I'm in the market for a decent used iBook G3 to use to switch my parents to Mac and I'd like a little information please.
First of all what were and when did they change the video memory sizes. Is this the most important thing to look for after processor speed?
Also, when did they go from tray to slot loading drives?
Any other pointers or what to look out for would be appreciated.
Regards,
Bruce
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Windows is like pop music. Everyone would rather listen to something else, but it's the only thing playing on the radio. Some people claim to like it, and we all respect their opinion, because it's politically incorrect and not nice to make fun of stupid people.
Windoze on a Mac:- You can put a grandpa in a Porsche but hell still be blind in one eye and smell funny.
I'm in the market for a decent used iBook G3 to use to switch my parents to Mac and I'd like a little information please.
First of all what were and when did they change the video memory sizes. Is this the most important thing to look for after processor speed?
Also, when did they go from tray to slot loading drives?
Any other pointers or what to look out for would be appreciated.
Short answers: VRAM went from 8 MB in 2001 to 16 in 2002 to 32 in 2003.
All the G3 Dual USB iBooks (2001+) have a tray-loading drive. The slot-loaders came in with the G4 models in late 2003.
The 500 MHz models have a slow system bus. (66 MHz vs. 100 MHz for the others).
All G3 iBooks (Dual USB, not the earlier clamshell units) are at risk of random logic-board failure. Machines less than three years old are covered, whether the machine has Applecare or not.
The earlier iBooks, the multicoloured clamshell models, are very rugged but the display resolution is 800 x 600 and processors are a bit slow for OS X. If you do decide to get one of these, you'll probably want to upgrade the HD, max the RAM, and install 10.3 only. For all others, max the RAM (640 MB in most cases) and install either 10.3 or 10.4.
If this is a person's first computer, even a basic G3 500MHz iBook is fine for basics like e-mail, word processing, internet surfing, etc. They can be usually found for around $500.
Do they want CD burning capability? Watch DVDs?
An increase in VRAM may help performance when it comes to the speed of the OS, or games, but is that speed increase really necessary?
I'm running a G3 500 iBook with 10.3 (soon to be 10.4), and it runs smooth.
Never had a logic board issue. Battery still gives me about an hour. My wife can watch DVDs on road trips. I can surf the Yahoo TV guide from my couch.
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Now working at the University of Toronto Campus Computer Shop
Educational Pricing for Educational Customers
Do yourself a favour and get a Pismo (400 or 500). Best bang for the buck, and superior to Titanium PowerBooks in many ways.
Care to elaborate?
__________________ To create a new standard, it takes something thats not just a little bit different, it takes something thats really new and really captures peoples imagination and the Macintosh, of all the machines Ive ever seen, is the only one that meets that standard. Bill Gates
I'd suggest you download this handy program Mactracker. It gives you all the mac specs like ram, processor speed, hard drive, etc. Handy for comparing models or trying to figure out what type of ram you need.
I bought my wife a Powerbook G3 400mhz for Christmas. It has a lot of bang for the buck $300.00 - $400.00, 2 USB, attach 2 monitors, twice the cache size of an iBooks and can play DVD's (only in OS9.) I pumped the ram from the stock 64 to 512 and added a faster (and newer) hard drive. Works great in OS 10.3.5, but iPhoto5 is super slow for editing pics.
If you get the higher model, the Pismo (Powerbook G3 400 or 500 mhz) it has all the bells and whistles, plus 2 firewire ports, plays DVD's in OSX and can be maxed out to 1 gig of ram. Prices are higher $500 plus.
If you're folks are just looking into lite weight computer stuff: web surfacing, sending emails and Microsoft Word, the iBook 466 to 500 is more than adquate and the prices are really affordable. Make sure the hard drive is big enough for loading OSX on it.
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Home-Hackintosh 2.4 GHz Quad core
On the road- 2.4 Ghz Macbook Intel Core 2 Duo
Work- 27" iMac- 3.06 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
Print and Web Designer
Easy - they don't fall apart - that's why you never see a Ti forsale on our web site but you'll see Pismos whenever we get them.
Easy to upgrade - durable - and with the 1 meg L3 cache are remarkably quick - even better with Tiger. Modular set up makes it easier if something like a DVD player goes south.
__________________ Spring Cleaning Sale email for flyer..sweet prices across the board Many Retina's, Airs, new iMacs all on sale - great OWC at par Trades welcome
Spring Cleaning Sale email for flyer..sweet prices across the board Many Retina's, Airs, new iMacs all on sale - great OWC at par Trades welcome
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