Found a good looking TiBook and an AlBook!

[AlbertEinstein]

I were checking eBay and came across a really good looking TiBook. No broken hinges, no loss of paint and no scratches on the lid, 400 Mhz and 8 Mb video but best of all: The optical drive is still inside!
(If you are more interested; model number M5884)

However, it is listed as broken as it won't boot and doe's not contain a harddrive or RAM. Now, i'm not a hundred percent sure, but the PowerBook won't boot unless it has RAM. Is this true?

Im also a bit uncertain about the price. He wants $60 for it and i'm not sure if that is a good price for a non-functioning unit (altough it is in amazing shape).

I have also found an AlBook that boots, but it is missing it's CD Drive. It looks a little rough, but do some polishing and it will look good again. It boots to the flashing questionmark, which could mean that it's missing a harddrive.
It costs about 56$.

Now what do you guys say? I want a PowerBook G4, but i'm not sure about the selection of computers. I want a PowerBook that i can restore (the working ones are a tad bit expensive), but i also want to make sure that it will work for a foreseeable future.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[eyoungren]

I were checking eBay and came across a really good looking TiBook. No broken hinges, no loss of paint and no scratches on the lid, 400 Mhz and 8 Mb video but best of all: The optical drive is still inside!
(If you are more interested; model number M5884)

However, it is listed as broken as it won't boot and doe's not contain a harddrive or RAM. Now, i'm not a hundred percent sure, but the PowerBook won't boot unless it has RAM. Is this true?

Im also a bit uncertain about the price. He wants $60 for it and i'm not sure if that is a good price for a non-functioning unit (altough it is in amazing shape).

I have also found an AlBook that boots, but it is missing it's CD Drive. It looks a little rough, but do some polishing and it will look good again. It boots to the flashing questionmark, which could mean that it's missing a harddrive.
It costs about 56$.

Now what do you guys say? I want a PowerBook G4, but i'm not sure about the selection of computers. I want a PowerBook that i can restore (the working ones are a tad bit expensive), but i also want to make sure that it will work for a foreseeable future.

Any help is appreciated.

Good deals. A lot of people on eBay don't get Macs and so put otherwise good units up for sale and mark them as for parts or repair.

I scored a $25 1Ghz TiBook this way and my wife's 12" PowerBook for $~50. The AlBook I am typing this on cost me $158, but that was two and a half years ago.

 

[skateny]

Not for me. At 400MHz, there isn't much I could do with it, besides play around with OS 9. It sounds as though you're willing to add/replace the HDD. If so, and if you're willing to pay the price, the faster the better.

If I were in the market for a portable Mac, I wouldn't go any lower than 867MHz, and it better be in great condition and at a great price. Not knowing in advance why these rigs aren't functioning properly is a bit of a gamble, but if you're willing to take the chance, and are okay with the limitations of an older PowerBook (and it does sound as though you're enthusiastic about making this purchase), then sure, it's a good buy. It's all about what you're expectations are and how much time, effort and money you're willing to put it into it.

 

[g4manimac]

Theres a tibook right now for $46 all together with shipping and a couple good deals on albooks 15.2 Im thinking about getting one for parts too.It seems to me like the price on macs just go up and down literally by the day.When I first became interested in the g4 I got a really good deal on a 15.2 powerbook 1.5ghz $120 but then a week later when my wife had to have one for her birthday I had to pay for that thing.

 

[eyoungren]

Not for me. At 400MHz, there isn't much I could do with it, besides play around with OS 9. It sounds as though you're willing to add/replace the HDD. If so, and if you're willing to pay the price, the faster the better.

If I were in the market for a portable Mac, I wouldn't go any lower than 867MHz, and it better be in great condition and at a great price. Not knowing in advance why these rigs aren't functioning properly is a bit of a gamble, but if you're willing to take the chance, and are okay with the limitations of an older PowerBook (and it does sound as though you're enthusiastic about making this purchase), then sure, it's a good buy. It's all about what you're expectations are and how much time, effort and money you're willing to put it into it.

Respectfully, I have to disagree somewhat. When my TiBook 400 was running it did just fine on Leopard surfing (TenFourFox) and email (Office 2004). Granted, I wasn't pushing it last year because the logicboard was damaged, but before November 2009 I used this Mac for everything, including graphic design. It may be a little slow, but it was productive.

 

[skateny]

Yeah, I get that. I was stuck on the OP's desire for it to work for the "foreseeable future."

This is all so very subjective. I'm no longer in the market for another PowerPC. If something good were available down the line, I might be tempted to buy something to play with, but I don't see that happening right now.

 

[g4manimac]

I guess im one of the lucky ones because the powerpc works great for me all I do is buy off craigslist and sell on ebay and surf the pages of macrumors,even though I do desire a new machine thankfully its not a necessity.Sometimes I end up watching a couple of hours of you tube and if its not working good on my powerbook I just watch it on my ps3.

 

[skateny]

I guess im one of the lucky ones because the powerpc works great for me all I do is buy off craigslist and sell on ebay and surf the pages of macrumors,even though I do desire a new machine thankfully its not a necessity.Sometimes I end up watching a couple of hours of you tube and if its not working good on my powerbook I just watch it on my ps3.

I never intended to suggest that I'm dissatisfied with using PowerPCs. On the contrary, I've very much enjoyed using them since my 520c PowerBook in the 1990s. I've owned (or my workplace has occasionally provided) virtually every Apple laptop (except the iBook G3 and the Clam Shell) since the 520c, and I loved them all.

By the time I got around to purchasing the iBook in my sig, I knew exactly what I was looking for and the price I was willing to pay for it. I've been delighted with its performance, and it continues to serve me well. I will never sell it, and I don't think it's a good idea for me to invest in another PowerPC unless I have a compelling reason to do so.

Not everyone who buys an older Mac knows what they're getting into, and this leaves some buyers frustrated. Whatever it is I enjoy about using my iBook, I do understand that it will not be useful in the ways it is currently useful for me forever. This is an unfortunate reality, but I wouldn't attempt to squeeze a few more years out of a newly purchased PowerPC in lieu of opting for an Intel Mac.

 

[g4manimac]

Exactly right you just gotta know what your getting thats where most if not all of complaints about older equipment come from,people buying an older laptop because they got a deal and then they realize its not gonna run the latest itunes and not do you tube the best so they label it worthless and they got ripped off.The only real reason I do want a new machine is because I do like to jailbreak iphones and doing that increases the value on the ones I sell and my current equipment will eventually be obsolete in doing so ,but I'll also not be getting rid of it any time soon if ever.