Old G4 versus new G3

elbaronielbaroni
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Jaguar's Quartz Extreme requires a 16 meg video card, which the new iBook has, but the rest of the OS is accelerated by the altivec engine in a G4. Which do you think would be the better deal, a 500mhz second hand TiBook or a new 600mhz iBook, at around the same price?



Most of what I do is not really G4 enhanced, no movie editing and such ? I study law and history, so it's mostly word processing and web browsing, but I do rather like the big screen and the thinness. Apple says that the G4 enhances much of the window movement and scrolling etc in Jaguar.



What I really need is about $7000 Australian so I can buy a TiBook 800, but that's just not going to happen... help!

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 6
    brianmacosbrianmacos Posts: 548member
    The question is will you be happier with a new laptop or satisfied with a used machine. Personally i would go with the new machine myself since you are not doing any thing that would require a lot of power like video editing I would probably get a new ibook with a warranty. I'm not one for buying used computers so my opinion is a little one sided.
  • Reply 2 of 6
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    I'd probably also go for the iBook. I wouldn't want a used machine and overall I like the iBook's design better. The screen is also GREAT for a 12" LCD.
  • Reply 3 of 6
    toadietoadie Posts: 78member
    Right now I'm using a G4-450 (upgraded B&W G3, so no QE), and an iBook 600. Both have Jag. The G4 beats out the iBook in all aspects. I'd get the Tibook if I were you.
  • Reply 4 of 6
    wormboywormboy Posts: 220member
    [quote] The G4 beats out the iBook in all aspects. <hr></blockquote>



    uh, no it doesn't. The ibook has a faster CPU and they both have a 100 MHz bus. I'm not sure about the cache status (anyone??). If you are not doing work that requires Altivec for acceptable performance, then stick with the G3. I would probably get the ibook, just because it was new, and I don't like inherited crude. (How many "miles" does the Tibook have? Does it look worn?) And as a bonus, you don't have to buy Jagwyre seperately.
  • Reply 5 of 6
    stoostoo Posts: 1,490member
    Here you go:

    "old" PowerBook G4:

    400/500MHz G4

    1 MB L2 (2:1 ratio, so cache speed equals 200MHz or 250MHz)



    iBook:

    600/700MHz G3

    512K L2 cache at full speed.
  • Reply 6 of 6
    g-newsg-news Posts: 1,107member
    The questions really are:

    thinner but bigger box, vs thicker but smaller

    12" vs 15.2" screen

    no PC card slot vs one PC card slot

    elegant design vs cute design



    G-News
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