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PatheiMathos · May 3, 2004, 12:12 PM

Does anyone out there have a new 17-incher yet? What do you think of it? What should i expect?

I should get mine on wednesday...I'm really excited as this will be my first mac. I've used rev B 15's before, but not extensively. This should be a real treat. I work with lots and lots of screen space, I'll actually be running a dual display setup with my ViewSonic professional Series 19" CRT (1600x1200 @ 77hz, yummy) at home and taking the PB to class. (I'm a graphic design student and loving it) I mess around with all kindsa stuff, Photoshop, Freehand, Illustrator, Indesign, Premiere, as well as some Audio Editing apps. Can anyone tell me what to expect with respect to my current desktop setup?

Athlon XP 2100 (1.733 ghz)
PC 2700 RAM (768)
64Meg Radeon 8500
7200 rpm ATA 133 drive

The Powerbook:
1.5 ghz
128 VRAM
5400 rpm

kinda worried about the slow bus speed 167 vs. 333

I was wondering if anyone knew if the weird pixel horrors that have been going on are as present in the 17" powerbooks as they are in the 15" ones.

I actually don't run the windows shell, but the kernel remains the same as the XP kernel. I'm tired of the whole mess, every windows release is just another clunkier nasty piece of garbage plopped down on top of DOS. It'll never be as integrated into hardware as Mac OS.

post away...

RooneyX · May 3, 2004, 02:28 PM

Your desktop is faster in every way but it runs Windows. OSX will be more personal/fun to use and more secure.

Voch · 02:52 PM

I have an Athlon 2400+ (2Ghz) for a MAME machine, CD burner, file backup server, and Folding@Home client (never use it for "work" as it's hooked up to a TV), but I use my PowerBook G4/667 DVI (yes...667 Mhz) for day-to-day stuff MUCH more often (it's portable, has an LCD, and is quick enough for pretty much all I do with it). I even play MAME on the PowerBook seemingly more often now.

Your 1.5Ghz 17" will be great.

Voch

aricher · May 3, 2004, 04:28 PM

I have the Rev B PB 17' 1.33 - awesome machine. I'm a bit envious of your graphics chip but oh well - not that big of a deal. How much RAM did you get? I found a tremendous increase in speed when I upped mine from 1 GB to 2 GB - amazing inrease - esp in Photoshop. You will be VERY pleased with this machine - the best Mac I have ever owned - period - and that includes my beloved Mac SE-30.

The pixel issue is a crap shoot - I haven't read abut too many 17" users with dead pixels. I was nervous as hell after ordering mine but it came in flawless.

Congrats - you are in for a treat!

Lateralus · May 3, 2004, 04:37 PM

I disagree with what was said about your desktop being faster in every way than the PowerBook. A 1.5GHz G4 is easily a match for a 1.73GHz Athlon. And there is really no contest between the 8500 64MB in the PC and the 9700 128MB in the PowerBook.

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the performance of the machine. The G4 is a lot better of a processor than most Mac users give it credit for.

Welcome to the Mac, I envy your purchase.

PatheiMathos · May 3, 2004, 06:39 PM

Thanx guys very encouraging, I only actually got 512 megs of ram, but I do plan on adding another Gig, just found apples ram a bit too pricey.

I think the portability of a laptop(my first) will open up whole new doors for me, now I can design anywhere...

question? is it true that the trackpad does not support tapping...and I gather it only has one button...

I guess its time for a good blue tooth mouse

any other comments or input are greatly appreciated

Lateralus · May 3, 2004, 06:53 PM

Originally posted by PatheiMathos:
is it true that the trackpad does not support tapping...

Both of my iBooks supported tapping, and I believe my PowerBook G3 did as well. So chances are your PowerBook will.

And yes, only one button. So, when you're desk bound, an external mouse will be nice. But when you're on the go, I think you'll be surprised how well you can get along with a 1 button setup. The OS is very 1-button friendly.

iREZ · May 3, 2004, 06:56 PM

Actually the trackpad can be tapped to click, but you only get one button unless you hold down the ctrl key when clicking.

PatheiMathos · May 3, 2004, 10:26 PM

I do alot of very large and sometimes very high res graphic work...

since i have the 512 megs already, would another 512 do it or would I be really that much better off buying another gig

iDORK · 12:31 AM

I too, own the Rev B PB 17" 1.33Ghz and the screen is flawless - no dead pixels at all. I've owned the first 17" 1GHz model and that too was flawless with no dead pixels. I just ordered the 17" 1.5GHz and I should get it later on this week and I hope the screen is flawless as well.

I haven't heard too much with users having stuck/dead pixels on their 17", mainly the 15" (I had a stuck pixel on 2x 15" PBs).

Originally posted by aricher:
I have the Rev B PB 17' 1.33 - awesome machine. I'm a bit envious of your graphics chip but oh well - not that big of a deal. How much RAM did you get? I found a tremendous increase in speed when I upped mine from 1 GB to 2 GB - amazing inrease - esp in Photoshop. You will be VERY pleased with this machine - the best Mac I have ever owned - period - and that includes my beloved Mac SE-30.

The pixel issue is a crap shoot - I haven't read abut too many 17" users with dead pixels. I was nervous as hell after ordering mine but it came in flawless.

Congrats - you are in for a treat!

aricher · May 4, 2004, 03:18 PM

I do alot of very large and sometimes very high res graphic work...
since i have the 512 megs already, would another 512 do it or would I be really that much better off buying another gig

The answer to that would be - Get AS MUCH RAM as you can afford. I often work with huge (600-800 MB) Photoshop files so I maxed my PB 17" out with 2 GB of RAM. It makes a huge difference - especially when switching in between other programs.

With 1.5 GB of RAM you should be able to handle just about anything - esp. with the 128 video chip

Let us know how everything works out for you.

dennisbolt · May 5, 2004, 09:09 PM

I have the new 1.5ghz 17" PB. It has been a week since It arrived. I am very happy with it. The track pad does support tapping-but it takes some adjusting because it can be very sensitive. I turned it off.

I am looking for a good bluetooth multi-buton mouse. I bought the Microsoft Intelimouse explorer (I think that is what it is called) and it comes with a usb corded receiver thingy, which is fine for my desktop OS9, but cumbersome for the PB.

Does anybody know which mice are good (besides apple 1-button BT version) for using with a BT mac. I want to use a wireless mouse and take advanatage of the internal Bluetooth, whithout a plugged-in usb reciever???