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Upgrade to current powerbook, or wait for Intel?


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Upgrade to current powerbook, or wait for Intel?
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cameronj
 
 
2005-11-17, 16:00

Hi, I've got a 2 year-old Titanium Powerbook that's starting to have some issues that warrant buying a replacement. My question is, do I upgrade to the new Powerbooks or wait for the new models with Intel chips to come out? If I upgrade now, I'll have a substantially better machine, but it will be obsolete within a few months. If I wait, I have to continue to deal with my Powerbook's current performance issues (Crashes, Application problems, A Recent Screen Replacement, Non-existent battery life), and I might end up buying a machine that has more glitches than I'm willing to deal with and waiting for the first update of th Intel powerbooks is not an option given my current computer's performance. So what are your thoughts? If it were your 2 grand, what would you do?
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Franz Josef
Passing by
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: London, Europe
 
2005-11-17, 16:33

Given where we are in the update cycle, buying a PB now is a non-starter. It won't be obsolete, but it will be soon superseded and looks long in the tooth now.

Buy an iBook now or wait - the new Intel PB may be out as soon as January though this is speculation.
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Yontsey
*AD SPACE FOR SALE*
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Cleveland-ish, OH
 
2005-11-17, 16:45

personally, i would wait...but thats just me. its only a couple more months til january and you never know what kinda new bells and whistles will come with the mactel pb
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Wraven
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Texas
 
2005-11-17, 16:46

Do you need it now? Then buy it. If not, then wait. And welcome to AppleNova!
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FFL
Fishhead Family Reunited
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Slightly Off Center
 
2005-11-17, 17:01

It depends on how significant the "issues" you're having are. Can you live with them for a few more months?

If so, make sure you have a good data backup strategy, and drive your current 'Book till it dies, or till the newly available models are irresistible.
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Maciej
M AH - ch ain saw
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2005-11-17, 18:18

Yeah run that thing into the ground at this point - hell even if something goes Intel before the PB, such as the iBook, it might have good enough specs to consider it over the PB. Especially if the issues you are having aren't serious...

My PB is coming up on 3 years, and the Applecare is going to run out soon, and I'm starting to develop problems - such as the hinge breaking, crazy slowdowns, the lid not staying shut, and some strange behavior in general. Sounds like I might be upgrading soon but I know I'm going to push it off into the middle of next year at the earliest.

User formally known as Sh0eWax
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archermd
 
 
2005-11-17, 18:30

Ok so here's my issue: no laptop, none ever (yes I am WAY behind the times) and I want one NOW...need one too...and also, new to Apple...all we have at home is a paperweight, I mean Dell PC Desktop. Do I wait for the new Mactel or get my current dream machine, a 15inc PB wityh 100 HD and 2 gig mem so I can run Virtual PC to get into the hospital's network? Ready and willing to spend, and fearful of buying a RevA Mactel anythihng. So, do I buy or do I wait? (Sounds like an old 80's tune.)
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Franz Josef
Passing by
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: London, Europe
 
2005-11-18, 04:03

I would be careful using VPC - it will be slow. I've had huge difficulty using it to remote dial into our corporate network.

That aside, if buying an iBook to tide you over isn't an option and you're using a Dell now, then maybe you're one of the few candidates who should be considering buying a PB now.
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Maciej
M AH - ch ain saw
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2005-11-18, 12:01

But won't VPC run much smoother and faster when the architecture of the chipset doesn't have to be emulated?
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awilso
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Devon - UK
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2005-11-18, 14:48

Hey guys, Whats with the wait for Intel thing? You all know your going to get a sub 1meg processor and and extra three hours battery life.

So if you want six hour battery life and an power drop on the processor -wait, if you want to hae the power - buy now.

I mean even if they put a 2,5 ghz processor in the powerbook in aint going to beat cuurent performance, we already know that from the Powermacs.

The new powerbooks will be thinner and lighter and have better displays, but your going to sacrifice processor power for it. God even now I can write spreadsheets on my powerbook that will crash and intel mainframe.

Don't get too excited, Intel is only eyecandy and margin for Apple, we are moving away from the original design criteria that Apple re-instated with Steve's return, the guy want's to retire on top, and he will sacrifice every last one of you to get there.

The force is strong in this one
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chucker
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: near Bremen, Germany
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2005-11-18, 19:34

I'm in a similar situation and have been pondering this for weeks. I first was going to get the lowest-end iBook (only to sell it next year for a PowerBook). With the recent revision of PowerBooks, however, I realized I wouldn't want to do that: I don't want to deal with another computer that's limited to 1024x768; it's just too little on OS X. Instead, I was going to buy the 15-inch PowerBook which is extremely well-equipped.

However, in light of recent rumors, I have decided to hold that off until MWSF.
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