price inconsistency for PPC PB's

[wyatt23]

i just recently bought an 1.67ghz PB (HR) for $1080(shipped).

i looked all over the macnn marketplace and MR marketplace, and i notice that 12" 867mhz powerbooks were going going for 700, top end 12's were going for 800, and that 15" PB's top out at around 1100. i don't know much about 17" pb's but a quick look at ebay proved they weren't all that much higher.

is this really what the top end ppc's are worth lately? i mean i know that there has been a deflation, but that much?

also, if that's really what the top ends cost, why do we see so much in the forums 12" pb's under 1 ghz going for only $50-$100 less than the highest model.

 

[ZoomZoomZoom]

Yes, they have depreciated a lot. Not only are the new Intels much faster, they can dual-boot. That's a big deal.

As for why there isn't too much price differenciation... the people going for 12'' PBs are probably not too spec focused. 1ghz vs. 1.5ghz isn't their concern - it's about portability, and they don't want a MB. The 17'' doesn't have such a big lead over 12'', probably because people buying the PPCs are going for good deals or high portability. If someone wanted luxury (17'') they probably would spring higher for the new intels.

 

[radiantm3]

I sold my 1.67ghz 15" powerbook for $900 which included the 128mb gpu and 1.5gb of ram. I find it hard to justify paying so much when you can get a macbook for around 1100 which is 2x as fast regardless of the fact that it doesn't have a dedicated gpu. The macbook plays 1080p h264 video at full frame while I could only dream that my old powerbook could do that. I'm amazed at the performance of my wife's low end macbook at that price point (for a mac).

 

[plinkoman]

yea, it does kind of suck. I paid $2700 for my 17" PowerBook last november. Thats the kind of depreciation pc's usually get.

but seeing as the existence of something faster does not make my PB slower, and since I never planed on selling it anyways; I could really care less.

 

[SMM]

Just speculation here, but the new laptops are really a two generation leap forward. If they were G5's, I doubt the resale difference would be as great. However, like Plinkoman, I am finding my 17" G4 perfectly serviceable for what I use it for (writing, editing video, presentations, Internet and Email). I have Mac workstations for my heavy work. I understand many people use their laptops as their primary computer. Their needs would be much more different than mine.