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rishio · Feb 17, 2003, 02:46 PM

I am thinking of buying the TIbook 867mhz from my college. Right now I believe it is $1899 with applecare. I don't want to get the 1ghz because I want the processor to be cooler and the computer to be quiet. I want to get into some computer music and don't want the computer noise to be bothersome.. I can just imagine the 1ghz fan being picked up by a mic. Hopefully the TiBook867 is a bit more quiet.

Is this a good deal for the TiBook? Do you think the price of the TiBook will drop drastically when the Abook15 is introduced? I don't want to have to find out 2 weeks from now that the TiBook that i just bought is now selling for $1200 or something... What do you all think? Buy now, or wait till the Abook15 is out..and buy the TiBook then?

Another thing I am worried about is the stock of TiBook goes out by the time the Abook15 is introduced!

last question.. If i buy the machine.. I want to get rid of classic mac os. How do you go about doing a fresh install of mac os x?

seanyepez · Feb 17, 2003, 02:50 PM

Rest assured that the 1-gigahertz TiBook will cost $2,299 after the introduction of the new, 15-inch PowerBook.

todrain · Feb 17, 2003, 02:58 PM

Right, I think that $2299 will be the price for the 1Ghz as well. Soon as that happens, I'm picking up one!

With the 17" at $3299, they wouldn't drop the price of the 15" any more than that.

rishio · Feb 17, 2003, 03:08 PM

it already costs 2299 with applecare at my college computer store...

Thats a bit pricey for me.. Besides.. i'm trying to avoid the 1ghz because of the fan noise issue i've been hearing about..

Patcarla · Feb 17, 2003, 03:25 PM

Originally posted by rishio:
it already costs 2299 with applecare at my college computer store...

Thats a bit pricey for me.. Besides.. i'm trying to avoid the 1ghz because of the fan noise issue i've been hearing about..

The fan noise issue is not in all 1ghz Tibooks and as been reported to be in some 867mhz as well.

I have a 1 ghz with no fan problem and i'm very happy with it. If you can, get the best (1ghz has also a 6better graphic card: 64mb vs 32mb, 60gb vs 40gb) you wont regret it.

todrain · Feb 19, 2003, 12:50 AM

I agree. With all of the extras you get with the 1Ghz, it's worth the money over the 867. (the video card, larger HD, Superdrive... all things that cannot (easily or at all) be upgraded later.

iBorg · Feb 19, 2003, 03:53 AM

Originally posted by todrain:
I agree. With all of the extras you get with the 1Ghz, it's worth the money over the 867. (the video card, larger HD, Superdrive... all things that cannot (easily or at all) be upgraded later.

Ditto. The 1 GHz Ti gives you far more bang-for-your-buck than the 867 MHz, IMHO!

If you're thinking of getting the Ti 867, I'd seriously consider getting the 12" AlBook 867 MHz instead, unless you need the larger screen. From comparative tests, they perform about the same, and you'd be getting the newer technology, with almost no fan noise, for less money! (And this comes from someone who is absolutely ecstatic with his Ti Gigabook!)

BTW, the "fan noise problem" appears to affect both 867 MHz and 1 GHz models, and is unpredictable.

iBorg

Mac Zealot · Feb 19, 2003, 03:58 AM

I got to play with a 17" powerbook today for a brief moment. AWESOME is what I say.

Though the tibook is cool too, it doesn't come near the 'shock' effect of the 17".

badnewsblair · Feb 19, 2003, 04:27 AM

Personally, the fan issue isn't a big deal. The fan comes on when the processor gets unbelievably hot! Its a safety issue and frankly I've seen it on all the powerbooks I've seen (many different revisions of the 15"). So you want to get the best bang for you buck as iBorg called it. What type of music are you going to be doing? If you're going to be doing music recording of any quality you'r going to want to get an external microphone I would say and if you have a good quality mic then you won't have to worry about fan noise.

As far as buying now and then the price falling, I think that people are a bit too worried about this. It is basic economics folks (ESPECIALLY in computers). As your book gets dated, the price of a new equivilent model will go down as is the same when a new product or technology comes along. Its a fact of business these days. I say strike when you want. You want a Powerbook, then buy it. The prive will drop anyway and that will ALWAYS happen! There is no getting out of "buyers remorse" as they call it. I purchased a 17" and at a whopping $3,000+, it is a HUGE investment. But I am aware that as time goes on, revisions go on sale, etc then my model will be dated and thus cost less... probably far less, but I've wasted all that time waiting for the price drop when I could have just bit the big one and gotten myself a nice new computer.

Anyway, thats my big beef with this topic. Hope I helped or sparked some lively conversation atleast. Someone should make a "Buyer's Remorse" thread to help those suffering with this crippling disease.

PS- And don't EVEN get me started on the practice of "not buying the first revision of any product"!

paterss · Feb 19, 2003, 05:39 AM

A thread that reads like my thoughts just now....

