I open it up and have a look around. I was nice not having to open up my PB on arrival to fix it, lol. I don't know why @gavinstubb's machines when they got to me didn't work, yet my iBook, Dell, MacBook, this PowerBook, and my Mac Mini all arrived fine from the postal service and worked ok when i first used them .

Anyway, just wanted to do my usual write up that apparently some people enjoy reading every time I get a new machine.

This is going to be a fun machine to have around!

 

[Gamer9430]

(pictures coming soon!)

 

[eyoungren]

The 17's are awesome!

 

[GoldfishRT]

My first Mac was a 17" PB. Excellent machines.

 

[flyrod]

Congrats! It might benefit from a cleaning and a re-paste of the cpu. You could use temperature monitor and record temperatures while running power fractal or something, then clean/re-paste and repeat the test to see what you find.

 

[Gamer9430]

Congrats! It might benefit from a cleaning and a re-paste of the cpu. You could use temperature monitor and record temperatures while running power fractal or something, then clean/re-paste and repeat the test to see what you find.

I will have to do that! Any idea how hard/easy it is to do?

 

[eyoungren]

I will have to do that! Any idea how hard/easy it is to do?

Not easy.

The GPU and CPU are actually mounted upside down. There is a metal bar that runs the width of the laptop that the chips sit on and that metal bar conducts the heat through a channel underneath it that the fans use to blow the hot air out.

You have to remove a number of things just to make the logic board clear to lift out. Then you might have to hit the logicboard with a hair dryer to loosen the old paste.

Honestly, unless the Mac is hitting 145º plus you aren't in any danger. Normal operating range is anywhere between 125º to 145º. Fans kick in at 140º and don't go off until you are back below 135º.

I've pushed 150º before on my DLSD but the CPU was pegged and the drive was busy.

Keep in mind that what you perceive as "hot" tends to be the normal range for the 17's.

You can try iStat Menus and if you see temps in that range that I mention above you're in the normal range. It's only when you are constantly pushing above 140º while doing light work that repasting would be worth the trouble.

 

[eyoungren]

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/PowerBook+G4+Aluminum+17-Inch+1-1.67+GHz+Logic+Board+Replacement/257

Here's where the CPU and GPU sit…

 

[Mnowell69]

After a month of anticipation, a failed deal, a lost bid, and a stroke of luck, I say hello from my 1.33GHz PowerBook G4 17in, or as I like to call it, "The Giant". I haven't used it yet, but from I can tell so far is that;
A) ITS BIG!
B) ITS REALLY BIG!
C) It feels like a desktop in my lap with how large the LCD is,
D) its really comfortable to use and type on
E) It suffers from 10-hours-to-charge-and-drain-itus, the same disease my 15in's battery has, where the Mac reports that it's going to take 10 hours to charge it, and after being fully charged, it will tell me it will go 10 hours until it dies.
F) ITS MASSIVE!!!
G) The resolution is great
H) The audio is great.

So far, I've written this write-up as I usually do with all my new machines (expect another one in the next few days as I have some surprises!), and I've cloned the HDD from my 15in to here. I haven't really done too much. Also, i can tell that the fans in this thing turn on very easily. They may be clogged, but who knows. Eventually I open it up and have a look around. I was nice not having to open up my PB on arrival to fix it, lol. I don't know why @gavinstubb's machines when they got to me didn't work, yet my iBook, Dell, MacBook, this PowerBook, and my Mac Mini all arrived fine from the postal service and worked ok when i first used them .

Anyway, just wanted to do my usual write up that apparently some people enjoy reading every time I get a new machine.

This is going to be a fun machine to have around!

I love mine too. I get it out of it's box from time to time to admire it's design. I have kept it completely original so far, but may try an SSD at some point (just for the hell of it of course!)
If you want a big lummox of a laptop then you need look no further than than the XPS M1730 which i have sitting above my G5. Now that IS a handful but nowhere near as elegant..

 

[garirry]

Nice find! Personally, I find the 17" a little too big for my taste (but then again, never seen one in person). I personally own the 15" model, the Powerbook 5,2, so it isn't the most powerful PPC laptop, but it is quite decent. The only thing I don't like about the 17" really is the fact that the power button isn't centered, which is annoying. But still, it's a really nice find!

 

[eyoungren]

Nice find! Personally, I find the 17" a little too big for my taste (but then again, never seen one in person). I personally own the 15" model, the Powerbook 5,2, so it isn't the most powerful PPC laptop, but it is quite decent. The only thing I don't like about the 17" really is the fact that the power button isn't centered, which is annoying. But still, it's a really nice find!

The 17 is one of those Macs you have to use in order to realize what's wrong with the 15 and the 12.

A full size keyboard with plenty of wrist room that sits comfortably on your lap or a table. Hard to beat.

I especially appreciate it when I have to use my wife's 12" PowerBook. That requires keeping my legs together so the Mac does not fall and holding my wrists up because there's little space to rest them on. Not to mention scrunching my fingers up so I don't miss the keys I want to push.