Wait for Merom?

[Demon Hunter]

Sigh, it's been too long. I wish I had more time for forums.

Well mates, I've been thinking. I have a Rev. D 1.67GHz PowerBook G4 17" (100GB/2GB/128MB), a solid machine by any account. I had planned on using this more or less forever (okay, through college), but this was before the Intel debacle.

I haven't had time for my Photoshop projects; I even sold my copy of CS2, because I wasn't using it. Basically, I've been writing papers, chatting and surfing.

I'm a Psychology major with ambitious plans for graduate school. I've written off gaming for the time being. Get this, I even sold my iPod mini so I could buy a voice recorder for lectures (temporary ).

My rig feels very underutilized. Which leads me to my question: should I sell the PowerBook before it depreciates even more?

If the answer is yes, I need to save as much as possible for a future 17" MacBook. I'm a power user at heart, which is why I need to move to Intel. I also have a love affair with Apple's biggest laptop. I would wait for Merom and CS3, so for 6-9 months I'd need a simple computer.

I was thinking about a refurbished iBook or Mac mini.

The 12" iBook is barely tolerable, given the price. The display is dim, uneven and low resolution. However, the portability would be a godsend, because I'm a commuter student.

I have a monitor for a Mac mini, but it's an old CRT, and I would need to buy a keyboard and mouse. This is decidedly cheaper.

For $429, I could get a refurbished Mac mini:

1.25GHz PowerPC G4
512MB DDR333 SDRAM
ATI Radeon 9200 with 32MB DDR video memory
40GB Ultra ATA hard drive
Combo drive (DVD/CD-RW)
DVI or VGA video output
Built-in 56K Internal Modem​

Which seems like a ripoff, considering a new Intel is only $150 more:

1.5GHz Intel Core Solo processor
2MB L2 Cache
667MHz Frontside Bus
512MB memory (667MHz DDR2 SDRAM)
60GB Serial ATA hard drive
Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
Built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0
Apple Remote​

What do you guys think? Thanks for your help!

 

[QCassidy352]

Well first, as a happy 12" ibook user, I'm a little offended by your characterization of such a fine machine. The display is dim and low res (well, compared to a powerbook) but not uneven!

Anyway. Personally, I think there's no reason for you to sell the powerbook. I was a psych major, and I'm not sure what you're planning on doing that the powerbook won't be able to handle.

You say you're a commuter, so I'm not sure why you're considering a mini. In your position, I'd stick with a laptop. Selling the PB means getting an ibook you're not happy with for several months and then spending a whole lot on a high end MBP. All to what end? What you have is great.

 

[capone2]

yes wait for merom

i have the PB 15" 1.67ghz and im waiting for the 17" with merom and leopard. They will be 64 bit chips starting at 2.33ghz !!


worth the wait for sure! if you already have a good PPC computer.


good luck

 

[Demon Hunter]

Well first, as a happy 12" ibook user, I'm a little offended by your characterization of such a fine machine. The display is dim and low res (well, compared to a powerbook) but not uneven!

Haha, sorry! I should have said, my dad chose not to have his 12" iBook repaired. His screen is probably worse than the average 12".

Besides that, I love it. Very durable.

 

[QCassidy352]

Haha, sorry! I should have said, my dad chose not to have his 12" iBook repaired. His screen is probably worse than the average 12".

Besides that, I love it. Very durable.

haha. actually, I agree with you. A higher res/brighter screen on the new intel ibook would go a long way towards making me trade this one in.

Even if you do want to get a merom 17"er, I'd keep what you have until then. The MPB is already out. I don't think the G4's are going to depreciate that much more than they already have, and you'll enjoy having that PB a lot more than the ibook for the 6-9 months in between.

 

[Demon Hunter]

Even if you do want to get a merom 17"er, I'd keep what you have until then. The MPB is already out. I don't think the G4's are going to depreciate that much more than they already have, and you'll enjoy having that PB a lot more than the ibook for the 6-9 months in between.

That's true. I just feel bad, not using it. I already sold CS2, since there's no way I'm buying expensive, dead-end software. Maybe I'll keep the 17" and get CS3 when it comes out.

 

[FFTT]

You should still be able to recoup most of your investment in the PowerBook
if you find a buyer before the larger and smaller MBP's are available.

I would consider going for an iMac to hold you over until the Merom powered
laptops are available.

With education pricing and 2 GB of 3rd party RAM, you'll have one heck of a great workstation for PS3.

This covers you for your heavy lifting, so then you might consider the smaller
MBP/iBook for portable needs.

 

[jimN]

I would have thought that you'll lose more money by selling now and then selling again later than you would by just hanging in there and waiting for the computer you really want. Everyone like a shiny new computer but at present you just don't need one and I'm sure that this stop gap supposedly money saving measure will achieve quite the opposite.

Hang in there and save your pennies for the 'beast' when it finally sees the light of day.

 

[odedia]

Get this, I even sold my iPod mini so I could buy a voice recorder for lectures (temporary ).

This is what really offended ME . Seriously though, why not just get a voice recorder add-on for the iPod? wouldn't that give you more room for recording, and be cheaper? I'm sure there are alot of options avaliable like that...

Oded S.

 

[Demon Hunter]

This is what really offended ME . Seriously though, why not just get a voice recorder add-on for the iPod? wouldn't that give you more room for recording, and be cheaper? I'm sure there are alot of options avaliable like that...

Oded S.

That would have been great, except there's no "iTalk" for mini (that I know of). I hope Apple comes out with one, like they did with the Radio Remote. I dashed away the extra dough.

Thanks for all the advice!

 

[ieani]

You can I would. I couldnt wait.