iBook G4

Hello. I'm new to Mac Forums, so bear with me.

I've been a Mac fan for about 10-11 years now, and though I've owned quite a few iPods and the like, I will be getting my first Mac computer in a few days. Let me rephrase that...I will be getting my brother's 6/7 year old iBook G4.1.3 (or 1.4) Ghz. 512MB RAM, 40GB HD and DVD drive with CD burning only. I'd like to spruce it up a bit without spending the equivalent of a new MacBook, though, ultimately, that's what I'd like to get. I'd like suggestions as to how much updating can be done to this machine. I do know that I would like to increase hard drive size, and RAM, and possibly replace the DVD drive with one capable of burning to DVD. Note: I do quite a bit of photo/graphic work, particularly with Photoshop.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

You could replace the hard drive fairly easily and upgrade the ram

It has USB 2 so consider an external DVD drive, much easier than finding a compatible internal drive for that mac

Dont spend too much money though, it can only take 2 gig of ram and will take a 2.5" ATA drive

LAKS71 said:

Note: I do quite a bit of photo/graphic work, particularly with Photoshop.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Click to expand...

This is a really super-bad idea unless you are planning on using a really, REALLY old version of Photoshop. And working on fairly low-rez images.

I appreciate that the machine is free, and I owned one of these machines myself. But now? Seriously?

Save your upgrade money. There's nothing that will really help that machine become an acceptable photo-editing solution.

Buy something refurbished, or used but more recent, or a Mac mini if your budget is tight. You'll be wasting a LOT of time on that 7+ year old machine trying to get it to perform well, unless you can somehow fit it with an entire set of matching seven+ year old software.

Does it have Tiger or Leopard?

LAKS71 said:

...I will be getting my first Mac computer in a few days. Let me rephrase that...I will be getting my brother's 6/7 year old iBook G4.1.3 (or 1.4) Ghz. 512MB RAM, 40GB HD and DVD drive with CD burning only. I'd like to spruce it up a bit without spending the equivalent of a new MacBook, though, ultimately, that's what I'd like to get.

I'd like suggestions as to how much updating can be done to this machine. I do know that I would like to increase hard drive size, and RAM, and possibly replace the DVD drive with one capable of burning to DVD.

Click to expand...

Just so you know. This iBook is probably worth around $100-$125 bucks (I'm assuming you're getting it for free from your brother). Be very careful how much money you spend upgrading it…since the money you spend upgrading could very well be spent on something newer & more capable.

Ideally…you would want to at least get a 1st or 2nd generation MacBook from 2006/2007. These can be found for around $300-$350…maybe less if you're lucky. You're going to be seriously limited with the older PPC based iBook.

Good luck,

- Nick