Windows user looking to migrate to Ibook

T

trungthiendo

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as the title states...i currently use window based machines for everything that i do. Lately i'm becoming very interested in the apple counterpart. I want to find a lot of info on it.

for example, what are the different processors, what advantages does one have over the other, other than clock speed and the obvious, like cache size.

How do i get started in learning how to use OSX or the sort...

I'm looking at an ibook to get my feet wet so to say, around 500-600 bucks

yes i can get a mac mini, but i'm look more of something portable, but will give mac mini a try if that's the better choice

for the ibook i have looked on ebay...price is usually around 550 for a 600mhz with 256 ram and the regular stuff. I know that 512 would be the best choice since they do love memory.

So any information you have for this windows user would be appreciated

all i'm looking to do with the ibook is school work, dvd watching, and burning cds occasionally...wifi is a must
 
Aptmunich

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trungthiendo said:
as the title states...i currently use window based machines for everything that i do. Lately i'm becoming very interested in the apple counterpart. I want to find a lot of info on it.

for example, what are the different processors, what advantages does one have over the other, other than clock speed and the obvious, like cache size.

How do i get started in learning how to use OSX or the sort...

I'm looking at an ibook to get my feet wet so to say, around 500-600 bucks

yes i can get a mac mini, but i'm look more of something portable, but will give mac mini a try if that's the better choice

for the ibook i have looked on ebay...price is usually around 550 for a 600mhz with 256 ram and the regular stuff. I know that 512 would be the best choice since they do love memory.

So any information you have for this windows user would be appreciated

all i'm looking to do with the ibook is school work, dvd watching, and burning cds occasionally...wifi is a must
Click to expand...
Well, starting with your processor question:

The G3 processor is the oldest of the bunch (G3,G4,G5) and basically lacks the altivec engine that gives quite a performance boost in apps that use it. So if you get a G3 iBook, you'll get less than stellar performance whilst ripping in iTunes, encoding films etc.

The G4 processor is the most current iBook processor (no G5 yet in the 'books, they're too hot) and its advantages over the G3 just give an extra performance boost.

But for your needs I'd think a 600Mhz G3 sounds alright.
 
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T

trungthiendo

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it seems like that OSX does not like to run on the G3 right???

what clock speeds do the g3 range from, G4? and the fsb.. i think starting at 600mhz was when the fsb was moved to 100mhz??
 
Padawan

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trungthiendo said:
it seems like that OSX does not like to run on the G3 right???

what clock speeds do the g3 range from, G4? and the fsb.. i think starting at 600mhz was when the fsb was moved to 100mhz??
Click to expand...

OS X runs extremely well on G3 machines. In fact, I'm posting this right now from a 7 year old 300 MHz Beige G3 AIO, and it's running the latest version of OS X quite happily. I also have a 900 MHz G3 iBook, and it has plenty of power for my needs, as well as all of the things you mentioned you'd be using your machine for. Of course, the newer G4 machines have more power and performance, but I think you'd be perfectly happy with the iBooks you've been looking at. As you said though, upgrading the RAM would be a good idea.

The dual USB "Snow" G3 iBooks ranged from 500 MHz to 900 Mhz. The bus was increased to 100 MHz beginning with the 600 Mhz version.

The G4 iBook was introduced at 800 Mhz with a 133 MHz bus, and is now available up to 1.33 Ghz.
 
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T

trungthiendo

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oh ok, i was under the impression that the G3 would be rubbishly slow on the OSX platform,
 
Aptmunich

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What you might have heard is the whole dual booting thing...

As far as I know, older macs boot into OS9 first and then run OS X over that (can somebody confirm this?).

Newer macs can't boot OS9 and run a compatibility mode instead...


But anyway - a 600Mhz machine would be great for taking a look at OS X...
 
Padawan

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Aptmunich said:
What you might have heard is the whole dual booting thing...

As far as I know, older macs boot into OS9 first and then run OS X over that (can somebody confirm this?).

Newer macs can't boot OS9 and run a compatibility mode instead...
Click to expand...

No, the older Macs do have the ability to boot into OS 9 or OS X, but they don't boot into OS 9 before starting OS X. You're correct though in that the newest Macs can't boot into OS 9, and instead use a sort of OS 9 "emulation" known as Classic.
 
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S

stevieb

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depending on the speed of your current PC (I'm assuming it's over 1GHZ) I would go for a mac mini over an older G3. I think you'd get frustrated with the speed of the older machine, where as you can get a new G4 in a mac mini for around the same price as your looking to spend.
 
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T

trungthiendo

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yeah i know about the MAC mini, but i was looking for something portable to since i do a lot of travelling when i'm in school, i like to go to the library, friends place or labs to do work, since its hard to find a quiet place living on campus when you have a roomate.

so would the G3 ibook be a bad investment???

but if i could find a G4 ibook for around 700 bucks i could manange that...

maybe a 800mhz G4?
 
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NightWolf0829

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The g3 iBooks are not bad at all, just bear in mind they cannot run iLife well, 800x600. I'm not shure when the display was changed. I still use my g3 (clamshell firewire) 466mhz g3 iBook each day. Just get lots of ram, that is key. I currently have only 392mb in my iBook, and i want more. It is also on OSX- 10.3.7 (panther). And no that would not be a bad investment.

Cheers, -j
 
Aptmunich

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Padawan said:
No, the older Macs do have the ability to boot into OS 9 or OS X, but they don't boot into OS 9 before starting OS X. You're correct though in that the newest Macs can't boot into OS 9, and instead use a sort of OS 9 "emulation" known as Classic.
Click to expand...
Thanks for clearing that up :)
 

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