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kmarketing · May 17, 2004, 08:45 PM

Hi,

I think I got a decent deal ($550) on a powerbook g4 500 that came with a 60gb Hard Drive and Airport installed.

I originally bought it just to keep the hard drive, but now it's looking pretty nice to keep. Many of you said it should be no question between a Pismo (500mhz, 40gb 5400, 1gb Mem, Airport, DVD-RW)and a g3 ibook.

Now what do you think in comparison with the Ti500. I know it's an old model, but it is g4 and for my portable needs, I think either will serve me fine.

How is the Ti500? Any major heat issues compared to the Pismo? I know airport is not as good, but I guess if necessary I have my wireless g card.

Always tough decisions, but I'm glad you're here to help!!

Thanks!!

fisherKing · May 17, 2004, 09:16 PM

i love my pismo, but...g4. faster. newer architecture. etc.
go for the t1. my2cents...

tkmd · May 17, 2004, 10:10 PM

I have a Pismo, however, I just upgraded to the new Al books- Although the Pismo was (is) a great notebook- there is just lso much in OS X optimized for altivec that its just not worth it. OSX is about altivec.

kmarketing · May 17, 2004, 11:28 PM

Hi,

When comparing the g4 500 to the g3 500, is there that much difference?

Which ever I plan to keep, I will keep the 1gb Memory and 60gb 5400 hard drive.

I do love the pismo keyboard though.

Any of you think the pismo is the keeper?

Thanks!!

selowitch · May 18, 2004, 12:22 AM

BTW, are you sure the TiBook isn't 550MHz rather than 500MHz?

filmmaker2002 · May 18, 2004, 12:26 AM

Pismo, you can upgrade the processor to a 1Ghz G3 or a 500 Mhz G4. Same video card, same memory, but more durable and more expandable.

selowitch · May 18, 2004, 12:27 AM

Originally posted by filmmaker2002:
Pismo, you can upgrade the processor to a 1Ghz G3 or a 500 Mhz G4. Same video card, same memory, but more durable and more expandable.

Screen is not as big. But the system bus is the same speed, and there's no question that the build quality on the Pismo is superb!

kmarketing · May 18, 2004, 12:40 AM

Hi,

The pismo is definitely nice, and the expandability is a +.

But even the titanium is easy to upgrade if necessary, it just doesn't have the dual battery option. I got myself an extra battery for the Pismo and it is BEAUTIFUL when I look at my battery icon and it shows 8 hours!!

Would any of you suggest the g4 upgrade then? Would that push the pismo over the top?

Even though the 15.2 inch screen on the ti500 is not as great as the newer 15" pb's, it is still a thing of beauty. And the titanium, although older, is still nicer to me to look at than the plain black of the pismo.

Tough call!!

Thanks!

iREZ · May 18, 2004, 01:48 AM

Widescreen, already a G4, I would say go with the TiBook. Although the Pismo is a great notebook, your lookin at more costs for it, I would swap the HD and RAM if possible (too lazy to go n check if they are), and if your strapped for cash then get rid of the Pismo, I know it's tough to do but I did and got myself a 12" and boy am I glad I did, altough I do catch myself lookin at old Pismo pictures once in a while.

Dr.Michael · 07:53 AM

I used both, the 500 MHz TiBook and a 500 MHz Pismo, one@work the other@home.

Performancewise there is little difference except with G4 intensive tasks. For example to convert a dvd into vcd takes around 8hours on the Ti, 30 hours on the Pismo.

But thats the only thing where I found this big difference.

The costs for the Ti as I see it:
DVD drive breaks sooner or later, hinges have to be well oiled or will break too, maybe also the case near the hinges. If there are already hairline cracks, don't touch the Ti. You will have scratches and paint issues. Nothing looks uglier than a scratched Ti.

The Pismo:
The screen is older and will be dark sooner. A backlight bulb is necessary sooner or later. Hinges are also weak but don't break. Instead the screen starts to wobble. The rest of the Pismo is build like a tank.

Considering the expandability and easy hd exchange, no heat issues (you can easily put a real fast 7200 rpm hd in the Pismo) the Pismo is still my favorite. It looks very elegant.
The Ti is a little lighter, but because of its wideness more uncomfortabe to carry. The wider screen is nice in everyday work.

If you check the hinges, put a little oil on them now and then and calculate with 250$ for an exchange combo drive (MCE-technologies), the Ti will also do it. But the Ti has loud fans that startup regularly. After nearly 3 years of use, on a hot summer day, when I put my Pismo on a sofa and converted a dvd, after 2 hours I heard an unfamiliar sound. That was the first and only time when the fan kicked in. I did not even know that the Pismo had one.

