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ibook G3/900 vs G4/800 Best Value?

Here's the skinny

Originally posted by tiktokfx
I could be wrong, but I'm pretty certain that if you get the G3 iBook you're going to be getting the software that came at that point, ie... Jaguar.

A new G4 iBook would include Panther and iLife '04.

That's about $180 in software right there.
Click to expand...

Actually, I just purchased the G3 iBook 900 from MicroCenter last Sunday and even though it is loaded with the old apps, the Panther disks were in the box. You also are eligible to receive iLife '04 for $20 with the up-to-date program, so you're safe from the software end.

As for the decision on which iBook to go with, it was a no brainer for me. The laptop is used by my wife for internet, iPhoto, e-mail, iMovie, and everything else that you use a Mac for. Just because it has an older processor doesn't make it useless. In your sitution, you already have PowerMac G4/450 sitting around, why not use that for the DVD burning. If the claims that the G4 is 5-6x faster than the G3, give it a test. The 450 should be able to scream past the G3/900. If it doesn't, upgrade the 450 processor with an faster one. The laptop will never be able to outperform the PowerMac because the PM is upgradeable. The iBook is not a good canidate for working with DVD's because of the slow (4200RPM) and small hard drive. Remember that 1 hour of DV video is 10gig. The iBook only comes with a 40 gig drive so you can only get 3 hours on it unless you go with an external drive which will blow your budget out of the water. Also, the iBook maxxes out at 640 meg of RAM. With OS 10.3 and iPhoto open with about 1400 pictures, I am using around 580meg. Just imagine working with a large amount of DV film and having to cache your editing to a slowwww hard drive.

I did luck out in my purchase though, it seems that MicroCenter purchased a lot of iBook's that were custom configured by Apple for a customer that cancelled their order when the new G4 models were released and didn't mark the upgraded models' boxes. My iBook came with an Airport card and 640mb of memory, free. MicroCenter doesn't know which ones are already upgraded so if you buy one, you may get yourself a maxxed out iBook for $800!

Good luck.
 
Re: Here's the skinny

Originally posted by dbauer
The iBook is not a good canidate for working with DVD's because of the slow (4200RPM) and small hard drive. Remember that 1 hour of DV video is 10gig. The iBook only comes with a 40 gig drive so you can only get 3 hours on it unless you go with an external drive which will blow your budget out of the water. Also, the iBook maxxes out at 640 meg of RAM. With OS 10.3 and iPhoto open with about 1400 pictures, I am using around 580meg. Just imagine working with a large amount of DV film and having to cache your editing to a slowwww hard drive.
Click to expand...
I've found that my 1GHz G4 PowerBook 12" screams through MPEG2 encoding with not a problem due to my 4200rpm hard drive. (GarageBand is the ONLY app that's run into the odd speed issue with the HD speed). Regarding iPhoto and the RAM issue, OS X is designed to use as much of your available RAM as possible so the amount an app uses does not reflect the minimum RAM required, just think of it as using your RAM efficiently in any way it can.

I still say to go with G4 because it's best to have a processor that Apple currently sells (and it'll be a good year or two until everything moves to G5) and alti-vec is increasingly used in everything. USB2 and faster Airport are bonuses too, as is faster RAM and better graphics card. The keyboard on the G4 iBooks is much nicer too.
 
Well... after reading all the replies... I'm leaning towards the G4. I'm going to get an firewire hard drive AND a dvd burner eventually, so I can use with both PC and Mac. The old G4 Powermac is on a loan so I won't be able to use it for DVD stuff... especially once I get the ibook (my dad wants his toy back).
the 14" screen isn't an option as I really WANT the 12", I hate the prospect of lugging around anything bigger than I have to. One of the biggest draws for me is the smaller size while still being able to DO stuff on it. I'll reply more later... taking care of the baby right now :D.

CharlesP
 
Oh... and like the one poster said... the G3 variant does have Panther and I could get iLife cheap.... But Garageband being functional would be NICE.

I won't be doing a TON of video editing, but it is one of my reasons for getting an Apple vs just an old x86 laptop and running linux on it.

I've never used a G3 to know to compare it, I've used the G4/450 I've got here (I think the 21" monitor I'm borrowing with it has spoiled me more than the G4), and a friends 15" G4/800 Ti-Book. I've enjoyed both of them, but the 450 does lag a little bit when editing.

My time on the machine will be about 40% writing, 40% web work, 15% video editing... and 5% misc stuff.

CharlesP
 
dbauer:

You got a good deal. The RAM and airport card alone are worth a couple hundred.

Please let us know how you like the G3 900MHz.

