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SirCastor · Sep 10, 2006, 11:05 PM

I can't figure out if this is a decent buy or if it's just trash:

I have an old ibook i would like to get rid of it works but has a few problems its missing a few keys and the mouse dont work to good easy things to fix the specs are 500mhz/64mb/10gb/cd needs an upgrade and it will work fine you can get used keyboards at mac docs for like 15$ it has no airportcard but does come with charger the battery still holds about a 3 hour charge great starter computer must sell today

Thoughts?

rickey939 · Sep 10, 2006, 11:13 PM

It'll have a bad logic board within a month I'm guessing. That model was plagued by the bad "Logic Board" bug.

Chuckit · Sep 10, 2006, 11:27 PM

You already have a much better PowerBook. You just want the iBook to look at?

SirCastor · Sep 10, 2006, 11:43 PM

It's for my girlfriend. She doesn't have a Mac, she would like something wireless, and would like something she could take to school.

SirCastor · Sep 10, 2006, 11:56 PM

Well, never mind, the guy sold it to someone else. Oh well.
thanks.

Big Mac · Sep 11, 2006, 07:51 AM

No one should buy an iceBook G3. It's likely the worst modern Mac ever.

baw · Sep 11, 2006, 08:09 AM

I have a 500MHz iBook. Had no problems with it.

Cody Dawg · Sep 11, 2006, 08:12 AM

I bought one of those for $100. Hard drive was trashed and needed a new keyboard and power adapter. Took it apart and put in a new 80GB hard drive and bought the new keyboard and power adapter on eBay. Hard drive was $65, keyboard was $25, AC adapter was $20. I spent a total of $210 for an iBook 500Mhz/256mb/80GB/CD-RW with an Airport card and it included the original retail box.

To be honest, that little thing is a nice back-up system and that's what I use it for and with DSL it's awesome on the internet - as fast as the PowerBook.

Dork. · Sep 11, 2006, 09:42 AM

I had a 500 MHz iBook which I sold to a friend. That iBook didn't have logic board problems until a year or so ago (covered under the extended warranty), while the 800 MHz iBook I bought a year later (and sold a few months ago) is on its' fourth.

I think it would have been pefectly servicable for light browsing, but the 66 MHz bus contributed to making video choppy. It would work as a DVD player if there wasn't much going on in the background, and I think playing video files would get choppy as well. Apple deliberately limited the bus speed of these iBooks so as not to compete with the Powerbooks at the time. If you're adventurous you can move soem surface-mount resistors around to enable 100 MHz operation. But that would probably void your extended warranty, so if the logic board goes south you're out of luck.

I think 10.2 might be the sweet spot in terms of which system software to use. I forget what I was running when I sold it....

awcopus · Sep 11, 2006, 01:03 PM

I'm still using a 12" iBook G3 600 MHz. No problems ever with this machine. Replaced HD for more capacity. Otherwise, it's perfect for me to this day. I use it for writing, emailing, surfing, and watching DVDs on the road. I'm running 10.4.7 and it's perfect for what I do. I'll replace it when it stops working.

Dork. · Sep 11, 2006, 01:34 PM

Originally Posted by awcopus

I'm still using a 12" iBook G3 600 MHz. No problems ever with this machine. Replaced HD for more capacity. Otherwise, it's perfect for me to this day. I use it for writing, emailing, surfing, and watching DVDs on the road. I'm running 10.4.7 and it's perfect for what I do. I'll replace it when it stops working.

I think all the 600 MHz iBooks have a 100 MHz memory bus. Believe me, it makes a big difference. My 800 MHz iBook was over 2x faster than my 500 MHz iBook!

turtle777 · Sep 11, 2006, 02:26 PM

Originally Posted by Big Mac

No one should buy an iceBook G3. It's likely the worst modern Mac ever.

BS. It's a good computer. Yes, the logic boards have (had) issues, but many iceBooks still run today, and are good enough for basic computing needs.

-t

Gossamer · Sep 11, 2006, 02:31 PM

Originally Posted by Dork.

I think 10.2 might be the sweet spot in terms of which system software to use. I forget what I was running when I sold it....

Always run the latest OS you can...I upgraded one computer from 10.3.9 to 10.4.6 and saw a 15% increase in Xbench scores...optimization, compatibility, and security all play a huge role there.

d4nth3m4n · Sep 11, 2006, 04:02 PM

Originally Posted by rickey939

It'll have a bad logic board within a month I'm guessing. That model was plagued by the bad "Logic Board" bug.

horsefeathers, the 500s were neraly bombproof. it's the mostly the 700 and 800 models that feel it worse.

ink · Sep 11, 2006, 04:24 PM

I still have that iBook, and it works fine (dual-usb, first "chicklet" generation). I did replace the keyboard with a replacement from Apple. Here's the thread about my mini-adventure with that.

I also have replaced the battery -- the original got to the point where it wouldn't hold a charge much.

It happily runs 10.4 right now -- works great.

rickey939 · Sep 11, 2006, 04:30 PM

Originally Posted by d4nth3m4n

horsefeathers, the 500s were neraly bombproof. it's the mostly the 700 and 800 models that feel it worse.

Totally rad.™

Cody Dawg · Sep 11, 2006, 06:50 PM

It has the metal case/palm rest also around the keyboard instead of plastic.