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khans · Dec 23, 2003, 05:55 PM

Folks,

I'm in the market for a used ibook. Wondering which particular models I should avoid - what features I should be looking for etc.? Is there a particular generation of ibook that stands out among the rest?

I'm going to be running panther 10.3 on it. Mostly use it for web surfing, reading email, lots of itunes and iphoto work - little to no video editing type work - probably minimal amount of gaming as well.

thanks.

SupahCoolX · Dec 23, 2003, 07:39 PM

It really depends on how much you want to spend. Obviously, the newer/more expensive, the better.
I wouldn't get one of the "clamshell" model iBooks, though. They're pretty old at this point, and the low screen resolution isn't ideal for OSX.
See www.everymac.com for detailed specs on every iBook model.

Lateralus · Dec 23, 2003, 08:44 PM

My personal favorite would be the 800MHz G3/Combo/Radeon 7500 32MB iBook. It was the last iBook that has the higher quality casing, as opposed to the **** casing that the 900MHz G3 and current G4 series iBooks have.

CaNdeSiGn · Dec 24, 2003, 01:56 AM

I think the clamshell is great if you are going for a retro look... despite the screen resolution. Just go for the 466 se at least, not a previous model. They are also built like a tank. But just because they are older, doesnt mean cheaper... Some cost just as much as the ice books! I wouldn't recommend for gaming however... but it would easily handle all the other apps you mention, with max ram.

However, you may like the look of the ice books... better screen resolution at least. For the amount of work you wish to do... any model will work, and then some!

arclight · Dec 24, 2003, 09:32 AM

did you check out the refurbs on the Apple site? You can get a 12" 800 for $750. I would stay as up to date as possible in choosing a model. anything older than two years is going to be hard to justify since a new G4 ibook is only $1099.

webcookie · Dec 24, 2003, 10:38 AM

You should really try to look into the new iBook G4's. Mine is really spectacular, in my opinion. Refurbished/used iBooks are going to cost so much, that it may be worth it just to buy a brand new one.

The clamshell iBooks are pretty cool looking, and definately colourful. I don't know about gaming, but the clamshell should be able to handle email, websurfing, iphoto, and itunes just fine. I know I'd like to get my hands on a clamshell some day.

Luca Rescigno · Dec 24, 2003, 01:56 PM

Best deals, IMO, are these:

300-366 MHz clamshells. They are pretty old and obsolete but if you just need something for writing on the road or something they're okay. But it's not right for you - these ones are too slow to run Panther comfortably (they're better with OS 9), and they don't have enough hard drive space for storing lots of music or photos. However, they're really cheap. 466 MHz ones tend to be a bit too expensive for what you get.

700-800 MHz G3 iBooks. The 600/CD (NOT the 600/Combo, as it has a very slow graphics processor) model as well. They are pretty cheap these days, they have a usable amount of hard drive space (usually 15-30 GB), and they'll run Panther reasonably well. 900 MHz iBooks are okay, but they probably don't show enough of a speed increase over the 700 and 800 MHz ones to be worth the extra money. Plus, as PowerMacMan said, the 900s look like crap.

Finally the G4 iBooks. If you can afford the 12" one go for it. But they are not absolutely essential if you're doing simple stuff. The G4 will get things done faster, for sure, but if you can't afford it you'll still be fine with an older model.

khans · Dec 24, 2003, 02:28 PM

wow - thanks for all this info. I really appreciate it.

A little more background on this. I have a number of macs already.

- imac 700
- dual 1.4 ghz powermac g4
- 333 mhz lombard powerbook (upgraded to 320 mb ram, 20 gb disk)
- gen 1 blueberry ibook (upgraded to 288 mb ram, 20 gb disk)

I'm in the market for a used ibook for my sister. I could give her my gen 1 ibook or my lombard but IMHO both are too slow to run panther.

I've been leaning against picking up a refurbished ibook from the apple store or from a retailer because I think buying used (off ebay for example) will get me a cheap / free ram upgrade, airport card etc. - also no sales tax.

Luca Rescigno · Dec 24, 2003, 02:42 PM

Well if it's going to be your sister's main machine for running OS X, you'll definitely want Quartz Extreme, and you'll probably want a 1024x768 screen as well. Lombards, I agree, are just a bit too slow for OS X, plus they have a Rage Pro graphics chip (pretty bad, even worse than the Rage 128 in the Pismo and early iBooks).

Just get a Radeon iBook. The iBook models that have Radeons (and thus are QE compatible) are all the 700 MHz or faster ones, plus the 600 MHz CD-ROM. The 600/Combo has a Rage 128 so avoid it.

Panther should run great on a 700 MHz iBook. Those are nice little machines.