azazel- Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 This is pretty much for those of you that have an iBook. My question is, since I've never owned a Mac before and the iBook purchase will be coming up soon (hopefully), what do I realistically need to get it configured with? The only two set-in-stone options I've decided on are the 12.1" screen (because I want to keep it as small as possible) and an iPod. But I don't know what other options I should get. How large of a HD will I realistically need? Would I be better off getting the minimum ram preinstalled and buying more on my own and installing it myself? All I'm going off of is the Apple store website, and I'm trying to keep a price ceiling of ~$2500 or so...but, as with everything, if I can save some cash, that'd be swell too. If someone would be willing to go down and list off stuff that I'll probably find useful, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks in advance. :) Oh, and no "get a pc laptop they are cheaper and you get more blah blah blah" because I really don't wanna hear it. I'm typing this on a PC laptop, so uh...wasted effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvorgold Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 DO NOT get any more ram from apple than whats already in it, apple's ram is basically costing u double of normal ram, so u can get up to like 640 megs of ram for cheaper if u get a local computer store to configure it if your a big space user, get 40 gigs, but if you just like to use a computer to chat, listen to music, and check email, then maybe a 30 gig drive would be good have fun with your new ibook :) oh and which ibook u getting? if u get the combo drive ibook (12.1") and an ipod u should be under the $2500 budget :)...if your living in the US that is lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazzla Veteran Posted October 8, 2002 Veteran Share Posted October 8, 2002 Well, I wouldn't buy Ram from Apple, give www.crucial.com a try, that's where I get my memory from, it's cheaper. It's easy to install memory on the iBook as well so you don't have to worry about that. As for hard drive space, it depends on what you're doing. Typically, a Jaguar installation can range from 1.2GB to 2GB, so that's not a lot of space. I was used to a 10gb hard drive so when I got my iMac 40gb seemed massive, it still does. Extras, hmmm, well if you haven't got a spare external mouse, get an intellmouse, the software from Microsoft is pretty good on OS X and it works very well. That's about it. You had to make me jealous with that iPod though didn't you :devious: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvorgold Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 Originally posted by Dazzla You had to make me jealous with that iPod though didn't you :devious: lol i really want an ipod too...but i have a bigger need for more hard drive space than listening to mp3s while away from home :( lol [sarcastic]i cant wait till Xcalibur starts bragging bout his new ipod[/sarcastic] lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo1980 Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 the ibook is deemed to get an upgrade very soon, so if you can wait untilthe holiday season Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 -I have the 12" with a 20 GB hard drive, which I think is just fine for a laptop. If you plan on carrying large GB's of data then it might be worth it to get a bigger one. -Do NOT buy extra ram from Apple, the will charge you up the wazzo for it. Get the minimum 128 and then buy another stick from any of several places ( www.crucial.com , www.macsales.com ). -If you have enough extra cash I would suggest getting an Airport card and base station. I dont have one myself (I'm a poor college student) but I have heard good things about them and there is great advantage of roaming around the house with your iBook and internet. -You say you already have a laptop so I am sure you know about carrying bags and locks and so on.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azazel- Posted October 8, 2002 Author Share Posted October 8, 2002 Well, it's probably just gonna be a 5 gig one, since there's not a whole ton of music out there that I can stand. That make you feel any better? ;) Oh, and about the HD space thing, do you think 20 gigs would be enough, or should I opt for one of the bigger sizes? Right now I'm stuck with a 20 gig drive in XP on this laptop, and I think I have around 15 gigs or so free. So I'm not a packrat or anything. What I'm probably going to do is just do a clean install of Jaguar since I'm new to Macs and from what I understand OS 9 and below are dead, so no point in even getting used to using something obsolete, right? Or are there any really worthwhile apps that I'd need to keep OS 9 around for? So the biggest things on there will be Jaguar and Office v. X., and possibly Warcraft 3, depending on how it runs. Speaking of which, how well do games run on the iBook? I was playing