Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
What have you done with an early Intel recently?
- Thread starter Project Alice
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
DCBassman
macrumors 65816
All this talk of A1342s means I just *had* to check them out, and found a tatty but fully working and very cheap one, so that's incoming and means I have 14 Macs, which is...ridiculous! The 2010 2.4GHz will take 16GB of RAM, too.
Certificate of Excellence
macrumors 68020
I think I have 30 something at this point which. I kind of lost count. Let me do a quick mental count - 33 I think? Well maybe 32 since one is a performa and while it does work fully, litterally all of its plastics have broken and fallen away. Dunno if folks would count that as its naked. Speaking of Marchintosh, it would be fun to build a case for it 🙂 This also reminds me that I need to update my signature. Only problem is I dont know if I have enough space for the acquisitions since I last updated it a few years ago.
ToniCH
macrumors 65816
I made a quick calculation and I have now over 40. 😵 That is more than I expected. And do not have enough space to display them so not smart at all. I find myself a very bad in selling any of them away even though I sometimes decide to do it. 😉
EDIT: what I could remember now I have 20 Apple laptops/portables and about 25 desktops. I am sure I forget some but that is about where I roughly am today. Not all work after years or decades of no use but could be repairable.
And speaking of not smart I just made a first deal of this year on quite cheap 2008 MBP 17". I do know they are notorious for GPU problems. 😰 Seller says everything is working normally but could not say if it has been repaired at some point. Didn't want to pressure him to open it so risk is on me. It is probably 2.5GHz, has 4GB RAM and a SSD. He says battery works too.
Houston, I have a problem...this is my 5th 17" MBP and I still do not the one I have been after for years - the PB G4 17". 😂
Last edited:
headlessmike
macrumors 68000
Welcome to the club! They can indeed take 16 GB of RAM but are known to be picky about which modules will work. If you need to buy new ones I'd recommend looking into OWC or some other brand that markets them specifically for this machine. I got my OWC set brand new from Amazon for less than €30 a couple of years ago.
ToniCH
macrumors 65816
Are those actual 1067 MHz or something faster that the machine down clocks to 1067?
DCBassman
macrumors 65816
headlessmike
macrumors 68000
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
ToniCH
macrumors 65816
Thanks. I see the crazy price action is now starting to leak into the vintage memory prices too. Everything is getting pricier. Some stuff might be possible to find with decent pricing second hand but stores are rising their prices for old crap along with the DDR4 and DDR5 pricing.
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
ToniCH
macrumors 65816
I need a localized SE/FI -keyboard and they are not really available without the machine. And the machines are super rare here, haven't seen one in years. So, I am after a complete working machine which was originally sold here.
headlessmike
macrumors 68000
Any specific variant you're looking for? Here's a 17" 2005 Powerbook with a Norwegian keyboard for sale in Sweden: https://www.tradera.com/item/302393/710425217/apple-mac-powerbook-g4
Or, if you just want parts like an SE keyboard, here's a damaged 15": https://www.tradera.com/item/302393/712379748/apple-powerbook-g4-trasig
I'd consider this one for myself, if just for the battery.
Let me know if I can help.
Last edited:
DCBassman
macrumors 65816
ToniCH
macrumors 65816
Thanks but I am in Finland. The 17" is expensive, broken (defekt) and in Norway, it is not economical to ship old relics from outside of EU. The 15" in Sweden is cheap but ends up more expensive than a good one locally once shipped over here.
I'll continue searching. This is not a must...get...it...now! -project. I am patient, one will appear some day.
ScanTheNavian
macrumors 6502
Man, I truly regret retiring my white Macbook from 2007. I had no idea it could run Linux. I'm not even sure if I really knew what Linux were back then though. But it could have given me many more years of joy as I absolutely loved the color and keyboard. Just the overall feel was amazing. I recently saw a picture of one and memories came flooding back. Most enjoyable computer I've ever owned.
This could have been me
This could have been me
ToniCH
macrumors 65816
I plan to go with MacOS and Linux double boot with the MBP 2008. So, Linux will take care of the internet compatibility but what would be the optimal MacOS for it? The 2008 A1261 MBP4,1 supports from 10.5 to 10.11.
And are there any special tuned MacOS-versions which could be cool for this machine? I've seen some mentioned but have not tried them myself and cannot remember any out of my head. I might not be keen on doing OCLP on such an old machine with little memory (4GB now, 6GB max).
