[sanford]

I'm trying to decide whether to upgrade from a 667/Combo/VGA-out TiBook and Quicksilver 867 desktop to a new system. Key to that decision is a quiet, preferably silent, computer. Although I'd consider my TiBook to be relatively silent, I can't convert to using it as my primary machine because the 30GB hard drive won't quite cut it in the area of music storage. Also, the lack of DVI-out prevents me from connecting my Apple 17" Studio flat panel with an ADC converter.

The G5 is out because of noise -- I'm sure it won't be particularly quiet -- and it's over-powered for my needs. I'm not opposed to a desktop, like an iMac, because I'd hang on to the TiBook for portability. Indeed, the Quicksilver is more than sufficient for my needs, I love the Studio display, and it's all quite clean and neat with the tower on the floor, but the fan noise is driving me batty. Are iMacs very quiet or silent?

Ideal would be the 17" PowerBook, but, of course, it comes at a less than ideal price. And I've heard that while the fan, hard drive and CD drives are very quiet, some or all of the 17s emit a buzzing noise from under the keyboard, and that would likely rival the Quicksilver fan in annoying me. Unfortunate, because working from a single portable computer with desktop features instead of a desktop/laptop combination would greatly suit me.

The 12" while an absolute steal at the going prices, and apparently dead quiet, is probably out for me due to the small screen size and lack of DVI-out to remedy that situation.

Last on the agenda is an upgrade to a 1 GHz TiBook with DVI, providing both a desktop and laptop solution. But I've read some noise complaints about those models.

Any advice from people familiar with a wide range of systems? My inclination, facing the lack of anything close to my concept of perfection, is to wait it out another 18 months or so and take a look at what's available then. I can make numerous excuses for upgrading, but don't have burning need for a faster, more feature-laden system. One caveat: I'd like to make the decision to buy or hold off for a long while within the next couple of weeks. I'm about to begin work on a project that will take at minimum six months and I don't want to change horses in midstream: it's a distraction I don't need.

[Drakino]

You could always spring for a 1.2gHz G4 Cube. Even with the CPU fan, they are still very quiet.

Buy a G4 Cube here.

[sanford]

Originally posted by Drakino:
You could always spring for a 1.2gHz G4 Cube. Even with the CPU fan, they are still very quiet.

My wife has a Cube and we love it, but if I'm going to spend a couple thousand dollars, I'd like to get something that's currently shipping and not discontinued quite awhile ago.

That's not to detract from the Cube: I briefly considered upgrading it to meet current standards for performance and swapping the Quicksilver to her, but two things stopped me: I'm not inclined to the technical aspects of managing significant upgrades (I'm a works-out-of-the-box sort of computer user) and the cost to upgrade tallied up to about the price of a new Mac, so there we run into the currently shipping vs. discontinued argument again.

[sanford]

I notice that Online Micro has the 17" PowerBook G4 for $2,889. Why does this make me nervous? I can't see how they're selling these Macs at that price without losing money.

Otherwise, Apple offers a refurbished 17" PowerBook for $2,999 -- but at those prices, I greatly prefer brand new and untouched.

Unless Apple suddenly drops the retail price of the 17" PowerBook to $2,900 for a brand new system, I think I'm going to have to resign myself to living with the fan noise from my Quicksilver and using my TiBook as the portable alternative.

[schmoe]

Didn't one of the Apple execs say the G5 is going to be ultra quiet? From http://www.apple.com/powermac/:

Designed for whisper-quiet operation
The Power Mac G5’s enclosure houses four discrete thermal zones to compartmentalize the primary heat-producing components. Fans in the zones spin at very low speeds resulting in a system three times quieter than the Power Mac G4.

I haven't had any significant noise problems with my Ti 1ghz, it is on an iCurve and the loud fan only comes on when I've been putting a heavy load on the system for a bit. I do sometimes hear the "static" or "buzzing" which I assume is electrical interference. I haven't seen a laptop without that in a while... it is very quiet, you can only hear it when the house is completely silent.

[Drakino]

Originally posted by sanford:
I'm not inclined to the technical aspects of managing significant upgrades (I'm a works-out-of-the-box sort of computer user) and the cost to upgrade tallied up to about the price of a new Mac, so there we run into the currently shipping vs. discontinued argument again.

Well, the above link does go to a vendor who does all the work for you. You open the box, and boot up your G4 Cube, running at 1.2gHz. Possible upgrades that they will also install will grant you Quartz Extreme, and an iDVD compatible Superdrive.

Still dosen't get around the discontinued argument though. But being the owner of a discontinued computer, and car MP3 player (the empeg) has had many benefits that no newer product in either market has matched to date. With the mass community surrounding both products, I am sure both will last me longer then a 3 year warranty on a new product now. CubeOwner.Com has information on a repair service for G4 cubes offered by an authorized Apple Service center.

[beachmark]

Originally posted by sanford:
I notice that Online Micro has the 17" PowerBook G4 for $2,889. Why does this make me nervous? I can't see how they're selling these Macs at that price without losing money.

Otherwise, Apple offers a refurbished 17" PowerBook for $2,999 -- but at those prices, I greatly prefer brand new and untouched.

Unless Apple suddenly drops the retail price of the 17" PowerBook to $2,900 for a brand new system, I think I'm going to have to resign myself to living with the fan noise from my Quicksilver and using my TiBook as the portable alternative.

There is this company in montan called allied computing and they are selling new powerbook 17inch for usd3100 cash price and no tax

[sanford]

Originally posted by schmoe:
[B]Didn't one of the Apple execs say the G5 is going to be ultra quiet?

Indeed, yes the G5 is supposed to be very quiet. When they state 3 times as quiet as the G4, I'm assuming they mean 3 times as quiet as the PowerMac G4 with mirrored drive doors, which was some significant amount louder than Quicksilver.

So, when I mentioned the fan noise from the G5, I was placing it in comparison with something like the 17" PowerBook: quiet but still not almost entirely silent like the PowerBook. I wonder if I could ever find a quiet enough moment in an Apple Store to test just how quiet the G5 *really* is.

As things go, without a significant price drop in the 17" -- 3rd party retailer discounts notwithstanding -- I'll likely just put the idea of an upgrade off into the indefinite future. Unless there's some striking change at Apple in the next couple of years, Macs will only get more elegant, faster and perhaps somewhat cheaper -- at least in price/features ratio.