M AH - ch ain saw
Join Date: May 2004
|
Righty-O Guys,
I have a 1.25 Ghz 15" Powerbook, the model with 64 MB Radeon 9600, 80 GB HHD (4200 RPM) and Superdrive (forgot speed). I just realized that my powerbook is nearly 3 years old, so my question is, how long will it last? When should I buy a new one? In your opinions of course. User formally known as Sh0eWax |
quote |
Selfish Heathen
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
|
You should buy a new one when....
(choose one)
If you're currently suffering from option number three, I believe I can help you with that. The quality of this board depends on the quality of the posts. The only way to guarantee thoughtful, informative discussion is to write thoughtful, informative posts. AppleNova is not a real-time chat forum. You have time to compose messages and edit them before and after posting. |
quote |
Subdued and Medicated
|
5 years roughly. That's about how long Apple supports machines. My screen started acting up a little when it turned 5, but nothing I can't live with. My laptop still runs pretty good.
400Mhz Pismo. 60GB hard drive (originally 6GB I think) 640MB RAM (up from 128 and I paid extra for the single stick) 14.1" screen still bright. One tiny bright spot but almost invisible unless you know where it is. Something strange with the color blue now & then. Bought in 2000 Last edited by Ebby : 2005-12-16 at 03:51. |
quote |
Member
|
Quote:
|
|
quote |
Member
|
System life cycle is a continuous assessment, the system will last as long as:
A: It meets your user requirements B: It physically functions. So if it continues to meet your needs, and still functions then its a keeper. Wehn your needs change, or you feel that it no longer serves all your requirements then it's time to consider a new one. Thats the assessment I have always used |
quote |
‽
|
My typical system life cycle is between 3.5 and 5.5 years.
|
quote |
M AH - ch ain saw
Join Date: May 2004
|
I feel like everything is slow. I could put more ram in it, but then when I wanna get a new powerbook, the ram might no longer work. I'm worried that I'll drop money on something I"ll end up replacing anyway.
User formally known as Sh0eWax |
quote |
‽
|
Well, the drive is big (though slow) and the GPU isn't too fancy (although it has more than enough VRAM for normal use). You haven't, afaict, said how much RAM you have.
|
quote |
Subdued and Medicated
|
RAM is easily the cheapest upgrade for more power. If you can wait, it usually drops a bit after the holiday season.
|
quote |
M AH - ch ain saw
Join Date: May 2004
|
I have 512, and ram is not cheap. I have tried buying all sorts of ram, 1 gig chips for 130$ from New Egg, all the way up to Crucial, Viking, and other top named brands. I can't find anything that works.
The fact is not that I'd be dropping money to improve the speed, I'm worried about buying the thing, and only using if for 3-4 months. I suppose I should simply wait until the new iBooks or PowerBooks come out, otherwise I might get screwed with ram I can't use. I'd rather buy faster ram than is necessary (but that will work w/ next rev of laptops) than buy too slow of ram and end up having to buy more within a couple of months. User formally known as Sh0eWax |
quote |
Member
|
Another thing for speed on an old-ish machine...get the latest OS (perhaps, but not really required) and do an Archive and Install to your machine. This'll zap any bad settings and clutter, but save the stuff in a separate folder so you don't lose data. I saw this in action last week with a 700MHz G3 iMac, and it really helped.
|
quote |
Veteran Member
|
Quote:
My main work machine is one of the first 17" G4 PBs off the production line. It now has 1GB of ram and a 5400RPM 100GB drive... But other than that it's standard. This is the longest I have held onto one machine and I use it every day for a minimum of 12 hours a day. I am waiting for the screen to start giving me problems and then I'll relegate it to the spare room with a monitor as a movie / music system and wireless backup server. Running the latest OS and mostly the latest software I really cannot complain about this machines performance. It's not as snappy as my Dual G5 (obviously), but I still use the 17" more than the G5 by a long shot. I guess I am just a portable kind of guy. I really think that swapping out youur harddrive and adding some ram should solve *all* of your problems for at least another 12 months, minimum. 'Remember, measure life by the moments that take your breath away, not by how many breaths you take' Extreme Sports Cafe | ESC's blog | scratt's blog | @thescratt |
|
quote |
Veteran Member
|
Quote:
|
|
quote |
M AH - ch ain saw
Join Date: May 2004
|
Alrighty.
1) I have the latest stuff. It's not that I'm complaining about it being slow, I guess I'm just looking at an excuse to buy a new one. And I was looking for some opinions on whether its worth it or not to upgrade it RAM wise. 2) I've had problems with this 'Book since I first bought it. Screen issues, logic board issues, and an inability of any tech to fix it properly. I keep the thing in tip-top shape - software wise (running permissions, upgrades, most of the stuff in the sticky over at the Genius Board), as well as hardware wise. Quote:
Ahh well, I got my answer nothing gets changed unless I come across a real cheap chip that happens to work. Thanks guys. User formally known as Sh0eWax |
|
quote |
New Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
|
Once you get a new stick of RAM in there you'll notice a GIANT difference. Plus, when/if you sell it, you can always take the RAM stick out and get rid of that, so you really aren't going to be losing a lot of money on that.
