[AlbanianGenome]

I am looking to buy a laptop, more than likely used, and it brought me to the topic of, what is the best laptop that apple has released in the past few years? The first one that comes to mind is the 1ghz Tibooks(last of its generation, solid body construct, and 1meg L3 cache) I am not sure though, ever since the introduction of the aluminums and the new macbooks it seems the quality of mac laptops has gone down a bit. If you guys were looking to buy a used laptop, which ones would you target from experience using them. Was there one in general that was your favorite, for example having a 1meg L3 cache which is unheard of today. What are the real used laptop sleepers when it comes to apple. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[pcguy1]

One with Intel Inside, you will be much better off performance/future proof wise to get a used MacBook then any used G4 based Ti/al book.

[rjt1000]

We can offer better advice if you let us know how much you can spend and what you need your laptop to do. If your budget is extremely limited and your needs extremely modest, the PowerBook Pismo was well liked and can be found on eBay for as little as $150. But it is definitely an old timer. The early TiBooks had issues like peeling paint and poor hinges, the later models were better liked. Again, these are old machines and really only to be considered if a tight budget is the main concern--but you are taking a chance with a used laptop of this age. You can check the prices on eBay but I think it would run you in the $400-600 range depending on specifics. The G4 iBooks would give you a more modern computer in a similar price range. The G4 Aluminum PowerBooks would give you reasonably good performance if your needs are average but will set you back $600-900 used. If you can scrape together about $800, a refurb iBook would give you reasonably modern performance and a 1 year warranty. If you can make it to the vicinity of $1000 a refurb MacBook would be a much better value that would give you more years of modern service than any of the other choices. Check out the completed auctions on eBay to get an accurate idea of the current prices of used models and the special deals section at the Apple on line store to get current prices of refurb models. Good luck.

[solofx7]

dunno, i love my MacBook Pro because it is so strong and runs very well.

[AlbanianGenome]

well realistically I dont really want to spend over $600 for my targeted laptop. My mom is trying to sell me her old tibook 1ghz with 1 gig of ram which is pretty beat up for $500. However I could probably and shold invest a bit more for a better machine. Is there a great difference between the Core Duo and the Core 2 Duo? The new macbook pros feel so cheap to me, buy maybe they are worth it? Not really sure anymore since I have been out of the laptop buying market for a bit. I am loving all the help though guys, really appreciate it.

[imitchellg5]

Get a 17" PowerBook G4 1 GHz. Nice machines. My aunt has had one since the day it came out. She loves it. She's got 2 Gb of RAM and a 120 Gb HD in it now, and it runs very nicely.

[SierraDragon]

Originally Posted by AlbanianGenome 

well realistically I dont really want to spend over $600

$600 does not get you into MacIntel laptops. Every generation (I have owned them all) has simply gotten better. Best value for $600 IMO will be a used Al G4 15" PB. The Als are a substantial step up from the TiBooks.

-Allen Wicks

[AlbanianGenome]

thank you for the incoming advise, I am loving it, looking into the aluminums and the 1ghz 17" powerbook G4's as well. Any other info always welcome, you guys have been great!

[Javizun]

My first ever mac laptop was the one your actually considering.
I passed it down to my brother since i upgraded to the macbook pro 17".
Overall i dont feel like mac laptops have declined in the built dpt, if anything i feel like they improve with every release.

Go for the 17" powerbook you will not regret of course if you can afford more
then just upgrade to a core duo laptop for future proof and boost in performance.

[AlbanianGenome]

ok looking for some advice on this deal I found. 1ghz Tibook with 1gig ram, 60 gig hd, combo drive. The shell is a little beat up, typical wear and tear though on an older machine, and its selling for $500. Is that a good deal?

[rjt1000]

Originally Posted by AlbanianGenome 

ok looking for some advice on this deal I found. 1ghz Tibook with 1gig ram, 60 gig hd, combo drive. The shell is a little beat up, typical wear and tear though on an older machine, and its selling for $500. Is that a good deal?

Taking a quick look at completed auctions on eBay, that seems to be an average deal at best. Frankly, I cant see spending $500 on a Ti-Book, when you can get an Aluminum PB for not much more. Just my $.02 ...

[AlbanianGenome]

i completely agree, but where are you looking for albooks with the same price? Do you trust buying laptops over ebay?

