06-06-2011, 11:21 PM

Okay so I was fortunate enough to get an iBook g4 laptop in my hands for relatively "cheap" and I was wondering if I could get some input on upgrading the system. The laptop is going to be mainly used for imovie use and possibly Final Cut Express (if at all possible) as I am a student filmmaker.

My system currently has these specs:
iBook G4 M9163LL/A
800mhz
30GB hard drive (I also have a 500tb external drive)
384mb ram
OSX 10.4 Tiger

What I've been told is that 800mhz is relatively very slow in operations and that I should probably update my ram to at least 1gb. What are your suggestions in upgrading the system and how much do you estimate it costing me?

06-07-2011, 02:22 AM

In my opinion the only viable upgrade for you is to max out your RAM. Nothing you can do about the processor, and Tiger is the optimum OS you can run on that spec machine. You could upgrade the HD, but it's not worth the hassle, work with externals for storage.
Final Cut Express will be slow, but will run ok once you have the RAM. The maximum RAM you can have is 640MB, which isn't loads sadly, so your options with the current ram installed are limited.
You would need to remove the existing additional 256MB RAM, as you only have one slot, and replace it with a 512MB module, to max out the iBook. It will cost you around £35. The RAM type you need is DDR PC2700.
Hope that helps.

06-07-2011, 02:26 AM

Only suggestion I've got is the one Kevriano has already given you. I don't think the speeds will too ideal for working quickly, but they may work for you just fine. Once you get that RAM maxed out, give it a shot.

06-07-2011, 03:05 AM

Thanks guys

PNY 512MB PC2700 DDR 333MHz Memory at TigerDirect.com

Do you think this would do a fair job?

06-07-2011, 03:14 AM

Yes that would do, PNY are one of the cheaper memory companies, hence that price, which is very good, but in my experience (camera memory) no less reliable for it.
Nice cheap upgrade there.