Powerbook G4

[hack4ev3r]

Hi

I was wondering, a friend of mine offered me a Powerbook G4 400mhz(15") with 640 Ram and 20g hd for about 500$.

my friend says that i won't enjoy it if i buy it.

i was wondering what do you guys think should i buy it or not? i'm probably going to run OSX 10.4 on it and surf the web irc and stuff and maybe Logic pro( i don't care about program lag unless its unsable or the music comes out corrupt.)

 

Thanks ahead,

tommy from da hood.

[user2]

Hi

I was wondering, a friend of mine offered me a Powerbook G4 400mhz(15") with 640 Ram and 20g hd for about 500$.

my friend says that i won't enjoy it if i buy it.

i was wondering what do you guys think should i buy it or not? i'm probably going to run OSX 10.4 on it and surf the web irc and stuff and maybe Logic pro( i don't care about program lag unless its unsable or the music comes out corrupt.)

 

Thanks ahead,

tommy from da hood.

 

 

That is a rip off! I would maybe pay 300.00 and tha'ts pushing it.

[hack4ev3r]

Actually, the price is pretty good considering i don't live in the states and everything here is much more expensive.

for example an mini cost 799$ here and a macbook pro starts at 2499$

 

i'm just wondering if i will enjoy this machine or will it just be sluggy and die a horrible death? will i be able to run logic pro on it? thats the main thing i need as i work with music alot.

[A Nonny Moose]

PowerBook G4 specs:

PowerBook G4

Codename: "Mercury, 103"

Introduced: January 2001

Discontinued: October 2001

Machine ID: PowerBook3,2

Model Number: n/a

Support Status: Supported

Processor: PowerPC 7410 v1.3 (G4)

Processor Speed: 400 or 500 MHz

Cache: 64 k L1, 1 MB backside (2:1) L2

System Bus: 100 MHz

Hard Drive: 10, 20, or 30 GB

Media: 6x DVD-ROM

Weight and Dimensions (US): 5.3 lbs., 1" H x 13.4" W x 9.5" D

Weight and Dimensions (Metric): 2.4 kg, 2.6 cm H x 34.1 cm W x 24.1 cm D

Original Mac OS: Mac OS 9.1 (Mac OS 9.1/10.0.3 on later shipments)

Maximum Mac OS: Latest release of Mac OS X

Hardware Test: AHT (PowerBook) 1.1, 1.2, 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.3

Logicboard RAM: None

Maximum RAM: 1.0 GB

Type of RAM Slots: 2 - PC100 3.3V 144-pin SO-DIMM

Minimum RAM Speed: 10 ns

Graphics Card: ATI Rage Mobility 128 (2x AGP)

ATI Card Model: ATY,RageM3 (Rage Mobility 128)

Graphics Memory: 8 MB

Built-in Display: 15.2" active matrix TFT

Display Connection: VGA (Max 24-bit 1280x960 non-mirror), S-Video

Expansion Slots: Single Type I or II (CardBus compliant)

Expansion Bays: None

Hard Drive Bus: Ultra ATA/66 (ATA-5)

Backup Battery: 922-4361

Power Adapter: PB G4 Power Adapter (M8243**/A)

System Battery: 50 Wh Lithium Ion (M8244G/A)

Max Watts: n/a

AirPort: Optional AirPort card

Bluetooth: None

Ethernet: 10/100BASE-T

Modem: 56k

ADB: 1 - Internal for Trackpad

Serial: None

SCSI: None

USB: 2 - 12 MBit/s

FireWire: 1 - 400 MBit/s

Audio In: Built-in microphone

Audio Out: 1 - 3.5-mm analog output jack, Built-in 20mm speakers (16-bit 44.1 kHz sample rate)

 

System requirements for Logic Pro:

 

Macintosh computer with PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5 or Intel Core Duo; Intel Core Duo, PowerPC G5, or dual PowerPC G4 processor recommended

Logic Node applications require PowerPC G5 or Intel Core Duo and Gigabit Ethernet connectivity

512MB of RAM

Mac OS X v10.4.3 or later for PowerPC-based systems; Mac OS X v10.4.4 or later for Intel-based systems

QuickTime 7.0.3 or later

8GB of available hard drive space

DVD drive for software installation

Available USB port for XSKey (copy protection)

Low-latency multi-I/O audio hardware and MIDI interface recommended

 

So it can run Logic, but it will be sluggish (because it's a low end G4). You *could* do Logic Express, which might run better. If you're using it as an internet/IRC machine, you'll do fine with it, though.

[moonislune]

So far as surfing the web and irc, it should be fine. Logic pro might run a little slow on certain tasks. I'd also be sure to check on the battery. A new one will set you back another 100 or more. For $350, it would be a good deal. 500 seems a little steep.