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iBook vs Powerbook

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Pythagoras

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 4, 2004
5
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I'm going to be going to college this year and I want to buy myself a laptop. Having seen a mac in action and wanting a change from windows, I want to go for one. I'm hoping to get a used one from powermax.com (budget not too high) and I am stuck between an iBook @ $735 and a Pismo Powerbook @ $750 (both G3)

The iBooks specs are : G3-500mhz, 256 MB of RAM, 10 GB internal drive, internal DVD, internal 56k modem, 12.1" TFT display.

The Powerbooks specs are : 320 MB of RAM, 10 GB internal drive, internal DVD, internal 56k modem, 14.1" TFT display.

Also, would I need to get more RAM put in to get good performance out of OS X?
As I'm not really too well versed in which is the better one, could you guys give me your opinion on which is the better one to go for? I know this has probably come up again and again, but I would really like to hear your opinions.
 
That place doesn't actually ship to my country unfortunately...thanks anyway.
The reason I can spend $750 is that the conversion rate works out pretty well for me (as i said, low budget) Also, they only do refurb stuff in the UK (im in ireland) and I get nailed with that conversion rate.
So, unless anyone knows of any place that does good deals, ships to Ireland and is trust worthy, I'm going to have to stick with Powermax.....
 
Originally posted by Pythagoras
That place doesn't actually ship to my country unfortunately...thanks anyway.
The reason I can spend $750 is that the conversion rate works out pretty well for me (as i said, low budget) Also, they only do refurb stuff in the UK (im in ireland) and I get nailed with that conversion rate.
So, unless anyone knows of any place that does good deals, ships to Ireland and is trust worthy, I'm going to have to stick with Powermax.....
Click to expand...

Oops, sorry about that. I found a good deal here at powermax... A refurb 800mhz iBook for $750. http://powermax.com/cgi-global/generate_css_temp.cgi?p=c-rf8758ll/a-ref

As for you original ram question; you'll want at least 256mb (320mb preferable)
 
or...you could try apple.co.uk

(remember that you can get the student discount as well!)
 
OK, so the 800mhz is undoubtedly the best out of them, but would it be better to go for the G3 500 PB instead seeings as it has a bigger screen, 192mb more RAM, and a DVD drive (only thing worse is the hard drive coming in 20gb less than the refurb iBook) ? Is it better to go for 192mb more RAM or the 300MHZ?
Would one perform better than the other?
 
Sorry, should have said, the 800mhz iBook would appear to be better from my past experiences with PC's but as I don't know much about mac performance (at the moment)....
 
I just stumbled by and noticed your post.

The Pismo is a nice model and if you really think that you will need dvd playback (and indeed new software like iLife 4 sometimes uses DVD), it may be the right choice. The screen is only marginally larger.

The G3 iBook, on the other hand is a newer model, especially the 800. Other than the processor, there may be some improvements to the internal specs (not just RAM and HD space). What are the bus or L2 cache speed numbers? Video memory? The G3 iBook is probably better as it is a latter model. Graphics processor may also be better. Also, does the Apple refurb come with a year warranty? That would be a good good thing.

Check Apple's site to see if the iBook model you are looking at might be one subject to a special repair program or if it has already been repaired. This site may also have info about it.

Finally, unless you are in a rush to get it or the only things that you plan to do are e-mail, internet, and word-processing, I would advise you to wait, save a bit more, and get a new (or at least newer) G4 mac.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Macs!
 
Still, go with the iBook. the only advantage of the PB is the large screen but that diesn't make up for the iBook's faster processor.

Also, the iBook has 32mv of video memory with a better graphics card. That is a lot better compared to the PB's 8mb.
 
Thanks for all your advice peeps, hopefully I'll get one of those iBooks pretty soon....can't wait!
 
Originally posted by velocipede

Finally, unless you are in a rush to get it or the only things that you plan to do are e-mail, internet, and word-processing, I would advise you to wait, save a bit more, and get a new (or at least newer) G4 mac.

Click to expand...

I agree, unless you just going to use for these simple tasks I would save up and get a G4 800 MHz iBook, you will have a machine that would last through all of college. Take a look at refurbished deals. John Lewis in Bristol had a mint iBook G4 800 MHz for £749 recently. John Lewis often have nearly new laptops as customers buy them not realising that they can't run windows apps on them and return them ( that's what I heard the sales guy say anyway ). Not sure how this compares with the education discount.
 
If Apple has academic pricing in Ireland like they do in the U.S., I'd wait until you have that university ID card and see what you can get. Academic pricing for Apples in the U.S. can rival refurb pricing (e.g., 900MHz iBook G3 with Combo drive for $800).

http://www.uobookstore.com/electronics/apple/specials/specials.pdf

Given how old the Pismo is and the issues some people have had with their G3 iBooks' logic boards and screen hinges, I'd try to get the iBook G4 myself. Especially if you're interested in GarageBand, since the "software instruments" don't run on a G3.

Good luck!


Crikey
 
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