Short of getting a new Powerbook, I'd like to get suggestions on upgrading. New CPU? RAM? Battery? Optional Drive bays? My budget is a thousand bucks. I use it primarily for design and Photoshop work. Thanks.
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What's the best way to upgrade Pismo?
- Thread starter kaishakunin
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I thought about that but I can't seem to let go of the Pismo. So what are my options? G4 cpu upgrade or the G3 800? Which would be best? Ok more ram... anything else? Bluetooth in the USB? Is there a decent CD burner for the drive swappable bay? Again, all or any suggestions will be a great help.
my pismo
i recently sold my pismo (after years of great use). i upgraded my 500 MHz G3 to a 500 MHz G4 and felt a great improvement in speed. i feel the upgrade really gave me another year or so with the pismo. i also upgraded the RAM.
with that said, i recently purchased a new powerbook simply because i needed one for college and i knew the pismo wouldn't be able to handle it. i personally loved the pismo's hot-swappable drives and that's a major reason i didn't upgrade to the TiBooks. there are a great deal of hot swappable CD and even DVD burners (1 i think) that are offered for the pismos. also, bluetooth in the usb port could always help. with that said, i was able to convert a long-time windows user into a partial mac user by selling him my pismo along with some extras. he loves it so much that he is considering purchasing a ibook or a powerbook!
check out this site for powerbook upgrades: PowerBook Upgrades
i recently sold my pismo (after years of great use). i upgraded my 500 MHz G3 to a 500 MHz G4 and felt a great improvement in speed. i feel the upgrade really gave me another year or so with the pismo. i also upgraded the RAM.
with that said, i recently purchased a new powerbook simply because i needed one for college and i knew the pismo wouldn't be able to handle it. i personally loved the pismo's hot-swappable drives and that's a major reason i didn't upgrade to the TiBooks. there are a great deal of hot swappable CD and even DVD burners (1 i think) that are offered for the pismos. also, bluetooth in the usb port could always help. with that said, i was able to convert a long-time windows user into a partial mac user by selling him my pismo along with some extras. he loves it so much that he is considering purchasing a ibook or a powerbook!
check out this site for powerbook upgrades: PowerBook Upgrades
max out the ram to 1GB, put in a 5400 RPM HD, and go for the G4 if you're using photoshop and such...they'll take advantage of the altivec. New battery is ~130, might want to get a new pram battery as well, just in case. For most of that stuff I would suggest www.otherworldcomputing.com. There are lot's of expansion bay options, just depends on what you want.
That said, Honestly I have to agree with what was said above...take the $1700 or whatever and buy a 12" G4...maybe one of the older models. Watch www.powerbookcentral.com for specific deals.
That said, Honestly I have to agree with what was said above...take the $1700 or whatever and buy a 12" G4...maybe one of the older models. Watch www.powerbookcentral.com for specific deals.
I put 1 GB of ram in my Pismo about a year ago and it helped quite a bit. However, something recently has caused it to run like a dog. Very disappointing, but I can't figure out the cause.
Anyway, I wish this co. had the budget for a newer machine. They bought the Pismo days after it came out at 500 Mhz.
Anyway, I wish this co. had the budget for a newer machine. They bought the Pismo days after it came out at 500 Mhz.
Thanks to you all. I do want to upgrade to a new Powerbook 15" (who wouldn't?) but right now, I want to make the most of the time my Pismo and I have left (sniff...) and max her out.
Sseriously, all your advice has been so much help. Now to try and actually do it. I've recently just upgraded the hardrive to 60GB though I don't know if it's the 5400rpm you were recommending. (I just needed the space)
Will try to keep you posted on further developments. And you never know, if a bag of money falls on to my lap...hello PB 15"
Again, my thanks.
Sseriously, all your advice has been so much help. Now to try and actually do it. I've recently just upgraded the hardrive to 60GB though I don't know if it's the 5400rpm you were recommending. (I just needed the space)
Will try to keep you posted on further developments. And you never know, if a bag of money falls on to my lap...hello PB 15"
Again, my thanks.
