[Darksider]

I have a first gen 12" powerbook with 640 ram, airport extreme, superdrive etc.. It's feels like it's not cutting it for me anymore. So I'm considering upgrading to a new 12" or even splooging on a 15". Is it worth it or should I save my money for a G5 powerbook in a few years?

[mitchell_pgh]

What isn't cutting it for you anymore? General speed etc?

[Darksider]

Yes, I'm getting tired of the damn bouncing beachball.

[wuzup101]

Sorry you'll have to remind me. What was the first gen model 800-1000ish mhz? I personally would wait myself, just because we should atleast hear about the G5 powerbooks this year. However, that being said, the new 1.5ghz 12" powerbooks should be fairy speedy. I'm on a 15" 1.5 from the last rev and I barely ever see the beachball. I think the next powerbook I'm going to splurge on is a 15" rev b G5 And, we all know that won't be for a while...

[Chuckit]

I'm still not holding my breath for the G5 PowerBooks. I'd go ahead and buy, and in the ludicrously unlikely event that the G5 PowerBooks are announced next month, you can just trade it in.

By the way, does "splooging" means the same thing as "splurging" 'round your neck of the woods? Because down here, it's...something else.

[Darksider]

Where can I trade it in? LOL splooging could be considered a kind of splurging..

[Chuckit]

By "trade it in," I meant sell it and use the cash to get a newer model. If a PowerBook G5 comes out and you decide to get one, you'll be losing a little money on the deal, but probably not too terribly much, plus you'll have had the use of a cool new computer for that much longer. And if a PowerBook G5 doesn't come out, I think the benefits of not waiting are pretty obvious.

That was my thinking when I got this PowerBook last month, anyway.

[asodamiac]

i thought the chance of a g5 powerbook coming out this year was very, VERY slim?

[Pierre B.]

Originally Posted by wuzup101

I personally would wait myself, just because we should atleast hear about the G5 powerbooks this year.

Right, this happened last week:

- Q: Last conference call, mentioned that putting a G5 in a PowerBook would be a significant technical challenge. A: Still think it's the "mother of all" thermal challenges.

[sniffer]

Originally Posted by Darksider

Is it worth it or should I save my money for a G5 powerbook in a few years?

Wait until the upgrade gives you approximately 2xCPU speed increase unless you really need the upgrade today. Its a good faithful rule of thumb that seems to be pretty accurate, and I practice it my self. Except the one time I "degraded" into a portable.

[Seb G]

Try to find out if it's really your processor that's too slow, if you haven't got enough RAM or if the hard drive is too slow.

For things like booting up, launching applications, loading and saving files etc., the hard drive is often the bottleneck, and a new 12" powerbook won't be much faster for you because the drive is just as slow as the old one (4200RPM). Replacing the hard drive by a faster model (5400RPM or even 7200RPM) is, if your tech-savvy, a lot cheaper than buying a new computer.

[Darksider]

Well I do have the 874mhz 12" powerbook so yeah it's slow. I'm thinking of getting one of the 1.67ghz 15" powerbooks now. All the new powerbooks have faster ram too. Plus I need more screen space to work with.

[hanxu]

My friend has a 1G 15inch superdrive, I have a 1.5G 15inch superdrive, unless we do encoding or do heavy graphic process, there is not much difference in speed, especially in tiger.

[webb3201]

I think it would be best to splurg rather than splooge...but as Dave Chapelle noted the Powerbook keys can handle the splooge.

[bovie]

Originally Posted by Seb G

Try to find out if it's really your processor that's too slow, if you haven't got enough RAM or if the hard drive is too slow.

For things like booting up, launching applications, loading and saving files etc., the hard drive is often the bottleneck, and a new 12" powerbook won't be much faster for you because the drive is just as slow as the old one (4200RPM). Replacing the hard drive by a faster model (5400RPM or even 7200RPM) is, if your tech-savvy, a lot cheaper than buying a new computer.

Not True, the 1.5Ghz 12inch has a 60GB 5400rpm.

