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peeb · Feb 25, 2007, 03:54 PM

OK, so I have a 1.67 15" PB, with 1.5gb, 80gb, 3 yr applecare, bought December 2005.
When Leopard comes out, I want to upgrade, and also want a bigger hard drive. I will most likely upgrade iLife and iWork too.
I was thinking of getting a 120gb drive at the same time I get Leopard, but to preserve my applecare, I'll have to get it fitted by a dealer. (300USD or so)

My question is, what do you think the differential in just selling it, and getting an MBP would be? My absolute price ceiling for the replacement is 2000, but refurbs are fine. I'm looking at the medium term (3-4 year) viability of the PPC platform. I don't need more speed than I have right now, but I do need more space.

I know I know, there are no right answers to this, but ideas?

mduell · Feb 25, 2007, 04:07 PM

Dump it for a C2D refurb.

There's the obvious performance boost (your PowerBook is pretty much maxed out), and we're already starting to see new Intel-only features from Apple like the EVDO/HSPDA drivers.

slpdLoad · Feb 25, 2007, 04:22 PM

What about a portable, firewire-powered external HD? That way your extra space will be seperate from your computer upgrade path.

Homer1946 · Feb 25, 2007, 04:29 PM

If your ceiling is $2000. A 2.16Ghz C2D 15 inch MPB is $2000 and it comes with 1GB of RAM and a 120GB HD. Another 1GB of RAM is $150. So basically you can buy a MBP outright for your ceiling.

peeb · Feb 25, 2007, 04:54 PM

Originally Posted by slpdLoad

What about a portable, firewire-powered external HD? That way your extra space will be seperate from your computer upgrade path.

Yeah, I already have an external, but it's a pain, and limits portability. I work part time at a company, and consult from home and coffee shops part time - the external is a pain.

peeb · 05:06 PM

Originally Posted by Homer1946

If your ceiling is $2000. A 2.16Ghz C2D 15 inch MPB is $2000 and it comes with 1GB of RAM and a 120GB HD. Another 1GB of RAM is $150. So basically you can buy a MBP outright for your ceiling.

I guess I was not really clear about that - I don't have 2000 on hand, but that is the limit that I want to spend. I was wanting to weigh what I might get for my pb (I'm guessing 800-1000?), minus the cost of upgrading (300 for the drive, 150 for Leopard, 120 for iLife etc), plus the extended life-span of the MBP and see if I could make it look cheaper to replace it than upgrade....

slpdLoad · Feb 25, 2007, 04:59 PM

Originally Posted by peeb

Yeah, I already have an external, but it's a pain, and limits portability. I work part time at a company, and consult from home and coffee shops part time - the external is a pain.

Makes sense. It seems like the availablity of a MBP in your price range has already been established, so what about getting a regular MB? I only say this because you can install your own HD without voiding any warrantys. Just a thought.

peeb · Feb 25, 2007, 05:05 PM

Originally Posted by slpdLoad

what about getting a regular MB? .

I could - I certainly don't use the graphics card for gaming, but I do hook up to an external monitor at work to get two displays - can the MBs do that these days? I also love the widescreen feel of the PB... What else would I loose with the MB over the MBP?

slpdLoad · Feb 25, 2007, 06:05 PM

Originally Posted by peeb

I could - I certainly don't use the graphics card for gaming, but I do hook up to an external monitor at work to get two displays - can the MBs do that these days? I also love the widescreen feel of the PB... What else would I loose with the MB over the MBP?

Yes, it can use an external monitor, and the MB's screen is "widescreen", just like the powerbooks.

Take a look at this comparison grid: http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Im...son_chart.html

imitchellg5 · Feb 25, 2007, 07:57 PM

Originally Posted by mduell

Dump it for a C2D refurb.

There's the obvious performance boost (your PowerBook is pretty much maxed out), and we're already starting to see new Intel-only features from Apple like the EVDO/HSPDA drivers.

Dump it? That PowerBook should be good to go for at least 4 more years assuming you aren't going to produce a Hollywood movie using it.

mduell · Feb 25, 2007, 09:22 PM

Originally Posted by slpdLoad

Yes, it can use an external monitor, and the MB's screen is "widescreen", just like the powerbooks.

Take a look at this comparison grid: Apple - Notebooks - Compare Models

That comparison chart is a bit dated, it doesn't have the Core 2 Duo machines.

Originally Posted by imitchellg5

Dump it? That PowerBook should be good to go for at least 4 more years assuming you aren't going to produce a Hollywood movie using it.

If by "good to go" you mean still functioning, then sure; of course, you can say the same about Pismos (which I may have even edited some Hollywood films).

imitchellg5 · Feb 25, 2007, 09:48 PM

Well my 12" G4 from 2002 is still running great. I use it for Final Cut Pro 5 and it works fine. He only needs to use his for 3-4 more years. It should easily last that long. He says he is fine with the speed that it's at right now. If he needs more storage, I think an external hard drive would be a good choice.

Scooterboy · Feb 26, 2007, 01:30 AM

I'm still on my 17" 1.5 GHz G4, and it's still plenty fast for my needs. I'm still on Panther, even.

Upgrade next year. Maybe. This PowerBook still serves admirably. It's even making me money now (DJ work and running my microBusiness on it). Runs my current game library well enough, though new games are mostly too much for it.

