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The Best Really Low Budget Macs - 2001.04.26 After reading Charles Moore's piece, The Best Low Budget Macs, I was inspired to write an article covering the best Macs that are really low budget. Firstly, I think any Mac is a good, useable computer - it just depends on what it is to be used for and knowing the machine's limitations. Expecting the venerable old Mac Plus to perform like a new iMac is obviously ridiculous, and moreover, is missing the point. So let me get to the point. All Macs (new and old) have something wonderful in common - an ease of use via an operating system and hardware that compliment one another perfectly. It is such a seamless integration that the resultant "addiction" to Macs is not only understandable but natural. I have used many PCs, as well, but PC use does not seem to produce the same kind of addiction we Mac users experience. I mean, I have ten or so old Macs, and I wanted each one for it's own uniqueness in form-factor and style. Style is not really an issue with PCs, as they all seem fairly generic, whereas there is a huge style difference between my Mac Classic and my Quadra 605, for example. OK, so here are my choices for the best really low budget Macs, in no particular order: Mac Plus: The first Mac that I (and many of us) used, still useful for word processing, desktop publishing, and email. Classic II: the ultimate (and by now very inexpensive!) refinement of the original compact Macs, barring the Color Classic and Color Classic II (which are pricey and hard to find). With the 68030 CPU, more is possible with the Classic II than with the Plus. [Alternative: SE/30, which takes up to 128 MB of RAM and has a PDS expansion slot. ed] PowerBook 100: Still my favorite PowerBook. With it's light weight, small size, and good looks (especially compared to the rest of the 100-series), the PB 100 is a great mobile writing/email machine . . . and cheap! Of course, the PowerBook 100 uses a 68HC000 chip, whereas the rest of the 100-series use a faster 68030 CPU, making them more powerful, while still not expensive. Mac IIsi: Underrated, expandable, cooler looking than the rest of the II-series, and cheap! LC III/Performa 450: This is a really great 68030-based desktop Mac. Highly useful for word processing, email, even light duty Internet. The LC III+/Performa 460 is even better, but not as cheap! Quadra 700 and Quadra 900: The first '040 Macs. Also, the first tower-style Mac cases. Upgradeable, expandable, still highly useful, and cheap! PowerBook Duo 200 series: These were really innovative. The idea of having a laptop which could also function as the brain of a desktop system was brilliant. These capable machines can still do a lot, and the black and white screened models can be gotten for very little. Add a DuoDock and an monitor and it makes a very nice little system. PowerBook 520 and PowerBook 540: '040 power in a killer case design - and since they're not color (like the 520c/540c), they can be had for less, while still having nearly as much to offer. I have a 540c, and it's my main laptop. It's great for email, word processing, and light duty Internet. Plus, all of the 500-series can be upgraded to PowerPC, too. LC 520 and LC 550: These all-in-one Macs offer a 14" color display, CD-ROM, and an attractive form-factor. These are still great and highly useful. Well, that's how I see it, anyway. Of course, these are all pre-Power Macs, and that's why these are really low budget Macs. However, they are all still very useful Macs and especially worthy of consideration for those on a tight budget. <this article available in a printer-friendly format> Share your perspective on the Mac by emailing with "My Turn" as your subject. Recent My Turn articles Using Low End Macs for Internet Radio, 08.18. When the local public radio station moved classical music to HD radio, it was time to find another way to listen. An old iMac with iTunes solved the problem. 'That's Not a Computer', 07.30. Salvaging a broken PowerBook by turning it into a desktop computer. Upgrading a Digital Audio G4 to work better in Leopard, 06.02. In its original configuration, the dual 533 MHz Power Mac G4 was slow with Mac OS X 10.5, but add the right upgrades, and it runs Leopard quite nicely. My 4 favorite PowerBooks, 05.28. The PowerBook 150 has a big screen for a vintage PowerBook, the 165c has color, the 100 is diminutive, and Lombard has USB and a great keyboard. More in the My Turn index. Links for the Day Mac of the Day: Centris 610, Feb. 1993 - This was the Mac we used when we started Low End Mac in 1997. List of the Day: 1st PowerMacs is for pre-PCI Power Macs. September 5 in LEM history: 99: Why the G4 uproar? - 00: It wasn't even a Mac - 01: Stop the upgrade insanity - 02: Sharing your Internet connection - The evolving low end - 03: Apple #5 in laptops - 06: Installing Linux on a PCI Power Mac - PDQ PowerBook G3 at 8 - The good old days - 07: Comparing Apples and Dells - 12" PowerBook G4 reliability Recent Content on Low End Mac Apple Will Not Abandon Optical Drives, the Mac Drought, Purposeful Mac Acquisition, and More, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 09.04. Also Mac OS X 10.5 on a G4-upgraded Blue & White G3 and problems using a flat panel display with a Quadra 700. Only Leopard Runs Routine Maintenance Tasks after Startup or Waking from Sleep, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.04. Mac OS X 10.5 runs routine system maintenance scripts as soon as possible after starting up or waking up your Mac. Earlier versions of OS X do not do this. Overclocking a Mac mini Got Me Hooked on Souping Up Macs, Adam Geller, My First Mac, 09.04. Stories of hot rodding iBooks, G3 iMacs, and PCI Power Macs on the cheap. Tomorrow's Solid State Drives and Notebooks, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 09.04. Flash drives are great but have some shortcomings. Some thoughts on building better SSDs and notebooks to use them. Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04. Used 867 MHz Combo, no APX, $490; 1 GHz, $550; SuperDrive, $625; 1.5 GHz w/o APX, $660; w/APX, $675. Best Mac mini Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04. Used 1.25 GHz G4 SD, $549; 1.42 Combo, $409; new 1.83 Core2 Combo, $569 after rebate; 2.0 SD, $769 after rebate. Best 17" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04. Used 1 GHz, $779; 1.33 GHz, $799; 1.5 GHz, $859; 1.67 GHz, $910. 11 Mac Browsers Compared, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 09.03. The latest versions of Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, Shiira, iCab, Radon, Firefox, Netscape Navigator, SeaMonkey, Flock, and Camino tested in Leopard. Save Internet Radio, USB and Hard Drives, Hardware Manufacturers vs. Linux, and More, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 09.03. Also Mac won't book after cleaning, newer versions of OS X improve wake from sleep, downgrading to OS 8.6, unreadable pages on Low End Mac, and more. Another Free POP3 Provider, Recharging a Dead PRAM Battery, Current Kanga Value, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.03. GMX email now available in US, Panasonic UJ-841S drive won't burn discs, restoring a dead PRAM battery in a Pismo, and thoughts on Kanga value today. Best eMac Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03. Used 700 MHz Combo, $120; 1.25 GHz SuperDrive, $150; 1.42 GHz, $349. Best Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03. Mac OS X 10.5, single user, $99; 5 users, $140; 10.5 Server, 10 users, $395; unlimited, $850. Best MacBook Air Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03. Refurb 1.6 HD, $1,499; new, $1,690 after rebate; refurb 1.8, $1,699; new, $1,919 a/r; refurb 1.6 SSD, $2,099; new, $2,294 a/r; refurb 1.8, $2,299; new, $2,400 a/r. Psystar Strikes Back, Countersues Apple, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 09.03. Psystar is trying to paint Apple as a monopoly and force it to license the Mac OS. Upgrade Options for 15" and 17" Aluminum PowerBooks, Charles W. Moore, 'Book Value, 09.02. Memory, hard drive, optical drive, and flash card readers for 15-inch and 17-inch aluminum G4 PowerBooks. More links in our archive.

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