For what it's worth I love my Pismo so much I have maxed out the ram to 1 gig, added a 60 gig 7200 rpm Hitache drive, ordered a super drive from MCE and have a G4 from fastmac on order too. It may not make sense to all but I like the form and desigh of the Pismo much more than the new aluminum powerbooks. It's more than fast enough for the general work I do. Have fun.
@Dustin
My sentiments exactly. Thanks you sir, glad I'm not alone. How much did it cost if you don't mind my asking?
My sentiments exactly. Thanks you sir, glad I'm not alone. How much did it cost if you don't mind my asking?
I don't keep accurate records but the drive came from other world computing I think for around 299, the superdrive from MCE is around 439 and the G4 is from fast mac around 289, the last two haven't been installed yet, the superdrive is out of stock until the first of november and the G4 is waiting until I can live without the Pismo for a week or ten days, the 7200 rpm drive makes boot up a lot quicker, I think when it is done I will have the best of both worlds and should carry me until the second generation G5's arrive. I sure wish Apple would make the case of the new powerbooks out of the same material as the Pismo, so much nicer than titanium or aluminum in my opinion. If I could find a way to update the screen to a more recent and brighter unit I could keep going a lot longer. Nice topic.
I have my 2 pismos and I'm gonna sell 2 of them. For what I need (VJ) more video ram is require and that is something not upgredable, just because of that one. I wish I could.
I'm selling this two to get 2 new 12", may be a new one and a old one. I need to do a lot of video processing and 2 months ago I was doing a 30sec animation in After Effects, it was very heavy composition, it took 1hour and 20 minutes to complete. In 12" took 9 minutes. I have 245MB Ram and G3 500.
I really would like to keep my two pismos at list but I think I'm going for just one this time. I can use it for music at list while I can get an external LCD for the 12".
I'm selling this two to get 2 new 12", may be a new one and a old one. I need to do a lot of video processing and 2 months ago I was doing a 30sec animation in After Effects, it was very heavy composition, it took 1hour and 20 minutes to complete. In 12" took 9 minutes. I have 245MB Ram and G3 500.
I really would like to keep my two pismos at list but I think I'm going for just one this time. I can use it for music at list while I can get an external LCD for the 12".
@ Dustin
Thanks for the prices, wow you're going all out in this...I guess that is the best way to keep our machines going. I'm with you on the screen thing, mine has been giving me problems of late (flickering, color shifts and fades) and it's freaking me out sometimes. So far, like I said, I've only got the hardrive done, and it is hard to let go for 10 (or more!?!) days to get the CPU done. I'm working on the ram next.
@mymemory
Yes I guess it would be more practical for you to get a 12". Sad to hear the Pismo(s) go though...(You have 2?!?) Questions though, do you do your VJ work live? or is the material pre-edited and set to music already? Sounds like an interesting job. Would like to hear more about it sometime.
Thanks for the prices, wow you're going all out in this...I guess that is the best way to keep our machines going. I'm with you on the screen thing, mine has been giving me problems of late (flickering, color shifts and fades) and it's freaking me out sometimes. So far, like I said, I've only got the hardrive done, and it is hard to let go for 10 (or more!?!) days to get the CPU done. I'm working on the ram next.
@mymemory
Yes I guess it would be more practical for you to get a 12". Sad to hear the Pismo(s) go though...(You have 2?!?) Questions though, do you do your VJ work live? or is the material pre-edited and set to music already? Sounds like an interesting job. Would like to hear more about it sometime.
Argh! As if my upgrading chioces weren't difficult enough, Apple decides to throw me a curve and comes out with a new G4 iBook! So many choices, so little money...sigh.
Pismo's still got 4x the cache...don't forget that, makes a BIG difference. Although what really matters now is what upgrade processor you put in it. Too bad they don't ahve a faster G4 card...
Sorry I wish I knew how that (4x cache) worked...and how do I make the most of it? While in the subject of processor cards, do you suggest I go for the G4 card? I agree, i hope they come up with a faster card soon, that would make the choices easier to make. (I think.)
Oh how does the graphics card stack up though between the two? Maybe this questions should go to another thread...
Oh how does the graphics card stack up though between the two? Maybe this questions should go to another thread...