iBook for college kid!

pumbaapumbaa
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
I'm looking for a 12" Apple iBook, and I'm wondering what speed I should get. I'm going to use it mainly for word processing and wireless internet. I already have a pretty hefty Windows notebook, and I just want something small to throw into my backpack to take to class. So obviously I dont think its worth getting a brand new one, what speed should I get? Is 500mhz enough? G3 fast enough? Should I get more speed? I can technically afford a brand new one... but I don't think its worth it for what I'm going to do with it. I just don't want it to chug on webpages and in word processing. I'm planning on getting a refub. one... so HELP!

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    gsxrboygsxrboy Posts: 565member
    A G4/800 will probably be just the ticket, have at least 512mb of ram , throw in a airport card and you have a nice little runner..
  • Reply 2 of 12
    republicrepublic Posts: 168member
    Apple's online store has very recent iBook G4s for perusal on a regular basis. Just check its red tag section on the bottom. But I don't think you should go refurbished.



    Like the previous poster said, G4 processors are the way to go; 800 megahertz is fair, but if you can break the 1 gigahertz barrier, that's great. If you can afford a new model, as you state, go for it. Now, there's nothing wrong with refurbished Apple products if you choose one. However, current iBooks are well-priced and more reasonably equipped, with wireless cards standard and more memory built-in. It's easier with newer models to reach 512 MB of RAM.
  • Reply 3 of 12
    pumbaapumbaa Posts: 7member
    Let me shed some light on my current situation. I have a 2.4 ghz P4 laptop thats a friken BRICK. I consider it a highly portable desktop more than anything (and use it as such). I have an iPod and about 12 gigs of music on it (20 gig 3G) used on my PC. I probably wouldn't put my music on the Mac, AND I probably wouldn't use it as a primary computer. This would literally be an always portable computer. iPhoto would probably be used, perhaps some iMovie (seldomly). I want OS X to run smoothly (thats very important to me... OS's running smoothly). Will a cheaper, slower iBook run OS X smoothly? Do I need a new iBook? Does that change anyone opinions?
  • Reply 4 of 12
    andrewlondonandrewlondon Posts: 83member
    Hi,



    I'm currently using an old school 466mhz G4 at work, it is running OSX and has no problems with word processing, browsing the internet or anything else for that matter. I also use Photoshop for heavy batch processing work and it happily chugs away. One thing i have noticed on this is when loading web pages with lots of tables or flash it goes a bit slower than im happy with, by this i mean when you scroll down the page you get refresh lines. This is more than likely down to the fact im running a 21inch screen off it at 1280x1024 which the graphics card is struggling with. With a notebook you wont be at that resolution so probably wont have the same problems as me.



    I don't know what models they do but i'd definitley go G4 and would look for something around the 600mhz mark with as much ram as will fit in it. I would definitley not go below 512mb.



    Hope this helps a little bit. Let us know what you decide. :-D
  • Reply 5 of 12
    neutrino23neutrino23 Posts: 1,562member
    My main machine is a 1.25GHz G4 PowerBook. I also run OS X on a G3 500MHz PowerBook and on a 600MHz iMac. Both are OK. Here and there you slow down a bit compared to the faster machine. I would think that an 800MHz G4 would be fine for your purposes. The newer machine will also have a larger HD, better graphics chip, ports, etc.
  • Reply 6 of 12
    robin hoodrobin hood Posts: 513member
    What's your budget? Apple is selling the brand new 1.2GHz iBook to students for about $900 ($999 normal price). It already includes an airport card as standard.



    They also have refurb offers for a lot less.
  • Reply 7 of 12
    ineedag5pbnowineedag5pbnow Posts: 145member
    ahhh theres nothing like that new white iBook smell...ive had a G3 iBook for about three years and it runs like a tank. i say go with a brand new iBook for 900 if ur budget permits. im going through the same thing as you although im contemplating getting an iMac G5 just for work or wait until a Powerbook G5 shows up and cherish it like a child. i used my iBook in college and it was great for doing easy stuff like word processing and internet, and was even fun just to play around with it. get the iBook,you will love it...
  • Reply 8 of 12
    osxosx Posts: 34member
    I would go with an older G4. Actually I am selling my 667mhz 15in PowerBook for $1000, with all kinds of goodies. If you interested let me know ([email protected]). If you are not wanting to go with a PowerBook then I would get a higher mhz iBook such as a 800mhz G3.
  • Reply 9 of 12
    randycat99randycat99 Posts: 1,919member
    If you are going to bring it to class to work on throughout the day, I would recommend a 2nd battery pack. Of course, you can't really hot swap them, so you would have to reboot every time you swapped in a fresh one- that sounds a bit tacky after thinking about it. Too bad Apple hasn't come up with a battery pack you could just hot plug in where the power plug normally goes...(that could be a good idea)
  • Reply 10 of 12
    robin hoodrobin hood Posts: 513member
    While it doesn't last for 6 hours unless you dim the screen, my iBook does usually last close to 5 hours of use. When I used it in class, that was more than enough, and I always got back with time left on the battery.



    Just bear in mind that batteries, over time, degrade. Personally I'd say go for it and spend about $900 on a new one.
  • Reply 11 of 12
    kenaustuskenaustus Posts: 924member
    I think the one thing you have to keep in mind is that you may well decide to sell the PC after using an iBook for a while. I got a PowerBook "just for business travel" 2+ years ago and, with the delivery in Sep of a new 20" G5 iMac have moved totally away from PCs. Macs do that to you.



    The one regret I had when getting the original 667 PB was that I held the configuration to the cheapest I could. I think you would be in the same situation with a used iBook. It will not be long before you want the additional speed as you move more and more to the iBook. Take a good hard look at the Apple site - you do qualify for the educational discount and prices are very good.
  • Reply 12 of 12
    pumbaapumbaa Posts: 7member
    The plan is definitly to begin to migrate to Mac (I've always wanted to try and I have a feeling that my generation is going to begin buying more and more Macs... thus less and less compatibility issues with anything). So this thing will (hopefully) be my first step into the Mac world. The latest I'd get it is early March. Thanks for all the input, please if there are anymore opinions... tell me. This has been rather enlightening.
Sign In or Register to comment.