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Vintage Mac Living

How Much PowerBook or iBook Do You Need to Run Mac OS X?

- 2007.01.15

I had a lot of good response to How Much Mac Do You Need to Run Mac OS X?, and I had a lot of people ask me to which low-end PowerBooks I would recommend.

For the average Mac user who needs to be online (and not put up with incorrectly rendered pages and in need of fewer "must have" features), you should have OS X 10.2.8 or later (I suggest OS X 10.3.9).

While you might need OS X to access the Internet the way you want to, you don't need a new PowerBook or iBook to do it. I've compiled the following list of 'Books that I would recommend to the average user for daily use (prices are for base computer - memory upgrades and OS X may be additional):

Low-end:

Clamshell iBook G3/366
256 MB RAM
10 GB hard drive
CD-ROM
$230 and up

Low-end Plus:

iBook G3/500
384 MB RAM
15 GB hard drive
DVD (uncommon)
$350 and up

Midrange:

500 MHz Pismo PowerBook G3
512 MB RAM
20 GB hard drive
DVD
$400 and up

Midrange Plus:

14" iBook G3/700
512 MB RAM
20 GB hard drive
Combo drive
$385 and up

High-end:

15" PowerBook G4/667
768 MB RAM
40 GB hard drive
Combo drive
$600 and up

High-end Plus:

12" PowerBook G4/867
1024 MB RAM
60 GB hard drive
SuperDrive
$700 and up

Again, I believe that the models listed above would be your best bet, based on what you do. All you have to do is ask yourself, "How much Mac do I really need?"

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Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: 17" iMac G4/800 MHz, July 2002 - The iMac 'grows up' with a 17" 1440 x 900 display.
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Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.03. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 8-core. $2,299; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.26 8-core, $2,799; 2.93, $4,999.
Best iPhone Deals, 11.03. New 8 GB iPhone 3G, $$99; refurb 16 GB 3GS, $149; new, $199; 32 GB, $299.
Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.03. Used 867 MHz SperDrive, $348; 1 GHz, $499; 1.33 Combo, $298; SD, $559; 1.5 Combo, $448; SuperDrive, $589.
Best Power Mac G3 and PCI Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used beige 300 MHz, $25; G4/366, $49; blue & white 350, $80; 400, $90; 450, $105; PCI video cards from $15; shipping additional.
Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used 400 MHz, $50; 733 MHz, $69; 933 MHz, $209; 1.25 GHz dual, $299.
Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.02. Used 2.0 GHz, $800; 2.2, $900; 2.4, $1,000; refurb 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,949; 3.06, $2,169; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
Best Mac mini Deals, 10.30. Used 1.33 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.42, $389; 1.5, $419; 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $350; Core 2, $439; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $770; Server, $990.
Best G4 iBook Deals, 10.30. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $225; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1 GHz, $349; 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz SuperDrive, $498.
Best Classic Mac OS Deals, 10.30. System 6.0.8 floppies, $10; 7.1, $12; 7.5, $20; 7.5 CD, $4; 7.6 $13; 8.1, $11; 8.5, $20; 8.6, $90; 9.0, $20; 9.2.2, $30.
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