Upgrading Powerbook G4 12"-Need advice
I currently have a Powerbook G4, 12" with 40GB harddrive and 256MB of ram that I purchased fall of 2003. Its runnong on OS X 10.2.8. I recently purchased a new digital camera that requires a new operating system so I bought OS X 10.4. Now I'm thinking that maybe I should do some more upgrading while I'm at it but I'm not real computer knowledgable so any adice would be appreciated. Seeing how my harddrive is nearly full my plan is get about a 100GB drive. I see them on eBay for $75-100. That got me thinking that I should upgrade my RAM while I'm at it too seeing how 256 is only the minimum requirement for the new OS. I see 512MB on ebay fairly cheap($30 or so on ebay) and 1GB for about $75. Dont really want to spend that $75 on RAM but maybe its worth it. I've found real good guides, step by step, so I'll install everything myself.
I'm not a gamer, main uses of the computer are for internet, photos, music, as well as photoshop and illustrator. Any advice on what to do would be appreciated. I'm also willing to purchase from places like Newegg of their prices are better but I'm real unsure what to buy and afraid to get the wrong things(did that when I built my Freevo(free tivo).
I'm not a gamer, main uses of the computer are for internet, photos, music, as well as photoshop and illustrator. Any advice on what to do would be appreciated. I'm also willing to purchase from places like Newegg of their prices are better but I'm real unsure what to buy and afraid to get the wrong things(did that when I built my Freevo(free tivo).
Comments
I currently have a Powerbook G4, 12" with 40GB harddrive and 256MB of ram that I purchased fall of 2003. Its runnong on OS X 10.2.8. I recently purchased a new digital camera that requires a new operating system so I bought OS X 10.4. Now I'm thinking that maybe I should do some more upgrading while I'm at it but I'm not real computer knowledgable so any adice would be appreciated. Seeing how my harddrive is nearly full my plan is get about a 100GB drive. I see them on eBay for $75-100. That got me thinking that I should upgrade my RAM while I'm at it too seeing how 256 is only the minimum requirement for the new OS. I see 512MB on ebay fairly cheap($30 or so on ebay) and 1GB for about $75. Dont really want to spend that $75 on RAM but maybe its worth it. I've found real good guides, step by step, so I'll install everything myself.
I'm not a gamer, main uses of the computer are for internet, photos, music, as well as photoshop and illustrator. Any advice on what to do would be appreciated. I'm also willing to purchase from places like Newegg of their prices are better but I'm real unsure what to buy and afraid to get the wrong things(did that when I built my Freevo(free tivo).
I dropped a 160GB drive in my 15" PowerBook not too long ago, and I got it for about $120, so if you plan to get a new drive for around $100, go for at least a 120GB. As for the RAM, that 1GB stick will do a world of good. The lucky thing is that the 12" PB's have onboard RAM, so you likely don't even have a chip in the RAM slot, allowing you to upgrade to 1.25 GB. I would definitely go for it, if I were you. Consider this, as well: for the cost of those upgrades, they make the eBay worth of the machine much higher. 12" PowerBooks easily go for $800-$1000 on eBay, especially if they are good ones. A bigger drive and decent RAM will make even the oldest 12" (867MHz) a good sell, when the time comes to move up.
I currently have a Powerbook G4, 12" with 40GB harddrive and 256MB of ram that I purchased fall of 2003. Its runnong on OS X 10.2.8. I recently purchased a new digital camera that requires a new operating system so I bought OS X 10.4. Now I'm thinking that maybe I should do some more upgrading while I'm at it but I'm not real computer knowledgable so any adice would be appreciated. Seeing how my harddrive is nearly full my plan is get about a 100GB drive. I see them on eBay for $75-100. That got me thinking that I should upgrade my RAM while I'm at it too seeing how 256 is only the minimum requirement for the new OS. I see 512MB on ebay fairly cheap($30 or so on ebay) and 1GB for about $75. Dont really want to spend that $75 on RAM but maybe its worth it. I've found real good guides, step by step, so I'll install everything myself.
