Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Is ibook G3 clamshell worth buying ..?
- Thread starter asifnaz
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
None of the G3 machines are worth it anymore. Stay clear of them. People here will tell you to either stick to OS 9, or they'll say to put Linux on it, but both won't allow you to do what you want. You can listen to music, but video and web browsing is pretty much dead. Office would look horrible on a screen with that low of resolution and wouldn't run very well as it's the minimum specs you need.
The latest models of the iBook G4s are much better, can run Leopard, and can still do non-HD video and web browsing pretty well. They're going to cost you in the $200-$300 range, so honestly think about whether you want a 7 year old machine that can't run all the new stuff and can cost you more if it starts needing replacement parts, or a 2006 MacBook Pro that can run up to Lion for the same price.
There's a reason why you can get most of the G3s at $50 or less. Even if you upgrade them yourself and stick Tiger on it, it does nothing to really improve them.
If the battery is working, maybe forty or fifty bucks.
I've only owned one once and I think the best you can do is 10.4 tiger with 576mb of ram and a 120 gig hard drive, though it would be awesome to see if anyone has put an SSD in one of them. Find out if it has an airport card and how long the battery lasts. The video is going to be poor.
Yes, and it's only going to get cheaper and cheaper. so keep that in mind. There are three cycles of Mac releases, the Early, the Mid, and the Late. By January, there will be more 2006/7 Intel models on eBay, and they will blow away anything an old PowerPC model can do right now and will last you a very, very, very long time with only a small 4GB RAM upgrade.
Only if it cost USD $4 dollars.
I strongly recommend you to get either:
PowerBook G4 1.67 Ghz with 2GB of RAM 17" DLSD/HR
or a Macbook Pro (2006)
For newbies: Run Far Far Far Away from G3
I never liked the clam shell form factor. But even if it were a G3 PowerBook with similar specs, I'd pass unless it were a gift.
Keep in mind there are plenty of them with a failed lower RAM slot, I know, I have one.
Well when focusing on performance and software support those are pretty much worthless. They might have some collection value, but that's pretty much it. They can of course be used in very light tasks (just like my Pentium I 166MHz could be used) and for web surfing if you are very patient person. Only multiprocessor / core G5's feel OK in everyday use when speaking about PowerPC -machines. Dual G4 1.42GHz was noisy and didn't make up in performance.
The aluminum PowerBooks still work very well for the most part. I currently have a 15 inch 1.67 ghz with 2gbs of ram. leopard runs great but web pages re getting progressively slower. Still does most of what I need. I just got a chromebook to complement it because my graduate program uses google docs a lot which runs like a wounded bantha on older hardware and browsers.
before that I had a 12" 1ghz model that also ran leopard surprisingly well
before that I had a 12" 1ghz model that also ran leopard surprisingly well
Look for a G4 PowerBook or G4 iBook instead. The G3 clamshells aren't going to stream any video, period, even non-HD.
If you use Greasemonkey or Greasekit you can stream videos just fine on a G4 PowerBook or G4 iBook (non-HD videos). If you're active on eBay or Craigslist you can find one of those under $100. Clamshells are cool but they're still popular among collectors, so they are in the $50-100 range or more, more like $100 or more for a clean, fully working one. You can buy a G4 PowerBook or G4 iBook (avoid G3 iBooks) for that same price and they are a much more powerful and competent computer, even today.
What he said.
It's a nice collectors' item, but there isn't much you can do with it.
I got my iBook almost three years ago, and I still use it for everything I need.
Ok, some recommendations before you buy a PowerPC (if you choose to get PowerPC):
iBook G4/1.42 14-Inch (Mid-2005 - Op)1.42 GHz PowerPC 7447a (G4)
PowerBook G4 1.67 17" (DLSD/HR - Al)1.67 GHz PowerPC 7447a (G4)
Both with RAM above 1GB
Now Intel, well, choose the Macbook:
MacBook Pro "Core Duo" 1.67 15"1.67 GHz Core Duo (L2400) (SuperDrive)
Regards,
Yes if you are looking for the cheapest possible option for an Apple laptop then PowerPC is the way to go. Those tasks which you mentioned can be done on a low end machine, maybe some videos might be too much for G3, I recently tried to watch BluRay rip of one movie on my G4 and it absolutely choked, it was not exact rip meaning that it was compressed down quite a bit but still, it was too much. My Intel PC laptop and 120 dollar Android -tablet had no problems playing the video (I believe even those dirt cheap tablets would be able to play it). For basic web surfing G4 1.67GHz or near similar MHz G4 is OK if you use something other than Safari, it was ridiculous that Google image search brought the machine down to its knees with the famous spinning beach ball....
