Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iBook G4

I hope you got a better fast 1.5 or 1.67 ghz cpu it will run just fine with youtube using 240p...

I have no problem checking my facebook with this PB but it is bit laggy when you play facebook flash games.
 
iMacXpress said:
I have no clue what you guys are talking about, but I picked up an iBook G4 yesterday.

Everything seems smooth, no lags whatsoever. The only thing I have problems with is Youtube videos which are a bit laggy depending on the video. Besides that, It's great for browsing. It also has Microsoft Office 2004 on it so I can do some typing.

Any suggestions on whats some good apps? Can I upgrade to snow leopard or something? Thanks.
Click to expand...

If you could just make a small list of the things you will be doing on it I will recommend the best and fastest performing apps for you for each need you have.

These iBook G4's can be great performers if you use the right software that is fully optimized for the G4.
 
The iBook is a good surf computer but that's about it. If you need to run the CS4 suite for design then a Powerbook 1GHz+ with 2 GB of RAM is a must. They still look the part and are very efficient.

Other than that a used MacBook Pro will also be blazingly fast and will not stretch any budget. With this one, for about 400 USD (1st gen, 2GHz) you could even run the newest CS5 suite pretty much without a hitch.
 
mabaker said:
The iBook is a good surf computer but that's about it. If you need to run the CS4 suite for design then a Powerbook 1GHz+ with 2 GB of RAM is a must. They still look the part and are very efficient.

Other than that a used MacBook Pro will also be blazingly fast and will not stretch any budget. With this one, for about 400 USD (1st gen, 2GHz) you could even run the newest CS5 suite pretty much without a hitch.
Click to expand...

Who the hell buys an iBook G4 for CS work? He bought it for light use if you actually read the thread.

I trust used PowerPC Macs far more than any used Intel Mac. Intel Macs are not built with anywhere near the quality hardware that is in any G3 or G4 system.

A guy traded an ipod touch for an iBook and then you come along and tell him to spend 400 on a used Intel Mac for CS work you don't even know if he does or not. Get some perspective.
 
Maybe you should get some perspective in correcting other users' opinions?;)
 
mabaker said:
Maybe you should get some perspective in correcting other users' opinions?;)
Click to expand...

Well.. your "opinion" is completely out in left field and doesn't help the OP at all. You may as well have just posted your horoscope. It would have been just as helpful. :)
 
mabaker said:
Maybe you should get some perspective in correcting other users' opinions?;)
Click to expand...

But zen.state has a point there , the OP already has a 2010 MacBook Pro and a 2011 MacBook Air, and now he already got the iBook and personally i find it was a great choice
 
btw reduce from millions of colours to thousands of colors that helps enourmously with youtube or online tv for example and the difference is not that noticable
 
Last edited:
I recently pulled out my Powerbook G4 and am using it for web/dev work that requires a real keyboard ( stuff thats annoying to do on my iPad).

It is certainly still useable. You just have to temper your expectations. Youtube strains it too much ( though I've heard there's workarounds), but facebook works most of the time.

Its not a useless machine by any stretch, but its certainly past its prime. But for light browsing, AIM, coding, its as good as ever.

PS: 12" Powerbook G4, 867Mhz 1.1 GB of ram.
 
zen.state said:
If you could just make a small list of the things you will be doing on it I will recommend the best and fastest performing apps for you for each need you have.

These iBook G4's can be great performers if you use the right software that is fully optimized for the G4.
Click to expand...

I really don't need much apps but maybe something I can help boost the computer, clean the hard drive as I already have a MBP and MBA. As this will only be my browsing laptop.

Are there any apps that you like, like gadgets etc or would recommend getting to help the performance other than boosting the hard drive / memory?

Also, how would I get apps if the iBook doesn't support the new App store app? Thanks in advance.

--------------------------------------------------------------

To everyone else, thanks for the help as well. I am satisfied with my trade. I traded my 4th gen iPod touch 8GB for this iBook G4 and got $40 on top as well. Browsing is very quick, even with Camino, Firefox, and Microsoft Office 2004 installed. The only problem I have is, i'd like to watch Youtube videos without any lag. That maybe because I only have a 1.2ghz processor?


**
ALSO, I noticed that now, when I go to youtube.. my browser crashes?? Any idea what's going on?? I tried Safari, Camino, and Firefox but they all seem to still crash when I go to youtube.
 
