Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

presspics · Oct 4, 2002, 11:51 PM

I am about to trade my 500Mhz iBook (2001) for a 400Mhz Pismo. I was looking mainly for the larger screen and faster bus speed. However after searching this forum I am noticing quite a few owners having problems with their Pismo's. Is the Pismo more prone to problems and am I making a smart trade?

thePurpleGiant · Oct 5, 2002, 12:48 AM

No, i wouldn't say they're more prone to problems as such. In fact they are IMHO one of the best Apple Laptops available for its time. I believe the seemingly more problems stems from the fact that they are older now.
The pismo was (is) a great machine.

Jeremy

vinster · Oct 5, 2002, 01:01 AM

The Pismo is a great machine, however, I think the iBook's screen is brighter.

seanyepez · Oct 5, 2002, 03:01 AM

I think you should keep your iBook. I'd kill for a smaller laptop...

angelmb · Oct 5, 2002, 04:07 AM

Hi, if you trade it, you will note a HUGE difference in the screen quality in favour of your present iBook. The ideal Pismo will be a 500 Mhz revision B. (20 GB HD), rev B due to their crisper display over revision A Pismos. Also there is a notorius speed up between Pismo 400 and Pismo 500. And yes, Pismo is a great machine.

I own a Pismo 500 rev. A with 1 GB RAM, wow!!

seanyepez · Oct 5, 2002, 04:13 AM

If you intend on using the Pismo's modular bay and upgrading it to a G4, the trade might be worth it. Otherwise, stick with what you have. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

k2director · Oct 5, 2002, 04:49 AM

I agree that that Pismo is a great machine (I owned one for 18 months before buying my Ti800).

I like the iBook's small size and weight. OTOH, I like the Pismo's bigger screen, but it shows the same number of pixels as your iBook, so you're only gaining bigger pixels, not more of them. And the Pismo's screen will be a bit less bright.

I don't think the difference in performance between a 66mhz bus/500 mhz iBook and a 100mhz bus/400 mhz Pismo will be that noticable....

So if the screen's that important to you, make the trade. Or if you really want the Pismo's slot expansion (for zip drives, 2nd battery, etc.), then maybe that's attractive. Otherwise, you've already got a very good machine...

quietjim · Oct 5, 2002, 01:44 PM

I love my Pismo (had it for 3 years) but I wouldn't trade an iBook in to get one. The one significant advantage of the Pismo IMHO is the hot swappable bays. Which brings me to a question: anyone know of a good source for a zip drive for a Pismo bay?

presspics · Oct 5, 2002, 02:33 PM

Thanks for the replies so far. I am a little confused however. Are you guys saying that the iBook's screen is better or the Pismo's screen is better?

seanyepez · Oct 5, 2002, 03:31 PM

We are saying it's all up to personal preference.

Since the iBook's TFT is a bit newer, it's going to be brighter, and color definition is going to be better. Please look at the Pismo's screen before you trade. Bad pixels are another problem. If your machine doesn't have any dead pixels and the Pismo doesn't either, you should be fine, but if the machine you're trading for has bad pixels, make sure you can live with them.

I think the bottom line here is whether you want to use the Pismo's expansion capabilities or not. If you do want to add modular drives and eventually put in a G4 upgrade card, by all means, get the Pismo. However, the iBook's a solid machine that you should keep if you're not going to take advantage of the Pismo; it's lighter, has better battery life, has a crisper screen, and it's newer.

seanyepez · Oct 5, 2002, 03:35 PM

The iBook is structurally tougher. The Pismo is well put-together, but it's just not as sturdy as the iBook's polycarbonate casing.

Also, the Pismo's screen is larger, but it won't have any higher resolution. Trading for the Pismo, your screen space will stay the same, but the pixels will be bigger for easier viewing. However, it won't be as bright as your iBook's newer panel. You decide which one's nicer.

seanyepez · Oct 5, 2002, 03:38 PM

I forgot to mention that the Pismo can drive an external monitor via a VGA port (no proprietary RGB connector), has two FireWire ports rather than one, and has slightly louder speakers.

The iBook can drive an external monitor, but the problem is, it can only do video mirroring. The Pismo can actually extend its desktop onto an external monitor.

presspics · Oct 5, 2002, 05:11 PM

Thanks sean. I definitely like the upgradeability of the Pismo and a G4 upgrade would surely be in it's future..and it's easier to swap out the hard drive for an upgrade. It is a revision B Pismo with the 10GB hard drive.

seanyepez · Oct 5, 2002, 05:29 PM

In that case, the choice is easy. Take the Pismo.

You don't have to do the G4 upgrade right away. You should just overclock the Pismo's cache with the Powerlogix cache control utility available at [url]www.powerlogix.com[/url\ for a free, safe speed increase. The cache runs at 167 megahertz from the factory, but it can run at 200 megahertz without any problems. Ask "fyre4ce" on the boards; he's done it, and it's been working fine for two years now.

siluni · Oct 6, 2002, 05:38 PM

I had a Powerbook 500 with 1GB RAM and loved it, especially the dual batteries, but traded it for an iMac and an iBook and am very happy with these two.

If you are trading it with someone you know, do you have the chance to sit them side-by-side and compare features and speed?