Looking to purchase a Powerbook

Question

Looking for suggestions. My son would like to get a Powerbook. He is not a high end user. Internet, games, fun stuff. Looking to buy a used one initially to see how much he uses and then maybe upgrade him to the latest and greatest in the future. I am not familiar with Powerbooks at all from a performance standpoint. Can anyone help with specs that I should look for, mainly minimums in processor, memory, disk size and monitor size or a suggestion that maybe I need to look at something newer than the PowerBook G4. There are a few on ebay in the local ads, but want to make sure I get one that is power enough for him. Thank you for your help.

Answer 1

Well, you have a myriad of options:
Basic stuff? You can try an old "Pismo" PowerBook with a G4 upgrade card in it. Good for internet, word processing, but not intense gaming. Just "fun" gaming. Even a stock G3 might do. Max the RAM to 1GB, get at least a G3 500MHz or the G4 550MHz third party upgrade installed in it already, and you can upgrade different things with its expansion bays galore! Screen resolution is 1024x768.
(In fact, let's jump the gun here right now-- if he's looking for gaming, the best bet is Intel-based Macs since current games require it, as far as the "high-end" games from EA, Electronic Arts. Fun games, those can be done on a G3 or G4 PowerBook).
You can up the ante, but if so, you'd best go further. You can go for a Titanium PowerBook G4 with at least a 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, and a SuperDrive (or at least a Combo Drive). But better to go for the Aluminum line. These have a 1280x854 resolution, and earlier versions with lower processors were even lesser resolution.
The fun one, in my opinion, is the 12-inch PowerBook G4. Compact and light and portable. Screen resolution at 1024x768, and processors from 867MHz to 1.5GHz with Combo Drive or Superdrive.
The 15-inch PowerBook G4 (aluminum) comes anywhere from 1GHz to 1.67GHz (early version) with 1280x854 screen, max RAM at 2GB, and either Combo Drive or Superdrive. These have an expansion slot in the PCMCIA cardbus whereas the 12-inch does not.
Then there's the special 1.67GHz Double-Layer SD model which has a high-res screen of 1440x960 with a double layer Superdrive and faster RAM (PC-4200) which also maxes at 2GB.
The 17-inch PowerBook G4 is way too big, but still portable and also matches the processors of its immediate sibling, the 15-inch. Screen resolution is much higher as well and same with the RAM.
Hard drives these days, no smaller than 80GB, but better if 120GB and above (250GB maximum). Speed should be at 5400RPMs, but you can go as high as 7200RPMs but it caps out at 100GB. A 15-inch display is optimal. 1GB RAM is the minimum best. 512MB is bare minimum. 2GB RAM is better. Minimum processor speed, I'd say no lower than 1GHz, best at 1.5GHz, but better at 1.67GHz, the highest possible G4 chip in a PowerBook.
You can also get some refurbished MacBooks at the Apple Store online for $799 (while supplies last... they come and go). That would be a great deal too. PowerBook G4s also go for $500 to $700 on eBay for the mid-range models, while the high-end models go for $700 to $1000. So you can see how well the PowerBooks still fare these days.
Maybe if you outlined what your son is looking for exactly, then I can pinpoint a better suggestion based on my experience.