And are there any special tuned MacOS-versions which could be cool for this machine? I've seen some mentioned but have not tried them myself and cannot remember any out of my head. I might not be keen on doing OCLP on such an old machine with little memory (4GB now, 6GB max).
headlessmike
macrumors 68000
It depends on how the GPU is handled. Up to Mojave or Catalina you can get good performance without a Metal GPU. With an SSD and 4GB you should be okay running Mojave, which has a Safari that is relatively modern but can also run a modern version of Firefox. You can run newer systems up to Sequoia with OCLP, but the lack of Metal support will introduce some limitations that may or may not be a problem for your use case, and you will definitely need patience when using the machine. My C2D MacBook with 16GB of RAM has Sonoma running on a partition and it takes about 10 minutes to settle down after booting, but runs reasonably well after that.
If you just want a light weight version of OSX, then Snow Leopard is an obvious choice, and there are still some hobbyist web browsers that support it.
ToniCH
macrumors 65816
Thanks, I have plenty of machines to run more modern OSes. And according to sources this machine cannot be upgraded beyond 6GB (Apple official max is 4GB). So, IMO no OCLP for this machine.
I was thinking of SL as I even have install disks for it but I was wondering if there is anything above the 10.6 and up to 10.11 worth considering? I think I skipped most of them when I was using 2009 iMac, my software all worked in SL and next one I think I installed years later was High Sierra. So not much of experience with the 10.7 - 10.11. I think I have Yosemite on some machine though.
In any case I will install period correct or maybe rather OS correct software to it.
I was thinking of SL as I even have install disks for it but I was wondering if there is anything above the 10.6 and up to 10.11 worth considering? I think I skipped most of them when I was using 2009 iMac, my software all worked in SL and next one I think I installed years later was High Sierra. So not much of experience with the 10.7 - 10.11. I think I have Yosemite on some machine though.
In any case I will install period correct or maybe rather OS correct software to it.
I still haven't tried Linux on a MacBook Pro more than once. I prefer MacOS and feel the community has done a great job with keeping older systems quite viable. With the BSD subsystem I can typically find packages or applications that work fine for me.
Now Linux on an old PC laptop, I play that game quite a bit 🙂 .
Anyway,
New battery is installed in the MacBook Pro 5,1 and starting the process of calibrating.
I tend to simply browse and do light tasks for this process, as opposed to taxing the system hard with videos or other work.
Now Linux on an old PC laptop, I play that game quite a bit 🙂 .
Anyway,
New battery is installed in the MacBook Pro 5,1 and starting the process of calibrating.
I tend to simply browse and do light tasks for this process, as opposed to taxing the system hard with videos or other work.
Certificate of Excellence
macrumors 68020
Yes that method, as well as compiling / make and such if the application doesn't have a modern or more direct fork.
Always have the potential to mess something up, but it is nice to be able to do all of the above.
Certificate of Excellence
macrumors 68020
I am a big fan of MX Linux and use it on my 08 mbs & 09 mbp as well as my cMP 1,1. It runs really well on this old early Intel Apple hardware and is an absolute breeze to install.
I am also a fan of Lubuntu (what I’ve consistently come back to for my PPC Macs) but something was up with the Intel install because it would take literally 6-8 minutes to boot into a desktop on my Intel Macs specifically once installed. Once there it’s awesome & flies but that super slow boot up was an issue I couldnt fix and was a big reason of switching to MX which again, is great. I’m still on MX23 but they now have 25 which is working great for folks. Zero issues out of the box with MX.
ToniCH
macrumors 65816
I have used Linuxes in many Macs over the years and even now have one installed in 6+ Mac laptops and few desktops too. I too have a super long boot time in one of my machines, cannot remember now which Linux but could be Lubuntu. Could not figure out why it boots so slowly and got bored troubleshooting it.
I have used MX in one of my old Lenovos since Corona years. It's alright.
So, the Linux thing is a non issue to me. I will choose something and test them until I find one that works fine in the MBP4,1.
The MacOS will probably be Snow Leopard but I might try the Mavericksforever -approach just for fun.
Ps. this is Linux Mint:
Certificate of Excellence
macrumors 68020
I have seen a number of folks on here speak quite highly of Big Linux which I have yet to try as I’m quite happy with MX. Ive watched a few vids about it after it repeatedly came up in convos here - looks pretty nice.I have used Linuxes in many Macs over the years and even now have one installed in 6+ Mac laptops and few desktops too. I too have a super long boot time in one of my machines, cannot remember now which Linux but could be Lubuntu. Could not figure out why it boots so slowly and got bored troubleshooting it.
I have used MX in one of my old Lenovos since Corona years. It's alright.
So, the Linux thing is a non issue to me. I will choose something and test them until I find one that works fine in the MBP4,1.
The MacOS will probably be Snow Leopard but I might try the Mavericksforever -approach just for fun.
Ps. this is Linux Mint:
ToniCH
macrumors 65816
Thanks, I'll check it out. Seen it mentioned once or twice but haven't seen or tried it yet.
The really cool thing about using one of these now is how happy OTHER people get when they see them!! Who would have thought that these white MacBooks would become popular again years later... 🙂