Bo
 
g4 all the way!

i am posting this from a g3 800 ibook.

there is no way you can compare the g3 to the g4 ibook. just looking at the xbench scores (50-something versus 100+) is enough to tell me that i want to trade up, NOW. :-/

just opening 3 or 4 apps at the same time is enough to make me wish for the g4.
 
here's the main difference that i see between the two machines - monitor spanning.

i have a pismo that i'm about to sell off to replace with a new tiBook. i looked at the ibooks, but they don't let me slave the display off as a palette monitor while i use a larger crt for my work.... which is a deal-killer.

if you're looking at the 12" models, then you'll wish to think about this. it's nice to be able to use your laptop as a laptop for basic things, but, when you're doing task-based work - like creating a dvd or editing video - you'll long for more desk space. 1024x768 just won't cut it.

keep in mind that those tasks are ram hogs. if you're looking for performance, then checking out the top-outs on ram is important as well. the 12" tibook only has room for a single stick of ram, and i fear that the ibook has a similar limitation. limiting yourself to 768megs isn't the end of the world, but you'll find yourself wishing that you had more later on, i fear.

anyway, i'm always one to go for the more powerful tech when i'm putting down that sort of money, so i'd go for the g4.

good luck!

t
 
Originally posted by mrBallistic
here's the main difference that i see between the two machines - monitor spanning.

i have a pismo that i'm about to sell off to replace with a new tiBook. i looked at the ibooks, but they don't let me slave the display off as a palette monitor while i use a larger crt for my work.... which is a deal-killer.

if you're looking at the 12" models, then you'll wish to think about this. it's nice to be able to use your laptop as a laptop for basic things, but, when you're doing task-based work - like creating a dvd or editing video - you'll long for more desk space. 1024x768 just won't cut it.

keep in mind that those tasks are ram hogs. if you're looking for performance, then checking out the top-outs on ram is important as well. the 12" tibook only has room for a single stick of ram, and i fear that the ibook has a similar limitation. limiting yourself to 768megs isn't the end of the world, but you'll find yourself wishing that you had more later on, i fear.

anyway, i'm always one to go for the more powerful tech when i'm putting down that sort of money, so i'd go for the g4.

good luck!

t
Click to expand...
I guess you're meaning the 12" AlBook (PowerBook), not ti ;). Yes, the iBooks are limited to 640MB RAM and the 12" PB to 768 (unless you spend $300 on a 1GB module) but I have 768 and have never needed more. No beachballs with 12 apps open, and video editing is even a breeze.

All the iBooks have a display of 1024x768 (even the 14") so there's no advantage of getting the 14" apart from bigger sized (and less sharp) pixels. The iBooks cannot monitor span, period, but there is a firmware hack to do this if you need to. If you want true monitor spanning out of the box, you'll need a PowerBook (any model will do).

One last thing, consider the 12" PowerBook, as it is a more powerful ultraportable iBook. But the cost is a lot more. The iBooks are nice value right now, espc. the 12", and there is no better priced comparable PC laptop on the market.
 
I went for the G3

I chose a 900 G3 for one thing it saved me lota money!

it runs a treat for me, no complaints

either one you chose you will grow to love...


p.s. not worry about jaguar as you can get the 'free' upgrade to panther from apple for £15

http://www.apple.com/macosx/uptodate/
 
I went for the G3 iBook 900

Originally posted by Adurbe
I chose a 900 G3 for one thing it saved me lota money!
Click to expand...
Adurbe, lots of us have G3 iBooks and they are perfectly fine machines.
In July 2002 I needed to have a "mobile" office inside a laptop to take with me on an extended vacation, and only 2 weeks to decide. I was not happy with Titanium G4 PowerBooks, and the G3 iBook suited my needs perfectly and, like you, I saved a ton of money.
I remain confident that the decision I made at that moment in time was a good one.
Sure I covet a G4 or G5 laptop, but this 14" iBook just keeps on truckin' along.
The single RAM slot had a 128MB memory chip in it, and I've always wondered if performance would increase significantly by swapping it out for a 512MB (max for my model)
Answer: significant results. The most noticeable improvement is that the Hard Drive doesn't constantly run in order to provide RAM disk space. This in turn extends the battery life because of less usage. At $124 now, it was a smart buy.
If I decide to keep my iBook, next I'll buy a much faster 7200rpm Hitachi/IBM 60GB Hard Drive, doubling my disc space and while significantly shortening data transfer and access time.
With the LaCie 2d external firewire SuperDrive, a Combo inside is just fine.
Besides, a 15" PowerBook is only 1" larger than a 14" iBook (let's not talk about all those other goodies a G4 PB or iBook has).

Though I may be loath to admit it, the current discounted price of new G3 iBooks is a very cost efficient laptop solution. After all, it is a Mac.
 
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