I had one of these a while back, in 2003-4ish. I only ever used it for surfing the internet and listening to music, and it was perfect for me. I cant really remember what it was like to use. Im thinking of buying another one, but if i max out the RAM, could i run Adobe Photoshop and/or Imagready and iTunes, Firefox and MSN at the same time? Or would it really struggle, im on a really low budget, so unless i can get a hell of a deal on a G4. This is my only option.
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.
A few questions about 700mhz iBook.
- Thread starter Ben Winship
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Buy The 1.83GHz CD MacBook for $799 Refurb
It would really struggle. The way to go is monitor the SAVE refurb page and buy the 1.83GHz CD MacBook for $799. Buying another iBook would really mess with your mind.
It would really struggle. The way to go is monitor the SAVE refurb page and buy the 1.83GHz CD MacBook for $799. Buying another iBook would really mess with your mind.
If you're running photoshop it will be slow but usable, but it sounds like you want to work and play at the same time. iTunes will gobble up resources while you're trying to use photoshop. I use to have iTunes running at the same time while working with photoshop when I had a 1Ghz iBook and it was slow. But if I turned off iTunes it worked faster.
Its entirely up to you.
Hey multimedia I'm kind of in the same boat. My girlfriend needs a laptop for school next year and shes got around $500 to spend. I know someone that is selling a 12" ibook g4 1.3ghz for $500. She only needs it to type and do research. Do you think that would be okay for a student?
My first Mac was a 700MHz G3 iBook with 640MB RAM, 20GB hard drive and CD-ROM drive.
I used it for Final Cut Pro 3 and DVD Studio Pro 1.5. If you know how to manage your work, you can get along alright with a G3 iBook. I bought an external DVD burner and hard drive (both FireWire) for when I needed them. Having such a basic hardware setup allowed me to buy the software and camera (Canon XL1s) I needed. About a year later I got to upgrade to my first PowerBook.
The only problem with G3 iBooks is the logic board warranty extension program is over, and those things are still dropping dead.
I used it for Final Cut Pro 3 and DVD Studio Pro 1.5. If you know how to manage your work, you can get along alright with a G3 iBook. I bought an external DVD burner and hard drive (both FireWire) for when I needed them. Having such a basic hardware setup allowed me to buy the software and camera (Canon XL1s) I needed. About a year later I got to upgrade to my first PowerBook.
The only problem with G3 iBooks is the logic board warranty extension program is over, and those things are still dropping dead.
I would check the Refurb page, but i live in the UK so even the refurb prices are bumped up to hell. Our refurb prices are like the prices of your regular prices.
$500 For A 1.3GHz 12" iBook G4 Sounds Good
That would be fine for word processing and browsing. Sounds like a good deal. Just make sure to max out the RAM if it isn't already. But then you're getting closer to the new $799 price for 1.83GHz CD MacBooks. It's a hard call. Trouble is that people think they only want a computer for X and then after they get it they realize they also want to do Y and Z and suddenly it's not powerful enough for those unanticipated tasks.
upgrade hard drive for ibook g3?
Hiya,
Our ibook g3 hard drive died recently. We ran photoshop on it, but not too many programs at once. Mainly, it's for word processing and web surfing on the couch. We only ever had 256 MB ram in it.
I wonder if I should spring for a reasonable Seagate Memento 7200 drive for it? Perhaps get a 512 MB ram chip? The logic board never caused us any trouble.
Hiya,
Our ibook g3 hard drive died recently. We ran photoshop on it, but not too many programs at once. Mainly, it's for word processing and web surfing on the couch. We only ever had 256 MB ram in it.
I wonder if I should spring for a reasonable Seagate Memento 7200 drive for it? Perhaps get a 512 MB ram chip? The logic board never caused us any trouble.
If it were my iBook, I'd find a deal on a 40 or 60GB hdd and a 512MB sodimm and be done with it. I'd try not to put more than $90 total into the project. It's great that you've been fortunate so far with respect to the logic board. Come to think of it, if it were my iBook I'd just put a cheap functioning hard drive in it, offer it up on eBay and make the quantum leap to a MacBook.
OP i think that you would be able to do all what you needed but it is not going to be as fast as it would be on a more modern laptop.
Max out the ram if you can and maybe drop in a faster hard drive as that will help.
I am looking to buy a G4 iBook or maybe a Powerbook as a second laptop myself. I am only really interested in those that still have Applecare. Along with ebay.co.uk I have been looking at Ebay.com and the US refurb site. I bought a Clamshell before from the US and the dvd player could play UK PAL DVD's with no problem. I am a little concerned though that if i buy an iBook from the US that the dvd maybe a newer type that maybe set to US NTSC settings and this would be useless to me.
The UK refurb page never seems to get the old iBook's in or the old Powerbooks but the US store seems to have them in from time to time.
Max out the ram if you can and maybe drop in a faster hard drive as that will help.
I am looking to buy a G4 iBook or maybe a Powerbook as a second laptop myself. I am only really interested in those that still have Applecare. Along with ebay.co.uk I have been looking at Ebay.com and the US refurb site. I bought a Clamshell before from the US and the dvd player could play UK PAL DVD's with no problem. I am a little concerned though that if i buy an iBook from the US that the dvd maybe a newer type that maybe set to US NTSC settings and this would be useless to me.
The UK refurb page never seems to get the old iBook's in or the old Powerbooks but the US store seems to have them in from time to time.