Recommend an OS for this old iBook ?

Joined
Dec 28, 2011
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Points
1
iBook
1 GHz 640 RAM
PowerPC G4
10.3.9

Hi,
I just got hold of an old iBook and was wondering what would be the best OS I can install.
I would like to wipe it and start from a fresh copy of an OS if possible.

Any help would be greatly appreciated
Cheers
 
Joined
Jul 2, 2006
Messages
4,554
Reaction score
146
Points
63
Location
Crawley, England
Your Mac's Specs
20" Intel iMac 2.4 Ghz/3G Ram/320HD, Snow Leopard. PBook G4, 1.5Ghz/1.5 Ram/250 HD, Leopard 10.5.6.
You could run Leopard on it, and it would be OK, Tiger would work better though, but to be honest, I'd stick with Panther (the current OS), as it will run the best of the 3. It really depends on what you want to do, and your funds.
Both Tiger and Leopard are not cheap to buy ($/£ 70-100 minimum), as you need the full retail disc, and it wouldn't be worth the investment on a laptop that old to be honest.
 
OP
H
Joined
Dec 28, 2011
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Thanks for the speedy reply.

I will use it for surfing the web and some writing mainly.
I tried YouTube but the video quality was terrible.

The iBook was free so i don't mind spending some cash on an OS.

Panther is the best you say?

Well I'll go and have a look for a disc.

thank you.
 
Joined
Sep 22, 2010
Messages
1,428
Reaction score
39
Points
48
Your Mac's Specs
Black MacBook 2.2GHz C2D, 4GB Ram - iMac G4 700MHz, 512MB Ram
Thanks for the speedy reply.

I will use it for surfing the web and some writing mainly.
I tried YouTube but the video quality was terrible.

The iBook was free so i don't mind spending some cash on an OS.

Panther is the best you say?

Well I'll go and have a look for a disc.

thank you.

Youtube is going to be bad on any Operating system due to the slow processor. Only 240p plays with a somewhat decent framerate on my iBook G4.
 
Joined
Jul 2, 2006
Messages
4,554
Reaction score
146
Points
63
Location
Crawley, England
Your Mac's Specs
20" Intel iMac 2.4 Ghz/3G Ram/320HD, Snow Leopard. PBook G4, 1.5Ghz/1.5 Ram/250 HD, Leopard 10.5.6.
10.3.9 is Panther :)
 

dtravis7


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
30,133
Reaction score
703
Points
113
Location
Modesto, Ca.
Your Mac's Specs
MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
1Ghz G4? 240p videos should play ok. They do on my 1.33Ghz iBook for sure. Anything HD though will fall apart on a G4 anything.

I would try Leopard 10.5 but with 640Megs RAM it's might be a blt slow. Tiger 10.4 would run fine on that system though.

You can upgrade the RAM to 1.25Gigs though. You need a 1GB PC2700 DDR So-dimm. There is 256MB RAM soldered to the Logic board and a 1GB module in the socket under the keyboard would push you up to 1.25GB RAM.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top