OS X 10.5.8 PowerBook G4

[Endermod]

Well I hope I posted this in the right place...


I recently got a Mac from a family member. I hate even the tiniest slowness, so I plan on upgrading my Mac.


Here are the current specs:
PowerBook G4
Aluminum 17"
1.67 GHz
High-Res
512 MB RAM
I'm still finding out some other info.

System: Mac OS X 10.5.8 Leopard

Broken Stuff:
Screen is broken(might post a pic soon)(using a monitor)


Planed Changes:
Upgrade RAM to max. Can please somebody tell me what the best RAM for it is?
Upgrade Hard Drive. Any suggestions?
Fix Screen
Install Ubuntu? I'm hearing it runs much faster, and then I can get the newer versions of apps, a lot of apps don't support OS X 10.5


Anyway, I want to max out this Mac in performance.

Anything I should do? Don't ask for my money budget.

 

[Sky Blue]

I hate even the tiniest slowness,
Anything I should do?

Buy a new Mac.

 

[Endermod]

Buy a new Mac.

Well, I mean upgrading-wise.

 

[chown33]

What's your monetary budget? Time budget?

The most economical thing to do may well be to buy a different Mac.

The PBG4 at its fastest is almost invariably going to be slower than even a middling Intel-based model. And if one of the tradeoffs is that you run the PBG4 with an external monitor, then Mac minis from even a few years ago will be notably faster. All the G4 models are limited by their memory speed.

You can google for what memory goes into a PBG4 (e.g. try powerbook g4 ram). Don't be surprised if it costs more than faster RAM for an Intel-based Mac mini. You're paying for technology that's less common.

 

[Bear]

Maximum ram is apparently 2 GB, you can double check at EveryMac.com. The site also has specifications for the hard drive.

The latest version of OS X that works on it is 10.5.8.

Installing Ubuntu doesn't let you run newer OS X applications, it lets you run Linux applications.

Bottom line, if you want a hobby machine it will be fine, otherwise you do want to get an Intel based Mac.

After some thought, what you would spend for upgrading and fixing the system, you could probably just about get a brand new Mac mini. Of course if you're just talking about RAM and HD upgrade, then it's probably just half a new Mac mini in cost.

 

[Endermod]

I've thought of getting a Mac mini, but I want a laptop. Anyway, thanks for the max RAM. Does any specific company make better RAM than others?

 

[Endermod]

This is what I found: http://www.crucial.com/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=E3737BA4A5CA7304
Will two of these fit my Mac good? I heard Crucial is a good company.