Vintage Mac Living

How Much PowerBook or iBook Do You Need to Run Mac OS X?

- 2007.01.15

I had a lot of good response to How Much Mac Do You Need to Run Mac OS X?, and I had a lot of people ask me to which low-end PowerBooks I would recommend.

For the average Mac user who needs to be online (and not put up with incorrectly rendered pages and in need of fewer "must have" features), you should have OS X 10.2.8 or later (I suggest OS X 10.3.9).

While you might need OS X to access the Internet the way you want to, you don't need a new PowerBook or iBook to do it. I've compiled the following list of 'Books that I would recommend to the average user for daily use (prices are for base computer - memory upgrades and OS X may be additional):

Low-end:

  • Clamshell iBook G3/366
  • 256 MB RAM
  • 10 GB hard drive
  • CD-ROM
  • $230 and up

Low-end Plus:

Midrange:

Midrange Plus:

High-end:

High-end Plus:

Again, I believe that the models listed above would be your best bet, based on what you do. All you have to do is ask yourself, "How much Mac do I really need?" LEM

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Vintage Mac Living articles copyright ©2005-07 by Ted Hodges. Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Opinions expressed are those of their authors and may not reflect the opinion of Cobweb Publishing. Advice is presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all.
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