G3 iBook and Tiger

[Brother Michael]

I highly recommend Tiger to G3 iBook (and powerbook) users. It is really snappy and quick on my G3 600 mhz with 8megs of video ram.

Spotlight works fast, Dashboard is fast, all of it.

I know I was apprehensive about getting it for my Mac, even though it claims it is supported, but it is.

That is all I wanted to say.

Mike

[dr bognus]

yeah it runs great on my 500mhz ibook with extra RAM

[LGRW3919]

I highly recommend Tiger to G3 iBook (and powerbook) users. It is really snappy and quick on my G3 600 mhz with 8megs of video ram.
Mike


awesome thanks for the feedback. if you read my sig then you'll soon realize i'm on a G3 ibook as well and i'm on the fence about tiger. i really wanna move on from jaguar but i'm not sure if its worth the money if i'm going to be getting a Rev B 20" iMac soon, with Tiger on it. We'll see though. It sounds like tiger should be tolerable on this bad boy.

[JupiterTwo]

I think Tiger runs as quick, if not quicker than Panther in my G3 iBook. Things like Spotlight and Dashboard run great too - go for it - upgrade :p

[jamdr]

Well, rarely do Apple's operating systems get slower than previous versions, so I'd expect Tiger to run just as fast if not faster than Panther on any hardware. It's good that Apple isn't leaving us G3 Mac owners behind.

[Brother Michael]

LGRW3919: if you are running 10.2 I would definitely upgrade. It is worth every single penny.

To the rest: I am amazed by the speed of it too. I would have figured it would have been slower...WRONG!

[Vster]

Do you think it would run good on a G3 iBook 700 with 384 MB ram?

[ITASOR]

Yes, but upgrade the 256MB card under the KB to a 512MB card to get the max 640MB and you'll really run it nice!

[Vster]

Yes, but upgrade the 256MB card under the KB to a 512MB card to get the max 640MB and you'll really run it nice!

Thanks :D

[mkrishnan]

Vster, my experience (but with a G4 and more RAM) is that, in typical use, Tiger seems to use up about 64-128 MB more memory than Panther, so that I had to tone down multitasking very slightly (only in the most severe cases...iPhoto and PSE3 running on top of all the usual apps) as a result of Tiger. So if you typically operate with a lot of free RAM available, Tiger will probably be ok without the upgrade, but if you are getting beachballs now, you will get somewhat more with Tiger. But outside of beachballs, it's *definitely* faster for pretty much everything on which it runs.

[MacHarne]

Agreed. I've no had issues with Tiger and this machine is faster than ever.

i really wanna move on from jaguar but i'm not sure if its worth the money

Woah! If you are still on Jaguar, you'll likely experience a life-changing world with Tiger. Even with Panther - Expose entirely changed the way you could access programs and that was an enormous leap over Jaguar. However, jumping from Jaguar to Tiger might be so overwhelmingly great that you may explode or something. I'm just warning you...

:)

[Brother Michael]

Vster, my experience (but with a G4 and more RAM) is that, in typical use, Tiger seems to use up about 64-128 MB more memory than Panther, so that I had to tone down multitasking very slightly (only in the most severe cases...iPhoto and PSE3 running on top of all the usual apps) as a result of Tiger. So if you typically operate with a lot of free RAM available, Tiger will probably be ok without the upgrade, but if you are getting beachballs now, you will get somewhat more with Tiger. But outside of beachballs, it's *definitely* faster for pretty much everything on which it runs.

Heh, I don't have to worry about that. I am a horrible multi-tasker. I always close everything except for Camino, Adium, iTunes. So memory hasn't been a huge problem for me.

Mike

[Brother Michael]

Do you think it would run good on a G3 iBook 700 with 384 MB ram?

It should be ok. I have Mail, Adium, Camino and iTunes open and I am only using 191megs of RAM.

A side note, I loaded up Word and started typing and found that it is much more responsive than it was on Panther. I would type something and there would be a 1/2 to 1 second delay between what I typed and what appeared on the screen. It makes proofing on the fly easier.

Mike

EDIT: Expose is also a lot smoother too.

[oxjox]

I just got a used iBook 500 on eBay and I want to put Tger on it. I upgraded the hard drive to 60GB, loaded the Tiger DVD in but I'm getting a flashing folder. Wondering if the iBook either needs a firmware update or if I can't use the DVD to install Tiger :( I'm going to try and boot with target disk and see what happens - would appreciate some help though.

[matt_randal]

Did you upgrade you HD yourself?

I did a clean install of tiger and it runs great on my G3 800 ibook. Id say better than 10.3(Jaguar/panther....I cant remember!!).

[3lions]

would tiger work well on my 400mhz imac running 384mb RAM? I'm kind of doubting it but don't really know.

