Updating a powerbook G4

[garyeestra]

I bought a powerbook G4 from ebay a couple days ago.
I've never used macs before so my question might come up as stupid.

I'm trying to download softwares such as the newest version of Adobe player, quicktime, safari, etc. but my computer can't open them, I'm assuming because the operating system is too old.

Here are the specs:Machine Model:
Mac OS X 10.3.9
PowerBook G4 15"
CPU TypeowerPC G4 (1.1)
Number Of CPUs:1
CPU Speed:1.5 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU):512 KB
Memory:512 MB
Bus Speed:167 MHz
Boot ROM Version:4.8.6f0
Serial Number:W84371JPQHYSize: 256 MB
Type: DDR SDRAM
Speed: PC2700U-25330

So my question is which operating system should I update to? I really don't know the differences between them (I know that the newest, snow leopard won't work with this so yeah.)

Thanks

 

[motulist]

You should get OS X 10.5. That version is nicknamed Leopard, as opposed to the current version, 10.6, which is named Snow Leopard.

 

[spinnerlys]

Your PowerBook will run Mac OS X 10.5.8 (Leopard) and Mac OS X 10.4.11 (Tiger).

Look if any software you want to install is supported in Tiger, then I recommend going with Tiger, as Leopard is a little bit slower on those older PPC machines.

Tiger and leopard can be found on eBay, but beware of gray restore DVDs, as they are machine specific and will not work on your PowerBook. Better to get the retail versions, even though they might be a little more expensive.

 

[motulist]

I recommend going with Tiger, as Leopard is a little bit slower on those older PPC machines.

Totally disagreed! My main machine is a G4 powerbook 1 ghz running leopard, and it is plenty fast, and Leopard adds many advantages that are absolute must-haves, like QuickLook! Whenever I use a machine without quicklook I still habitually hit the spacebar to preview files, but nothing happens! Quicklook alone is worth choosing 10.5 over 10.4.

 

[Morris]

I am running Leopard (10.5.8) on a G4 1.5GHz Powerbook and it runs fine! The only thing you'd probably want is to upgrade the memory to more than 1GB, that will give a great speed bump and should be quite cheap.

There are plenty of benefits of running Leopard over older versions. Leopard still being supported by most modern software is just one of them...

 

[Peterkro]

My old Powerbook 1.5 is doing sterling work running Leopard server,never a hiccup,though bluetooth has died.

(max out the ram 2Gb )

 

[dmw007]

I would also recommend using Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard (although Tiger is a great OS as well). As others have said, if you do go for Leopard, I would encourage you to max the ram in your PowerBook G4 to 2GB.

You can find the RAM pretty cheap on eBay or check out www.datamem.com.

Best of luck on your new PowerBook G4 & enjoy!