[iREZ]

if you really want a new machine, i don't think you'd be disappointed in the current line up, unless a G5 is introduced in the next 4 months or so. the current line is much faster than your machine in not only processor speed, but frontside bus, hd speed, dvi out (instead of just vga), more vram, better gpu, and faster superdrives. if you sell your machine for say $700 you'd be looking at a $1000-$1300 upgrade. weigh those options and see what fits your budget. i have a rev b, and was really tempted to move to a new machine...but i'm waiting to see what the new ibooks are going to have in store (you could get a good idea on what the next pb's are going to look like by what ibook apple releases before em). also realize that you could throw in a 1gb chip in your machine giving you a total of 1.12gb of ram. that, along side a new hd at 7200, might give you a boost that'll hold you over till the G5 pb is released.

[guywithFX]

Hands Down. No matter what people say about the new updates, I love my new powerbook. I went from a 933 QS 2002 PowerMac to a new 1.5GHz 12" SD PowerBook with 1.25GB of ram. I thought they would be about the same speed...I was blown a way. My PowerMac had 1.5GB of ram and a GF4 Ti4600 and a 300GB Seagate Drive, yet the PowerBook felt and still feels SO MUCH FASTER! I really think that there are going to be some kinks in the G5 Powerbooks when they're released, although I think Apple should focus their hardware more specifically. Ideally they would keep the G5 as a PowerMac (Desktop) CPU and release the G6 which would be solidly designed for moble solutions (PowerBook). When and if the G5 PowerBooks are released I think there are going to be some problems that will need to be worked out and most likely be mechanically, and dealing with the products engineering.

But enough with what's in the future, you're thinking about the current PowerBooks and if it's worthwhile to upgrade. My answer is yes. But it all comes down to if you think you need that extra kick. I think it's 100% neccessary because not only are the new G4s faster, but the architecture has been advanced so much more is just the two years since yours was released. I hope my thoughts help with your decision.

[TailsToo]

Even the speed upgrade from my two year old TI to the new 1.67 was able to be seen - I'm very happy with mine!

[npeterh]

I have a Pismo (seems aout to give up (see my other thread aout it screaming like a dying tv) and a LCD iMac. The iMac has beeen somewhat faster than the Powerbook but not blazingly fast, so far the Pismo has proably been my best mac ever!

I have been looking at the new 15 incher. 12 looks a little cramped and my eyesight is not getting any better...

Would I experience a substantial difference?

/Peter

[brettcamp]

I really liked my old Pismo 400, but even my 1 gig iBook blew it away in speed, sharpness and brightness of screen, portability and overall feel. The keyboard was probably slightly inferior, but of course the iBook had CD burning capability that the Pismo lacked. My wife's tiBook was another leap past the iBook, and my 6 month old 12" Powerbook is still faster and has a much better keyboard than the Pismo or any other laptop I've ever used . So a new 15" should be a real leap forward for you in almost every respect, depending on what you use it for and assuming you put enough RAM in it.

I know, so many people say the Pismo is the best Mac laptop ever, and mine was excellent and never gave me any problems, but the slimness, lightness, bigger and sharper and brighter screens, greater speed and power, etc etc make the new Powerbooks a vast improvement.

The only thing you might be giving up is a little durability -- that Pismo felt like a tank, and metal dents easier than plastic. Then again, you can get applecare for your new baby, plus a nice protective case. And if your Pismo is giving off a death whine, I'd suggest getting a replacement pronto, along with a firewire cable for easy transfers of data between your old and new 'books.

it sounds like you got more than good working life out of your Pismo, so congrats on your good luck (and its durability) -- but all things must pass. With Tiger now available and the G4 Powerbooks mature and just updated, this seems like an ideal time to upgrade.

[nuggetman]

Originally Posted by Darksider

or even splooging on a 15".

i just hope you wipe it off with a towel after you do that




(the word you want is splurging)

[sadpandas]

I purchased the new 15" and i have no regrets so far. its perfect for what i need it for...