deciding on buying a new ibook

[slipper]

hey guys, im gonna buy a new ibook but i need help deciding wihch one to get, any advise is much appreciated. im set on the 12" models but i have to decide on either the new g4 ibooks or the older g3 ibook which is on special for $800. i can get the newer ibook g4 for $1000 with my educational discount. is it really worth the extra $200 for the newer G4? what are they merits from switching to a G4 processor from a G3?

 

[jxyama]

depends on your use... just like celeron would be fine for some but others may need the P IV...

 

[slipper]

use would consist of mostly MS word, adobe photoshop, imovie, internet, and a few game such as starcraft.

 

[johnnyjibbs]

Photoshop uses alti-vec quite a bit so a G4 would be prefereable over the G3 (900?). In non-altivec tasks you probably wouldn't notice much difference.

Ask yourself: do you need Airport Extreme, Bluetooth built in, slot-loading drive, slightly better keyboard?

Those are the main differences. If you don't need those fancy extras or don't think they're worth the extra money, get the G3. Also bare in mind that you'll probably have to spend a little more to the 12" G4 to bring it up to spec (upgrade to 40/60GB HD, for example).

BTW, I have a PB 12" with slot-loading drive and it's awesome so I'm probably a little biased. Some people worry of getting discs stuck in them but there are many emergency procedures to get them out. I only had a problem last weekend but i got it to eject in the end (through software, not trying to force it out!)

 

[slipper]

Originally posted by johnnyjibbs
Photoshop uses alti-vec quite a bit so a G4 would be prefereable over the G3 (900?). In non-altivec tasks you probably wouldn't notice much difference.

Ask yourself: do you need Airport Extreme, Bluetooth built in, slot-loading drive, slightly better keyboard?

Those are the main differences. If you don't need those fancy extras or don't think they're worth the extra money, get the G3. Also bare in mind that you'll probably have to spend a little more to the 12" G4 to bring it up to spec (upgrade to 40/60GB HD, for example).

just the info i needed johnny. well i probably will be having bluetooth installed and we have an airport extreme base so i guess the airport extreme card would be good. As for system performance and speed, whats the difference of the ibook g3 and g4. and as for upgrades im not gonna gte the upgraded harddrive but i will probably get it with 384mb ram. i definately want 640 but absolutely cant afford it. going to school and only working 10-15hrs/week makes money hard. donations may be payable via paypal to shoe1998@aol.com

Originally posted by johnnyjibbs
BTW, I have a PB 12" with slot-loading drive and it's awesome so I'm probably a little biased. Some people worry of getting discs stuck in them but there are many emergency procedures to get them out. I only had a problem last weekend but i got it to eject in the end (through software, not trying to force it out!)

my old slot loading imac just recently crapped out on me and my new panther disc in inside and i cant get it out because it doesnt even boot up anymore. how would i get it out?

 

[johnnyjibbs]

Consider the hard drive update instead of the RAM. Hard drives can only be updated at the time of order (only $50 or the like). RAM from Apple is a rip-off - you could probably get a 512MB stick (to max out) from crucial.com for the same price Apple charges you for the extra 128! Installing RAM on your own is also very easy.

I don't use Aiport Extreme but I intend to in the future (very little wi-fi in Britain, no base station as yet) but I'm not sure if the old Airport (as in the G3 iBooks) is compatible with the Airport Extreme station (probably is but I'd check first). Only the G4 iBooks have AirPort Extreme, not the G3s.

I can't tell you first hand the performance differences between the G3 and G4 iBooks but it is probably NOT that much. Having said that, the G4 will likely have the edge (especially in Photoshop and iMovie) and will retain its value longer.

As for the slot-load drive, I had a CD-R stuck in it last Saturday - first time. It was struggling to import and I had to stop importing music but iTunes crashed and in the end I had to restart the computer. Then it didn't recognise the CD was in at all - no CD mounted on desktop, eject key did nothing, etc. Used open firmware on startup (hold apple+option+O+F on start-up) but that didn't work. In the end, I held down Apple+option+ctrl+eject keys at the same time and this shut down my computer. When I restarted, the CD spun up and it worked. Maybe you could try that with your old iMac. Since then I've had no problems. It must have been a slightly irregular CD or something!

But then tray-loading drives (G3 iBook) can also snap or break off, and don't look as sleek!

If I was in your position, I'd try to get the G4 iBook if you can afford the extra just because it is newer. Believe me though, this PB 12" cleaned me out!

 

[OutThere]

Originally posted by johnnyjibbs

I can't tell you first hand the performance differences between the G3 and G4 iBooks but it is probably NOT that much. Having said that, the G4 will likely have the edge (especially in Photoshop and iMovie) and will retain its value longer.

Check this out:

The top scoring 800 G4 iBook on XBench:

http://ladd.dyndns.org/xbench/merge.xhtml?doc1=50013

He scored an 81.50 overall.

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The top scoring 900 G3 iBook on XBench:

http://ladd.dyndns.org/xbench/merge.xhtml?doc1=46219

He scored a 65.48 overall.

-----

I think that says something about the difference in performance.

 

[jxyama]

Originally posted by OutThere761
Check this out:

The top scoring 800 G4 iBook on XBench:

http://ladd.dyndns.org/xbench/merge.xhtml?doc1=50013

He scored an 81.50 overall.

-----
The top scoring 900 G3 iBook on XBench:

http://ladd.dyndns.org/xbench/merge.xhtml?doc1=46219

He scored a 65.48 overall.

-----

I think that says something about the difference in performance.

if you check the score details, the difference mainly comes from altivec operations and memory tests. only altivec scores can be used to compare G3 and G4, but if apps he will be using the machine for is not altivec optimized, performance would be very close. basically, you can't take those values and conclude that 'g3 is 20% better than a g4'

 

[colinet]

I'm getting a 12" G4 800 iBook today (to go with my wonderul dual G5) I use Photoshop a lot and if you're going to use it too then definitely get the latest G4. Even on the G5 I can make Photoshop CS run pretty slowly, thouygh nothing like as s l o o o o w as Painter 8.

 

[OutThere]

I think you made a good choice. The G4 iBooks are really nice machines. Happy computering.

 

[jtown]

Get the G4 ibook. As others have pointed out, there's more to it than just the processor. There's the slot loading combo drive. Slower than the PB's combo drive but that slot loading is still a heck of a nice feature. There's faster RAM, faster USB, bluetooth option, airport extreme option. You get a heck of a lot for the extra couple hundred bucks.

I wrote a longer response the other day but here's the short version of my purchasing advice:

Get the 12" G4 ibook. Add the 60 gig hard drive upgrade and bluetooth module. You may not need either but this is the only way to get a larger drive and bluetooth module. It's now or never.

Get a 512 meg memory module somewhere else. I think www.newegg.com has a 512 meg PC2100 SODIMM for $95. That's $50 less than the upgrade on a custom-built and it takes about a minute to swap the factory installed 128 meg module for the 512. And now you've got a 128 meg module that you can keep as a spare or sell on ebay.

Get the airport extreme card from the refurb section of the apple store. It's $20 less than having it added in a custom build.

Don't get applecare yet. That can be added at any time while the one year hardware warranty is in effect. Wait until you've had the machine for 10 months then decide whether you're going to keep using it. If you will keep using the ibook, get applecare at that time.

 

[iAdam]

I have the 12 inch G4. My brother and some of my friends have older G3s. There are many advantages besides just the processor. Slotloading drive, usb 2, and mainly the keyboard. I realy like the new keyboard. I actualy like it better then the powerbook keyboard, but thats just me. I think that it is a wise decison to go with the G4.