17" PowerBook Opinions

By casualfunk
in Apple (macOS)

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Neowinian

casualfunk

Posted
Posted

So my trusty old 600MHz Sony Vaio notebook just died, and it's time to move on to a new laptop. Given that I'm a mobility ###### who also happens to be a graphic designer, I've opted for the 17" Apple PowerBook, maxxed out.

I haven't oredered it just yet, and before I do I'd like to get some of your opinions on it. Has anyone had any problems? Any complaints? Anything you wish wasn't missing?

Also, what's up with the 1920x1400 business?

Thanks a ton!

Rob

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punker429

Posted
Posted

I work for apple and my favorite powerbook is the ultimate 15". I think the 17" is a bit too big to be portable. If you wanted the larger screen, you could go with the 15 and a studio display. Unless you where looking for a desktop replacement then I would just got with the new 20? iMac is an awesome deal.

Grand Master

Southern Patriot

Posted
Posted

Missing? What on earth is it missing? Apple puts everything but the kitchen sink in the 17" PowerBooks, which is one of the things that makes them so damned expensive. Personally, I would get the 15" version instead of the 17" (any brand, not just the PowerBook) because those 17" screens are friggin' huge, making the whole laptop seem too big. You can get pretty much all of the same things in the 15", other than the resolution. Then again, I carry a 12" iBook, since portability is more important to me than screen size.

Neowinian

casualfunk

Posted
  • Author
Posted
so are you getting it with 2 gb of ram??  cuz thats thre only upgrade i can see for the 17" lol

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Ahh, yes then, the 2GB option.

The 17" doesn't bother me much, but working in a caf? with it might be a bit.. odd.

I hadn't thought about the 15" with the studio display option. I'll be looking into that!

Thanks!

Rob

Veteran

Neztea

Posted
Posted

Well, I have the setup your talking about, the 15" Powerbook with the apple display (20") and it really is an awesome set up, Got the Logitech MX1000 mouse and wireless apple keyboard and it really was worth the money. The mobility is awesome and the battery life is just amazing, 4 hrs of battery life if you just turn down the brightness on the display of the powerbook, and it still bright enough to see and all. But yeah, its just a really awesome set up, trust me, you money is worth it going into a setup like this :D

Neztea

Grand Master

Shetland

Posted
Posted

For portability i think that the 15" is the best, the 12 seemed too small when I used it, and the 17" felt lovely to look at on a desk, but hell to carry around.

I personally will be purchasing a 15" Powerbook with 1GB ram (and since I can pull both sticks out, i will upgrade to 2gb later down the line)

Mentor

Porsche Design

Posted
Posted

graphic designer?> definatly not 12"

depending on yourself, would you sacrifice the mobility for a screen 2 inches more diagonally

-17 also has a lil bit more extra features

macintosh computers seem to have more resolution settings, or is that just cuz my 15" lcd can only support 1024x768 or i have a crappy graphic card

Grand Master

Southern Patriot

Posted
Posted (edited)
depending on yourself, would you sacrifice the mobility for a screen 2 inches more diagonally

-17 also has a lil bit more extra features

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I don't think the 17" has any features that aren't available in the 15" version (other than the resolution).

edit: I just checked, and the only thing that the 17" has that isn't available in the 15" (even as a Build to Order option) is the 100GB hard drive. The max offered in the 15" is 80GB (at least through the web site). I'm sure if you talked to the right person at Apple Customer Service, you could probably get one built in though.

Edited by roadwarrior
Grand Master

jamend

Posted
Posted
macintosh computers seem to have more resolution settings, or is that just cuz my 15" lcd can only support 1024x768 or i have a crappy graphic card

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It's only cheap 15" laptops that have XGA (1024x768) displays. Better ones will have SXGA+ (1400x1050) or even UXGA (1600x1200). Unforunately high resolution is something PowerBooks don't have (WXGA/1280x854 for the 15" and 1440x900 for the 17").

Anyways, the 17" is light for its class but still heavy overall. The 15" actually has a better (brightness, contrast) screen than the 17" and it doesn't really miss anything that the 17" has.

Grand Master

Southern Patriot

Posted
Posted
It's only cheap 15" laptops that have XGA (1024x768) displays. Better ones will have SXGA+ (1400x1050) or even UXGA (1600x1200). Unforunately high resolution is something PowerBooks don't have (WXGA/1280x854 for the 15" and 1440x900 for the 17").

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Yes, but the other resolutions you quoted are 4:3 aspect ratio, the PowerBooks have widescreen displays, which is why they are shorter.

Proficient

robniep

Posted
Posted

I personally like love the 17inch powerbook and I will be purchasing it when I go off to college. For designing I would highly recommend the 17inch. You just can't ever have enough room on your display :p

Also: The 17inch can drive the 30" display and the hard drive is bigger. Other than that the 15inch and 17inch are the same.

Grand Master

Shetland

Posted
Posted
I personally like love the 17inch powerbook and I will be purchasing it when I go off to college. For designing I would highly recommend the 17inch. You just can't ever have enough room on your display :p

Also: The 17inch can drive the 30" display and the hard drive is bigger. Other than that the 15inch and 17inch are the same.

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You and all the others who said this are wrong. the 15" can drive the 30" display with it's ATi Radeon 9700 128MB and the 15" also can come with a 100GB Ultra ATA Drive (5200rpm) directly from the Apple Store for both of them.

Grand Master

Southern Patriot

Posted
Posted
You and all the others who said this are wrong. the 15" can drive the 30" display with it's ATi Radeon 9700 128MB and the 15" also can come with a 100GB Ultra ATA Drive (5200rpm) directly from the Apple Store for both of them.

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I know it can drive the 30" display if you get the upgraded video built into it, but according to the PowerBook specs page (which is what I was going by) the 100GB drive is not available on the 15". Maybe they made a mistake on that page.

Apple's PowerBook specs page (note what it says in the chart under hard drive)

Grand Master

Southern Patriot

Posted
Posted
once youve maxed out the 15" powerbook to the same specs as the 17", there is barely any difference in cost between the two.

go for the 17" :D

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There is exactly a $200 difference in price, and over a pound difference in weight. For portability, the 15" beats the 17" hands down. That being said, if portability isn't an issue, then a 17" or 20" iMac G5 would be a much better deal.

Here is the price for both of them maxed out (17" on left, 15" on right):

Grand Master

Southern Patriot

Posted
Posted
yep my region of the apple online stop allow 100gb on the 15"

edit: nope its the same for you, go to where you'd buy a powerbook and then just choose 100gb under the options.

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Yes, I know that now. I was just looking at the specs page when I made my original post stating that the 100GB drive wasn't available in the 15". Apple really should update that page.

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