2005 14" iBook G4 for $60

[TheMacGuy]

So today was a great day in terms of conquest for me! I drove about 20 miles to pick up a nice little craigslist find. It was pictured as a 12" iBook G4. The lady wanted $120 but I talked her down to $60. She didn't know anything about the computer. Just that it worked but the battery was dead. She said it was her Aunt's and when she passed away, she gave it to her. So she didn't know how to wipe the drive, so I am doing that now and installing Leopard. I also found out when I picked it up that it was not a 12" but a 14"! I boot the computer up via an inverter box plugged into my car, and it booted into Tiger. Looked at the specs, 1.42 GHz G4, 512MB soldered RAM, AirPort Extreme, Bluetooth 2.0 EDR, the works! And it was the very last iBook released in 2005, just before Apple switched to Intel, so it is very fast. Great steal for $60! The casing is in OK condition. It looks like it was well loved.

 

[TheMacGuy]

The power adapter works, but its iffy. Ordered a used one off of eBay. Coconut battery says the battery is only holding 21% of its original capacity. I will have to order one when I get a chance, because I have never had good luck with 3rd party batteries, so I always buy original Apple. Also ordered a new stick of 512MB Samsung RAM from eBay, to boost the total RAM to 1GB. I'm currently browsing wirelessly with it. It runs very fast to! Optimized Leopard for the G4, removing V-Sync and turned on 2D Quarts to help the UI. Got YouTube working under HTML5 with YouTube 5 Safari extension. Its still a little choppy, but I can deal with it if it was my only laptop.

 

[jruschme]

Optimized Leopard for the G4, removing V-Sync and turned on 2D Quarts to help the UI.

Can you elaborate a bit more on these two? I don't think I've heard specific reference to these optimizations.

 

[TheMacGuy]

V-Sync is also call Beam Sync. It keeps the graphics chip and CPU from getting out of sync when it comes to rendering things in the UI or webpages. What it was used for was to keep CRT monitors and older LCD panels from flickering to often. From what I heard, most newer LCDs really don't need it. And it frees up more of the processor. I did this via Secrets.

Turning on Quarts 2D graphics put more of the UI rendering on the graphics chip/card, rather then your CPU. Not only will this speed up your CPU, but the UI will be a little more responsive, because almost nothing is ever happening on the graphics chip. Again, can be done via Secrets.

 

[CC_333]

Hi,

Where may I find "Secrets"?

It sounds interesting.

c

 

[TheMacGuy]

Well, the 1 stick of 512MB of RAM turned out to be 2 sticks of Samsung 256MB. The guy almost didn't want to take them back until I emailed him a link to the official Apple page that said this model only has 1 RAM slot, and even then he said he got both out of 1 iBook G4. Sent it back, and ordered from someone else 1 stick of 1GB of Crucial RAM, so I can max out the RAM to 1.5GB.

New power adapter came in and I swear, it was brand new! Cord wasn't dirty, no scratches on the inverter box, plug had no finger prints or scratches on it. Came with the 2 prong fold out adapter, so I took the extension cord off the old brick, and it works like a charm! The new brick was sold as used.

And I finally got a battery. Brand new, genuine Apple battery. Still had factory plastic on it. Coconut Battery shows it can hold 4400MAh and the factory capacity it 4400MAh.

Total investment so far: $105. Not bad for a 2005 iBook considering these go for about $300 on eBay without working batteries.

 

[ClassicHasClass]

I'm more partial to the 12" iBooks (I use a 12" iBook G4/1.33 to this day), but the 14" are also solid machines. My mother still uses one for Bible study.

 

[TheMacGuy]

I honestly thought it was a 12". Thats what the lady had posted as a picture. Although she also said her Aunt bought it in 2007, and the computer was registered to her Aunt, so I think she was the original owner.

It's a great machine. It hasn't given me any hiccups besides a small Wi-Fi issue, but got that fixed. Even thinking about maybe (and this is a BIG maybe) replacing the HDD. Its gotten loud from age I guess, and a small IDE 7200 RPM drive would probably speed it up quite a bit from the stock 4200 RPM drive. The only reason I'm holding out is the fact that it seems like a pain to get the G4's (any iBook really) apart and replace the hard drive.

 

[ClassicHasClass]

It might, but getting at the hard disk in the iBook is a royal PITA. Also, if the drive runs particularly hot, it can warp the case (don't ask me how I know this).

 

[TheMacGuy]

Ok I won't. So, is it a bad idea to do the HDD? :-/

Well the RAM came today, as described. Slapped it in the iBook quicker then you can say "Onomonopia". Works quicker then ever before now with 1.5GB of RAM. Everything works great with a new power supply, new battery and another 1GB of RAM. Just need to replace one of the feet that is missing, maybe all of them (besides the battery foot) because they are dirty.

 

[CC_333]

Just need to replace one of the feet that is missing, maybe all of them (besides the battery foot) because they are dirty.

Before you do, try rubbing them with a Magic Eraser; I have found that they are incredibly good at restoring the appearance and functionality of rubber feet.
I don't know how well it would work in an iBook, though. But it's worth a try!

c

 

[TheMacGuy]

People on the 'Bay sell them as a lot of 3. Might as well replace them all and keep the others as backups.

 

[Bunsen]

Quarts

Quartz

 

[ClassicHasClass]

So, is it a bad idea to do the HDD?

A 7200rpm drive will cook in there (and cook the machine with it). At most I'd put a 5400rpm in there, and that's not going to be a lot faster than the 4200rpm one it has. So unless you're going to spring for an SSD, I'd say it's going to be a lot of work for a relatively underwhelming improvement. Bumping the RAM makes a much bigger difference, which you already did.

 

[TheMacGuy]

Is there anyway to stuff a CF card in it?