[rjt1000]

You can look at Craigs list to see if you can find a local PowerBook being sold, so you could check it out in person prior to buying it. But there arent so many sold locally. You could check the marketplace section on MacNN, but anybody can post there and you have even less protection than with eBay. Many people have bought used PowerBooks on eBay without problems, and the major market is there. Of course there are scams, but if you have experience using eBay you can avoid them. Avoid auctions where there is only a stock photo, where the seller has poor or little feedback, where the price is too good to be true, where the seller asks you to contact them by email prior to bidding, where the seller generally sells some other item and is suddenly selling multiple PowerBooks, where the auction is only 1 or 3 days, where the seller asks you to pay with western union or some other payment method without recourse, etc. Contact the seller via eBay with questions and see if they answer you promptly and via eBay. If you find an item you want to buy, be sure to pay with Paypal and use a credit card. That way if you get a lemon you have multiple means of recourse: via eBay, via Paypal or by charging back your credit card.

PowerBooks have a strong resale market, so its hard to get a bargain price. Search the completed listings on eBay and you will see that you can sometimes win one at a favorable price, but you have to be patient.

Determine whats most important to you. If a 12 inch is good enough, you might be able to get one that is a bit newer. If you need a 15 inch or 17 inch, you will have to settle for an older model to get a better price, but I would stick to the Aluminum models. If you dont need the additional bells and whistles of a PowerBook, you can get a 12 or 14 inch later model iBook at better prices.

Personally, I am also a little hesitant to buy a used laptop. There is just too much that can go wrong and repairs are costly--often in the same league as the value of the laptop.

If money is tight, I would personally try hard to save up for a refurb from Apple. The last model 12 inch iBooks are fine machines (my friend has one and loves it) and when they are available as refurbs you can get one for $799 with the same 1 year warranty as new. Of course, if you could scrape together enough for a refurb MacBook, that would be even better. Check every morning at 7 to 8 am eastern time because the refurbs go fast. Remember, its not only what you pay, its the service you get from the laptop. A $500 used laptop that needs major repair in a year and is discarded cost you $500 per year of use. An $800 laptop that lasts you 3 years, costs you $267 per year of use. Good luck.

[romeosc]

Originally Posted by AlbanianGenome 

i completely agree, but where are you looking for albooks with the same price? Do you trust buying laptops over ebay?

Try Craigslist.... You can see it in person!

[AlbanianGenome]

Tibook 1GHZ Combo Drive, 60 gig hd, 1 gig ram with a brand new lcd and logic board replaced by apple so almost everything internally is new or refurbished. Being offered this machine for $400 even, outside is a little tattered but the internal components are brand new apparently as I spoke with apple repair and they said they have basically replaced everything internally and this machine is good as new. $400 worth it? Or should I save the 400 and invest in another machine?

[olePigeon]

Go with a MacBook or other Intel Mac laptop. That's your best best.

[AlbanianGenome]

i completely agree, but those are going to run a lot more than $400 and right now I am moving around the us, so I dont know if I really want a real nice brand new laptop during this time. I am just curious if $400 is worth spending on the machine I have listed, being the 1ghz tibook,combo,1gig ram, 60 gig hd model. What is close in price to this machine that would be worth upgrading to?

[badnewsblair]

Actually, I too am a fan of the 1 GHz 17-inch Powerbook. It was that machine that made me forget about Windows and fall head over heels for Apple (and even eventually got a job with them)!

It is a very nice machine and will do wonders for you. I outgrew mine because I had issues with the sub-3d experience. I play games and do some 3D animation/modeling. There were just better machines out there for me. If you get one, you will also want to check into a fresh battery. I know mine went south after about 2 years and I had to get another one.

[Sub]

I believe the notebook achieved perfection with the aluminum powerbook g4. I love all the sizes, they are pretty cheap too.

[AlbanianGenome]

i too did love the aluminum line myself, used to own a 1.25ghz machine but ended up selling it. The cheapest used ones now are running for $800 and for $400 for this tibook I am debating what I should do.

[olePigeon]

Do you need a laptop? I'd recommend holding onto the money and buying an Intel laptop later on. If new MacBook Pros come out at WWDC, you just might be able to pick up a CD MacBook for $500 to $600.