some odd little spaceship game, but nothing really graphically intensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azazel- Posted October 8, 2002 Author Share Posted October 8, 2002 Oh, about the ram thing...does it use pc133 or pc100? I know on PCs they are backwards compatible, but is it the same for Macs? I'd done some pricing around for iBook ram and I kept getting results back listing pc133 sodimms, but I coulda sworn I read on the Apple site that it runs pc100. If it is pc133, that'd be good, because I have an extra 128 meg so-dimm just sitting on the desk looking lonely right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvorgold Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 looks like it runs on PC133 ram...it doesnt really say, emacs and imacs "say" they use pc100 ram :(...hopefully they run pc133 ram tho lol if u like to burn cds....get the combo drive mac, but if you can live without it...just get the dvd rom model...so that u wont be totally lonely with the optical drive lol...gotta love dvds :p i heard that games dont run too well under the g3 processor :(..hopefully thats just a myth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 Most places are saying PC100 but it could very well be that the iBook is compatible with both, I'm not sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azazel- Posted October 8, 2002 Author Share Posted October 8, 2002 Well, the crucial site lists pc100, up to the 512 meg sodimm, which is pc133, yet also listed as being compatible with the iBook. So I'm assuming that Macs are backwards-compatible ram-wise, and that probably it's just that no one makes 512 meg pc100 sodimms. I guess at least, I dunno. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivak Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 RamJet does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azazel- Posted October 8, 2002 Author Share Posted October 8, 2002 Originally posted by Silvorgold DO NOT get any more ram from apple than whats already in it, apple's ram is basically costing u double of normal ram, so u can get up to like 640 megs of ram for cheaper if u get a local computer store to configure it if your a big space user, get 40 gigs, but if you just like to use a computer to chat, listen to music, and check email, then maybe a 30 gig drive would be good have fun with your new ibook :) oh and which ibook u getting? if u get the combo drive ibook (12.1") and an ipod u should be under the $2500 budget :)...if your living in the US that is lol Yeah, that's what I'm getting, the 12.1" combo drive one w/ a 5 gig iPod. That's just until I can get my wife used to OS X, and now that she's starting to warm to the iMacs...I can see a 17" iMac in the not-too-distant future. She really wants a PowerMac tower w/ 15" Cinema display though. She's got much more expensive tastes than I do...but I just don't think I would need that much of a system. She says they just "look more like a computer". ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvorgold Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 ohhhh, then maybe just get the cd rom ibook and 640 megs of ram...should be fun tho :) How Much Memory Do You Need?# Hacking: 1.5Gig # Digital Video: 768mb # OSX: 512mb MS Office: 196mb # MacOS 9.0: 128mb # MacOS 1.0 [1984]: 128k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azazel- Posted October 8, 2002 Author Share Posted October 8, 2002 Yeah. I want to max out the ram, I just didn't know if it's really worth my time to do it myself or buy it like that. Needless to say, $159 is a lot easier to swallow than $400 for 512 megs. So I'll be doing it myself. Thanks for the link Rivak. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macster Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 Now someone is making me really jealous :p I think pc 133 and pc 100 sodimm SDRAM should all work on a ibook. I would recommend pc 133 as its pretty cheap now but the ibook only uses a 100mhz FSB. But there are voltage mods and FSB overclocking guides out there that tell u how to go from 700Mhz to 800Mhz :devious: And if u wanna use iMovie, u would need a big hard disk too. At least 20GB. But according to sources, a iBook refresh is due soon so i think u should wait a while and see :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azazel- Posted October 8, 2002 Author Share Posted October 8, 2002 Well, right now I'm waiting for my re-enlistment bonus to kick in, which will be around $10-12,000, give or take. Supposedly it should be soon, but it could take as long as another 60 days for me to finally get it. The govt. is quite quick to take money from you, but they move like molassas running uphill when they owe it to you. So, maybe by then the new iBooks will be out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvorgold Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 Originally posted by macster Now someone is making me really jealous :p But according to sources, a iBook refresh is due soon