Actually, I would upgrade to on of the early Core 2 Duos, as those are 64 bit. which = much better, longer lasting support.
They don't have 64-bit EFI, but they can run the 64-bit apps.
But yeah, there are the early models that are stuck on Snow Leopard (or it may just be the MacBooks), which would be as bad as sticking to Leopard soon enough. Lion is going to be supported for yet awhile, so it's best to get the cheapest machine that can load it.
http://www.macofalltrades.com/Apple_MacBook_13_inch_2_0GHz_Intel_Core_Duo_p/mb-13-20-e06w.htm
2GHz Core Duo MacBook for $299.
http://www.macofalltrades.com/Apple_MacBook_13_inch_2_4GHz_Intel_Core_2_Duo_2008_p/mb-13-24-e08w.htm
2.4GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook for $449.
As many have stated, stay away from the G3 machines if you're intending to use them as regular computers. If you want to stay with a PowerPC Mac, then go for a late-model PowerBook or iBook, although I'd lean towards the PowerBook. In reality though, go for an early-model MacBook, Pro or not.
2GHz Core Duo MacBook for $299.
http://www.macofalltrades.com/Apple_MacBook_13_inch_2_4GHz_Intel_Core_2_Duo_2008_p/mb-13-24-e08w.htm
2.4GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook for $449.
As many have stated, stay away from the G3 machines if you're intending to use them as regular computers. If you want to stay with a PowerPC Mac, then go for a late-model PowerBook or iBook, although I'd lean towards the PowerBook. In reality though, go for an early-model MacBook, Pro or not.
Last edited:
I am really tempted to buy these Intel macbooks . With some research I have found that PPC is not supported by Apple and not even Linux . I am not a collector so I should get Intel macbooks for better mac experience .
I wonder what maximum OS X above mentioned macbooks can run...?
Core Duo, Snow Leopard, Core 2 Duo, Lion.
You will need to add some RAM though, but you'll love it.
The Linux Kernel supports the PowerPC architecture. All of the common distros have a PowerPC version.
True
That most common Linux distros have a "unsupported" PPC build, but OP seems like a newbie and probably would be best served by picking up one of those early Intel macs and going Snow Leopard. They have come down in price quite a bit of late.
Still use and love my PPC ibook, but I wouldn't buy one. Definitely would not buy any G3 at this juncture. Especially when really decent Core Duo and Core 2 Duo's PC laptops can now be picked up for sub 200 dollars, I saw one go for sub 100 on ebay last night. Slap a LTS Ubuntu or Mint or anything on those and you are good to go for a few years.
That most common Linux distros have a "unsupported" PPC build, but OP seems like a newbie and probably would be best served by picking up one of those early Intel macs and going Snow Leopard. They have come down in price quite a bit of late.
Still use and love my PPC ibook, but I wouldn't buy one. Definitely would not buy any G3 at this juncture. Especially when really decent Core Duo and Core 2 Duo's PC laptops can now be picked up for sub 200 dollars, I saw one go for sub 100 on ebay last night. Slap a LTS Ubuntu or Mint or anything on those and you are good to go for a few years.
There's pretty much only one scenario in which I'd buy a G3: If it came new in an unopened box and at a bargain price. I'd keep it around as a collector's item, and that's it.
Where do you live?
There is no such thing as a cheap Apple laptop here in europe that I've found. Though there are some MDD's on ebay for 85Euro BIN that I'm have a hard time not BIN.
Dude, i got a G3 Clamshell just under 2 years ago (The last SE model, 455MHz, 500-600MB RAM, 10GB hard drive. Came with Panther/OS9, upgraded to Tiger)
Here is my experience:
RAM wasnt too much of an issue, but i had to do a lot of streamlining of Tiger for it to perform well. (e.g. turning off Spolight/Dashboard/Visual Effects etc)After doing this i could run numerous apps at the same time.
iTunes - Worked fine, although the latest verison it ran didn't have access to the iTunes Store (version 5?) This would also be a pain if you have an iPod bought in the last 5 years you need to sync.
