Trying To Decide

[Agent69]

I'm in the middle of deciding which Powerbook to buy. (I don't want an iBook). I really like the new 12" Powerbook, which I checked out today while in CompUSA.

But while at CompUSA, I also checked out the 15.2" Powerbook on display. That thing has a really nice screen. Sadly, I can't afford this Powerbook, so I went out on the Internet, looking for bargins.

In my search, I have found a retailer selling the discontinued (but still brand-new) 667Mhz 15.2" Powerbook for $1899.00. Aside from the bigger screen, this Powerbook has the 32MB Radeon graphics chipset, 1MB L3 cache, Combo drive and 30GB hard disk drive.

So after all this, I basically want to know you all think about this. Is the 667Mhz Powerbook a good deal or do you think it would be wiser to go with the 12"? I know that the 12" would be faster but damn I really like the 15.2" screen.

Thanks.

[wolfeye155]

I would personally go with the 12" but that's only because I really value portability vs. screen size. If you have a good size CRT that you could connect it to at home then I think you would be set. Maybe you could put money away for that fvcking awesome new 20" Cinema Display?

Edit: DOH! Forgot that the 12" can't connect to Apple Displays.

[ 01-30-2003: Message edited by: wolfeye155 ]</p>

[EmAn]

The only reason why I'd get the Ti is if you want the bigger screen. Otherwise go for the better looking, more portable 12" PB.

[Agent69]

I wish!

[Agent69]

[quote]Originally posted by EmAn:
<strong>The only reason why I'd get the Ti is if you want the bigger screen. Otherwise go for the better looking, more portable 12" PB.</strong><hr></blockquote>

I'll be truthful, the screen is what's making this hard. It's just so awesome.

[Agent69]

BTW, Does anyone know of any comparison benchmarks I can look at? It would be interesting how far behind the 667Mhz is in performance, considering that it has the 1MB L3 cache.

Thanks.

[Nebagakid]

Dont go with the 15 PowerBooks, in my opinion those are now dead, if you buy those, you are paying for old technology at new technology prices, it would be much more wise to invest your money in the 12" or just wait for the 15"er to be upgraded wtih AirPort EXTREME and FireWire 800 and Bluetooth :)

yeah, but I think buying any Apple product without those items would not be a wise decision and that is why apple is in a bad place now to get rid of its inventory so they can upgrade their other models...as all will soon be getting this technology! <img src="graemlins/cancer.gif" border="0" alt="[cancer]" /> <img src="graemlins/cancer.gif" border="0" alt="[cancer]" /> <img src="graemlins/cancer.gif" border="0" alt="[cancer]" /> <img src="graemlins/cancer.gif" border="0" alt="[cancer]" />

[ 01-30-2003: Message edited by: Nebagakid ]</p>

[Me and my son]

I faced the same issue last week. Granted the 867 might be faster but you are looking at a 12in Screen. I had a ibook with the same size screen (600) and got this Powerbook 667 at J@R Music World for 1797 with free Ram. I never been more pleased with this... Get the 667 You will never look back...

[fireants22]

surprisingly, I wasnt alone...last week I was faced with the same delema.

Except, I settled down happily with a mint-conditioned (with warranty til Sept2003) 800mhz-G4Ti. Hard to pass-up a $1500US deal/steal (the 800-model comes with 512ram, 4-gig drive, and airport card standar)!!! The girl I bought it from was a moron. She bought it, didnt like the design, and bought the ibook800 12" instead. I wouldve had to pay much more to get the new 12" nicely configered with pretty much the same performance.

The screen is SPECTACULAR!. Just do it. Using the same arguments as buying "old tech vs. new-tech" and the 12" inches is fine hooked up to an external spanning-monitor- I had to do some major thinking.
Dont be decieved. Yesterday, I actually tried spanning the Ti with an external 20"-crt monitor. Yea it was cool...until I started working on a big file in photoshop. The normally zippy G4, was being bogged down by the 2nd monitor. :mad: I dont recommend getting the 12" if your plans are to attach it to a second monitor.

You will definately not be disappointed in a DVI-TiG4.(667-DVI and up)

[fireants22]

Agent69: BTW, benchmarks rate the new 12" powerbooks (max ram) to be about the same (performance-wise) as the TiG4-800mhz (that i have :) )

good hunting.

[Agent69]

Thanks for the replies.

I also wanted to mention that those of you considering the 12" Powerbook should like the keyboard on that unit. The keys have a nice amount of travel and it feels very solid, unlike the iBook which feels spongie.

[Agent69]

Well, I decided not to get it. I emailed them and the unit comes with MacOS X 10.1, meaning that I would have to pay for Jaguar. After doing that, I would be within $300.00 of buying a new 15" 867Mhz Powerbook.

I may just wait and see if the 15" are updated with match the new 12" and 17" Powerbooks.

Thanks again.