so i think u should wait a while and see :D ya theres rumors of updated ibook/pbook lines..hopefully are true tho :)...i would be suprised if the updates happened before mwsf, but i'dd suspect them to happen around mwsf...since thats whe the classic imac is gonna be dead for good :( ....RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bboyroe Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 If you can afford it you should go for the 10 gig ipod, seen as you get the new headphones, remote, case, slimmer design and new non mechanical scroll wheel. I nearly bought the 5gig myself but then after actually looking at the advantages of the 10 gig for an extra $100 went for that instead. Only made that decision at the very last minute. If you are planning on buying an iMac later on you should definatly consider the airport card and base station, i still find it really cool being able so sit in front of the t.v. and browse the internet wire free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macster Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 Yes i would recommend an airport card with a base station too. Its great for a home network and if you are planning to buy more Macs or PCs, its easy to add it to the network without the cable nightmares. And u can walk around the town and maybe find WLANs that are open. :devious: And get some free wireless surfing :p Apple updates their products in 6 month cycles. So the ibook and Powerbook update should come real soon :cool: And rumors has it that new Sahara G3 processors with 133 FSB (would make pc 133 ram useful) might appear and radeon 7500s too. :p Lets hope its true Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azazel- Posted October 8, 2002 Author Share Posted October 8, 2002 Well, just talked to my wife and she said it's *probably* going to be another two months or so. So that'll put me well into the holiday timeframe. Hopefully the new models will be out. I didn't realize the 10 gig ipods came with all that...might have to get one of those instead. I think she's about as anxious as I am to get the ibook...mainly because she's sick of me showing her the ibook webpage and all the themes on here. Everytime I say "Hey honey, check this out" her automatic reply is "This better not be another fscking Apple thing...". :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvorgold Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 lol when u do get the ibook you'll probably b happy cuz they can make ppl who switch want to ditch their pc for good at times lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkleytone Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 thats what it made me do. i just sold my PC that i built after almost a year with my iBook. in the time I've had it, the PC just never got used. Selling it seemed to be the smartest thing to do because all it would ever do when i DID use it was **** me off. Now the only PC I have is an old pentium133 that is a linux server. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 I've been looking into getting an iBook eventually. Probably not until late next year unless I come into the money before then. I already have an iPod. 10 gig version. I saw someone else recommended getting the 10 gig, and I would have to second that. The new 10gig vs the old 5gig (from what I have read) has a lot more things added to it than just 5 gig. The scroll wheel on the new 10 gig is worth getting it just on it's own. Much better than the old scroll wheel. Also, the 10gig is thinner, comes with remote (very handy when the ipod is in your bag). Even if you can't quite fill 5 gigs with mp3s, your music collection will always be expanding. As far as the iBook, a couple accessories that I plan on getting. Definately getting ram from Crucial. Only place I buy ram from. Cheaper, and usually has free 2nd day shipping. Also, a wireless networking option. Not necessarily the Airport. Possibly the Linksys basestation and card. Combo drive, 12" screen. Course by the time i get around to it, there will be new iBooks. If you are a student, you may want to check out the Apple Student Developer option as well. It costs $99 per year, but you get a great discount on one (i think just one) computer per year. Pretty sure the discount is more than the $99 cost. Plus you get Apple Developer Tools for free. You may be able to use a student discount with that. If you have any questions on the iPod, let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azazel- Posted October 8, 2002 Author Share Posted October 8, 2002 How well do games run on the iBook? I remember seeing a WC3 icon in someones Dock in one of the screenshots. Of the games I have glanced through, probably the only ones I'd be interested in are WC3, SW:Galactic Battlegrounds, The Sims and Vampire: The Masquerade. Anybody running any of these on an iBook, and if so, how well do they run? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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