[selowitch]

I am likely to inherit a 400MHz TiBook from my father this August when he upgrades to a new laptop. It's great to get a free computer, and this one is very pleasant to work with, but ...

I'm worried it just won't be powerful or speedy enough to satisfy me. I like to have multiple apps open at the same time. I could max out the RAM, put in a faster hard drive, get a 54g PC Card for wireless, etc. But by the time I've done all that, I've easily spent enough to get a brand-new iBook running at 1GHz.

Should I sell the TiBook and get a new machine?

[justinf77]

You can get about $500 for that machine on eBay. I would sell it, then spend the extra money on an iBook. Then, it is not too much money for an iBook with Airport built right in.

[iREZ]

$500 seems a little low, I got $675 in Jan. of this month for my G3 Pismo, granted it was a Pismo and all but a 400MHz TiBook is a much better notebook if you ask me, but oh do I still yearn for my Pismo, I hope it's in a good home. But back to selling your TiBook, I'd aim more for $600 and then go for the new iBook G4 12" refurb, unless you could afford going bto.

[cenutrio]

I have a TiPB 400MHz running panther with airport, 40 GB, 384 MB RAM.

Works great, writing my Ph.D thesis in it. Very reliable machine I have all my data accumulated for 5 years on it (yes, I keep a back up) . I do not plan to upgrade soon.

Panther stability in this machine is awesome





50 days on and running strong

[amazing]

I'm writing this on a Ti-400, 48 GB and 384 MB RAM, Cisco Aironet 802.11b PMCIA card, IE, Entourage, Classic so as to play Shanghai II, no problems whatsoever. Page-outs? Who cares? Just reboot overnight, all gone. Question: How much RAM does yours have?

Here's my own thinking which may be of some use to you: I know I'm going to be very interested when the G5 chips eventually come to the PB (and eventually iBook) lines, so why upgrade at this point? If the Ti-400 does what you need at this point then hang onto it and continue saving your money for the eventual PB of your dreams.

Of course, if money's no object, then upgrade right away!

Meantime, if yours still has the original 10 GB HD, then upgrade that right away and put the 10 GB in an external case. When you eventually upgrade, switch the 10 GB back into the Ti-400 and put it up for sale. Any money you put into a new larger HD will be an investment that you'll take with you to the next PB because you'll have taken it with you in the external case.

Get the cheapest PMCIA wireless card you can find that is natively supported by Panther--it doesn't have to be an 802.11g card. The internal card is worthless, but a wireless PC-card gives you reception equivalent to the iBook, probably better than even the current crop of AE in the AlPB.

Cenutrio is right: If the Ti-400 does everything that you need at this point, you can hang onto it for awhile.

[rag on a muffin]

keep it. the speed gap isnt as bad as some people think, except for maybe the graphics

[Lancer409]

keep it and wait for a g5, i think .. titanium's are beautiful machines too, i'm just not a fan of paint . titanium alone is a nice colored metal.

anyone know how much the aluminum chasis cost compared to the titanium chasis?

[TailsToo]

It's worth it to wait... the G5s shouldn't be more than 7-8 months off! (at least I keep telling myself that!)

[d.fine]

CENUTRIO : what program is that that allows you to see CPU speed, uptime and so through a simple click ?

[Dr.Michael]

Very hard to say. I sold my 500 MHz TiBook 10 months ago. The 12 inch/1GHz pb is faster but not that much faster.

I think the advice you got is worth thinking about: Get a big and fast hd that you can also use in future notebooks. A fast hd makes the TiBook noticibly snappier. With 512 MB RAM you will be fine, so this will cost you not more than a few $$$.

Nothing compared to the price you have to pay for a new iBook. And wireless is an investment you have to pay on both, iBook and TiBook. So that does not count.

The TiBook has 2 advantages: enjoy the larger screen + enjoy the freedom that its not new and you don't have to keep too much attention, not to scratch it.

[cenutrio]

MenuMeters, it even provides the CPU temperature in my cube.

[d.fine]

thank you, anyone else looking for it can find it here

[JHromadka]

I had a Ti400 that I sold to a friend when I replaced it recently. It works great for general usage and didn't slow down much when I had multiple apps open.

