[daonesteven]

Hello all
This is my first apple computer that I've owned, it's my mom's hand me down after she got herself a spanking new macbook pro but it actually runs decently fine, iBook G3 500Mhz, 40gb HD, 640mb memory

It currently runs a clean copy of panther 10.3.9, but with some effort, I think I could get my hands on tiger as well. However, before I do, would it be worth it to try to upgrade it on this laptop? I think panther runs fine, but I hear for each successive mac osx, it's been running faster, so in that case, I'd try to get it, but if I happen to find that it's about the same or worse, then maybe not worth the effort. I definitely like to be up to date with my software and such, so it would be nice if people with ibook G3's with specs similar to mine could tell me their experience going from panther to tiger.

Thanks in advance

[Big Mac]

I think most people agree that Panther is best for that class of Mac. If you really want Tiger you should upgrade, but you'll probably be happier with Panther, especially given the amount of RAM you have and the relatively slow hard drive that's probably in there. I decided not to try upgrading my iBook 466 to Tiger since Panther is good enough. It's also good to be aware of the fact that there was a motherboard defect in the iceBook G3s. If yours is still running after all this time without problems, it may have escaped that fate, but it's likely that a problem will develop.

[daonesteven]

ugh that sounds pretty dismal. Are all ibooks likely to fail like that

[analogika]

With enough RAM, Tiger feels decidedly more polished and honed on that machine.

640 MB is borderline, but Tiger should make a noticeable improvement in the feel of the machine - I know it made my 400 MHz G3 iMac (768MB RAM) quite a bit more fun.

[Koralatov]

I run Tiger on my 466 Clamshell with only 576MB of RAM from a stock 4,200RPM drive, and I think it runs very satisfactorily. The only issue I have is that it sometimes takes up to a minute to start-up (my iMac is must faster), but once it's going it runs very well. I did disable the Dashboard, though, to stop it pinching memory. I briefly ran Panther on it, and it seemed to run at approximately the same speed, though did take longer to start up.

Personally, I'd say go for it; you're not likely to notice any real performance hit (I think Apple's optimisation of OSX in between releases helps here), and Tiger is much better than Panther. The extra 64MB of RAM you have over me, and the very slight processor edge, should make it run better for you.

I've been told that if you really want the best performance from an iBook that you should ditch the stock drive and go for a 7,200RPM; I intend to do this myself in the near future. However, the downside is that opening up any of the iBooks is a bitch and a half.

P.S. Big Mac: I'd recommend making the switch to Tiger; as I said, I don't think you'll notice much, if any, of a performance hit (provided your RAM is maxed out), and I really prefer Tiger to Panther. It also means that I don't have to use two different OSes across my two Macs, which I see as a definite plus point.

[imitchellg5]

Originally Posted by daonesteven 

ugh that sounds pretty dismal. Are all ibooks likely to fail like that

No only G3s although early ones are better. 700 MHz+ have been the worst. But again, if it hasn't developed issues yet, it probably won't.

[DamnYank!]

i had a ibook g3 700 mhz with same amt of ram as you are running; i ran both OS's on it and end up sticking with Panther. mine seemed to run a bit faster/smoother with that config. YMMV

[mBurns]

Originally Posted by Koralatov 

I run Tiger on my 466 Clamshell with only 576MB of RAM from a stock 4,200RPM drive, and I think it runs very satisfactorily. The only issue I have is that it sometimes takes up to a minute to start-up (my iMac is must faster), but once it's going it runs very well. I did disable the Dashboard, though, to stop it pinching memory. I briefly ran Panther on it, and it seemed to run at approximately the same speed, though did take longer to start up.

Personally, I'd say go for it; you're not likely to notice any real performance hit (I think Apple's optimisation of OSX in between releases helps here), and Tiger is much better than Panther. The extra 64MB of RAM you have over me, and the very slight processor edge, should make it run better for you.

I've been told that if you really want the best performance from an iBook that you should ditch the stock drive and go for a 7,200RPM; I intend to do this myself in the near future. However, the downside is that opening up any of the iBooks is a bitch and a half.

P.S. Big Mac: I'd recommend making the switch to Tiger; as I said, I don't think you'll notice much, if any, of a performance hit (provided your RAM is maxed out), and I really prefer Tiger to Panther. It also means that I don't have to use two different OSes across my two Macs, which I see as a definite plus point.

Glad to see you upgraded to Tiger!

[mfbernstein]

After some experience with a iBook G3/800, I fall in the anti-Tiger camp: performance was no better (and in fact was often worse) and the machine ran considerably warmer. Unless there's an app you need that requires Tiger, I'd stay away since the advantages are marginal at best.

[Waragainstsleep]

Actually some of the very early dual USB iBooks escaped the video problem. Most of the later ones are doomed though.

[Koralatov]

Originally Posted by mBurns 

Glad to see you upgraded to Tiger!

Yeah, finally got around to doing it. I'm definitely glad I did it; the performance I've seen so far is equal to Panther, and I vastly prefer Tiger. The extra couple of years they spent polishing OSX between Panther and Tiger definitely paid off.