I bought a 200 GB external FW800 hard drive for it, and all the games reside there for faster load times, along with a backup of my music files.

frankthetank966 · Feb 26, 2007, 10:15 AM

Originally Posted by mduell

Dump it for a C2D refurb.

There's the obvious performance boost (your PowerBook is pretty much maxed out), and we're already starting to see new Intel-only features from Apple like the EVDO/HSPDA drivers.

What exactly does this WWAN do?

frankthetank966 · Feb 26, 2007, 10:17 AM

Originally Posted by slpdLoad

Yes, it can use an external monitor, and the MB's screen is "widescreen", just like the powerbooks.

Take a look at this comparison grid: Apple - Notebooks - Compare Models

Do you have the compare models for the C2D?

SierraDragon · 01:15 PM

The G4 PB is a great pro machine and it does not sound like you are being killed by the power demands of some heavy app(s). Don't even think about downgrading to a lower end Macbook.

As long as your needs are being met by your PB G4 just get a 200 or 160 GB hard drive installed, by a less expensive installer than Apple (I buy from Hard Drives (Internal and External Storage) at OtherWorldComputing.com; maybe they will do installs as well as sales). Buy an external FW enclosure for the Apple drive and use it for backup (leave the existing OS available on the drive). If (unlikely) a major failure happens to your PB under Applecare you can put the Apple drive back in prior to sending it in for Apple service.

I own the exact same G4 PB that you do, as well as a 17" C2D MBP.

At such future time as you do need more power (whether that is in 4 months or in two years) newer even stronger MBPs at ever-improving value will be available.

-Allen Wicks

Powerbook · Feb 26, 2007, 12:55 PM

Originally Posted by mduell

Dump it for a C2D refurb.

There's the obvious performance boost (your PowerBook is pretty much maxed out), and we're already starting to see new Intel-only features from Apple like the EVDO/HSPDA drivers.

Uhm... aren't those mainly drivers for ExpressCard, a slot no PowerPC machine does possess anyway?

PB.

peeb · Feb 26, 2007, 02:24 PM

SierraDragon - that makes a lot of sense - I'm just a bit anxious about sinking more costs into this machine (which I love and is working fine for me) rather than putting them towards a new machine. I think you're right though, it will meet my needs for years to come. Thanks!

mduell · Feb 26, 2007, 07:00 PM

Originally Posted by frankthetank966

What exactly does this WWAN do?

WWAN = Wireless Wide Area Network

It allows you to get online via cellular networks.

Originally Posted by Powerbook

Uhm... aren't those mainly drivers for ExpressCard, a slot no PowerPC machine does possess anyway?

Mostly, yes, but the Novatel Wireless Ovation U720 USB Modem, available for Sprint or Verizon, is USB.

SierraDragon · 12:11 PM

Originally Posted by peeb

SierraDragon - that makes a lot of sense - I'm just a bit anxious about sinking more costs into this machine (which I love and is working fine for me) rather than putting them towards a new machine...

A portion of the amount sunk into a drive upgrade can move to your next box, because the external drive that you create stays viable when the PB becomes outdated. You could even swap the largest drive back into the external FW enclosure at that time. Very useful way to maintain data as you move to a new box.

Right now you own the very top of the last generation of a long evolved Apple laptop line. That top-of-the-line purchase is why it's usability still holds. IMO it does not make sense to move to a lower-end (hence shorter life cycle) product just to get MacIntel. Unless of course one had limited funds but immediately needed a box for an enterprise-critical MacIntel-only app.

The first MBP I bought was for a client, and I lined up my PB G4, a G4 TiBook and the MBP. After fooling around a bit on all 3 with heavy apps it was clear that the TiBook was relatively lame but the PB G4 really held its own. It's strong graphics card even allows it to run Aperture, which chokes a stock Quad G5 tower.

When Core 2 Duo laptops were announced I bought a 17" C2D MBP because Aperture had become my most important app and it wants lots of power, and the PB G4 motherboard failed at about the same time Aperture became so important to me. Also if I kept the G4 PB I would have needed to add RAM and do the hard drive swap that I recommended to you.

The G4 PB is still at Comp USA trying to get data off the hard drive, but I think they may have lost the box! All tests showed the hard drive to be mechanically functional but we have not been able to access the (mostly backed up) data. Once I get the data Apple will replace everything for $349, but part of Apple's protocol is to first wipe the hard drive. <sigh>

-Allen Wicks

Gee4orce · 12:30 PM

You'll be surprised what you can get for your old Powerbook on eBay - do a search and make sure to check 'completed auctions'. I just did a quick search and there are several that have just sold for $1000 or so. Sell it, and put the money into a new machine.

So that either gives you a budget of $3000 or puts another $1000 back in the bank. Nice.

Even so, I would say take a long hard look at the features of the MBP compared to the MB. Do you really need the (fairly limited) extra features of the 'Pro' ? If not, I highly recommend getting the mid-range MacBook (or the black one if you need to look 'Pro' for your consulting), and maybe also pick up a monitor too for use back at home or your semi-permanent base. Add an Apple bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse, and get a stand to lift the laptop up to match the height of the monitor, and you'll be laughing with screen spanning turned on !

And just to be absolutely clear, even a base Core2Duo MacBook (1.83 GHz) will absolutely smash a 1.67 Ghz G4 in terms of speed. I mean, brutally, utterly blow it into oblivion. I know - I did a very similar upgrade myself.