Hope this helps,

Michael

riotge@r · May 19, 2004, 12:13 AM

it is pretty obvious to me. G3 vs G4. TiBook has a superior screen and runs at a higher resolution.

filmmaker2002 · May 19, 2004, 01:04 AM

Not really. It's just a wider resolution. The original TiBook's debuted at 1152x768 vs. Pismo's 1024x768

kmarketing · May 19, 2004, 01:22 AM

Hi,

The titanium defnitely looks like a more appealing model to me - the nice silver finish, widescreen, thin, etc.

but the pismo has some things that no other apple has - easy upgradeability and expandability. with the extra battery, I can get 8+ hours of use. Swapping drive including the internal hard drive take about at most 5 minutes. And of course the great airport reception and no paint issues for the pismo.

I'm wondering though, how many of you would say if the pismo was upgraded to the g4 processor that you would take the pismo.
If that is the case, I may just hold on to the pismo, and then look for a cheap upgrade eventually.

Any of you have that upgrade? What do you think? Are there any issues I may have to look out for - heat, reliability, etc.?

Your opinions are great, so keep them coming!!

Lateralus · May 19, 2004, 01:58 AM

Gotta say the Pismo.

If the Ti were one with a Radeon, I think the decision would be a good bit harder since it would support Quartz Extreme and the G3 wouldn't. But in comparing a Ti500 to a Pismo 500, the only realy difference is the processor itself when it comes to performance.

Given that for around $300, the processor in the Pismo could be upgraded to a speed that would allow the Pismo to oblitterate the Ti...

The Pismo is in a completely different class than the Ti as far as I am concerned. It was truly a revolutionary notebook, and one I am sure people will continue using for many more years through upgrades.

Far better build quality, better keyboard, much more sleek, more upgradeable... again; gotta say the Pismo.

I had a Pismo for around 6 months last year as my main machine and I have regretted getting rid of it everyday since I sold it.

kmarketing · May 19, 2004, 07:10 AM

Hi,

Really?! An upgraded g4 pismo processor will "obliterate" the ti500 processor? How come? Doesn't the ti500 come with 1mb L2 cache? I thought I read that the upgraded pismo, wouldn't have that. And since the video card is the same, wouldn't the performance simply be similar between the two.

If it really is true that an upgraded pismo will be better in performance than the ti, I may have to look into that.

Thanks!

Lateralus · May 19, 2004, 10:00 AM

The best G4 upgrade for the Pismo is, I believe, 550MHz. But that wasn't what I was referring to. I was referring to the 900MHz and 1GHz G3 upgrades from PowerLogix. AltiVec may be nice, but it isn't enough to allow the G4 to hold up against a G3 with twice the clock speed.

And the Pismo has 1MB of cache standard as well.

kmarketing · May 19, 2004, 06:31 PM

Hi,

I am leaning towards the pismo even though I do love the widescreen of the titanium. Of course, the g4 makes it a worthy machine also.

Tell me though, is it just my titanium keyboard that is so much less comfortable than the pismo one, or are all titanium keyboards like that. Or is it that my pismo keyboard is an exception. I feel on the pismo that i could type forever. With the titanium it definitely doesn't feel as good.

I have to remind myself that for some of the heavier duty projects I shouldn't be using a laptop anyways. I think that for my love for browsing and since I will be hopefully getting into some writing that the pismo may be the one.

Unless if some of you can tell me otherwise ; )

I'm checking on ebay, and I can't believe how much a good condition pismo can run these days. I get nervous that if I was to let go of the pismo, I would greatly regret it.

But the titanium is attractive....

Thanks!!

riotge@r · May 19, 2004, 11:23 PM

I take back my previous comment. I would keep the Pismo and buy an upgrade card.

kmarketing · May 19, 2004, 11:37 PM

Hi,

How come? What changed your mind?

Thanks!!!

zos · May 20, 2004, 01:41 AM

I vote Pismo. Sell that TiBook for 800 or so, which is what I think they go for (how the heck are you scoring such great deals anyway?). Use the money to upgrade your Pismo to a 1Ghz G3. Far faster than the 500mhz G4 and basically the same architecture.

kmarketing · May 20, 2004, 11:04 AM

Hi,

Don't know what happened, but it seems that the firewire ports are no longer working... Any ideas (I may have to start a new post on this).

Luckily I have a couple of firewire pc cards that work fine (and it's one that doesn't protrude from the casing, so the pismo maintains the curves), but it stinks that the firewire (which is what makes the pismo so popular) doesn't seem to be functional anymore.

Now what do you think - pismo with non-working/unreliable firewire ports & pc card or ti500 with linksys wpc54g card?

I dunno, and appreciate all your advice.

Thanks!!