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typoon · Apr 8, 2003, 03:51 PM

I'm trying to decide if I should upgrade my iBook 600 from 384 megs of RAM and get a bigger HD for it or if I should save up and get a newer machine. I usually like to refresh my machines every 2-3 years though I haven't done that with my Desktop yet (waiting on G5 for that).

Peter · Apr 8, 2003, 05:00 PM

IMO you should max the iBook out, then think if it is fast enough, if not sell the iBook and purchase a new computer. iBook 600 + 640Mb ram should be plenty fast enough though.

arclight · Apr 8, 2003, 09:03 PM

Wait for the "rumored" new ibooks and sell the 600 on Ebay. I have an 800 with 640MB and it isn't nearly fast enough for my day to day. It just can't keep up with me. A new computer (laptop or not) shouldn't be that way. Until Apple hammers out a deal for a real processor from a reliable manufacturer, I'll just deal with it. My vote is for a new machine-

slider · Apr 8, 2003, 09:19 PM

Well, I still have an iBook 466 which I added more ram to (576MB) and it made a very noticeable improvement. You see for me, I do all my serious computing on my PowerMac, so the iBooks is great for bringing it to school for word and excel or just bouncing around the house for web and email. I certianlly would love a new notebook, but I think I would be more inclined to get a newer PowerMac down the road if I had the choice. I guess it depends on how much you do with it. Once the warranty is up with my iBook, I plan on dropping a faster hard drive in it, not so much bigger, just faster. It does what I need it to.

xtal · Apr 8, 2003, 09:37 PM

Originally posted by arclight:
Wait for the "rumored" new ibooks and sell the 600 on Ebay. I have an 800 with 640MB and it isn't nearly fast enough for my day to day. It just can't keep up with me. A new computer (laptop or not) shouldn't be that way. Until Apple hammers out a deal for a real processor from a reliable manufacturer, I'll just deal with it. My vote is for a new machine-

This is just a side note, but I am curious about your iBook 800. I have the same machine, also maxed out the RAM like you, and I think it is fast enough.

What are your needs that aren't being met by this machine?

arclight · Apr 9, 2003, 06:37 AM

Originally posted by xtal:

What are your needs that aren't being met by this machine?

Hey xtal-

It's not so much that my needs aren't being met. I do get a considerable amount of work done. I just get a bit agitated when I have to constantly wait for very simple tasks to complete. Launching several apps at once causes the machine to choke. It still remains responsive and usable but every app gets the yellow triangle and takes about 20 sec to "snap out of it" so I can actually begin using the apps. The help section is like molasses and is totally worthless in finding answers, not to mention confusing.

I understand that an ibook isn't deigned to be a workhorse or a desktop replacement. However, I do think that the bar for acceptable performance has been lowered ever since OS X was introduced. Remember how fast OS 9 was? OS X, with all it's improvements and updates just isn't there. It's a great OS but the hardware is lagging in every respect. Bus speeds are a joke and the RAM that Apple ships in there machines is ridiculously inadequate. DDR RAM is pricey but the SO DIMMS that the ibook uses are not. Considering the RAM prices over the past two years, 128MB of RAM is insulting.

I love my ibok but Apple just pisses me off with their hardware decisions. It's an issue that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

xtal · Apr 9, 2003, 06:49 AM

I see your point, although my viewpoint may be skewed, as I haven't owned a Mac until this one. Granted, I have used OS 9 on common machines at my workplace, although I haven't been much impressed.

To me, the power of OS X lies in being able to use the *nix functionality. Things like the Terminal instead of the Finder, being able to use X11 in conjunction with a slew of useful apps written for *nix, etc.

As far as the hardware side goes, I think we both understand that an iBook is far from a desktop replacement, but fits in somewhere around where the eMac or iMac would as compared to the PowerMacs. I was happy to receive my iBook with only 128 MB of RAM, so I could find a local source for the 512 MB chip I always intended to install. With only one user-accessible RAM slot, it is vital to offer a 'minimal' RAM machine in my opinion. A friend of mine, who will likely be picking up the 12" PB is in the bind of having to sell off his 128 MB chip that comes preinstalled, as he wants to max it out with a 512 MB chip instead. Not to mention the high price of Apple RAM... sheesh!

Perhaps I am looking at this from a slightly different perspective, but I don't think I could be happier with any other laptop, without spending a lot more money, or using an OS that I couldn't stand (Windows for example).

Keep the replies coming, I would like to hear more about your viewpoint.

P.S. I hope I haven't hijacked this thread...

stew · Apr 9, 2003, 11:24 AM

For me, the iBook is fast enough. It's OS X that's too slow.

arclight · Apr 9, 2003, 12:28 PM

xtal-

I completely agree with the benefits of a *nix core. The list of improvements over OS 9 is very long but it's the speed that gets my blood boiling. The other post says it all, "the ibook is fast enough, it's OS X that's slow". I would lean more toward the idea that OS X has extremely steep hardware requirements. I'm not geek enough to understand if these "requirements" can be lowered through more OS development. I will say that Apple has made leaps and bounds in getting X usable and decent enough for day to day tasks. Jaguar(10.2) was a vast improvement, I can only hope that Panther is going to be just as big.

I'm just growing so impatient with the same old Motorola horror stories and waiting for a clear sign that Jobs & Co. have a plan to leapfrog back into the hardware game. IBM appears to be a logical choice with the 970 chip, I wanted it yesterday though. I bought an ibook because I wasn't impressed with the towers. It's more of a holdover until new chips come out.

billybob128 · Apr 9, 2003, 02:40 PM

he ive found tha my ibook 800 640 runns ok but i ee the point about osx i would stay in os 9 for the faster speed but i hate the layout and design of it oh well its better than what i need so im ok

stew · Apr 10, 2003, 05:25 AM

Originally posted by arclight:
I completely agree with the benefits of a *nix core. The list of improvements over OS 9 is very long but it's the speed that gets my blood boiling.

It's getting more and more off-topic for this forum but -
IMO Apple has been throwing out the baby with the bath. They got rid of the bad things of OS 9, but also of the good things.

It's maybe not what you wanted to hear, but Linux performs nicely on the iBook, and it's stable and fast.

arclight · Apr 10, 2003, 05:46 PM

Originally posted by stew:
It's getting more and more off-topic for this forum but -
IMO Apple has been throwing out the baby with the bath. They got rid of the bad things of OS 9, but also of the good things.

It's maybe not what you wanted to hear, but Linux performs nicely on the iBook, and it's stable and fast.

yeah this thread is getting off topic but oh well-

I miss the pop-up windows of OS 9 in particular. I've tried Linux on some old hardware I have but I was just too lazy to 'geek out' and configure it all. It was fast but it lacked so many of the conveniences I'm used to. Just too utilitarian for my tastes. I can understand the allure of the 'customisability' but it's just not for me.