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BTO my way :)

rhpenguin

rhpenguin

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 10, 2003
929
0
London, Ontario
Well with all the new updates to Apples moble line I thought it may be time to get a G4 processor into my household. After looking at the iBook line (PowerBook is out of my pricerange) and thinking its not really worth upgrading my machine yet (top speeds on iBooks arent fast enough to warrant an update) i decided to pimp out this iBook and make it a little nicer to use.

Just added 512MB of PC100 RAM from Crucial, an internal superdrive from MCE Technologies (no real reason for the superdrive except for wow factor) and a 60GB Hitachi Travelstar HDD (7200RPM, 8MB Cache). If your looking to squeek some extra life out of your G3 iBook definatly swap the HDD to the Hitachi Travelstar drive because it makes for some noticeable improvements.

Cost a little under $1000 to get parts and installed everything myself. This thing seriously feels like a new machine and its actually built to order with the parts i want in it! Go me!
 
rhpenguin said:
Well with all the new updates to Apples moble line I thought it may be time to get a G4 processor into my household. After looking at the iBook line (PowerBook is out of my pricerange) and thinking its not really worth upgrading my machine yet (top speeds on iBooks arent fast enough to warrant an update) i decided to pimp out this iBook and make it a little nicer to use.

Just added 512MB of PC100 RAM from Crucial, an internal superdrive from MCE Technologies (no real reason for the superdrive except for wow factor) and a 60GB Hitachi Travelstar HDD (7200RPM, 8MB Cache). If your looking to squeek some extra life out of your G3 iBook definatly swap the HDD to the Hitachi Travelstar drive because it makes for some noticeable improvements.

Cost a little under $1000 to get parts and installed everything myself. This thing seriously feels like a new machine!
Click to expand...
How difficult was it to replace the HD, get the SuperDrive working and recognized, and add RAM? I've never attempted these kinds of upgrades on an iBook or PowerBook (I've never owned an iBook, but I have previously owned a PowerBook; I have an iMac now).
 
Well... The iBook has a LOT of screws in it and they are all different lengths. That being said, the hardest part was keeping track and labeling all my screws. You do have to be very careful when inside this unit though (like all laptops) because everything is very small and jammed all together.

Nothing is easily accessable, but with a lot of patience everything is possible. As for getting the superdrive to work, I didnt do anthing but stick my Panther cd in and it booted. The ram is simple, it snaps right in.

The whole process took me about 10 hours to totaly complete, but I took my time so I wouldnt screw anything up. If your thinking about doing this, have a digital camera and another PC handy (it probably saved me hours when re-assembling)
 
rhpenguin said:
Well... The iBook has a LOT of screws in it and they are all different lengths. That being said, the hardest part was keeping track and labeling all my screws. You do have to be very careful when inside this unit though (like all laptops) because everything is very small and jammed all together.

Nothing is easily accessable, but with a lot of patience everything is possible. As for getting the superdrive to work, I didnt do anthing but stick my Panther cd in and it booted. The ram is simple, it snaps right in.

The whole process took me about 10 hours to totaly complete, but I took my time so I wouldnt screw anything up. If your thinking about doing this, have a digital camera and another PC handy (it probably saved me hours when re-assembling)
Click to expand...
I wouldn't do this to my Mac (I'm not bold enough to open up an Apple laptop), but you seem to be very pleased with the results of your do-it-yourself upgrade. I'm glad you're a happy Mac user - we need more of those ;)
 
wrldwzrd89 said:
I wouldn't do this to my Mac (I'm not bold enough to open up an Apple laptop), but you seem to be very pleased with the results of your do-it-yourself upgrade. I'm glad you're a happy Mac user - we need more of those ;)
Click to expand...

LOL... Im satisfied with the OS, but not the hardware. Every original component on my iBook has been replaced. Everything from the screen to the trackpad, actually the logic board went a month or so ago (Runs 100% better now after the replacement). This thing has seen its share of dead components so I just figured what the hell and just jumped into it.

I mean ive got a month of Applecare left so if i did break something i would just package it up and send it back. :p
 
$1000 is a hella lot of money for such a (IMO) small upgrade. I think you'd have been better putting that towards a new machine, but each to their own :) Glad you're happy wih it anyway.
 
edesignuk said:
$1000 is a hella lot of money for such a (IMO) small upgrade. I think you'd have been better putting that towards a new machine, but each to their own :) Glad you're happy wih it anyway.
Click to expand...

Right, but thats Canadian funds and if I were going to go to a PowerBook with simular options, it would have cost me about $2000CAD more with taxes and everything so i just spent half that and will get another year (maybe two...) out of this machine.
 
awesome! glad to see the HD is replaceable if your dedicated to replacing it. if your lucky, this will last you until a G5 notebook comes out (hopefully soon!).
 
Waiting for a G5 PB was my reason for doing this. I figure its going to be atleast another year / 1.5 years to get one of those in my hands.

And ive added a little resale value for my aging iBook.
 
I have the same laptop and was thinking about doing the same thing to hold me over to the next generation of PBs. I was really worried about the heat problem. How are things going so far?
 
Adding RAM and an AirPort card into my iBook was very easy. I thanked myself for adding that 512 MB stick everyday. Best. Upgrade. Ever.

But I don't have the nerve to replace the optical drive and the HD :eek:

Glad yours didn't go awok! :)
 
Aug 2004 issue of Macworld magazine includes an article about swapping out the optical drive in a Powerbook (Tibook). And yes, includes comments about voiding warrenties.
 
Flight16 said:
I have the same laptop and was thinking about doing the same thing to hold me over to the next generation of PBs. I was really worried about the heat problem. How are things going so far?
Click to expand...

I wasn't exactly awake when typing that I see. What I meant to ask about was the 7200 RPM HDD and the heat/battery life issues from that. But after that I was going to take a look at the optical drive, so you've saved me some searching for that one. :)
 
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