I have an iBook G3 900 MHz with 256MB of RAM. I am running Panther right now, and for the most part, runs well. I thought I should keep it at 10.3.9 because Tiger or Leopard would slow it down way too much, but I just heard that Tiger is said to run more efficiently on G3s over Panther. Is this true? I would love Tiger (more app compatibility, newer OS, more features...) but I wanted an expert's opinion. Also, how do I do this? Thank you!
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Should I upgrade from Panther to Tiger?
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Tiger will be slower than Panther on that. I went from Panther to Tiger on a G3 800mhz 640mb, and there was a notable change in speed. If not for programs I needed that were Tiger only, I'd have stuck with Panther. However, Spotlight alone makes the switch worth it.
If it is working fine, doing everything that you need it to do; why update. I would only update if I needed a program that will not run on the current OS.
I'm running the latest version of Tiger on my 900mhz ibook with 384mb RAM. It's decent enough for what I do. GMail seems to be kinda sluggish though. I would recommend maximizing the memory to 640mb.
I was actually in the same position not to long ago. I had a G3 dual USB ibook. 500mhz. I maxed out the RAM to 512mb and upgraded to Tiger because there were many apps that I needed to run that were tiger only. I don't regret it. (except for that fact that I sold it along with my imac and bought a macbook pro.) If you max out your RAM you should be fine.
My 500mhz G3 snow iBook ran Tiger with 128 ram, no bull. I installed it before i got the extra 512 ram card. However i had to install tiger via Target mode from my Powerbook. And until i went from 128 to 640, Tiger was slooow.
Just upgrade the system, sell this one and get some money back, dont bother sepnding 100 or os on the OS. You can get a base like mac book for about 850 refurb SR. Just go for that, it will be better value wise then getting the os and then adding ram, which is sooo expensive for the old machines.
runs just fine. . . why do you need a MBP?
I think a lot of people push you to get the newest thing you can "afford" but the reality is that a G3 with a lot of RAM is still fine for everything you probably need it for.
I just moved from Jaguar to Tiger and the computer is running faster, though granted I did eliminate a lot of programs in the process, so I think this boost will decrease when I get everything back on it. I believe the people at Apple though have thought this out fairly thoroughly and actually built the new OS systems to run FASTER on older computers. The traditional thinking (ie. Windows thinking) is that a newer OS is built to run on newer computers and to utilize faster more robust resources. I think Apple was a bit more long-sighted in thinking that maybe people who are using the long-lasting Mac they purchased a bit ago will want to upgrade the OS without having to replace the computer. Imagine that.
so while some additions like spotlight will use up a lot of the system resources on an older computer, the basic OS is built to run just fine. I'm sure you can get a cheap copy of 10.4 now that Leopard is out. I'm all in favor of the upgrade. But again, just like other said, max out that RAM first or the OS will still feel sluggish.
I think a lot of people push you to get the newest thing you can "afford" but the reality is that a G3 with a lot of RAM is still fine for everything you probably need it for.
I just moved from Jaguar to Tiger and the computer is running faster, though granted I did eliminate a lot of programs in the process, so I think this boost will decrease when I get everything back on it. I believe the people at Apple though have thought this out fairly thoroughly and actually built the new OS systems to run FASTER on older computers. The traditional thinking (ie. Windows thinking) is that a newer OS is built to run on newer computers and to utilize faster more robust resources. I think Apple was a bit more long-sighted in thinking that maybe people who are using the long-lasting Mac they purchased a bit ago will want to upgrade the OS without having to replace the computer. Imagine that.
so while some additions like spotlight will use up a lot of the system resources on an older computer, the basic OS is built to run just fine. I'm sure you can get a cheap copy of 10.4 now that Leopard is out. I'm all in favor of the upgrade. But again, just like other said, max out that RAM first or the OS will still feel sluggish.
I'll add my voice to those recommending getting more RAM first. Going up to 640MB (or whatever the max on your iBook is) would give you better performance and make your upgrade to Tiger more enjoyable.
I don't remember if the G4 iBooks came with Tiger or not, but you should also look at the cost of selling your iBook on ebay and then buying a G4 iBook with Tiger on it. That difference might be less than buying RAM + Tiger.
I don't remember if the G4 iBooks came with Tiger or not, but you should also look at the cost of selling your iBook on ebay and then buying a G4 iBook with Tiger on it. That difference might be less than buying RAM + Tiger.
