Filed under: How-tos, iBook, Mods
Upgrading an iBook G4 is cheaper at the Apple Store
MacBidouille (and its English counterpart Hardmac.com) posted a step-by-step tutorial for upgrading an iBook G4 (supposedly on the cheap) to rival the hardware specs of a PowerBook. They upgrade the following:- Combo drive to SuperDrive
- 30GB HDD to 80GB HDD
- Added internal bluetooth
- 256MB RAM to 1.25GB RAM
Therefore, MacBidouille, we love your How-To, but it would be cheaper to just upgrade the SuperDrive and leave the rest to an official Apple tech.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Jack said 8:48PM on 11-09-2005
But they had to pay for 1 gb of ram and bluetooth, without those would it have been cheaper?
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Jeremy said 9:07PM on 11-09-2005
They hardmac.com upgrade also included a 7200rpm harddrive. Apple offers only 5400rpm harddrive upgrades.
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Jack said 9:09PM on 11-09-2005
The desire to tweak, upgrade and build-your-own PCs is something rooted in the old-school computer world mentality that by building it yourself, you're saving money.
That made sense about 10 years ago.
Nowadays, it realy makes more sense to just buy something built to order. And forgo upgrading by simply selling an old machine via something like eBay and using the funds to get a new machine.
All of my tech friends agree. But my non-tech friends are still convinced that D.I.Y. means a better deal. It's not.
The only upgrades I do anymore are maybe hard drives and external enclusure building for friends. Otherwise, it's just not worth it.
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Paul said 9:16PM on 11-09-2005
What about Powerbook upgrades? Anyone take a look at doing up a 12 inch g4?
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jc said 11:46PM on 11-09-2005
I really like the idea of replacing my 30G 5400rpm hard drive with a new 80G 7200rpm. I suspect that would give a noticable upgrade to my iBook.
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arthur barnhouse said 12:25AM on 11-10-2005
If you like the idea of upgrading an old model, but don't want to muck around on the inside:
http://www.powerbookresq.com/
best of the best. Did my sister's computer up right.
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Fabienne Serriere said 3:09AM on 11-10-2005
jc: If you upgrade to a higher RPM drive, be aware that it will affect battery life on your machine.
Paul: I'm not sure what you would want to replace, but powerbook-fr.com has some clear instructions for modding many models of PowerBooks. It's in French, but you can use Babel Fish to translate.
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PowerMike said 3:50AM on 11-10-2005
You know it's the purpose of mac bidouille.com which is a "Do It Yourself" oriented website. You should look at the "Bidouille" definition in French. I don't really know how to explain it but it includes the idea of doing by hand, like if you were to repair your car, with the hands full of oil.
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alivicwil said 4:25AM on 11-10-2005
paid, not payed
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Mr Tipples said 4:46AM on 11-10-2005
Anybody know if you can change the single layer superdrive to a dual layer superdrive in a 15" 1.67 G4 Powerbook?
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James said 4:51AM on 11-10-2005
There's also the question here of how much you consider your warranty to be worth, because an upgrade this invasive will certainly void it.
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BC said 12:46PM on 11-10-2005
Apple's iBook drives are all 4200rpm, not 5400rpm. And some 7200rpm drives don't necessarily use signifcantly more power than 4200rpm drives-- compared to 4200rpm drives a couple generations back (if you're upgrading an older iBook more than a year old), they may use less.
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jc said 2:48PM on 11-10-2005
Thanks BC, I had just assumed it was a 5400rpm, but I just checked it and you are right... it is a 4200rpm. I think I will be making this upgrade as soon as I can.
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studio606 said 2:50PM on 11-10-2005
Most have heard about this, but this is a free way to match the powerbook's functionality with the iBook in regards to monitor spanning. This makes them very close in abilities:
http://www.rutemoeller.com/mp/ibook/ibook_e.html
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Frank Bisono said 7:11PM on 11-10-2005
This is nothing more than a ghetto crack-head version of a Powerbook. It is certainly no "upgrade". There is more to a Powerbook than a mere difference in size of drive and ram. The Powerbook has some major architectual differences that this "upgrade" does not take into consideration. The only thing this does is "upgrade" your iBook. It will still be an iBook. If you want a Powerbook, sorry kids, you gotta fork out the cash for the real thing. Tell those Frenchies to stick to making wine and french bread, IT is certainly not their expertise. Somebody get me an order of Freedom fries on the double....
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zenmouse said 7:56AM on 11-11-2005
Wow Frank, way to bring that element of redneck ignorance to the table. We were all about to say that, so thanks for stepping up and "gettin those frenchies" for America.
There are not huge architechtural differences to speak of actually. Aside from a 20 Mhz difference in system bus speed and a different video card, the rest actually IS all drives (and the 1.5 versus 1.33 processor). For the money, it's an excellent solution for those who already have an ibook, as the 12" powerbooks don't even have the option of a 7200 rpm drive.
