Who has a Powerbook?? What's the best value?
 

OK I used to be the "Mac guy" when I worked at the Helpdesk in college just a few years ago. However I'll admit I haven't had too much of a chance to play with OS X too much, but it looks bad ass. I need to get back into the groove.

When I was at HOPE I saw a surprising number of people with the white Powerbooks, and I've decided I need one. Everything I hear about the new Powerbooks says that they're great machines.

So which Powerbook will give me the most bang for the buck? Any recommendations? Where's the best place to buy one? Which model has the best chance of lasting the longest before it's obsolete?

I want something that's cheap as I can get (I know Powerbooks aren't cheap), but also high-performance and the most useful for the money.

Any suggestions would be welcome!!

A ha! A convert! You are a good man, my friend. First off, if you order online or on the phone you can get the student discount without any hassle. Even though I am a student, when I told them I was, they took me on my word. I pointed that out to the guy, and he said they run on the honor system. Take advantage of it if you like. I think the Apple Store is the best place to buy, its just part of the experience.

I have a 15" PowerBook with SuperDrive. I have the 1.25 Ghz model, with 512 MB DDR, and an 80 GB HDD. It suits my needs very well. Runs Photoshop, DVD Studio Pro, and Final Cut with no trouble. Now you can get a 1.5 Ghz machine for the same amount of green. With the student discount, it can be had for $2299, $2599 without. It is the best computing purchase I have ever made.

Why dont you get a p-p-p-power book. <------Joke.

If you just care about the computing, get the smallest one. The 17 incher is HUGE and bulky. Truly, just list your needs in a laptop and then list the pros and cons accordingly of the different models in reference to those needs.

either way, they are absolutely fantastic.

I have the 15" powerbook and I love it. However, for the best value, id say go with a 12" powerbook with a 1.33 G4 processor. OSX is great and the computer is great, I have no complaints with my powerbook. Being a student, I used the student discount as well, and its a surprisingly good discount, something like 200 or 300 dollars off the price of the computer, and like 100 bucks off applecare.

The "white Powerbooks" you're referring to are iBooks. The latest iBooks run the previous generations of the G4 chips - 800 MHz and up. The new PowerBooks run the 1+ GHz G4 chips.

Unless you're in need of the extra connectors on the PowerBook the iBook may be a better value. If you're looking for the latest, and greatest, get a PowerBook - I'm partial to the 15".

I've got a Titanium 800 MHz and 15" screen. It works very well for everything I do - even running Windows in Virtual PC.

I'm waiting for the G5 laptops before I buy a new PowerBook. I'm a patient man.

You may want to consider the AppleCare warranty with the purchase of your laptop. However, it's another $350 which can be hard to part with.

this question may be a google away, but i'll ask anyway.
Powerbooks come in the less than 1.5gHz...how do these compare to the newer intel/AMD chips? in otherwords how does a 1.33 G4 chip compare to a 3.2 or even a 2.6 gHz PC chip?

I think the 15 inch is the best value of powerbooks. Get the faster processor, load it up with RAM. But don't do it yet - I heard there may be some new products announced in September, including G5 iMacs. There will not be a G5 notebook, but the processors may get a boost, and they typically replace the line rather than raising the cost of the new ones.

Somebody always beats me to the reference, such a great internet story.

I also have a G4 Ti 800 and I love it. Make sure you get a built-in AirPort card. I think that all of the newer models have them in there by default, but make sure. After that, you could consider the AirPort Express base station. It acts as a wireless access point and you can hook it into your home theatre system and play your iTunes music from your laptop on the couch.