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First Apple Computer, Ibook G3 800mhz

S

sick70malibu

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 17, 2010
23
0
Hey y'all,

I recently just got my first Apple computer, its an IBook G3 800Mhz, with 256ram, and a 30GB HD. After reading a few of the posts on here it seems to me that I should have looked for a G4, but for the price I couldn't say no($85 shipped) It currently has a fresh install of OSX 10.4. Im pretty happy with my purchase.

But I do have a few questions, please bear with me as this is the first time posting on a Computer forum so I dont know all the abbreviations yet...

1) I'm sure I'm beating a dead horse but what is the maximum amount of ram i can run in this thing? I have heard 512 is the max I can install, but is there a way to shove 1gb in there?

2) also if i wanted to increase the hard drive space does it matter what kind i get for the older IBook?

Again I apologize for the new guy questions, I build hot rods, not computers but I want to learn :D
 
The max amount of RAM it can take is 640MB, so I'd stick with 512.

The hard drive will have to be an Ultra ATA, not SATA.
 
Those old guys could only take a maximum of 512mb on a single PC100/133 stick. That was the highest density stick ever made (not counting those "high density 1gb stick that aren't compatible with anything).

As there is only 1 RAM slot, you can only put a 512mb stick in there. 128mb is soldered directly onto the motherboard, thus giving you a max RAM of 640mb.
 
You want to make the most of that 640Mb as possible, and if you're running Tiger you're already eating half of it with system stuff. The trick I found is to run "period appropriate" software on it as best you can. For instance, iTunes 8, while "recommended" for G3 computers by Apple, chokes my Clamshell. I can't run more than three programs with iTunes up if I have v8 installed. I found v6 and installed that instead, and it was a night and day difference. Terrifically responsive, and half the memory usage. The only downside is I can't access the iTunes store with a version that old, but I have v8 on my iMac, so whatever.

Same applies to word processors and other things. I'm running Word 2004 instead of 2008 on my Clamshell, because even though 2008 runs, 2004 is much faster and really doesn't take away all that much.

It puts you in a bit of a time warp, but the machine will run really well as a consolation. It's not reasonable to expect a 10 year old computer to run modern software as quickly or efficiently as it ran the software of yesteryear, but likewise, if you can get by on the functionality of yesteryear, why struggle to upgrade?

The only exception to this rule is web browsers, for obvious security reasons. I'd recommend Camino, if you look for a website called PimpMyCamino, they have download links for specialized builds of Camino aimed at certain PowerPC processors. I'm running the G3-750 version on my Clamshell, and the G4-7450 on my iMac, and both are leaps and bounds faster than Safari.
 
drewdle said:
You want to make the most of that 640Mb as possible, and if you're running Tiger you're already eating half of it with system stuff. The trick I found is to run "period appropriate" software on it as best you can. For instance, iTunes 8, while "recommended" for G3 computers by Apple, chokes my Clamshell. I can't run more than three programs with iTunes up if I have v8 installed. I found v6 and installed that instead, and it was a night and day difference. Terrifically responsive, and half the memory usage. The only downside is I can't access the iTunes store with a version that old, but I have v8 on my iMac, so whatever.

Same applies to word processors and other things. I'm running Word 2004 instead of 2008 on my Clamshell, because even though 2008 runs, 2004 is much faster and really doesn't take away all that much.

It puts you in a bit of a time warp, but the machine will run really well as a consolation. It's not reasonable to expect a 10 year old computer to run modern software as quickly or efficiently as it ran the software of yesteryear, but likewise, if you can get by on the functionality of yesteryear, why struggle to upgrade?

The only exception to this rule is web browsers, for obvious security reasons. I'd recommend Camino, if you look for a website called PimpMyCamino, they have download links for specialized builds of Camino aimed at certain PowerPC processors. I'm running the G3-750 version on my Clamshell, and the G4-7450 on my iMac, and both are leaps and bounds faster than Safari.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up, I'm not gonna be using it for much more then school work, and itunes. I noticed that your clamshell has a 160 gb hd in it how hard was it to put in? And did you need a specific type?
 
sick70malibu said:
Thanks for the heads up, I'm not gonna be using it for much more then school work, and itunes. I noticed that your clamshell has a 160 gb hd in it how hard was it to put in? And did you need a specific type?
Click to expand...

