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Still worth it to get the latest 17" PB?

ozone

ozone

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 18, 2004
498
45
Ontario, Canada
Okay... I confess I asked earlier about a 12" PB (1.5 GHz) on sale at the local Best Buy. However, there's a really good deal on brand new 17" PBs (1.67 GHz, high res) comes to about $2400 Cdn or $2080 US. Even cheaper than the Canadian educational price! Even better, I might have some additional funds to actually make a more expensive purchase.

Do you Apple veterans think the last of the 17" PB G4s is still worth it? :confused:

By the way, my brother owns the 2nd last 17" PB with the original 1440 X 900 resolution and thinks the high res 1680 X 1050 would be too small display wise to work with. Can anybody with the latest high res version comment?

And if you're wondering why I just don't go for the 15" MBP, I think I just really want a 17". I admit I'm greedy!

Thanks.
 
My Mom 17'' PB(the newest model) is amazing its screen is very nice to work with. It is also fast enought for most people, perhaps people how need "pro" app would go for MBP but then they would run Rosata, which would make teh 17'' PB faster at "pro" apps:eek:

Get the PB 17''
 
If 17" isn't too big of a laptop for you, go for it. There's no problem with getting a PPC mac as far as I see it - support for them will be here for much longer than some people will tell you.
 
There's talk of a possible 17" MBP on April 1st, you might consider waiting it out for two weeks.
 
It definitely makes sense if you
- Need Classic compatibility
- Need a PC card slot (The 15" MBP doesn't have them, the 17" probably will be ExpressCard-only as well.)

It might make sense if you
- Mostly use PowerPC software for which no UB is available (Pro apps, MS Office, Adobe apps, etc.)
- Don't want to wait months for a new computer
 
Go for it...

I'd go for it. I myself (putting my money where my mouth is) had the choice of the MBP or the last revision 15" PB; I opted for the PB.

I am very happy with this choice. I deliberated over this choice for a while and I really did want to purchase the MBP, but being honest with myself and reality as it exists now, the PB is what is running what I need now (Microsoft Office, native Adobe CS, VPC, FCP suite, Classic OS 9) and also the options of built in ports, instead of the additional cost and weight of add-ons such as FW800, S-VHS, etc... I have no doubt that this last revision of the G4's will have a shelf life of over 3 years.
 
Hey thanks for the comments! So, I gather the high res screen is NOT to small to look at and work with.

As for usage, I doubt I'll be using any pro apps - the most would be Aperture. 90% of the time, it'll be run-of-the-mill web, photos, spreadsheet, Word, and maybe some light graphics and home video editing.

Yes, I know there's rumour of a 17" MBP on April 1, but I just know it won't effectively ship until hell freezes over... (oh look, it's snowing... :D )
 
If the 17" PB's drop below 2G's with the EDU discount, I may bite. Very tempting indeed.

The 17-inch MBP's are gonna me 3K+.
 
I have the latest revision of the 17" PB and I love it! The 1680x1050 res is absolutely beautiful and hasn't caused me any viewing problems at all. The size (for me at least) is not an issue either...not even when flying. I think you should go for it, if you're completely sure that you won't need the power of the MBP anytime soon. Good luck with your decision! :)
 
I will go for a 17" PB, since even if the 17" MBP come out it will be over $1000 more.. Also I doubt it will be out in April, maybe August since the 15" is selling well why put out the 17" now.. Have you look into a 15" Refurb?
 
Acehigh said:
I will go for a 17" PB, since even if the 17" MBP come out it will be over $1000 more.. Also I doubt it will be out in April, maybe August since the 15" is selling well why put out the 17" now.. Have you look into a 15" Refurb?
Click to expand...

You might want to wait until the 17" MBPs come out anyway, because then the 17" PBs will be EOL-ed and you'll be able to get them even cheaper.

A good buy is Amazon. When a Mac is EOL-ed, Amazon usually sells its leftover stock at a discount, and the rebate is still valid. You get a great price!
 
yea, the screen on these is awesome, definitely not hard to see, and contrary to what other people may tell your here, this thing is no slouch when it comes to performance.

and as mentioned above, you might as well wait until april first, to at the very least get a better discount if 17"mbp's do indeed come out.
 
So... I finally did it. I've been lurking around forever waiting to actually buy a Mac for myself. I bought up a 17" PB - "practically new" - latest version at $2399 Cdn. :D For all you non-Canadians, $500 less than the stock Apple price, and $300 less than the education price. I'm guessing this is a good buy.

For now, I can't see myself needing the power of the Intel chips, and for what I do, I understand a G4 is plenty powerful (office, light photo, web, the usual). In fact, I've sort of switched to the "tried and true" approach. I still have my tablet for critical Windows applications. I'm also a bit concerned about the built in iSight in the newer laptops because some of the places I visit and work in (research labs) forbid any sort of camera whatsoever. I think Apple might find it a bit harder to sell the newer laptops to those that work heavily in or with industry.

I guess at the end of the day, I don't absolutely need this PB, but I find writing or being creative - eventhough I do technical writing - somewhat stifling on a Windows machine. Does that make any sense whatsoever? Or am I just nuts? :confused:

My brother has congratulated me profusely. :)
 
I would say go for it, if it doesn't bother you in 2-7 months, just a thought out guess, that it will be an old model. And in the next 2-3 years it could be no longer supported because of it's g4 processor.

Ps. I was in fry's electronics and i saw the current 17" 1.67ghz g4 Powerbook for 1699.99 (Not a refurb ethier.) :)
 
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