Perhaps some people are just upset that they paid $1500 for a silver ibook ;-)
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ZeroDark:30 said 11:03AM on 11-12-2005
On my 12" PB 1GHz, I upgraded the HD from 40GB/4200rpm to Seagate 100GB/5400rpm. It was a detail-oriented process, with the only irritant being this magnetic slug covering one of the screws. I *do* enjoy the extra space, and the speed difference is noticeable, especially with regular doses of iDefrag to the active OSX partitions. I also noticed that my installation of Windows 98, 2000Pro, and 2000AdvServer on VPC partition ran faster. I believe defrag along with faster HD joined to make the difference. I took the money for upgrading the SuperDrive and spent it on a robust external SuperMultiDLDrive because of the intricacy of mucking with internal SuperDrive and matching it to the slot opening. After my own "under the hood" experience, I *really* have respect for those who do this type of thing, and take the time to document and share their experiences - their efforts serve to inspire and inform those who wonder about such an undertaking, in the face of salespeople and other hands-off "professionals" interested in other, more profitable ventures. Thanks to all of you DIY Geeks!:-) Cheers, CBS
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voldenuit said 10:09PM on 11-15-2005
As the research prior to writing your cheap slander should have brought to the light, the original, french article was written in early july while the english translation -without updated prices- came out only these days.
The article explicitly mentions the prices that served to assess the economic viability of the whole operation, I quote from the first page of the article you dissed:
"All parts including the iBook have been purchased for 1,598 euros VAT included. To compare, the same iBook 80GB 5400rpm without the SuperDrive costs : 1,677.99 euros VAT included and the PB 12" Superdrive 1.2 GB with 80 GB 5400rpm : 2,168 euros VAT included."
As your bio states, you're fluent in french and it looks live you live in Paris, France, so not checking your facts and not being in touch with the people running one of the most relevant french-language online publications does certainly tell a lot more about your qualification than about their extremely sensible iBook upgrade.
I suggest to make better use of the ability to read in the future.
An apology to macbidouille and your readers here would certainly not hurt either.
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fabienne said 10:15PM on 11-15-2005
voldenuit:
Thank you for your comments. I did enjoy the MacBidouille article (which is why i finished my post with: "Therefore, MacBidouille, we love your How-To"). Also, I'm a bit of a hardware hacker myself, mostly by necessity just like this iBook replacement how-to. And yes, I read the french article before the english version. However, since it's no longer necessary to replace the bluetooth and the ram is up to 512 standard, I felt it would be nice to point out to readers that perhaps Apple was listening to MacBidouille and other DIY upgraders.
Cheers,
fbz
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voldenuit said 2:23AM on 11-16-2005
Thanks for bothering to answer and well, nice try.
Even as of today, your headline is still plain wrong and maxing out an iBook ?a MacBidouille is cheaper:
baseline 12" ibook@AppleStore.fr: 1.049
1,5 GB RAM, 100 GB HD ibook@AppleStore: 1.599
1,5 GB RAM, 100 GB HD ibook ?a MacBidouille:
1.049 + 160 + 166 = 1375 (pricing based on macway.com)
1,5 GB RAM, 100 GB HD 7200 rpm, SuperDrive ibook ?a MacBidouille:
1.049 + 160 + 244 + 160 = 1613
Of course, you need to take the effort of "bidouillage" into account, but now, you don't even have the option to get a Superdrive for the 12" iBook from Apple anymore and if you prefer that form factor, the non-Apple way or a PowerBook are your only options.
Your conclusion "...but it would be cheaper to just upgrade the SuperDrive and leave the rest to an official Apple tech." does not make much sense neither.
Once you've got the iBook open (which, admittedly, is not exactly a walk in the park), you may just as well upgrade everything on the list. As a "a bit of a hardware hacker" yourself, you should know that.
And, as demonstrated, the AppleStore was and still is significantly more expensive, even if their RAM upgrade pricing got slightly less obscene over time.
Your implied message "macbidouille.fr is a cute bunch of hardware-hax0rs, but there's no point doing that any longer" is insulting both the people who put in the effort to publish, then translate the how-to and the intelligence of your readers here. Comparing prices half a year old to those of today (which will, given the speed of hardware price-drops, immediately strike as intellectually dishonest even to the most well-meaning bystander) is the only way to make macbidouilles upgrading look economically pointless and support your catchy title.
So, your headline was and still is plain wrong and instead of dealing with it by some charming denial, admitting that you screwed up (and fixing the article) might actually be the easier way out.
Especially if you look at the comments such why-would-I-bother-to-get-my-facts-right writing does to the patriotic feelings of some select individuals of your american readership...
Bien cordialement
voldenuit
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