I want to invest in the last produced 17" PowerBook G4. What is the last model number designation for 2006 year 17'' fastest g4 laptops? Need help from the "Real Apple wizzards" lol. Hope I get some feedback. Oh, and what type of solid state drive is compatible with these G4 models?
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What is the absolute best Powerbook G4? Latest 17" model, Most powerful??
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Any mSATA or m.2 NGFF SSD connected via an IDE-to-mSATA or IDE-to-m.2 adapter, respectively, is what you’ll need.
1) 1.5 - 1.67 GHz PB (the latter optiona as DLSD-version with high res-display)
2) mSATA + IDE-converter (http://www.delock.ch/produkte/G_62495/merkmale.html?setLanguage=en or similar)
2) mSATA + IDE-converter (http://www.delock.ch/produkte/G_62495/merkmale.html?setLanguage=en or similar)
The A1139 variant is the "best", and most powerful G4 laptop. It has a 17" 1680x1050 LCD, can support up to 2GB of RAM, has an ATI Mobility Radeon 9700, and comes with a 5400RPM HDD up to 120GB.
You can put in a KingSpec PATA SSD, or you can get a PATA-SATA adapter that will allow you to have a mSATA SSD. Presumably any mSATA SSD should work that way, but some people have had issues with SSD's larger than 128GB. YMMV
I think it has a ExpressCard slot as well, so you can add extras like USB 3.0(though that will require a extra power bank if your devices will draw more than ~500mA), if you can find drivers for them(the drivers probably don't work for 10.5 Leopard, but Linux should recognize the cards). There are also 802.11N ExpressCard add-on's as well, you might look into those if you need better wireless capability.
The highest macOS that these can run is OS X 10.5.8 Leopard, there are many sites where you can find programs that still work on Leopard. Some Linux distro's are still supported, like Debian and Ubuntu MATE.
You can put in a KingSpec PATA SSD, or you can get a PATA-SATA adapter that will allow you to have a mSATA SSD. Presumably any mSATA SSD should work that way, but some people have had issues with SSD's larger than 128GB. YMMV
I think it has a ExpressCard slot as well, so you can add extras like USB 3.0(though that will require a extra power bank if your devices will draw more than ~500mA), if you can find drivers for them(the drivers probably don't work for 10.5 Leopard, but Linux should recognize the cards). There are also 802.11N ExpressCard add-on's as well, you might look into those if you need better wireless capability.
The highest macOS that these can run is OS X 10.5.8 Leopard, there are many sites where you can find programs that still work on Leopard. Some Linux distro's are still supported, like Debian and Ubuntu MATE.
Nope! It's 'just' a "Type I/II PC-Card" slot meant for PCMCIA-type cards.
You can add useful stuff like:
- 2 extra USB-2.0 ports (external hard-drives might need extra power but an SSD within and externa USB-3.0-enclosure does run without any additional power-supply)
- card-readers for all kind of cards or card-adapters for SD-Cards or SD-Card-adapters ...
- etc ... (suggestions welcome)
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https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-g4-models-fastest-processor-on-pbg4.2180222/
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Was there something wrong with this thread?
I too am getting suspicious, so come on, do something to allay our fears 
Why does it have to be the biggest and fastest? There are plenty of 1.5GHz PowerBooks around and that's not far short of 1.67.
A quick look on eBay for a1139 and there's one in the world for sale, from Poland - I reckon anyone on here that has one will be keeping it
Cheers
Hugh
Why does it have to be the biggest and fastest? There are plenty of 1.5GHz PowerBooks around and that's not far short of 1.67.
A quick look on eBay for a1139 and there's one in the world for sale, from Poland - I reckon anyone on here that has one will be keeping it
Cheers
Hugh
I think he wants tailored guidance.
...Which is not a bad thing if you're just getting settled in to new environments. Maybe he literally doesn't know where to start, in which case human influence and intervention can indeed be very helpful.
In that case he should start small and cheap to see if PPC is suitable before jumping in and possibly wasting $$$
Cheers
Hugh
In that case he should start small and cheap to see if PPC is suitable before jumping in and possibly wasting $$$
Cheers
Hugh
Well, right, but at the same time, it also can't be skimpy. PowerPC machines in 2019 need all the power they can get.
