Might possibly come back to iBook, lots of questions!

J

JSchultz

Guest
Hey Guys,

My first post here, so hello!

I've got tons of questions. Im looking into getting another iBook. I say another because about 3 years ago, maybe more, I had the original 500 mhz snow ibook. I loved it so much, but didnt do much with it since i had narrowband internet, and wasnt in college yet. So I sold it.

Now, im in college as a science major and i'd LOVE to have excel and word on the go, as well as taking advantage of the broadband at my home AND school. So I've decided to get another iBook!

I have many questions though:

1.) My price range is about $500 or so. I've noticed on eBay that an amount of money like mine can get a 600 mhz ibook. Now, is that generally what I could get one for here on the classifieds if i watched? Also, it seems the 700 mhz models go for 550-600 on ebay. is that fair as well?

2) I know that the 600 mhz iBooks had been updated with the 100 mhz fsb, over the 500's 66 mhz. I remember way back when that people could manually overclock their ibooks. anyone know how much of an improvement in performance that was? i read somewhere it was like a 20% improvement.

3) My old iBook had a 256mb RAM upgrade. 384 mb of ram seemed to be ok, but if I got a 600 mhz/700 mhz model, i'd want to upgrade to the full 640 (or 768 if it already has 256) How does the iBook feel with maximum ram? I'm worried about running OSX on the iBook. All I ever got to use was OS 10.1 on my old 500 mhz iBook, and it ran so so so sluggish. how is it now?

4) I have a wireless system running at my house. However, all the stuff is PC brand, like linksys. Do i have to buy the actual Airport router to use wireless for the iBook? or can i just buy the wirless card and be done?

Whew!
Thanks guys!
 
OP
K

kingcrowing2

Guest
Ok, i hope i can help!
1) go to www.techrestore.com and www.expercom.com they both have great prices for ibooks, you should be able to get a decent one for around $500-$600
2) Yes, it's worth a little extra money to go to a 600MHz or 700MHz, the increase in FSB will make a difference, you can overclock the ibooks with icook ( http://www.swieskowski.net/icook/ ) but there are still some issues with it (over heating, random shut downs, etc) so i wouldn't reccomend it, it's worth paying a little more to get a higher stock speed, also icook requires 10.3.x
3) OS 10.3 is a great improvement over 10.1, much more compatiable and it does run much smoother, if you can get it, i'd reccomend it, or at least 10.2. I have a Powerbook G4 with 128MB RAM (512 is on the way...) but i can comftorably use Safari, ichat, and listen to music, OR watch a movie and chat... however the processor on mine will be a lot faster, so i would reccomend getting 768MB (most of the older ibooks have 128MB built in and will support a maximum of 640MB though, before you buy go to www.lowendmac.com to check the specs of the ibook your going to buy)
4) Apples love playing with windows networks! when i got my powerbook (with airport) i just turned it on, and pop! theres my network! i just had to enter my security key (Which is found in the wireless router menu, ex. enter 192.168.0.1 into your browser, the run the wizer and it will tell you the key) so compatability is a non-issue

Hope thats what you were looking for!
 
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U

urbandryad

Guest
What sort of payment options are available with techrestore.com and expercom.com? Do they accept Paypal or Money Order? I don't have a credit card. ^^ I think they're great prices for restored iBooks, and I'd rather go with an online place then with ebay. Thanks!
 
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J

JSchultz

Guest
Hey, thanks for that link! I found that I can get a restored 700 mhz CD/non combo for $519! thats a great deal!

does anyone have anything bad to say about buying restored goods? Hopefully the issue it had with needing to be restored had been resolved, right?

That answers most of my questions. So you all think a 700 mhz iBook would fit the needs of a student listening to music, doing some MS office work and just surfing the web?

Also, can anyone refer me to benchmark testing? I want to know what the 700 mhz G3 is comparable to in PC (pentium, AMD) terms.

Thanks!
 
OP
K

kingcrowing2

Guest
Yes, i think that should suit your needs well, for basic tasks it should be great!
Also, both expercom and techrestore have great warentees, so if anything breaks right off the bat (or at least nor the first few months) they'll cover it!
Expercom does accept money orders, i'm not sure about techrestore, but i'm sure if you call them up (I believe they have a 1-800 number) they'll tell you what they accept for payment, and i don't see why they wouldn't accept money orders.
 
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J

JSchultz

Guest
Actually, I was reading on their site that they do NOT come with any software. They simply say that if your iBook was shipped to them with OSX.2, then it will be on there.

Im not entirely worried, because you can get a copy of OSX on ebay for like 50 bucks. better than the 120 retail.
 
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J

JSchultz

Guest
Sorry to bring the thread up again, but it seems that techrestore is out of 700 mhz combo iBooks. is Expercom a good dealer? trustworthy? they seem to have some in stock.
 
OP
J

JSchultz

Guest
Well,

I bit the bullet and took order of a 700 mhz iBook with combo drive. I gave $550 to expercom.com

Should be here sometime next week. Im so excited! My mom and her boyfriend gave me crap about it, as he jus took order of a Dell Inspiron laptop yesterday as well. We all know who's will be nicer! :mac:


Only downside is that it comes with a palty 128 mb of ram. I think that should be ok for a little bit, as i'll be doing excel and office on the desktop, and email, chat, internet on the iBook. Crucial.com has a good deal on 512 mb chips, 100 bucks even.

I chose expercom because they had it in stock (the combo drive version) AND they actually offer backup copies of the OS', where techrestore did not.

Im pretty happy though, picking the combo drive. I can backup data, AND watch movies on long car trips now!

Thanks for all the help guys!
 
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I would update the ram, it would be a good move. Enjoy your new ibook, they are really nice machines. :cool:
 
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B

Bwoody06

Guest
Tell us how it is when you get it!!

Is there any other sites where i can get refurbished or open boxed laptops?
 
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J

JSchultz

Guest
Well, I recieved it about a week ago, or thereabouts.

Its a great piece.

the 2 sites that were reccomended to me seem to be the only place to buy used, relaiable refurb apple products. My experience was great. I recently upgraded to 640 total mb of ram. maxed out. I wouldnt have it any other way. Maybe a bigger HD :)
 

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