Okay, it's college buying season, and I'm in the market for a used computer. Right now, I own a PowerBook G3/233 that is giving me some trouble. It's not a bad computer, but the hard drive is too small, it's a bit slow, and it doesn't have any modern ports (no USB or FireWire, though I have added a FireWire PC card).
I use it with OS X, and it gets acceptable performance. But I'm looking for something a bit faster and stronger. Over the past few months, I've been thinking about a new computer, but I've always been indecisive. One day I want an iBook, the next I want an eMac, then it's a PowerMac... you get the idea. But my parents reminded me that since I'll be in college, I shouldn't have a really hot computer. It would be a distraction to have it sitting there with all sorts of 3D games and DVD movies waiting to be played and watched. I want to be able to do all sorts of normal things, like ripping CDs to MP3 format, syncing with my iPod, typing reports, surfing the internet, and the like. Anyway, my dad told me today that his company has a bunch of beige G3s lying around that they don't use anymore. He said they may be willing to get rid of them for next to nothing, since all they're doing now is taking up space. It seems like a perfect solution to my problem... I could run OS X, get PCI cards for FireWire and USB, and do anything I'd ever need to do with a computer, for a very low price. But I have a few concerns. First of all, would a beige G3 with an upgraded graphics card (I'm thinking a Radeon PCI) and more RAM (512 MB as opposed to my PowerBook's 160 MB) be much faster in OS X than my current PowerBook? Would a 400 Mhz (or so) G3 or G4 processor upgrade be necessary (or worth it), if I'm running OS X? Or should I spend quite a bit more money and just get a 400 or 450 MHz Sawtooth so I don't have to worry about supported graphics? Again, I don't really need to do intense stuff with the computer, but I would like it to run OS X pretty smoothly, hopefully a bit better than my PowerBook. By the way, I know that laptops are very useful for college, so I'm still going to have one. But to save money, I'm selling my laptop and getting a PPC upgraded 520c. I know I could probably keep my laptop and just upgrade the HD, RAM and processor, and get a USB PC card in addition to the FireWire one I have, but the very heavy weight (about 8 lbs) of my laptop plus that fact that only one PC card slot works makes me want to shy away from that a bit. -- G-List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- We have Apple Refurbished Monitors in stock! | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-List list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml> Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Macintosh? Get free email and more at Applelinks! <http://www.applelinks.com>