As for the youtube problem.. I tried the m.youtube.com and it still wouldn't work, even on QuickTime Player. I don't know what HTML5 is, so, I didn't try that. Again, it worked fine a couple days before, now all of a sudden, it is wanting to act up.. and crash.

My specs:
Machine Name: iBook G4
Machine Model: PowerBook6,5
CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (1.2)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 1.2 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 384 MB
Bus Speed: 133 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 4.8.7f1
OS X: 10.4.11
 
iMacXpress said:
I really don't need much apps but maybe something I can help boost the computer, clean the hard drive as I already have a MBP and MBA. As this will only be my browsing laptop.

Are there any apps that you like, like gadgets etc or would recommend getting to help the performance other than boosting the hard drive / memory?

Also, how would I get apps if the iBook doesn't support the new App store app? Thanks in advance.

--------------------------------------------------------------

To everyone else, thanks for the help as well. I am satisfied with my trade. I traded my 4th gen iPod touch 8GB for this iBook G4 and got $40 on top as well. Browsing is very quick, even with Camino, Firefox, and Microsoft Office 2004 installed. The only problem I have is, i'd like to watch Youtube videos without any lag. That maybe because I only have a 1.2ghz processor?


**
ALSO, I noticed that now, when I go to youtube.. my browser crashes?? Any idea what's going on?? I tried Safari, Camino, and Firefox but they all seem to still crash when I go to youtube.
Click to expand...


try ONYX best tool out there to clean Mac's , but you should know what you are doing otherwise a good backup will come very handy as with all cleanup tools so get Carbon Copy Cloner /super duper first and a external HDD

and how you find apps without app store ?..... the old fashioned way ..google is your friend


http://mac.oldapps.com/

http://www.macosxapps.com/

and to your youtube problem first use tenfourfox browser , reduce youtube to 240p
 
Last edited:
iMacXpress said:
I really don't need much apps but maybe something I can help boost the computer, clean the hard drive as I already have a MBP and MBA. As this will only be my browsing laptop.

Are there any apps that you like, like gadgets etc or would recommend getting to help the performance other than boosting the hard drive / memory?

Also, how would I get apps if the iBook doesn't support the new App store app? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

I have not seen if you run 10.4 or 10.5 so that will be helpful info. Good browser options for both IMO are to try 3 and see what one you like better. I say to try 3 because everyone is different. The 3 I recommend are the top 3 performance wise on G4's.

1. Camino 7450 optimized build found here.

2. TenFourFox 7450 build found here.

3. Safari that you can get the latest version of via software update. If you have OS 10.4 it will be Safari 4 and if you have OS 10.5 it will be Safari 5. The current 5.06 on 10.5 is quite fast.

As for tweaking things and making the system as fast as possible use Onyx to turn off window animations and also go into system prefs and turn min font smoothing to 8+ rather than 4. Those 2 small tweaks can make the GUI seem noticeably snappier. Since you will only be web browsing though you won't really ever be dealing with multitasking. If you only have a browser open you won't ever really have to worry about slowdown till it comes to flash content.
 
Nameci said:
This slows you down...
Click to expand...

Agreed, 384 MB isn't nearly enough to do much of anything on the web these days.

Bump that sucker up to at least a GB and then you'll see what that baby can do. Miss mine like crazy, but my HP mini with Ubuntu suits my needs a just a little bit better. Good luck!
 
When I read the thread just yet, I thought "oh, hope there is someone telling him, that youtube will be no more than 240p" (because nearly always youtube is, what people mean, when they ask here and talk about web usage...). Then I saw he bought it. Then I noticed he allready got a MacBook Pro, now I am asking myself, why he/you does not use this for youtube?????

Btw, the always told problem with the GPU de-soldering itself due to heat, is not a problem of the 2005 ibooks...
 
Btw, the always told problem with the GPU de-soldering itself due to heat, is not a problem of the 2005 ibooks...
Click to expand...

Since replying in this thread last time I've bought a 1.42 iBook built in December 2005. On this one a different chip became de-soldered causing similar issues, so they definitely still have logic board problems. Only cost me £40 though and I've done the shimmy fix so I'm not too bothered.
 
oh, ok, then I am misinformed. I guess then it's maybe not that often as in the former models.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back