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G3 ibook To buy or not to buy?

GnrlyMrly

GnrlyMrly

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 23, 2006
578
71
Atlanta, GA
I've been eyeing an ibook for awhile now, and with the macbooks coming out soon hopefully I need something to hold me over until then. And want to get used to a mac, because I've never owned one before. Anyway, I'm just going to be using it for surfing the web, itunes, typing up a paper, and maybe to d/l a file here and there. Do you think this will suffice?

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/sys/153856233.html

She said she would take around $300 for it....

I'm going to go check it out at noon, so any feedback before then is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
 
dextertangocci said:
I say get it!:eek: It looks in good condition, and it isn't too out of date. I think you'll just need to upgrade the RAM. What version of OSX is it running?

PS: sorry if I replied after noon, I don't even know when noon is for you.
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Haha yeah, it's 11:02am at the moment.

Thanks for the reply though. I'm not really sure what OSX it's running. Which one should I be looking for?
 
Eidorian said:
Well it at least has Panther on it. You can tell from the background.
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Oh, I didn't even realize there was a picture.


Panther should be fine if you want to just get used to the basics. We have these laptops in school, and they do fine for internet, email, itunes. There are some really cool features on Tiger (10.4) though.
 
Be very careful. Some of the G3 iBooks had major logic board issues which caused the display to go out. Not sure if the 700mhz G3s were in that batch.

You should ask if this one ever had the logic board replaced or if she's had any issues.
 
sigamy said:
Be very careful. Some of the G3 iBooks had major logic board issues which caused the display to go out. Not sure if the 700mhz G3s were in that batch.

You should ask if this one ever had the logic board replaced or if she's had any issues.
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Will do. Thanks for all the help guys. I'm on my way to check it out now. I'll report back soon...
 
I ended up getting it:cool:

I need to do a system restore I think...

anyone know how?

and I also need to like connect to my wireless router in my house, but i'm new at all this. any help would be appreciated.
 
I reinstalled the OS X, but I don't think like it did it right. Because what happened is when I went to check out the ibook, it had already been restored and when i turned it on it asked me for my language, name, address, etc. I didn't enter my info, just like "a" for all of the boxes. So what am I doing wrong on the reinstall? When it ask me for the destination of the OS should I select the box where it says "Erase destination and format as:"???

:confused:
 
GnarleyMarley87 said:
I reinstalled the OS X, but I don't think like it did it right. Because what happened is when I went to check out the ibook, it had already been restored and when i turned it on it asked me for my language, name, address, etc. I didn't enter my info, just like "a" for all of the boxes. So what am I doing wrong on the reinstall? When it ask me for the destination of the OS should I select the box where it says "Erase destination and format as:"???

:confused:
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Nevermind, Eidorian walked me through it. Thanks again man.:)
 
What is the difference between a 700Mhz G3 chip, and a 700Mhz G4 chip? I remember in the first flat panel imacs they had 700Mhz and 800Mhz G4 processors, but this iBook has a 700Mhz G3 processor.
 
Good news:this is a great little machine. i'm glad to finally own a mac.

bad news:i think the battery is done for. it won't hold a charge. and do y'all think i should install a little more ram to the 128mb?
 
You will need more RAM, yes.

Your G3 iBook is limited to 640 MB max (I think - my G3 600 is anyway), so I'd get a 512 MB chip and drop it in there.
 
jadekitty24 said:
Definitely max out the ram. You will notice a difference. Running Panther on 128 is like wading through molasses.
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Haha, ok man.

Once again thanks for all the help everyone. Y'all are making my long overdue switch to mac very very smooth.:cool:
 
tektonnic said:
I've got a G3 iBook 900mhz with 128 + 256mb RAM, and its fine on tiger but throws a tantrum every now and then - particulaly with word!

Im looking to replace the 256 with 512, would this work - 512Mb SODIMM DDR2 PC4200

what do you think?
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The ibooks use PC100 or PC 133 memory. Not DDR2
 
Ohhhh! Thats means I have to pay lots of £££! poo.

Anyone know the cheapest place to pick up 512 mb RAM for a G3 iBook?
 
Oh, and, while I tihnk about it, does anyone know any good guide to streamlining an OS X tiger machine, I have a Powermac and really I'm not too bothered about how heavily it decides to use my ram etc. but my iBook doesnt allow for such luxeries, I've already turned off dashboard, any other suggestions? (and I wont turn off spotlight because I love it)
 
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