To start small and cheap, but still perform competently, I'd recommend a 1.42 eMac. Dirt cheap, and will get the job done.
Well, here's the thing.
If OP doesn't know where to start then why not come in asking which is a good system to start with?
But OP comes in asking for the "best" and latest - which tells me that OP isn't interested in anything PowerPC except for the very last models. Why that is and not an early Intel Mac, only OP knows. But I bet it's an explanation that will only serve to reinforce my skepticism.
I don't have problems helping people with PowerPC. We all have our favorite models and some of us only prefer the DLSDs over everything else. That's okay. What I don't like is an attitude (it seems to me) that any recommendation other than the "best" and latest will be disregarded out-of-hand. Why? Because it's not the "best" or the latest.
That's not why we're here. Sure, to do some things with PowerPC in 2019 you do need as much power as you can get. But there are plenty of other things that lesser spec'ed models are still good at and those models aren't the "best" or the latest.
It just seems like OP has no interest in anything other than that.
And then OP wants to buy one off of us. And it has to be the latest. Nothing else will do. Quite frankly, if I had a system like that for sale (I don't) I wouldn't be interested in selling. But that's just me.
On a serious note for the topic of the thread, the "best" is determined by your priorities. In the realm of most powerful, the A1139 as already mentioned is the winner, but I would argue that if you're not dead-set on a 17" screen, then the A1138 (15" DLSD) is the way to go. This is because it is equivalent in terms of specs, but the batteries can still be found for somewhat reasonable prices.
The 5,8 (1.67GHz 15") is the best choice for power, portability, and the ease of finding parts.
Well guys, no I wasn't (at first) looking for "Tailored help", although now i could use it, as I have yet to find; after weeks of real in depth research, I've still yet to come up with anything?? I'm looking only for: a 17" PBG4 1.67GHz DLSD Hi-Res... idk all i can report thus far is... Dido. Any help? Thanks, for your consideration! * n
It's hard to take you seriously - any of us searching Ebay/Craigslist/Gumtree etc will bring up exactly the same results as yourself?
I have had one A1139(it now belongs to another MR member) and have had a couple of A1138s, which are the 15" equivalent.
There's a lot to like about these systems. With that said, one of the things I've noticed on every DLSD model I've owned/used is that the screen tends to be dim.
If you can live with a lower resolution screen, I'd suggest that the early 2005 would serve you well. It's somewhat less expensive than the late '05, and at least from experience with the 15" model(I've never had a 17" early '05) it's every bit as fast. Even though the late '05 models did use DDR2 RAM, I'm convinced that's mostly for show as it runs at the same speed and has the same memory cap as the early '05 model.
The 1ghz TiBook is still my favorite PPC laptop
There's a lot to like about these systems. With that said, one of the things I've noticed on every DLSD model I've owned/used is that the screen tends to be dim.
If you can live with a lower resolution screen, I'd suggest that the early 2005 would serve you well. It's somewhat less expensive than the late '05, and at least from experience with the 15" model(I've never had a 17" early '05) it's every bit as fast. Even though the late '05 models did use DDR2 RAM, I'm convinced that's mostly for show as it runs at the same speed and has the same memory cap as the early '05 model.
The 1ghz TiBook is still my favorite PPC laptop
As far as finding an A1139 goes OP, I recommend just checking eBay every day with some strategic search terms sorted by time ending soonest, such as:
If you can find one that is easily repairable, that can also be a way to save some money. I have mine listed for parts over in the marketplace forum, so if you did go that approach and need parts, feel free to hit me up.
- A1139 Powerbook
- Powerbook 17
- Powerbook 1.67
If you can find one that is easily repairable, that can also be a way to save some money. I have mine listed for parts over in the marketplace forum, so if you did go that approach and need parts, feel free to hit me up.
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If it’s for the keyboard, then yah, they’d have an easier time looking for an Aluminium MacBook Pro 17" with a much faster processor and the ability to run Tiger and Leopard, as they’re probably a bit easier to track down.