Can a Low-end Mac be a Suitable Only Mac?
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- 2001.11.23
While I do have high-end equipment at home, I decided to take my aging PowerBook 5300cs with me on vacation to California. The 5300 is the slowest PowerPC-based PowerBook, and at only 100 MHz is considered quite slow by today's standards. I hadn't used my 5300 in a while, probably because of a problem I'd been having with the screen. However, I decided to try it again - and after running it for many hours, it seemed like the problem had sorted itself out. I reformatted the hard drive and reinstalled Mac OS 8.5 (I didn't have time to update to 8.6).
I installed some of the applications that I often use, such as Microsoft Office. I also installed an MP3 player, GreyAmp, and iTunes (yes, on 8.5) for Internet radio. I installed the software for my PCMCIA ethernet card and hooked it up to my cable modem to make sure the software was all working properly. I was amazed that Internet performance was actually acceptable. Internet radio worked fine. I then connected my 28.8 PCMCIA modem and was able to get on the Internet without much trouble. I tried out the Internet radio feature in iTunes, but the connection kept dropping, and it had to reconnect to the server, so I didn't play with it much.
Right now I am on a plane heading toward San Francisco, and
unfortunately it looks like the screen problem has started
appearing again. The upper half of the screen gets taken over by
these red, green, and yellow vertical lines. When you press on
areas of the back, they lessen or go away (if you're really lucky).
Other than that, the 5300's screen is decent. It is passive matrix,
which means that it is of not as high quality as the active matrix
version, and using a computer with this type of screen tends to
make the computer feel "slow," as things (menus, dialogue boxes)
appear on the screen more 
slowly than they would on an
active matrix screen and leave slight shadows after they go away.
An advantage to passive matrix is that anyone sitting next to you
cannot see what is happening on the screen, so your laptop is more
personal.
The other thing I like about the 5300 is its small size. It fits easily under my arm and in my backpack. Some of today's laptops are so large that they have trouble fitting in small spaces, which is important to me when it comes to portability. This is why the "ice" iBook is almost the perfect laptop (add a couple PCMCIA card slots and it would be perfect). Sure, a large screen is really nice, but when the screen makes the computer so large that it won't fit anywhere? I'd rather take a smaller screen so I can have a smaller laptop. This is why I like the 5300. The "ce" model would be just about the perfect low-end laptop, as the screen is a decent 800 x 600, instead of 640 x 480 like all of the other 5300 models.
Unfortunately there aren't any processor upgrade options for the 5300 series. I can't tell you why, but it is unfortunate because the 5300 was popular, and I am sure that many owners would have been interested in upgrading theirs - although it is a bit late now, since many owners replaced theirs with a G3 or G4 PowerBooks. A processor upgrade would not really be economical anymore because the RAM in a 5300 can only be upgraded to 64 MB (mine has 48 MB), and there would be no OS X support.
Even though a G3 upgrade isn't available, the 5300 is still a useable machine. I will see how it gets me through the next few days. If you get to read this, I have been successful in getting it set up for email and the Internet in California.
Recent Apple Archive articles
- iPods, notebooks, and other modern electronics more readily replaced than repaired, 12.07. Whether it's an intermittent failure or a broken display cable, more often than not it's cheaper to replace a broken electronics device than repair it.
- Options for replacing your older iPod, 11.19. Whether you've run out of space on your old iPod or want features it doesn't have, here are your options in new and used iPods.
- Could the $200 'green' PC with gOS Linux become a threat to Apple?, 11.14. The low cost, low power Everex desktop comes with a customized version of Ubuntu Linux, has a Mac-like Dock, and sells for $400 less than the Mac mini.
- Leopard different, a bit buggy, but worth the upgrade, 11.02. Leopard on a Power Mac G4 and a MacBook Pro: It runs well on both computers, but each has some odd bugs, and some of the changes are a step backwards.
- More in the Apple Archive index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: 'Sawtooth' Power Mac G4, Aug. 1999 - Available in speeds from 350-500 MHz, 'Sawtooth' introduced AGP video to the Mac.
- Group of the Day: G4 List is for those using Power Mac G4s or G4 upgrades.
- November 22 in LEM history: 99: Gradebooks - 00: Leveraging Apple design - Quadra 630 to Power Mac 5200 - 02: Laptop or desktop? - 04: SuperDuper: Quick, easy, efficient backup - Cross-platform programming for the rest of us - 05: Mac video surveillance on the cheap - Which OS is best for my vintage Mac? - No 'best browser' for the Mac - Sorry state of browsers for classic Macs - 06: Core 2 means cooler running 'Books - 2.0 GHz G4 upgrade
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- The Long Term Value of a High End Mac, Andrew J Fishkin, Best Tools for the Job, 11.21. Low-end Macs are more affordable up front, but the flexibility and upgrade options of a top-end Mac can make it the better value in the long run.
