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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > buy macbook pro now or get the latest 17" powerbook g4?

buy macbook pro now or get the latest 17" powerbook g4?
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nycdunz
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Jan 25, 2006, 11:00 PM
 
i have the first gen 17" 1ghz powerbook, i have somebody who wants to buy it from me for $1700, not sure if i should get the macbook pro or get the latest 17" pbook g4, what do you guys think?

will there be a 17" model of macbook pro? and i dont think i can wait for it if one should come out, cause i use my computer for work everyday... such a tough choice, i need your opinions please, thanks.
     
John123
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Jan 25, 2006, 11:28 PM
 
Originally Posted by nycdunz
i have the first gen 17" 1ghz powerbook, i have somebody who wants to buy it from me for $1700, not sure if i should get the macbook pro or get the latest 17" pbook g4, what do you guys think?

will there be a 17" model of macbook pro? and i dont think i can wait for it if one should come out, cause i use my computer for work everyday... such a tough choice, i need your opinions please, thanks.
Are you kidding? First generation for $1700? You should absolutely take that. And you should feel guilty about it, too. That's way too much to pay for a 1st generation 17".

Anyway, you have to decide how important that extra resolution is. That's really your sole determinant in deciding between the two....
MacBook Pro 15" -- 2.2Ghz, 4GB, 200GB 7200rpm
iPod Nano 2G -- 8GB
     
nycdunz  (op)
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Jan 26, 2006, 12:08 AM
 
well right now my pbook resolution is 1440x960, the 15" macbook pro is 1440x900, im just losing 60 pixels horizontally...

still a tough choice to make
     
uicandrew
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Jan 26, 2006, 12:40 AM
 
Originally Posted by nycdunz
well right now my pbook resolution is 1440x960, the 15" macbook pro is 1440x900, im just losing 60 pixels horizontally...

still a tough choice to make
it shouldn't be a tough choice. i just bought a 17" powerbook latest revision (hi-res screen) for $1705 shipped off of ebay! 128mb vram, 120gb hard drive. you should take the money and RUN!

think of it this way, you lose 60 pixels, but you gain SOOO much, like built in isight that is twice the resolution of the "stand alone isight" and you gain the extra vram (up to 256mb)

usually, ebay is for people who don't know better and they will pay more than what it is worth, but for some reason, the newest powerbooks have taken a real beating on resale value.

The powerbook i bought is only 3 months old, and since it is used, i already know that it has NO dead pixels. I intend to sell it when a 17" macbook pro comes out or a 2nd revision of the 15" macbook pro comes out. Brand new, it would've cost me $2800 (after taxes) so there's already been 33% depreciation in 3 months. I figure that the biggest drop has already occured, so I'll probably take another 15% or so hit when i resell it.

again, take the money and run!
Mac User since Summer 2005 (started with G4 mini bought from macnn forums!)
     
Peabo
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Jan 26, 2006, 01:13 AM
 
my rev b (1.33ghz) 17" powerbook has a screen resolution of 1440x900, not 1440x960. I thought that was only what the newest 15" Powerbook had. How come your rev a had more pixels than mine?
LC 16Mhz • LC 475 25Mhz • Centris 650 25Mhz • Performa 6200/75Mhz • G3 266Mhz • Snow iMac DVSE 500Mhz
G4 QS 733Mhz • 17" Powerbook 1.33Ghz • 15" MacBook Pro Core Duo 2.16Ghz • Mac Pro 8-Core 3.0 Ghz
     
genmac
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Jan 26, 2006, 01:16 AM
 
If you are doing heavy duty stuff with your current PowerBook - i.e. Photoshop, movie/audio editing, whatever, it would be very tough - sure the MacBook would hold its value a lot longer (and $1700 is good for for 1st gen 17" PBs), but you would be suffering with performance until native versions of your software came out.
     
nycdunz  (op)
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Jan 26, 2006, 01:29 AM
 
zone oops didnt know, i guess its the same 1440x900... guess im not missing anything then

genmac, but i suspect that native intel versions of adobe apps and other big time apps would be out soon though?

if so i will place an order for a new macbook pro

i would think even under rosetta running under dualcore 1.83ghz compared to my 1st gen 1Ghz g4 powerbook it would be somewhat faster, even if not much...
     
Drakino
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Jan 26, 2006, 05:47 AM
 
Don't go for a new 17 inch Powerbook G4. It will be a minor speed boost for you, but it will never get faster. Where as a MacBook Pro will be faster for you now on some things, and about the same speed on others, but over time will get faster as more and more apps are made Universal.

The one downside is that getting the universal applications isn't going to be free in all cases. Apple themselves are going to charge a "crossgrade" fee and I am assuming Adobe and such will do similar.
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SEkker
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Jan 26, 2006, 09:45 AM
 
Wow, I'd take $1700 for this revA PB17 -- and it's been upgraded to 2 GB RAM and a 100 GB HD, and even has a couple months left on AppleCare.

I've used several of the newer PBs, they really are not much faster than this revA machine with plenty of RAM. Sure, they are a little bit snappier -- but they are also usually a PB12" or a PB15", driving fewer pixels.

