iBook refurb- up to par?

[supergrandma]

I have a friend who recently ordered a refurbished iBook 12", and I am wondering if this system would be considered "up to par."

- 800 MHz G3
- 30 GB HD
- 128 MB RAM
- OS 10.2

He got this for less than $600, so if the specs are well received, I may pick one up myself. (Not sure where he got it, though.)

I may use this for light Photoshop and some basic iLife applications.

Thanks.

 

[Gokhan]

oh

that is a g4 right ?
if not that is too much dough for a g3 considering it suffers logic board failures very quickly

 

[FFTT]

They go quickly, but I would hold out for the latest model refurb 12" iBook 1.33 Ghz/512 MB RAM/9550 GPU/scrolling track pad/BT & AP/40GB HD/ Combo drive for $799 direct from Apple.
And of course it will shipped with OS X Tiger and iLife '05.

The one I bought for my daughter arrive perfect and included the 60 GB
upgrade at no cost.

If you plan to install Tiger on that 800 Mhz iBook that's going to run you $129 and with the stock 30 GB HD you're barely going to have any room left even with a lean custom install.

 

[CanadaRAM]

I have a friend who recently ordered a refurbished iBook 12", and I am wondering if this system would be considered "up to par."

- 800 MHz G3
- 30 GB HD
- 128 MB RAM
- OS 10.2

He got this for less than $600, so if the specs are well received, I may pick one up myself. (Not sure where he got it, though.)
I may use this for light Photoshop and some basic iLife applications.

Out of date OS, inadequate RAM, no Apple warranty (because it obviously wasn't bought from Apple), no iLife applications included presumabyl -- bad deal

 

[FFTT]

This right here folks is what the MacRumors buyers guide is all about.

SuperGrandma,

Welcome and I'm so glad you came here for advice.

 

[TodVader]

I would buy at least one with Airport since you will regret your purchase without one IMO, or at least have to buy one.

 

[coachingguy]

Get a new refurb for not much more...

I just got a 12" G4 1.33 refurb for $799 about a month and half ago. It's been a great buy. Don't go back...nearly six generations for a savings of $200. Tiger and iLife and the hard drive protection and scrolling track pad make up the difference in price. I'm surprised daily by how much faster my new G4 iBook is than my old G3 900mhz... In addition, I think the new keyboard is better, it certainly quieter... ;-) Get a new refurb. IMHO the G3 800 iBook shouldn't cost more than $300 right now. Good Luck and welcome!

Coachingguy

 

[SmurfBoxMasta]

Out of date OS, inadequate RAM, no Apple warranty (because it obviously wasn't bought from Apple), no iLife applications included presumabyl -- bad deal

agreed.....add to that an outdated cpu & gpu (especially for OS X)

I would NOT give more than $300 for that ibook

 

[Deepdale]

You were partially right in using the word par in your description ... however, I believe the proper context would be to refer to that system as sub-par given the price you cited.

 

[doucy2]

where did you get it?
the 1.2's at the apple refurbished store are a great deal
another gooding thing with buying apple, it that u get the minmum specs you ordereed (but if they run out of that one, they will usually bump u up, better processor, or hd) buyong refurbished not a bad deal usually (unless it has lots of tech issues)

i want to get a cheap g4 800mhz ibook for my self, but look ot me the 1.2 is a better deal at the moment

 

[supergrandma]

Thanks, everyone. I have been wondering if the current iBook prices will fall dramatically when they are sold as refurbs as soon as the Intel iBooks come out.

I appreciate the comments though on the other system. (800 MHz G3 did seem out-of-date.)

The site my friend bought this from is http://www.expercom.com

 

[doucy2]

yea the g3 800 is out of date (i sold mine a while back), even though i loved it it wasnt fast enough

when intel comes out i think apple will still manufacture some PPC machines but not as many
prices will be cut a noticable sum, but not a drastic price drop

i wouldnt wait for that if i was you, buy a ibook now (intels dont come to fall next year)

 

[killmoms]

i wouldnt wait for that if i was you, buy a ibook now (intels dont come to fall next year)

Actually, Intel Macs will be shipping by WWDC of '06, which is in the summer. Steve's words. And some rumors are saying that the first Intel machines may actually debut at or shortly after MWSF '06 in January.

 

[Makosuke]

I'd like to add that there's nothing inherently wrong with the 800MHz iBooks--they're still perfectly capable machines for the right user--but you're not going to be doing much with 128MB RAM and 10.2, and it'd be overpriced even if it had more RAM and a more recent OS.

For comparison, ExperCom.com right now is selling the exact same computer with three times the RAM for $429, and you could recently get a 1.2GHz G4 iBook 12" with 256MB and a 30GB drive for $699 direct from the Apple Store, which also gets you a full Apple warranty.

I wouldn't spend more than $400, max, on a G3 iBook, but the price difference is relatively small to upgrade to a drastically more powerful refurb from Apple if you just keep your eye on the specials page.