Used Ibook 1.2 GHz for $479 worthwhile?

I am a current PC user, fed up with the Evil Empire. I'm thinking about buying a used 1.2 GHZ 12" iBook G4 with 512 MB/30GB/CD and with OS 10.4 installed for $479 from powerbookguy.com. Is that a reasonable deal?

I'm currently running Win XP on an Acer Aspire laptop with a Sempron 3000+ (1.8GHz) with 1 GB RAM and 64 MB shared video memory. Would the speed be slower, faster, or similar on the iBook? My primary use for my laptop is web surfing, email, and a little "MS Office" type stuff (nothing too intense) with OpenOffice. I'd probably replace the 256 MB SODIMM with a 1GB SODIMM and the CD drive with a Combo drive in the near future.

I would shy away from that. The price is a bit steep and the fact that they won't include a set of the install discs is very disheartening.

PowerBook Guy said:

The Mac OS clean installed on this system is noted below. Install disks and manuals are not included.

Sample photos below. Actual unit may vary.

Click to expand...

Since they can't give you photos of the exact unit you are getting... well, I wouldn't trust them. I could care less how many good reviews they have, I just wouldn't trust an outfit that won't give pics of the actual item. I also don't like the fact that they can't include original install CD's. Selling the unit without them is very questionable. You could potentially end up with an illegal copy of the OS on your machine. Also, what would you do if something went wrong and you needed the OS discs?

You might also want to check out this thread for more advice:
http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48771

Assuming I find someone selling with the original discs and photos of the actual machine (good advice that I hadn't really considered!) what kind of cost should I look for on a machine with these specs?

Also, would this machine compare favorably with my current machine as listed in my original post?

As far as the COST itself, I don't feel that is a bad price, however I do agree with DB on all his points about that outfit. If you could find one with those specs and install media it would be an ok deal. I have the last ibook made with 1.33Ghz and 40GB hdd. It's a fine machine for all you listed you will be doing on the ibook and a lot more. That one would only be a slight bit slower than mine so would be fine. DB has good points though on no OS CD. Who knows where the OS came from and no pics so it could be all beat up!

I just went to the site and did some looking around and for that price it should not be all full of cracks and should have the OS CD's. Not a good deal at all.

gtalum said:

Assuming I find someone selling with the original discs and photos of the actual machine (good advice that I hadn't really considered!) what kind of cost should I look for on a machine with these specs?

Also, would this machine compare favorably with my current machine as listed in my original post?

Click to expand...

An iBook with those specs should only cost between $275 and $350. If it were in immaculate condition and still had all the original media, manuals, accessories... AND had the max RAM upgrade added to it... then maybe $400.

As far as how it would compare to your Windows system, a fair comparison cannot be made. You are literally looking at apples and oranges... two very different systems.
For your needs listed though, it will perform those extremely well and still have quite a bit to offer you.

My main purpose for this machine is to see how well I like Macs before plunking down a grand or more for a new MacBook.

Anyway, I found a good-looking 14" iBook with 1.33 GHz processor, 512 MB RAM, original discs and manuals, and 17 months left on AppleCare for a similar price and I went for it. I'm glad you mentioned the discs, as I hadn't really considered them that important! I hope I'll be posting in a week or so as a real Mac user! :mac:

gtalum said:

My main purpose for this machine is to see how well I like Macs before plunking down a grand or more for a new MacBook.

Click to expand...

That is the smartest strategy in my book. :black:
I think too many are quick to get a Mac and then slam MS Windows on it. That is the worst thing a person could do, in my opinion. The first thing a person should consider is if they are going to like the Mac OS. Using a system without Windows on it is a good thing, as you won't be so tempted to slide over to that MS crutch when things get a little confusing or difficult for you. Plus, this way saves you 100's of $$.

Thanks for the help. I've been drooling over Mac OS X for months at the local Apple Store, I can't wait to tinker with it at my leisure.

D3v1L80Y said:

An iBook with those specs should only cost between $275 and $350. If it were in immaculate condition and still had all the original media, manuals, accessories... AND had the max RAM upgrade added to it... then maybe $400.

Click to expand...

I strongly beg to differ. I bought my iBook, 1.07 GHz, 512 MB, 30 GB, "12, AppleCare till March '07, and recovery Cd's for $460 shipped - this was back in Aug. of '06. Today, the average going price for a G4 iBook is $500+ which is not bad at all (check e-bay). If you think about what your getting it's not bad at all.

I agree with everybody else however -- don't buy it. With no recovery CD's and no picture of what the laptop actually looks like, it would be a bad idea to buy it. However, if you do find something that has the pictures of the iBook but no recovery cd's you can always pick up the iBook and buy the recovery cd's later.

Thanks for the advice, bokeym. As noted above, I found a better deal. I found a 1.33 GHz 14" G4 iBook in good cosmetic condition (with actual photos, just a few normal scratches) with discs and manuals and ~17 months of AppleCare for just a little more money and bought it.

My main concern is that the performance is comparable to or better than my current laptop, with specs above. I'm confident after asking around that with an extra 1 GB stick of RAM that I'll probably purchase in a few weeks the iBook will be far superior.

Well my 1.07 GHz actually performs better then my roommates 2 GHz windows machine. However, I would say that the 1.07 GHz is more comparable to a 1.5 GHz Pentium.

On my machine, with 512 MB RAM, I can run Adobe Photoshop, Virtual PC w/ Windows XP, Safari, iTunes, iChat, MS Word, and sometimes a few other apps without a problem. It'll lag a little sometimes, but if you keep on maintenance (i.e. running scripts, resetting safari, repairing permissions, etc.) you will never have a problem with it. If you have any more question either leave a post or PM me.