I cannot think an original edition revA PB17 can be worth any more than $1100. And when the macbook pros ship, it'll be worth even less.
     
urrl78
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Jan 26, 2006, 10:38 AM
 
Looks like Mac Book Pro speed is only 1.1 to 1.3 times faster than the G5; not 2x faster as claimed. I would go for the latest G4. Buying a first generation product stripped of ports and 50% slower in some applications is not my idea of a great advantage over a tried and true 17" Powerbook G4.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=38221

If gaming is your thing I imagine the new Intel Mac book would be better due to its graphics chip.
( Last edited by urrl78; Jan 26, 2006 at 10:48 AM. )
     
jersey
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Jan 26, 2006, 10:47 AM
 
Originally Posted by urrl78
Looks like Mac Book Pro speed is only 1.1 to 1.3 times faster than the G5; not 2x faster as claimed. I would go for the latest G4. Buying a first generation product stripped of ports and 50% slower in some applications is not my idea of a great advantage over a tried and true 17" Powerbook G4.
You're comparing apples to oranges. 1 times faster than the G5 is going to be a sizable jump in speed for someone coming from a G4.

If you accept that the G5 is 1 times faster than the G4, that makes the MBP 2 times faster than his current machine.

Get the MBP.
     
urrl78
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Jan 26, 2006, 10:56 AM
 
Yes, you could be right, although "1x faster" is actually the same speed as a G5. If a G5 is 1x faster than a G4 it is the same speed, so there is an error there I think in that logic. I would rather wait for actual barefeats or Macworld testing on the Mac Book itself before pre - ordering though...so I will change my mind to "wait and see" instead of "Purchase right now", as exagerated claims are pretty evident regarding speed and IMHO this is not the first time.

Also I stated the Mac book Pro; My error; they were using an iMac dual core, yes?
( Last edited by urrl78; Jan 26, 2006 at 11:04 AM. )
     
jstein
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Jan 27, 2006, 02:35 PM
 
Originally Posted by nycdunz
i have the first gen 17" 1ghz powerbook, i have somebody who wants to buy it from me for $1700, not sure if i should get the macbook pro or get the latest 17" pbook g4, what do you guys think?

will there be a 17" model of macbook pro? and i dont think i can wait for it if one should come out, cause i use my computer for work everyday... such a tough choice, i need your opinions please, thanks.


More than anything, the question really comes down to, in what capacity do you use your machine. By that I mean if you use your current Powerbook to make money especially anything dealing with film/video, graphic design and or photography you may want to go with the current line of Powerbooks.

The MacBook Pro is an excellent machine and by far the best PC laptop on the market in theory. But for a professional user or anyone that uses that computer to make money it is a little bit ahead of the curve right now.

Then there is that whole 1st generation factor, which in most cases I feel is vastly blown out of proportion but in this case it carries some weight. Apple is in the midst of a transition there are going to be some growing pains. If you are willing to swallow every burp, hiccup and belch along the way so be it. If not let the iron cool and watch the MacBook Pro develop into a great laptop.

If your concern is your PowerPc laptop becoming obsolete, here is a suggestion I offered to someone else. Go with a refrurb, with the MacBook Pro being release I am quite sure that a number of people are trading in or selling the current powerbooks. If you can purchase a refurb 17-inch Pb, then you will have a machine that is in line with the current standards while saving some money at the same time. On top of that you will not be sitting around wondering when or if Apple is going to release a 17inch MacBook Pro, plus the kinks and flaws will slowly begin to fade from the MacBook Pro line and all the needed accerories and software updates should be ready.

Plus there is the extremely long wait that one may have in receiving a MacBook Pro when ordering at this time......
     
clbell
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Jan 27, 2006, 04:05 PM
 
"Looks like Mac Book Pro speed is only 1.1 to 1.3 times faster than the G5"

It's already been shown that those benchmarks were only using 1 processor core. Code that makes full use of both cores would indeed be 2 times faster for processor intensive tasks.
     
nycdunz  (op)
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Jan 28, 2006, 04:31 PM
 
so looks like the mbp is even faster than the old pbook g4's even when used under rosetta, i guess ill be putting in my order soon...

thanks guys for all the input
     
b11051973
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Jan 31, 2006, 05:10 PM
 
The Intel Merom processor is supposed to come out this year. I'm waiting for that before I get my new Macbook.
     
anthology123
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Feb 2, 2006, 11:30 PM
 
i can buy a new 1.67 Powerbook 17 for $1869, so sell yours for $1700!!
     
drift1492
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Feb 6, 2006, 11:23 AM
 
17 for 1869? WHERE?

Also, I have been debating this same question. I have decided to go for the 17 for screen real estate alone (And then maybe sell the 17 when the 17 macbook pros come out). But then again, I am only a student who is content with the performance of his 1.33 12 inch powerbook. I cant see a need for me to have any more power, I just need a bigger screen.
     
romeosc
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Feb 8, 2006, 08:17 PM
 
[QUOTE=drift1492]17 for 1869? WHERE?

Apple Store 17" 1.67GHz PowerBook (r) $1849.00 Special Deals Section Apple Certified Refurbished; 1yr warranty (details)
     
   
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