- iPhone #1 Worldwide, Google Voice Search for iPhone, iPhone 3G Battery Pack, and More, iNews Review, 11.21. Also British accents throw off Google voice search, lots of new iPhone apps, universal USB car charger, new protective cases, and more.
- 15 Reasons Macs Are Better, Quad-core iMac in January?, USB 3.0 Spec Finalized, and More, Mac News Review, 11.21. Also 25 years of Macs, 'Snow Leopard' in Q1?, SimpleTech's faster and greener hard drive, Hyperspaces, StarOffice for OS X, and more.
- DisplayPort Copy Protection, Trackpad Update, Netbooks Not to Be Taken Lightly, and More, The 'Book Review, 11.21. Also Apple set for record sales, 4-finger gestures on original MacBook Air, MacBook Apple's best consumer notebook to date, Cricket laptop stand, bargain 'Books from $490 to $2,299, and more.
- Virtualization Shootout: VMWare Fusion 2 vs. Parallels Desktop 4, Kev Kitchens, Kitchens Sync, 11.20. Both programs do the same thing, but one runs Windows XP smoothly alongside Mac apps, while the other bogs down everything but Windows.
- Just Right: Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear MacBooks, Charles W. Moore, 'Book Value, 11.20. Some people like small and light notebooks, others prefer huge desktop replacements, but the best value tends to be in the middle.
- Apple Caves to Hollywood with DRM on iTunes Videos, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 11.20. HDCP on the new MacBooks means that you may never really own those videos you buy from the iTunes Store.
- Leopard Runs Very Nicely on PowerPC Macs, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 11.19. Some claim that Mac OS X 10.5 is so optimized for Intel Macs that it runs poorly on PowerPC hardware. That's simply not the case.
- No High Definition iTunes Video for You, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 11.19. The October 2008 MacBooks are preventing users from viewing some high-def iTunes content from being viewed on their external displays. Poor form!
- Every Working Computer Is Useful to Someone, Allison Payne, The Budget Mac, 11.19. Whether it's a PowerBook 1400, G3 iMac, or Power Mac G4, it could be all the computer someone needs.
- 3 WeatherBug Options for Apple Users, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.19. Have instant access to current local weather conditions with a Dashboard widget, iPhone app, or Firefox plugin.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.20. Used 400 MHz, $50; 733, $100; 800, $199; 1.25 GHz, $300; 800 MHz dual, $200, 867, $300; 1 GHz, $350; 1.42, $400.
- Best iBook G3 Deals, 11.20. Used 300 MHz clamshell, $150; 366, $199; 800 CD, $180; 600 CD-RW, $240; 700 Combo, $290; 900, $369; 14" 600, $360; 900, $449.
- Best Power Mac G3 and PCI Video Card Deals, 11.20. Used beige 300 MHz, $25; blue & white 350, $80; 400, $90; 450, $105; PCI video cards from $15; shipping additional.
- Best iMac G4 Deals, 11.18. Used 15" 700 MHz Combo, $243; 800 MHz, $280; 1 GHz, $380; 17" 1.25 GHz SuperDrive, $400; 20", $549.
- Best MacBook Air Deals, 11.18. New 1.6 80, $1,150 after rebate; 120, $1,744 a/r; 1.8 80, $1,794 a/r; 1.6 128 SSD, $2,150; used 1.8 64 SSD, $1,500; new, $2,200 a/r; 1.86, $2,398 a/r.
- Best Mac OS X 10.0-10.3 Deals, 11.18. Mac OS X 10.0.3, $30; 10.1, $20; 10.2, $60; 10.3 CD, DVD, $100; CD, $119; 10.1 Server, unlimited users, $58; 10.3 Server, unlimited, $150.
- Best iPod nano Deals, 11.17. Refurb 3G/4 GB, $79; new, $114; refurb 8 GB, $99; new, $125; 3G/8 GB, from $134; 16 GB, from $189. Prices include ground shipping.
- Best Titanium PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.17. Used 1 GHz with SuperDrive, $478 plus shipping.
- Best Xserve deals, 11.17. Used G4/1 GHz, $999; G5/2 GHz, $1,288; new 2.0 4-core Xeon, $1,900; refurb 3.0 4-core, $2,599; 2.8 GHz, $2,499; 3.0 8-core, $3,499.
- More deals in our archive.
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