OSX on iBook G3 - OK or too slow?

tekriter

I'm about to maybe buy a new 600mhz iBook but I'm wondering how OS X does on the G3. I don't want to stick myself with a system that will quickly feel too slow. I can't afford a G4 PB unless I get a refurb, and I need the CD burner that the iBook has.



I guess I'm just hesitant to buy a G3 when the mac world is heading toward OS X. Any reassurances or warnings are most welcome!

matvei

I guess it depends on what you will be doing with it. Surely anything altivec-enhanced (ie. photoshop, FCP3) will fly on a G4, but for anything else...



I'm using an iBook 600/DVD with 640MB of RAM and am perfectly confortable with the speed. I use Office, Omniweb, IE, Alice, iTunes and iPhoto and everything is pretty spiffy.



I even though that running with the base RAM was perfectly acceptable (much better than my previous iMac DVSE at 400mhz). The RAM really made the iMac Fly, but with the iBook, it was nearly overkill.



You millage may vary but to me, the added expense of the powerbook was simply not worth it. Plus, to me, the small size and weight of the iBook was one of its most desirable features.



I guess trying one in a store would be the best thing to do.



BTW: The screen clarity/brightness issue between the iBook and the powerbook was also a big push towards the little guy.



Matvei

sizzle chest

There are several previous "OSX on iBook" topics -- do a search and you'll find lots of responses.

eman

OS X runs good on my 500MHz iBoook. As long as you don't use Photoshop and big stuff like that you'll be fine.

norfa

I'm running it on my iBook (500mhz)right now, and I even use it for photoshop. Waiting for classic to load is one pain in the derrier however. It's not snappy by any means but it's good enough. I'm runiing with 384 right now, and it seems happy enough.

applenut

it's a hard choice. if you can get to a store and try it out yourself. it's more personal preference than anything else. some don't see the slowness, some think its great, others have higher "standards" and don't think OS X is all that cool on any G3.



personally, the 600Mhz G3 iBook is the ONLY G3 system I consider OS X to work well on. there are areas that are slow but they may be fixed in future updates



Note: I'm talking slow as far as responsiveness and the gui. apps themselves ran as fast if not faster than OS 9

junkyard dawg

No way in hell would I buy a G3 system right now, at least not as my primary computer. I was toying with the idea of getting an iBook for doing presentations and some light work, but the truth is OS X is so well optimized for the G4 that it is readily apparent when comparing systems. My Sawtooth G4 400 MHz Powermac actually feels faster than a 600 MHz G3 iMac system I've tried with OS X. And Apple isn't finished optimizing OS X yet; I imagine that with the release of 10.2, further optimizations for altivec may further widen the performance gap between G3s and G4s.



With refurbed Titaniums going for well under $2000 at places like <a href="http://www.smalldog.com,"; target="_blank">www.smalldog.com,</a> there is no reason to buy an iBook. As cool as the iBooks are, the Titaniums are going to be far superior for OS X, and in a couple years that's going a deal breaker.



You can upgrade the drive in Titaniums to a combo drive now, I think it costs $300 or so.



Well this is only my opinion, I'm sure there are plenty of iBook owners who are totally stoked over their laptops. It's a tough decision, but that G3 CPU, it's something to stay away from IMO.



Also, think of it from this perspective: with the new iMac having a G4, more and more developers are going to code for altivec to meet the greater demand. In a few years this will lead to an even greater discrepancy in performance between a G4 mac and a G3 mac. Yet another reason to buy a G4 for long term usage.



If you're like me, right now you're thinking about robbing a bank so you can afford a new 667MHz Titanium....I feel your pain, brother! Never have I been so touched by capitalism as when I tested out a Titanium Powerbook recently. It's enough to drive one to heinous acts of greed and violence!

nda

My iBook 500 is just fine, even for big stuff like Freehand 10, InDesign 2 and Photoshop 6. (The bigger problem with Photoshop is not speed, but rather the LCD screen, which is great for general viewing, but useless for doing CMYK work ... When I get to the finishing point, it's time to switch to the desktop.)



I am running OS X full time, and the speed is fine.



All that said, I bought this machine in June, and though it's been lifesaver since then, if I were buying a notebook today I would be inclined to get a refurbed TiBook. The iBook is the only system still using a G3. It won't be long before more and more software starts requiring a G4.

spart

I'm currently using OS X on a 233MHz iMac, 384MB of ram, and i have set up a swap partition. With the slow as hell ATA 66 interface, the swap partition is a giant boost. I even use Photoshop (7.0 b43, it's sweet, but still a little slow ). Oh well, in a few weeks there will be a nice new high end LCD iMac in its place.



My main b!tches about X are application launching and slow as a !@#$ MP3 programs. Opening iTunes converts this thing into a 100MHz machine with 96 MB of ram seemingly.

fantastic happy dinner man

[quote]Originally posted by tekriter:

<strong>I'm about to maybe buy a new 600mhz iBook but I'm wondering how OS X does on the G3. I don't want to stick myself with a system that will quickly feel too slow. I can't afford a G4 PB unless I get a refurb, and I need the CD burner that the iBook has.



I guess I'm just hesitant to buy a G3 when the mac world is heading toward OS X. Any reassurances or warnings are most welcome!</strong><hr></blockquote>



well, ditto what everyone above's said. see them side by side. i got an iBook last May & there was a Titanium in the store which I hadn't seen up til then either. I was tempted for a while, but coming from the PB 2400 and Lombard, the iBook's display just won me over. And with a desktop G4 already, it wasn't a real tough decision.

PS No complaints with the 600/640MB & OS X. (office apps and usual internet stuff mp3s etc)



[ 02-03-2002: Message edited by: yablaka ]</p>

torifile

I've got a 500mhz ibook and it's just great. I can't complain. Sure, when running 10 apps at once it can get a little bogged down, but overall, I can't complain at all. Just ignore JYD and his FUD about OS X being optimized for a G4. It may be, but overall system performance is fine on a G3. I rarely use classic now, so it's smooth sailing for me. BTW, I do web programming and writing, in addition to all the other good stuff we use computers for. But, I'm not a gamer (I have a GameCube for that ). But, as the others said the TiBook is going for pretty cheap now, so you might want to go for that (I would, if I were buying right now). But, the good thing is, with a portable from Apple right now, you can't go wrong. It's a great time to be a laptop shopper right now. Desktops, I don't know ...

norfa

Until a year ago at Christmas i was running a PB 150 , all of 32 mhz on high speed, 16 when conserving power. People who say , "buy a laptop to be your main system" are a little confused I suspect. Here I am on my iBook 500, looking at a 17 inch monitor using my 30 gig firewire drive running OSX, and i I can think is, that is the matter with this guy? Does he make his living running power apps on air planes? Maybe it is right for him to say "G4 all the way." But it could hardly be right for the vast majority of us who's computers whle making our lives easier, don't directly contribute to our income. If I'm gonna spend a lot of money on a G4 system , it's gonna be on a desktp system, where I get the most power for my buck, not on a laptop.

tarbash

I own an iBook/500 with 384 MB RAM, and a TiBook/500 with 512 MB RAM. OS X runs ok on the iBook, but it's nothing great. The TiBook of course runs OS X like butter, but I have used a lot of 600 MHz iBooks, (My mom has one and I've had to set some up at my campus store) and they run X surprisingly MUCH better than my 500, even with 256 MB of RAM instead of the 384 on the 500.