PowerBook G3 Pismo or iBook G3 Clamshell for Modding?

[Austin_PPC]

Hello!
I’m new to this forum so thanks for welcoming me!

I’ve modded many computers, like the PowerMac G4, iBook G4, iMac G5, etc, but I really want to mod a G3 laptop now. I know the two main candidates are the PowerBook G3 Pismo and the iBook G3 Clamshell, but I was wondering which one is better for modding. I know that the iBook can be quite hard to open, but I guess what I’m really asking is, which one can I mod more and make more powerful?

For example, I heard that people on this forum were making G4 upgrades for the Pismo (is it @dosdude1?). Is it still possible to purchase one of these?

And for the iBook, I know that the plastics can be a major deterrent, but can you get new, old-stock cases?

Thank you all for helping out! Such a cool forum, btw!

 

[weckart]

The iBook Clamshell is a quarter of a century old. You can't really get NOS anything for it. If you are really lucky, some house or business clearout might unearth an individual unopened or barely used example but otherwise you are left with 3d printing, such as it is, or whatever parts are still out there on eBay. Same for the Pismo, except that it was the iBook's business counterpart, so parts for that tend to be in slightly greater supply, as long as you are happy with used.

 

[Austin_PPC]

The iBook Clamshell is a quarter of a century old. You can't really get NOS anything for it. If you are really lucky, some house or business clearout might unearth an individual unopened or barely used example but otherwise you are left with 3d printing, such as it is, or whatever parts are still out there on eBay. Same for the Pismo, except that it was the iBook's business counterpart, so parts for that tend to be in slightly greater supply, as long as you are happy with used.

Got it. For the Powerbook, I know you can upgrade things such as the (dual?) batteries, HDD (replace with an SSD), optical drive, etc. But what else can (and should) I upgrade if I were to get the Powerbook? What about the iBook?

 

[weckart]

Got it. For the Powerbook, I know you can upgrade things such as the (dual?) batteries, HDD (replace with an SSD), optical drive, etc. But what else can (and should) I upgrade if I were to get the Powerbook? What about the iBook?

The Pismo had some third party upgrades/accessories sold at the time: CD writers, maybe latterly DVD writers. Zip drives (I have a couple). I think there were possibly also LS120 drives. Processor upgrades were sold but are hard to find on the market as you usually had to send in your CPU board to have the upgrade soldered on in lieu of the stock processor.

As for the iBook, apart from cosmetic changes, the only upgrade I have seen is the XGA mod for the SE models. I did that on my Graphite SE. You will struggle sourcing parts today, however. Individuals have replaced the processor for a more powerful one but that is a huge task as you will probably have to incorporate active cooling rather than rely on the passive setup it came with.

 

[Austin_PPC]

In the end, gave in to my dream machine Indigo iBook G3 Clamshell 366MHz -- will upgrade with a DVD-ROM, SSD, Maxed RAM, new battery, and maybe XGA mod if I can find the cable.

Thanks for all the help. I'll probably end up purchasing an PowerBook G3 one day too, lol!