Another stick of 512mb's would suit you very well... my friend had a Rev b. iMac 20"er with 512... it didn't run all too well, but then I sold him a stick of 512mb's (I had 1.5gb RAM in mine so I figured I'd sell him 512), and now his runs sooo much better. Definately a worthwhile upgrade. |
quote |
Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
|
Put it off till it hurts. You'll get more bang for your buck when you do.
For example, just this week I replaced my original iBook after 6 years. I bought a used 900MHz iBook. Despite being "obsolete" look what it has that my Precious does not: *CD burning *DVD reading *higher screen resolution (800x600 vs 1024x768) *significantly better video memory (4MB vs 32MB) *faster buss and memory *USB 2 *firewire Now, think about the difference between the my "obsolete" 900MHz iBook and the current model. The current model is faster. But that's about it. A little bit extra speed just is not worth a thousand dollars, IMHO. Last edited by Radarbob : 2005-12-18 at 21:24. |
quote |
M AH - ch ain saw
Join Date: May 2004
|
Quote:
Quote:
User formally known as Sh0eWax |
||
quote |
New Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
|
Quote:
I'd tell you to hold out until the second Rev of Intel PB's... or you could just go first rev if they get good reviews and there are no serious flaws 8-) |
|
quote |
Veteran Member
|
Just as a side note... Every machine I have ever bought from Apple is a hot off the production line 1st gen piece of kit... This is as recent as the first Dual G5 and as far back as the IIFX. I have never had a problem with any of them....
'Remember, measure life by the moments that take your breath away, not by how many breaths you take' Extreme Sports Cafe | ESC's blog | scratt's blog | @thescratt |
quote |
M AH - ch ain saw
Join Date: May 2004
|
Yeah, I think the whole Rev A thing is a stupid stigma that people need to get over, cause by a curious coincidence of events.
|
quote |
Sneaky Punk
|
In any case that is what Applecare is for right?
|
quote |
M AH - ch ain saw
Join Date: May 2004
|
Quote:
|
|
quote |
Sneaky Punk
|
True, but its better than paying for a new one, and after three problems they should replace your machine, just hope it lasts untill Rev B comes out.
|
quote |
9" monochrome
Join Date: May 2004
Location: 🇦🇺
|
Quote:
Maciej - Fwiw, this old beast is still plugging away and I think I bought it toward the end of 2001. Sure, I'd love a faster proc, greater bus speed, a QE capable video card, a combo (or super) drive, AE and Bluetooth - but for what I'm doing currently this is still OK. Especially for general home and office work: music, email, surfing, reports, spreadsheets, the odd presentation, etc. I'm lucky, though, because I have access to the school's dual 2.0GHz G5 which I can use for making movies and DVDs. However, come the new year, I'm going to look closely at the upgraded Mac mini or an iMac for personal use - primarily music editing. I'll keep this PB for mobile recording though. Last edited by Mac+ : 2005-12-19 at 21:06. |
|
quote |
M AH - ch ain saw
Join Date: May 2004
|
OWC is the only place I haven't tried yet, and thats just because lack of funds. I've heard great things about them, even from various people at work.
Furthermore, yeah I know I can really drag this thing out, especially since I'm usually patient with it. But I'm considering the whole thing since its more like "if I can, why not?" Ya know? Anyone have any idea what it would fetch on eBay? I would possibly like downgrading to a 12"-er? User formally known as Sh0eWax |
quote |
Sneaky Punk
|
Models like yours catch a far price. There are a few there now I just took a peak at since you asked. There are two listed right now, same specs, between $850 all the way up to $999.More RAM seems to drive up the price since models with 1.25GB RAM go for around $200 more, but thats still a lot for a three year old Powerbook, IMO.
|
quote |
M AH - ch ain saw
Join Date: May 2004
|
Yeah, I might have to take a look at the completed auctions really soon, just get a little bit of a gauge as to where I stand.
At this point I'm considering throwing in some ram, and just giving the laptop to my parents when I need to buy a new one. They're still using some old POS Toshiba with a 333mhz Celeron or something - and this would definitely be an upgrade if they were willing to deal with the new OS. User formally known as Sh0eWax |
quote |
Sneaky Punk
|
The numbers I gave you are from completed auctions, not currently running ones.
|
quote |
M AH - ch ain saw
Join Date: May 2004
|
Quote:
|
|
quote |
Posting Rules | Navigation |
|
Thread Tools | |
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Cell phone/land line for long distance. | Jerman | Purchasing Advice | 6 | 2005-11-09 05:09 |
Long time PC user ready to Switch | jweinraub | Purchasing Advice | 4 | 2005-06-08 19:17 |
Long time Mac basher switches. | Quagmire | General Discussion | 1 | 2005-02-18 16:41 |
How long will Apple go on with "G3, G4, G5" etc???? | macgeek2004 | Speculation and Rumors | 9 | 2005-01-20 16:28 |
A long drive... | Wrao | AppleOutsider | 25 | 2004-08-16 19:01 |