Buying advice - starting out - Old ok?

[Mikey.weaver]

I am an old Mac and now Wintel user (been out of the mac game for 10 years).

I have been wanting to "Get back to Mac" , I love OS X the few times I have used it :>

Unfortunatly my budget at this stage is fairly limited, and I am not sure how hard the move will be, or if I will end up leaving windows forever. Because of these factors I am not in a possition to go out lay down for a new machine right now.

I was thinking that I could dip-the-toe-in so to speak and buy a older mac off ebay(etc). Also my girlfriend wants me to get her a cheap laptop for uni and has specified a mac as her first choice.

I am not looking for kick-arse games performance or even a killer Photoshop machine. Hey my other computer is a 1.6 Ghz lappy! (laptop)
Just something to do email, word processing that sort of thing.
(I work in software and would also like to do a bit of tinker with the OSX programming, maybe some Filemaker development - but not huge)

Probably the most important aspect is the smooth running of the machine.
I don't want the be waiting for the GUI - this is the biggest thing that ***** me about Windoze!

So guys, what is your recommendation for where to start?

Will a G3 do or Do I need to go for a more current model G4?

I like laptops and am quite taken by the look of the iBook, no performace hits?

What sort of Processor speed is needed for reasonable performace with new OS revs.

Cheaper the better as I if everything goes well with my experience I WILL be upgrading in the furture (a year?) and doing a full electronic-life transition.

I was thinking a G3 ibook, running Tiger.
Thoughts?

Will that new Tiger run ok?
(I have been told that it should run on any thing as long as it has decent RAM (256-512+)


Any and all thoughts comments and advise are warmly welcomed.

Mike.

 

[ericssonboi]

IMO there is nothing wrong with buying old or used..
I started off going through 2 used PB before purchasing a new one..
12" 1.33Ghz
15" 1Ghz
15" 1.67Ghz

and i don't really regret going through the transition... You get a feel of what is out there and how size does matter sometimes.
The 12" PB was great for size... but i just love the Widescreen on the 15".

A G3 iBook will be powerful enough for basic tasks such as surfing the internet or checking email...

If you want more power, i would suggest a desktop..
Try looking at G4 ~500 towers or maybe even a Dual G4 if you can afford it...

Another suggestion would be a Mac Mini... if you already have a monitor, keyboard, mouse... it might be cheaper to get a Mini..

BUT, If your planning on upgrading in the future... i would suggest a G4 tower for sure.. just gotta find one in the right price range..

 

[Mikey.weaver]

Min. Speed recommendation

I had seen, a couple of dirt cheap 500 & 700 Mhz ibooks, are these any good?
I know that OSX is pretty well up there on the bells and whistles.
Will a low speced iBook cut the mustard?
or
Should i realistically be looking at 1Ghz and up?

 

[CanadaRAM]

I had seen, a couple of dirt cheap 500 & 700 Mhz ibooks, are these any good?
I know that OSX is pretty well up there on the bells and whistles.
Will a low speced iBook cut the mustard?
or
Should i realistically be looking at 1Ghz and up?

The iBook G3 is OK, but limited to 640 Mb and PC133 RAM.
If you can swing a used iBook G4 you'll be much happier, they can go to 1.25 MB RAM and they use faster DDR. Plus a G4 chip of course.