Office 2004 ran like a pig on my late 2006 iMac, on the clamshell it was worse. I did look into iWork but was unable to find a copy that ran on the clamshell which didnt cost as much as the laptop itself. Ended up using Bean and saving in .rtf format
Web Browsing isn't great. The 800x600 screen isn't good for web browsing at all, pages are natively larger than the screen so theres alot of zooming out or horizontal scrolling. The latest version of Safari that works is version 4 and this crashed a lot. Tried the latest versions of Opera/Comino to work on Power PC G3 and there were numerous rendering issues. TenFourFox was better but not great. A lot of more complex webpages refused to load on any browser.
Video - i spent a lot of time on this. Numerous web browsers, video optimisation/compression in Opera. Different media players. The MacTubes YouTube client. The mobile Youtube site, YouTube HTML5 etc i couldn't get ANY video to run more than a few frames per second. You can also forget about any form of Flash video.
MobileMe did work fine, but iCloud doesn't.
i was very surprised to find Dropbox was still supported, although i don't know if this is still the case.
The built in networking is adequate for light use. the Ethernet is basically what you still get on some cheaper laptops. The wifi is 802.11a which may not work with your router depending on its setup.
external storage is provided by a FW400 port and a USB1.1 port. USB1.1 is painful, it took hours to backup 6GB to a memory stick.
The speaker is mono and doesn't even sound as good as an iPhone lol
The keyboard and trackpad are surprisingly good, although the trackpad doesn't support right clicking at all.
The screen isn't a patch on the iMac G4 i still have, but is usable.
Its HEAVY, but sturdy.
I can imagine most of the issues mentioned would be exacerbated if the clamshell was running an even older OS. Bearing in mind my Clamshell is the last top-end release i can't recommend it or a lower specc'd model for anything more than a hobby/collectors piece.
If you're just looking for a cheap laptop i'd recommend not paying too much attention to its funky styling and go for something newer. Preferably an intel macbook, or even a Windows laptop or a small tablet.
Here is my experience:
RAM wasnt too much of an issue, but i had to do a lot of streamlining of Tiger for it to perform well. (e.g. turning off Spolight/Dashboard/Visual Effects etc)After doing this i could run numerous apps at the same time.
iTunes - Worked fine, although the latest verison it ran didn't have access to the iTunes Store (version 5?) This would also be a pain if you have an iPod bought in the last 5 years you need to sync.
Office 2004 ran like a pig on my late 2006 iMac, on the clamshell it was worse. I did look into iWork but was unable to find a copy that ran on the clamshell which didnt cost as much as the laptop itself. Ended up using Bean and saving in .rtf format
Web Browsing isn't great. The 800x600 screen isn't good for web browsing at all, pages are natively larger than the screen so theres alot of zooming out or horizontal scrolling. The latest version of Safari that works is version 4 and this crashed a lot. Tried the latest versions of Opera/Comino to work on Power PC G3 and there were numerous rendering issues. TenFourFox was better but not great. A lot of more complex webpages refused to load on any browser.
Video - i spent a lot of time on this. Numerous web browsers, video optimisation/compression in Opera. Different media players. The MacTubes YouTube client. The mobile Youtube site, YouTube HTML5 etc i couldn't get ANY video to run more than a few frames per second. You can also forget about any form of Flash video.
MobileMe did work fine, but iCloud doesn't.
i was very surprised to find Dropbox was still supported, although i don't know if this is still the case.
The built in networking is adequate for light use. the Ethernet is basically what you still get on some cheaper laptops. The wifi is 802.11a which may not work with your router depending on its setup.
external storage is provided by a FW400 port and a USB1.1 port. USB1.1 is painful, it took hours to backup 6GB to a memory stick.
The speaker is mono and doesn't even sound as good as an iPhone lol
The keyboard and trackpad are surprisingly good, although the trackpad doesn't support right clicking at all.
The screen isn't a patch on the iMac G4 i still have, but is usable.
Its HEAVY, but sturdy.
I can imagine most of the issues mentioned would be exacerbated if the clamshell was running an even older OS. Bearing in mind my Clamshell is the last top-end release i can't recommend it or a lower specc'd model for anything more than a hobby/collectors piece.
If you're just looking for a cheap laptop i'd recommend not paying too much attention to its funky styling and go for something newer. Preferably an intel macbook, or even a Windows laptop or a small tablet.
Last edited: