[direinsanity]

spending alot of money ont this, going to be paying it off for two years.
it has
15"
1.33g4
256mb ram (soon 780mb)
combo drive
60gb hard drive
fire wire 400/800
Jus wondering how long do you think I can get out of this before it becomes to slow, or outdated?

[MrForgetable]

i'm looking to get about 3-4 years out of the same machine you are talking about. i look to upgrade it with an external harddrive when I run out of space, more RAM when I run out of RAM, an external screen when I run out of screen space, and keep good care of it by getting Applecare

[David Hagan]

Depends on what you're doing. If you're into creative stuff � like video editing, graphic design � It's not going to last as long because these programs will become more complex and require better hardware. Other than that, I think you'd be set for at least a few years.

[MrForgetable]

Originally posted by David Hagan:
Depends on what you're doing. If you're into creative stuff � like video editing, graphic design � It's not going to last as long because these programs will become more complex and require better hardware. Other than that, I think you'd be set for at least a few years.

but light creative stuff i'm quite sure it'll run it fine, although maybe a little bit slow. my 4 year old bottom of line PC still runs Photoshop 6.0 fine.

[iREZ]

I work in pre-press and use a 733 quicksilver that is still stock for the past 3 years and it's still going strong. I do have 1.5GB RAM so that helps, your book should give you a decent 2.5 - 3 years at least.

[quadgrande]

I think it would last the average user 2 to 3 years, if not more. I'm a junkie, so I buy a new one every year. But I'm typing on a 1Ghz 17" that is about a year and a half old, and if I were not a junkie, I could see this computer lasting me another couple of years easy. I have 1300 songs, about 1300 4 Megapixel photos, some iMovie projects, and Documents from the past 4 years (including Graduate school), and I have 25GB out of my original 60GB free.

I guess it's the features we can't predict that make it hard to say for sure. Like quartz extreme, which had hardware requirements, immediately outdated the average user that didn't meet the requirements. Baring anything like that, the 1.33 processor and 64MB graphics card should last you until Doom 3 is released for the Mac (about 3 years ) ha ha.

[AuPhalanx]

Originally posted by direinsanity:
spending alot of money ont this, going to be paying it off for two years.
it has
15"
1.33g4
256mb ram (soon 780mb)
combo drive
60gb hard drive
fire wire 400/800
Jus wondering how long do you think I can get out of this before it becomes to slow, or outdated?

direinsanity!

I have a computer that I use that I've had for over seven years now: 200-MHz Pentium (just Pentium, as in One, as in no II or III or IV, just the first Pentium series), 4.3-GB HDD, and it doesn't even have a NIC in it. You know what? I can still get work done on it! I publish books and Illustrator and PageMaker still work fine there.

My 800-MHz iBook still chug along and when it was my main machine, I was running Illustrator and InDesign. My PowerBook, of course, is much faster and better to work on, but I can still get work done on other machines.

My general rule of thumb is this: Buy the best that you can afford, get your work done on it, and when new machines are released, don't fall under the "computer lust" spell. A computer is only as good as what it can do for you and what you can do with it. If all of your applications run, then you don't have a problem.

Let's face it, unless an awesome "killer app" is released that requires a 3-GHz G5, then you have no worries. An app like that can be released five years from now or later today--no one knows. Thus, get a machine, get to work, and forget about it.

Have fun... Tony.

[Ruahrc]

Just got the exact same computer and hope it lasts a while too! I honestly see it lasting plenty though, since I will most likely just be doing productivity apps on it. I don't do any photoshop or music/video making so I guess I am not really demanding on my system although I do game a little. (But then I have an xBox and gamecube for that hehe)

I think it'll last plenty, and AuPhalanx is right on, get a computer that fits your needs and keep it until it doesn't fit your needs anymore. I got this computer because I needed a portable so I would not be chained to my desk whenever I had to write a report for school (which was often last year).

PS it also helps to never ever look at apple.com or read technology news for like a year after you get your computer hehe. What you don't know about you can't wish you had! j/k

Ruahrc

[Randman]

Get plenty of ram and you should be fine.
And don't forget that PowerBooks do keep their resale value for much longer than pc laptops.

[olePigeon]

Before I got my PowerBook, I had been using a 6-year-old Beige G3. My brother had been using an 8-year-old G4 upgraded 8600. The trick is LOTS of RAM. Max it out if you can. Your PowerBook should last ya a long time.

[olePigeon]

Originally posted by Randman:
Get plenty of ram and you should be fine.
And don't forget that PowerBooks do keep their resale value for much longer than pc laptops.

That's true for pretty much every Apple computer.

[Wiskedjak]

Originally posted by direinsanity:
Jus wondering how long do you think I can get out of this before it becomes to slow, or outdated?

The machine won't slow down ... everything else will just speed up; how long it lasts will depend upon your perspective. Also, keep in mind that ANY computer product is outdated about 2 months before it hits the shelves.