I'm not a gamer, main uses of the computer are for internet, photos, music, as well as photoshop and illustrator. Any advice on what to do would be appreciated. I'm also willing to purchase from places like Newegg of their prices are better but I'm real unsure what to buy and afraid to get the wrong things(did that when I built my Freevo(free tivo).
Do you know if your powerbook uses pc2100 or pc2700 ram?
I would definitely suggest getting 1gb of ram because your machine will fly compared to just 256. You won't regret it.
For 2700, I would suggest 2 of these, and for 2100 I would get 2 of these, but in any case I would go for Corsair (IMHO). They usually have competetive prices and a reliable product. I like newegg personally and did not check on ebay, which I do not like since many people will try to cheat you in some way, but if you find a better deal there, go for it if you want. As for the harddrive, I can't give you much solid advice, so I won't possibly lead you astray. But I do know from looking briefly on newegg that you can get 100gb for cheaper than $75.
Edit: you may want to check the bus speeds on the ram (I don't know what the pwrbk needs).
Wait... is there only one ram slot in a g4? well then my ram advice is slightly nullified.
Yes, there is only one slot, in addition to the 128 or 256 that is contained onboard. As for the speed, PC2700 is usually much more common and cheaper, and even if your machine takes PC2100 (867MHz or 1GHz), the faster RAM will downthrottle. I an not sure of the exact average prices on current DDR SO-DIMMS, but I know that a PC2-4200 SO-DIMM, while slower, is WAY more expensive and rare than PC2-5300, simply because it's not used much anymore.
By the way, the link for that PC2100 leads to a full DIMM, not a SO-DIMM.
Yes, there is only one slot, in addition to the 128 or 256 that is contained onboard. As for the speed, PC2700 is usually much more common and cheaper, and even if your machine takes PC2100 (867MHz or 1GHz), the faster RAM will downthrottle. I an not sure of the exact average prices on current DDR SO-DIMMS, but I know that a PC2-4200 SO-DIMM, while slower, is WAY more expensive and rare than PC2-5300, simply because it's not used much anymore.
By the way, the link for that PC2100 leads to a full DIMM, not a SO-DIMM.
Ah... nice catch, I was looking mainly for prices and did not notice that.
OK, going with pc2700 1GB SO-DIMMs I didn't get a wide array of choices and the only corsair had a lot of poor reviews. Patriot, another good brand has this which people seem to like (usually a good sign) 1.25RAM should give a new life to your laptop and even though my above posts had misinformation in them, I am now more well-informed.
I opened up the bottom and it has a piece of memory with a sticker that says 128+128 DDR.
Here is a 100GB drive for $77.28 after shipping.
And here is a 120GB drive for about $75 after free shipping.
My harddrive and RAM arrived today. I'm waiting for a some files to transfer to another computer then i'll start taking this one apart. When the new harddrive is installed I assume it will need to be formatted right? What format will it need to be? Do I need to do anything for the RAM or is it just plug in and go? thanks for all the help so far.
Foramat it HFS+ I assume when you install Tiger on it, it will do it for you but since I have never done that, I am not sure. What RAM and HDD did you end up getting?
Foramat it HFS+ I assume when you install Tiger on it, it will do it for you but since I have never done that, I am not sure. What RAM and HDD did you end up getting?
These-
And here is a 120GB drive for about $75 after free shipping.
Patriot, another good brand has this which people seem to like (usually a good sign) 1.25RAM
I got everything installed, just finishing put the computer back together. Went pretty well. I hope the software install goes as well.
EDIT: I had to put in the install disc for OS X then go to Utilities>Disk utility. In disk utility select the HD and then select erase, in the pull down menu select mac os extended and click erase. After that the harddrive showed up in the installation process and I'm now installing OS X 10.4. I did this yesterday on my old 40GB HD just to play around with it so all should be good from here on out. Never thought I'd be doing a job like this. For anyone who cares these are the directions I followed for the HD replacement. http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac/Powe...Al-12-Inch/53/ Directions dont get much better than that.
THANK YOU to everyone who helped me.