Waiting for the Alu 15 to appear,
options,
buy it
buy a reduced price TiBook
or decide that the 12 Alu with superdrive is the best deal

I moved from a Pismo to a iBook 500 (Pismo was stolen, so it was a sideways move rather than an upgrade)

I do miss the larger screen, but I often sit on the sofa and surf wirelessly, and wonder if that would be comfortable with a 15 model ?

The choise of Processor power is a tricky one....

1Ghz goes faster but draws a lot more power from the battery.
Pity you cant have 1Ghz when on mains and slower when on battery.

I think the battery life, heat and noise might swing me towards the slower processor speed regardless of which model I end up with.

all2ofme · Feb 19, 2003, 06:16 AM

"Pity you cant have 1Ghz when on mains and slower when on battery."

You can - I'm not 100% sure but I think it's 667MHz that you can knock it back to via the Energy Saver preferences.

The screen's perfectly useable on half brightness, too. My 1GHz on half brightness is as bright as my 550 on full.

paterss · Feb 19, 2003, 06:21 AM

Really ?? Under X ??

I think I will have to drive to my Apple dealer and have another hand on...

Thats one more reason to get a faster processor.

ngrundy · Feb 19, 2003, 07:08 AM

Originally posted by paterss:
Pity you cant have 1Ghz when on mains and slower when on battery.

my reaction "WHAT THE?!?!?!!?"

fire up the energy saver.
select battery or power adaptor
show details
go to the options tab
set the processor perfomrance to reduced or highest.

this drops the cpu (1ghz or 867) to 667 or raises it to 1ghz or 867.

elementf5 · Feb 19, 2003, 09:20 AM

wait until the end of the month. Apple will have released everything by then.

what school do you go to?

rishio · Feb 19, 2003, 12:38 PM

I'm pretty set on purchasing the 1ghz at ucsd. It costs $2299 with applecare included. The 867 costs 1899 with applecare.. but I need the airport card and at least 512mb of ram.. and upgrading the 867 with those brings it not to far off from the 1ghz.. which also has a few extra things...

Does this seem like a good deal or should I wait for the new powerbook to be released.. perhaps the price on ti15 will go down when the A15 arrives...

The deal is while suplies last... Do you think supplies will run out? They seem to have plenty in stock..

btw.. I think A12, A15, and A17 are cool names for the aluminum series. sounds like fighter jets...

rishio · Feb 19, 2003, 01:48 PM

also.. regarding the microphone..

I am going to start getting into computer music as a hobby. I plan to buy an external microphone but am wondering if the mic will pick up the fan noise.. I have no experience with computer music so sorry if I am way off base..

Originally posted by rishio:
I'm pretty set on purchasing the 1ghz at ucsd. It costs $2299 with applecare included. The 867 costs 1899 with applecare.. but I need the airport card and at least 512mb of ram.. and upgrading the 867 with those brings it not to far off from the 1ghz.. which also has a few extra things...

Does this seem like a good deal or should I wait for the new powerbook to be released.. perhaps the price on ti15 will go down when the A15 arrives...

The deal is while suplies last... Do you think supplies will run out? They seem to have plenty in stock..

btw.. I think A12, A15, and A17 are cool names for the aluminum series. sounds like fighter jets...

todrain · Feb 19, 2003, 08:38 PM

I'm only waiting for the 15" revision because I really don't NEED a Powerbook (as my iBook does about 85% of what I need) but a few hundred bucks less would let use the cash towards a 20" display. (I loved that 13" Monitor I had with my old Powerbook 180)

ngrundy · Feb 19, 2003, 11:14 PM

Originally posted by rishio:
I'm pretty set on purchasing the 1ghz at ucsd. It costs $2299 with applecare included. The 867 costs 1899 with applecare.. but I need the airport card and at least 512mb of ram.. and upgrading the 867 with those brings it not to far off from the 1ghz.. which also has a few extra things...

Does this seem like a good deal or should I wait for the new powerbook to be released.. perhaps the price on ti15 will go down when the A15 arrives...

The deal is while suplies last... Do you think supplies will run out? They seem to have plenty in stock..

btw.. I think A12, A15, and A17 are cool names for the aluminum series. sounds like fighter jets...

My 1Ghz was a custom order job, i droped th disk space to 40gb and switched the 2 256meg sticks to 1x512 (this was -198 for disk size change +198 for a single stick of ram) doing this means i have an easy upgrade path to 1gb of RAM and don't have to try and sell two 256meg sticks.
I also pulled the superdrive and put the combo drive in it saving 400 dollars. I'm going to wait out until either my next upgrade, or get an external firewire dvd-r down the track. But then I burn mabye half a dozen CDs a month and have a file server on my local network at home with a substantial ammount of disk space. I also have a 40gb firewire drive on my desk for storing stuff I don't use very often on.

also airport comes default in the 1ghz.

All prices are AUD.