ibook and moniter

You can probably get a low end 17" LCD for that kinda money .. check http://dealmac.com/sections/peripherals.html for deals ..

nela said:

any suggestions regarding buying a 12in. ibook g4 with a moniter for in home work? where to get the moniter and what type for under $200? thanks

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i use my ibook with an external vga all the time and find it swell setup

I posted this on another thread but I will repeast it here because it seems appropriate. Beware! Even with the hack installed you will still face the problem of having the graphics memory split 16MB for laptop display and 16MB for external display. The powerbook has been getting a lot of heat lately for not having updates and not being a good value. However, the fact of the matter is..... if you are going to be using an external monitor most of the time go with the powerbook. It will support clamshell mode (ability to use laptop while closed with all graphics memory dedicated to external display) and you can select whatever resolution you monitor supports. My advice would be to wait and see if there are powerbook updates at MWSF and go with a 12" PB. Just my opinion tho.

I must say tho. The 12" iBook with memory upgraded is one heck of a machine. If you do not NEED to output to your monitor at a resolution higher than 1024x768 then go with the iBook. Best of luck in your decision

Chrispy said:

I posted this on another thread but I will repeast it here because it seems appropriate. Beware! Even with the hack installed you will still face the problem of having the graphics memory split 16MB for laptop display and 16MB for external display.

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unless you want to play games on 2 monitors that is hardly an issue ..

Mertzen said:

unless you want to play games on 2 monitors that is hardly an issue ..

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The problem with having the graphics memory split is there is no way to dedicate all 32MB to the external monitor. This will cause slowdowns in the performace of Panther in features like expose. But yes... unless you plan to play games or do heavy graphics work this will not be a problem. Just be aware that if you set your external monitor to a high resolution you will experience slowdowns.

nela said:

i want a moniter so i can have the 12in ibook, but then work with graphics on a bigger screen at my desk. Are there any major problems with connected the ibook to an external moniter that I should be aware of? Is there a type of moniter I should be looking for?

thanks

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Here is what I found works for what you sound like you want to do. I installed the monitor spanning hack and then set the external display at the primary display so the bar at the top displayed on that screen. If you don't need the other screen just turn the brightness all the way down on the laptop LCD. Boom you have an external monitor. As I warned of above, the downfall to doing this is you will only have 16MB of graphics memory to work with. On a 17" monitor or higher (with a resolution of 1280x1024 and up) you will notice graphical slowdowns. If you graphics work is not intense and you are not working with video then you should be ok. As I am sure you have read in other threads the only real separation between the iBook and Powerbook right now is the external monitor issue and the powerbook has twice the GPU memory. Hopefully that gives you something to chew on for awhile

Chrispy said:

Here is what I found works for what you sound like you want to do. I installed the monitor spanning hack and then set the external display at the primary display so the bar at the top displayed on that screen. If you don't need the other screen just turn the brightness all the way down on the laptop LCD. Boom you have an external monitor. As I warned of above, the downfall to doing this is you will only have 16MB of graphics memory to work with. On a 17" monitor or higher (with a resolution of 1280x1024 and up) you will notice graphical slowdowns. If you graphics work is not intense and you are not working with video then you should be ok. As I am sure you have read in other threads the only real separation between the iBook and Powerbook right now is the external monitor issue and the powerbook has twice the GPU memory. Hopefully that gives you something to chew on for awhile

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Just remember that installing the hack will void your warranty.

If that's not an issue, then by all means go ahead and do it.

absolut_mac said:

Just remember that installing the hack will void your warranty.

If that's not an issue, then by all means go ahead and do it.

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From what I was reading, there's no hardware modification (I haven't done it yet) But is there a way to undo the hack, incase I need to use the warranty?
Nick

nichos said:

From what I was reading, there's no hardware modification (I haven't done it yet) But is there a way to undo the hack, incase I need to use the warranty?
Nick

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True, a firmware hack doesn't change the hardware, but as I haven't done it, I'm not sure where you'd be able to find the firmware to flash it back to Apple specs.

absolut_mac said:

True, a firmware hack doesn't change the hardware, but as I haven't done it, I'm not sure where you'd be able to find the firmware to flash it back to Apple specs.

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The patch can be removed by resetting the system. Go here to see how..

http://www.rutemoeller.com/mp/ibook/ibook_e.html

it gives directions towards the bottom. Enjoy!

The hack doesn't void the warranty. If 16MB doesn't bother you, or if you want to run 1024x768 on both monitor mirrored, the iBook plus an external monitor is fine. You can get some good deals at Newegg.com or go to your local CompUSA, Best Buy, Circuit City, Fry's, etc. and see if there are any good deals or rebates. I got a 19" monitor at Fry's for about $120 after tax. It's nice too.