What can I upgrade to?

Just got a iBook G4 256 MB RAM (upgrading to Max (1GB)?) 1.06 GHz Processor for $100.00. What OS can I upgrade to, to utilize one Mac machine for iTunes for , iPad 2, Apple TV and 4 iPhones? I would like to utilize a 1TB NAS drive (can be hooked up via Fire wire or USB or Network).

This all being the pre-cursor to buying an iMac in a few months if this all works out.


TIA

the latest OS that will install on this machine is Leopard(10.5). Be aware that this is a G4 machine and the CPU is going to be much slower then the current model iMac. If you would like to get something faster then the iBook, you could always look into the Mac Mini which would be just as fast as the iMac, but can be cheaper.

If you do decide to upgrade to Leopard, you'll want to keep two things in mind:

1. You'll need to purchase the black retail disc and not the grey ones.
2. Look at the iTunes requirements for the iOS devices you have and compare that against the iTunes versions you can install in Leopard. This is important because otherwise, you may be upgrading to Leopard to gain nothing with regards to iOS syncing capabilities.

a. You paid about $75 too much for that iBook.
b. It will run exactly NO iPhones, NO iPads, NO Apple TVs and NO current versions of iTunes. That machine is AT LEAST six years old, for heaven's sake.

My advice would be to get your money back and apply it toward the new iMac. The iBook G4 is not capable of running anything current.

chas_m said:

a. You paid about $75 too much for that iBook.

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$100 is actually not too bad of a price for this iBook (assuming it is in decent shape). Even Mac2Sell says it's worth $70-$100 (depending on the display size). It is very light on ram (gonna cost more then expected to upgrade the ram...$36 bucks). But definitely agree...it's certainly an older laptop...with some definite limitations.

@OP: Going to probably cost about $136 to get this thing running Leopard ($36 for the ram upgrade + $100 for the Leopard install disk). Add that to the purchase price of $100 = $236. For $350...it's possible to get an older MacBook...which is MUCH more capable.

Just an FYI...before you invest more money into this computer.

- Nick

This is actually an ok deal Mac2sell is going to give you the lowest estimated price. Yes, this laptop is minimum 7 years old, but it was built a little better. At the time apple was more concerned about quality at that time then they are today(it is still a concern to them today though). Yes this can support the latest iTunes (with upgrading the OS to leopard and upgrade RAM to 512 MB), which would support every device to date, no guarantee for future devices though. Older MacBooks are not that cheap. If you look at decent condition MacBooks on ebay, they can be unto $600 for a 2007 model, which if you are going to buy one, that is oldest you should go to since the older models are already being excluded in the current OS.

I'm almost shamed out of it, but where can I get OSX 10.5. Cheapest I have seen is 229.00. Any links?

gilldawg79 said:

I'm almost shamed out of it, but where can I get OSX 10.5. Cheapest I have seen is 229.00. Any links?

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Check e-Bay...usually around $80 to $100.

- Nick