[zachs]

Before Apple replaced mine with a 1GHz TiBook, I had a 400MHz one. It was a great machine, and except for the graphics, worked just fine.

[driven]

Originally posted by iREZ:
$500 seems a little low, I got $675 in Jan. of this month for my G3 Pismo, granted it was a Pismo and all but a 400MHz TiBook is a much better notebook if you ask me, but oh do I still yearn for my Pismo, I hope it's in a good home. But back to selling your TiBook, I'd aim more for $600 and then go for the new iBook G4 12" refurb, unless you could afford going bto.

curious: Please help someone who is ignorant about the history of Apple notebooks ... what is the significance of the Pismo? (i.e. What makes it a special machine?)

[cenutrio]

Originally posted by driven:
what is the significance of the Pismo? (i.e. What makes it a special machine?)

Very, very solid machine. The best notebook outhere 4 years ago (fast G3, up to 1 GB RAM, FW, USB, 5+ batery, very good graphics 8MB ATI). Nice curves too

[iREZ]

Just read this if you wanna know why the Pismo was/is a great computer. I used to have one but had to ship it off for my 12".

[djohnson]

Keep it!

[Lancer409]

Originally posted by iREZ:
Just read this if you wanna know why the Pismo was/is a great computer. I used to have one but had to ship it off for my 12".

great link .. i never knew what a pismo was until i started looking at hardware hacks and saw the paint jobs .. they are very curvy and pretty .. even now they look nicer than pc notebooks from alot of folks (although bulkier now) .. i wonder what the next generation p/ibooks will look like...

[jwtseng]

I'm inheriting a Ti400 from my brother this September from my brother as well. I think the only thing missing for my use would be a wireless card. I guess if I am going to buy a new wireless card, I may as well get 802.11g. Anyone have any recommendations? Is there a list of Panther compatible cards somewhere? Thx.

[Hawkeye_a]

Originally posted by cenutrio:
I have a TiPB 400MHz running panther with airport, 40 GB, 384 MB RAM.

Works great, writing my Ph.D thesis in it. Very reliable machine I have all my data accumulated for 5 years on it (yes, I keep a back up) . I do not plan to upgrade soon.

Panther stability in this machine is awesome





50 days on and running strong

cenutrio, whats the progam your using to display that menubar item ? i would like to get it....

Cheer dude.

[d.fine]

check my post earlier, I provided a link as well, thx again Cenutrio

[larsah]

My tiBook 400 is great. Just change the HD, upgrade the ram and OC it to 500. Search the web for how to. Mine has been OC for a year now, and it is rock solid. I use it for a "downloadServer", and I never turn it of.

Just a tip

[Frumpy]

Hey, just wanted to say thanks for the link to that spec program. This thing is amazing, and it doesn't take up ANY processor speed or memory to run. Love it!

[HasanDaddy]

if I could add -

if you are doing Final Cut Pro, Macromedia, or any graphic/editing applications like that, then having a 1 ghz G4 is ESSENTIAL

however....

if its MSWord, Surfing, email, etc...... then 400 mhz will be great!

although..... multitasking is much better on a bigger processor...... but no worries..

[amazing]

Originally posted by larsah:
My tiBook 400 is great. Just change the HD, upgrade the ram and OC it to 500. Search the web for how to. Mine has been OC for a year now, and it is rock solid. I use it for a "downloadServer", and I never turn it of.

Just a tip

Here's a link to one over-clocking mod

http://www.voelker.com/service/void_...owerbookg4.php

Is this what you did with yours? And, if so, did you do it yourself or have it done? It sounds pretty fiddly and like it needs quite a bit of soldering technique?

Can't wait to hear back on how you OC'd yours! Anybody else done this?

PS: What does Apple System Profiler report about the chip after the OC?

[driven]

Thanks everyone for the Pismo information. It is most appreciated.

[Waragainstsleep]

My old Lombard can run plenty of apps at the same time.(As many as 10!) Its not fast, but then it only has 192MB of PC66 RAM.

As for the Pismo/TiBook these are very similar spec machines. The biggest difference is the screen and Altivec.