Any 2.5" IDE/ATA HDD will work. They come in flavors up to 320gb but I think it's only limited to 128gb as being "usuable". Disassembly of the iBooks are a tedious task, I hope you are up for it :D
 
sick70malibu said:
Thanks for the heads up, I'm not gonna be using it for much more then school work, and itunes. I noticed that your clamshell has a 160 gb hd in it how hard was it to put in? And did you need a specific type?
Click to expand...

It took about three hours, and I lost a bit of blood on the sharp edges of the inside of the case, but it wasn't as bad as you'd think. iFixIt has an excellent picture guide, and if you take it slow and separate all the parts (I put each step's screws and stuff in a labelled sandwich bag) getting it back together isn't too bad either. Re-seating the power button was the hardest part. There were also some stripped screws I had to remove forcibly, which got kind of ugly, but once the machine was back together you can't tell.

You need a 2.5" PATA drive. Any size will work, but the Clamshell will only see the first 128Gb of the drive. This was rectified on the IceBooks (your G3 for instance). That's why I got a 160, as there wasn't much point in getting a bigger one. A Seagate 5400rpm unit, made quite a difference speed wise over the original IBM 4200rpm 10Gb unit.
 
OrangeSVTguy said:
Any 2.5" IDE/ATA HDD will work. They come in flavors up to 320gb but I think it's only limited to 128gb as being "usuable". Disassembly of the iBooks are a tedious task, I hope you are up for it :D
Click to expand...

I'm always up for a challenge :D I don't expect it to be a speed demon just something relaible for school use
 
drewdle said:
It took about three hours, and I lost a bit of blood on the sharp edges of the inside of the case, but it wasn't as bad as you'd think. iFixIt has an excellent picture guide

You need a 2.5" PATA drive. Any size will work, but the Clamshell will only see the first 128Gb of the drive. This was rectified on the IceBooks (your G3 for instance). That's why I got a 160, as there wasn't much point in getting a bigger one. A Seagate 5400rpm unit, made quite a difference speed wise over the original IBM 4200rpm 10Gb unit.
Click to expand...

When you say 5400rpm, is the IBook limited to 5400? Because I saw a a 7200rpm 320gb on tiger direct, could I used something like that? Or am I limited to a certain rpm?
 
sick70malibu said:
When you say 5400rpm, is the IBook limited to 5400? Because I saw a a 7200rpm 320gb on tiger direct, could I used something like that? Or am I limited to a certain rpm?
Click to expand...

That was a SATA drive. I believe the largest capacity 7200 PATA drive that was on the market was 100gb. Everything larger than that were 5400RPM drives.That drive of course won't work in the iBooks.
 
sick70malibu said:
Well in that case what exactly are the specifications I should look for?
Click to expand...

You need:
- A PATA (or IDE) interface
- A 2.5" physical drive size
- 5400rpm (unless you can find a mythical 7200rpm 100Gb drive, it will work!)
- Any size you want, but only the first 128Gb are usable

You could also get an SSD. Kingspec makes PATA 2.5" drives that have been documented to work with the iBook, but you'll pay dearly. A 32Gb drive is about $100, and a 128Gb is around $400-500. They've been clocked at about twice as fast as a 5400rpm drive.
 
drewdle said:
You need:
- A PATA (or IDE) interface
- A 2.5" physical drive size
- 5400rpm (unless you can find a mythical 7200rpm 100Gb drive, it will work!)
- Any size you want, but only the first 128Gb are usable

You could also get an SSD. Kingspec makes PATA 2.5" drives that have been documented to work with the iBook, but you'll pay dearly. A 32Gb drive is about $100, and a 128Gb is around $400-500. They've been clocked at about twice as fast as a 5400rpm drive.
Click to expand...

Sweet thanks :D
 
Just got her today :cool: pretty stoked, as soon as I opened the package it fired right up. And since it Tiger was just installed I got to set it up :D

Only problem is now i have to wait until my airport card gets here, and i have to wait until I can find Word for this thing, any one know where I can get Word or MS office for a decent price?
 
sick70malibu said:
Just got her today :cool: pretty stoked, as soon as I opened the package it fired right up. And since it Tiger was just installed I got to set it up :D

Only problem is now i have to wait until my airport card gets here, and i have to wait until I can find Word for this thing, any one know where I can get Word or MS office for a decent price?
Click to expand...

Considering your hardware, you'd probably be better off with an older version of Word.

If you only need a good word processor (and, again, considering your hardware, I'm going to assume you don't need this for enterprise compatibility or anything), try out something like Bean. A lightweight, free word processor, perfect for an iBook (compatible with Word).
 
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