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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: iMac Core Duo, Jan. 2006 - The first Intel-based iMacs ran at 1.83-2.0 GHz, came with 17" and 20" displays.
Group of the Day: Mac Pro List is for those using a Mac Pro.
November 23 in LEM history: 99: Should I buy a USB card? - 01: Can a low-end Mac be an only Mac? - Palm Desktop without a PDA - CyberDog saves the day - 05: How Consumer Reports could compare Macs fairly - Speakers for your Mac - Living with the hi-res 15" PowerBook - Birth of the PowerBook - Daystar 1.9 GHz iMac G4 upgrade - 1.92 GHz PowerBook upgrade
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Best Time Capsule and AirPort Deals, 11.23. Used 802.11g AirPort Extreme, $49; 500 GB Time Capsule, $150; new, $190; 1 TB dual-band, $280; 2 TB, $469; 802.11n AirPort Extreme, $170.
Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.23. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 4-core. $1,919; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.93 8-core, $4,999; new 2.26 8-core, $2,290.
Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.23. Used 867 MHz SuperDrive, $348; 1 GHz Combo, $379; SD, $519; 1.33 GHz, $529; 1.5 GHz Combo, $549; SuperDrive, $609.
Best eMac Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz Combo, $100; SuperDrive, $269; 1.25 GHz Combo, $119; SD, $319; 1.42 GHz Combo, $289; SD, $498.
Best Mac OS X 10.6 and Mac Box Set Deals, 11.18. "Snow Leopard", single user, $25; 5 users, $45; Mac Box Set, single user, $139; 5 users, $180; Server, $414. Shipping included.
Best Xserve Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $649; 2.3 dual G5, $795; 3.0 4-core Xeon, $1,899; refurb 2.26 4-core, $2,499; new, $2,888; refurb 8-core, $2,999; new, $3,449; more.
Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.17. Used 1.83 GHz, $750; 2.16, $800; 2.33, $900; refurb 2.4, $1,299; 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,899; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.17. Used 400 MHz, $50; 933 MHz, $80; 500 dual, $60; 867 dual, $90; 1 GHz dual, $150; 1.25 GHz dual, $225; 1.42 GHz, $499.
Best Mac OS X 10.5 Deals, 11.17. "Leopard" upgrade, $80; single user license, $135; 5 users, $173; Mac Box Set, 5 users, $230; Server, 10 users, $340; unlimited, $850. Shipping included.
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