07-06-2006, 06:27 PM

A friend of a friend is selling his Powerbook G3 333 Lombard for $300 and I am seriously considering buying it, but don't want to make the wrong decision. I would go for a newer computer, but I am on a seriously limited budget. I have never owned a Mac before (unfortunate, I know) and am really eager to get one in the near future. He has really souped it up. It has OS X 10.4, Flash 2004, Dreamweaver 2004, Photoshop CS, Illustrator CS, Office 2004, iMovie, etc. He upgraded the RAM to 320 and the hardrive to 30 GB. It comes with a new Firewire card as well.

I need to know if I should go for it. I would really hate to be ripped off and would like to get a decent computer. Everything looks good, I am just worried that it might be too old. ANY advice would be really helpful, as quick as possible would be nice as well because he has another interested buyer.

07-06-2006, 06:33 PM

Lombards are very nice, I have had a couple of them myself.
However, they can be had for less than $300 with all of the hardware specs you listed.
You can find Lombards for half that price on auction sites like eBay or Craigslist.
I would be wary about a software list like that, though. I somehow doubt that he would include the original software install discs for those software suites. If he loaded them on without including the orginal CD's that would be illegally pirated software.

I would see how much he would be willing to lower the price. Having owned them and sold them myself, I would think that $200 would be the maximum that I would pay for a system like that.

07-06-2006, 06:36 PM

Originally Posted by D3v1L80Y

wary about a software list like that, though. I somehow doubt that he would include the original software install discs for those software suites. If he loaded them on without including the orginal CD's that would be illegally pirated software.

i wasn't going to say anything, but now that it is being brought up, i agree. also, i dont know how well a 333 G3 will run those programs.

07-06-2006, 06:49 PM

Unfortunately, he's being rather stubborn and has vowed he won't lower it a penny. Should I maybe hold out for a well-priced G4 to show up on Ebay? Thank you, by the way, for your quick and helpful replies.

07-06-2006, 07:05 PM

Originally Posted by WhyLobsters

Should I maybe hold out for a well-priced G4 to show up on Ebay?

That sounds like a good plan. You can find G4's or even a G3 Pismo for what he is asking.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Apple-Titanium-P...QQcmdZViewItem

:black:

07-06-2006, 07:08 PM

id hold out till you find a better deal

07-06-2006, 07:09 PM

check this one out: just buy a new batt and your set

http://cgi.ebay.com/Powerbook-G4-400...QQcmdZViewItem

07-06-2006, 07:21 PM

Once again, thank you very much. I will definitely have to pursue some of those auctions! Forgive me if this is a ridiculous question, I am not as tech savvy as I would like to be, but at what point is a hardrive on a Powerbook too low?

07-06-2006, 07:23 PM

it really depends on what your going to do with it.. for me, 60 is too low, i have ~6 gigs of photos, 6 or so of mp3s, ect. some programs, like garage band, take 2 gigs on their own. If you need just a simple web browsing/email checking/word document type machine, 10-20 should be fine. you can always invest in an external harddrive if the one in your machine is small.

07-06-2006, 09:19 PM

Give a look here, too:

http://betamacs.com/

Originally Posted by Beta Macs

Apple ibook 500 128/10 gig/CD OS X
Our Price: $299.00

Much better than a Lombard or a Pismo

07-06-2006, 09:20 PM

Waste of money, IMO.

07-07-2006, 11:08 AM

Originally Posted by D3v1L80Y

Give a look here, too:

http://betamacs.com/


Much better than a Lombard or a Pismo

I disagree with the statement that the first revision ibook is much better than a lombard or Pismo. I've owned both the 500MHz ibook and a 500MHz Pismo and the difference is quite noticeable. The bus speed on the iBook was only 66MHz whereas the Pismo had a 100MHz bus. the Pismo was also much more expandable and upgradeable. I upgraded the HD, Memory, and Processor in the Pismo. In the ibook upgrading the memory was easy enough, but one of the dims was soldered in so you only had one slot to play with. Upgrading the HD is not-trivial in the ibook, and upgrading the processor is not an option. You can use a PC-card to add FW800 or USB2 to a Lombard or Pismo, but not an iBook. The Lombard/Pismo has an expansion bay that can take a DVD-RW, zip drive, extra HD, or extra battery. You have to hack the iBook to use screen spanning. On the other hand, you probably can't find a lombard or pismo for $299 retail, so the iBook might not be a bad deal if it comes with a warantee. If you can afford a used Pismo that is the route I would go.

I didn't mean to rant, but the comparison is just insane to me.

07-09-2006, 09:02 PM

Alright, I am looking at a Tibook now on ebay and it looks like a pretty good deal, but since I have been easily led astray in the past and really wish I knew more about macs and just computers in general, I thought I might ask your advice once more.

Good shape cosmetically from pictures, he says it works well.
512 MB
40 GB
15" screen
here's the part I worry about--400 mhz processor.
$425

Do you think this looks like a good deal or am I falling for another bad one?

07-09-2006, 09:03 PM

Originally Posted by WhyLobsters

here's the part I worry about--400 mhz processor.

Why are you worried about that when the Lombard was only a 333Mhz G3?

That 400 Mhz G4 will blow the doors off the Lombard's G3.
:black:

07-09-2006, 09:08 PM

Hahaha, I know, how hypocritical of me! I guess I just see everyone on here with mac specs including processors in the Ghz range and get nervous! So, do you think I should go for it? Thanks again by the way for your fast reply.