[oxjox]

I just got a used iBook 500 on eBay and I want to put Tger on it. I upgraded the hard drive to 60GB, loaded the Tiger DVD in but I'm getting a flashing folder. Wondering if the iBook either needs a firmware update or if I can't use the DVD to install Tiger :( I'm going to try and boot with target disk and see what happens - would appreciate some help though.

Target disk worked great :) Installing Linux on it now!
It is a little slow though, but I'm hoping its just because I just installed the new OS - journaling and syncing and whatnot...

[jiv3turkey748]

would tiger work well on my 400mhz imac running 384mb RAM? I'm kind of doubting it but don't really know.

panther runs ok on my imac 400mhz with 192mb ram it can be slow at times but its not too bad

[d_saum]

Awesome thread!!!! I have a G3 iBook (in sig) and want to install Tiger but was worried it might slow me down, but now I am stoked! Thanks! :D

Widgets....here I come!!!!

[mikeytwice]

I have an iBook G3 - what sort of ram do I need to purchase for upgrade? I'm not sure whether it has 128 or 256 - the Tiger install went berserk and now my mac hangs at startup at the grey apple screen. I'd rather not purchase ram from the Apple store as it's rather expensive, but I'd like high-quality ram nevertheless.

[d_saum]

I have an iBook G3 - what sort of ram do I need to purchase for upgrade? I'm not sure whether it has 128 or 256 - the Tiger install went berserk and now my mac hangs at startup at the grey apple screen. I'd rather not purchase ram from the Apple store as it's rather expensive, but I'd like high-quality ram nevertheless.


what speed is your g3? I would check pricewatch for a good deal (just be sure to check the reviews of the vendor). Dont know what happened to your install. Did it give you an error message?

I have a 700Mhz iBook with 640MB ram. This is what I added from pricewatch:
Size: 512 MB
Type: SDRAM
Speed: PC133U-333

[mikeytwice]

I'm not sure of the speed offhand. Actually, the computer isn't mine but a friend's, and I'm doing a favor. It should be fast enough, though I don't know if it has enough RAM. I tried formatting the drive and doing a reinstall by booting in target disk mode and installing from a DVD by loading the OSInstall package, and the iBook still hangs. I wish it ran, even if slowly, because then I'd be able to check all the specs...

[MacHarne]

EveryMac.com - for finding iBook specs (http://everymac.com/systems/apple/index.html)

DealRam.com - for finding the cheapest prices on memory (http://www.dealram.com)

[Spock]

I think Tiger runs really well on my Clamshell iBook 366MhZ maxed out with RAM the thing is still a fast capable laptop. Its no G5, but it gets the job done in a pinch.

[slooksterPSV]

If I get external storage for my apps and stuff, do you think tiger would run well on my iBook (considering I'm going to upgrade to 576MB of RAM). I'm kinda scared to install a new hard drive in it, and I think I'll wait 2 months before doing that.

[MarkCollette]

If I get external storage for my apps and stuff, do you think tiger would run well on my iBook (considering I'm going to upgrade to 576MB of RAM). I'm kinda scared to install a new hard drive in it, and I think I'll wait 2 months before doing that.

PowerMac G5 2.0GHz DP, 1GB RAM, 160GB SATA HDD, 128MB VRAM, OS X Tiger - Borrowed from a friend for the summer.
iMac G3 333MHz, 288MB RAM, 20GB HDD


Have you tried Tiger on your iMac G3 333 ? How would it compare to Panther?

[slooksterPSV]

Have you tried Tiger on your iMac G3 333 ? How would it compare to Panther?
My iMac doesn't have firewire.

[MarkCollette]

My iMac doesn't have firewire.So does the installer refuse and bail, or have you just not tried because it doesn't have the minimum requirements?

[slooksterPSV]

So does the installer refuse and bail, or have you just not tried because it doesn't have the minimum requirements?
Haven't tried - don't have it - waiting for iBook - after iBook gets here - I'm buying a new battery - after the battery - 512MB RAM - after RAM - External Hard Drive - after Ext. HDD - TIGER =D

[mikeytwice]

If I open the iBook, will I be able to tell what sort of processor it has? I think its 700mhz, but I'm not sure... is there a way to check without opening the iBook being that the OS won't boot? I'd rather not wait a week till I can get the old Jaguar install CDs from home...

Is there a way to open the iBook without using hex keys? I haven't looked at Apple's support pages yet, but will.

[Redline13]

If I open the iBook, will I be able to tell what sort of processor it has? I think its 700mhz, but I'm not sure... is there a way to check without opening the iBook being that the OS won't boot? I'd rather not wait a week till I can get the old Jaguar install CDs from home...

Is there a way to open the iBook without using hex keys? I haven't looked at Apple's support pages yet, but will.

Just take off the keyboard. There should be a small sticker with some basic info about the computer. To remove the keyboard on an iBook g3 just pull on the two small tabs on the left and the right on top of the keyboard. It should pop right off. If you need to get deeper inside cjeck out the iBook g3 take apart guide on www.pbfixit.com.