Huzzah for 17" PowerBook

[dpaanlka]

My mom randomly decided she wants to buy a MacBook Pro 17" to replace her 17" PowerBook G4, which was one of the original 1ghz kind (she bought it the month it came out in 2003). So that PowerBook G4 is now going to me and I'm pretty psyched as my last 17" PowerBook was stolen and I've been using this 350mhz G4 AGP tower for a while. I know very little about this machine as I never paid much attention to it since she originally bought it.

Some Qs

SATA or IDE?
Maximum RAM?
Any sort of processor upgrade or overclock options?
How good/bad is the GeForce 440? I don't play games.

There are some lighter areas on the aluminum case that I wasn't able to clean off today. They almost look like stains, but in a weird discolored sort of way. Usually stains are darker than the material they are staining, but these splotches are a lighter color than the rest of the aluminum. Any ideas?

 

[risc]

You can get detailed specs here: http://lowendmac.com/pb2/17in-g4.html

 

[lamina]

Enjoy! I love my 17".

 

[Mord]

My mom randomly decided she wants to buy a MacBook Pro 17" to replace her 17" PowerBook G4, which was one of the original 1ghz kind (she bought it the month it came out in 2003). So that PowerBook G4 is now going to me and I'm pretty psyched as my last 17" PowerBook was stolen and I've been using this 350mhz G4 AGP tower for a while. I know very little about this machine as I never paid much attention to it since she originally bought it.

Some Qs

SATA or IDE?
Maximum RAM?
Any sort of processor upgrade or overclock options?
How good/bad is the GeForce 440? I don't play games.

There are some lighter areas on the aluminum case that I wasn't able to clean off today. They almost look like stains, but in a weird discolored sort of way. Usually stains are darker than the material they are staining, but these splotches are a lighter color than the rest of the aluminum. Any ideas?

IDE
2GB 2x pc2700 SO-dimms
no
it's ok, it's about the same as the 9200.

aluminium oxide is white.

 

[Kreamy]

IDE
2GB 2x pc2700 SO-dimms
no
it's ok, it's about the same as the 9200.

aluminium oxide is white.

1GB actually

 

[Mord]

no, 2GB 1GB dimms were not available at the time but they work fine.

 

[MACDRIVE]

You can clean up that aluminum oxidation with a white Scotch-Brite pad like this one. It is a very fine abrassive that won't scratch. A janitorial supply will have it.

 

[Mord]

the thing with aluminium is that once it has a fine layer of rust over it it wont rust any more, clean that rust off and it starts again, to keep it in the best condition your better off not cleaning the rust off

 

[dpaanlka]

You can get detailed specs here: http://lowendmac.com/pb2/17in-g4.html

Thanks. Visiting LEM for a 2003 era PowerBook didn't cross my mind for some reason.

 

[dpaanlka]

Is it possible to use it as a desktop when I'm at my desk (like with the lid closed)?

 

[RichP]

Is it possible to use it as a desktop when I'm at my desk (like with the lid closed)?

yup, as long as you have an external monitor and keyboard hooked up. I used mine like this (when I had it) for quite some.

Its a great machine, just, like any mac these days, load it with as much RAM as you can.

And no, the processor is soldered in, there are no performance upgrades.