Okay, I bought an 20" 2GHz iMac for college a month ago and have been totally enamored with it ever since. I love this thing to death. Only problem is that I have no portability(sure I can take it home, but to my required study hall hours for athletics? I think not). So I want to buy a used or refurbished iBook to use solely for internet access and typing documents, nothing strenuous, because my iMac tackles anything big. I just want the computer to be able to handle the light work easily. I have been looking at TechRestore.com, seems like a reputable and easy to use place. (as well as Ebay, which my mom is rather fond of, but I'm a skeptic about such things, lol. Also, if anyone has recommendations for low prices Mac resellers, let me know!) So, my main question is how big of a difference is there in processor speeds between an 900 Mhz G4 and a 1 Ghz G4. Would it even be noticeable? I wouldn't think so, but it seems as though the prices are severely different between two similarly spec'd lap tops with these processors. Also, how much slower would a 800 Mhz G3 be? Thanks!
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Processor Speed Variation
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I'd stick with the G4s, personally. a 900MHz should be fine enough, though, considering what you're using it for.
as for where to buy: check your local craigslist, as well as keeping your eyes on the marketplace here and any other mac forums you might be a member of (macnn, for instance). the ibooks come up often for pretty decent prices, you just have to watch for 'em.
as for where to buy: check your local craigslist, as well as keeping your eyes on the marketplace here and any other mac forums you might be a member of (macnn, for instance). the ibooks come up often for pretty decent prices, you just have to watch for 'em.
Unless you are using a program with alivec processing (video apps I think, although i may be wrong) a G3 is basically a G4 the only difference will be the clock speed. I own a G3 800mHz and it is just fine for simple stuff. Only suggestion is to get at least 384 or 512 Mb ram. I doubt you would notice 100mhz processor speed unless you were watching a movie or something, and even then it wouldn't be much.
I'd suggest going with either of the G4s. You won't notice much of a difference in 100mHz.
As far as the G3 goes, I remember getting my iBook upgraded from a G3 to a G4 and it was an incredible difference. The G3 has been out of Apple products for almost three years and the G4 just went out of style early this year. Go with a G4, you will be much happier.
As far as the G3 goes, I remember getting my iBook upgraded from a G3 to a G4 and it was an incredible difference. The G3 has been out of Apple products for almost three years and the G4 just went out of style early this year. Go with a G4, you will be much happier.
Mernak said:
While the G3 is a perfectly capable processor, all of Tiger and most PPC applications contain lots of Altivec calls so the G4 is noticeably faster than the G3 clock for clock. Altivec has been around for a while and is incorporated into pretty much everything new these days.
OnlyONE, I'd get the G4 if I were you.
Their will not be a real noticeable difference between the 900MHz G4 and the 1GHz G4. But choosing between the G3 and one of the G4 based iBooks, I would definitely go with an iBook with a PowerPC G4 processor. 
SmallDog.com is a very reputable Apple reseller, they might have something you'd be interested in.