Apple PowerBook 5300CS (M3825LL/A) Mac Notebook
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Powerbook for reduced budgets
Pros
Cheap laptop on the secondary market
Cons
Slow networking; no CD available; a poor cousin of the line.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Buy one if you get it really cheap. It makes a good data bucket. If your expectations are low enough, you will be satisfied.
Do you want a Powerbook to do some word processing, spreadsheet work and a bit of web browsing/emailing? Are you on a pauper (or student) budget?
If so, the much maligned Powerbook 5300 series may be a deal to grab. Because of the dramatic fall in prices for faster G3/G3 Powerbooks, 5300's are available on eBay and elsewhere for as little as a hundred bucks..
Is this too good to be true? Before you make a decision, there are some facts to take in account:
- Gas Guzzler: Battery life is between one and three hours, at best. I have seen 5300 batteries liquidated at 3/$39 (new, long time in the warehouse) so this may not be as bad as it looks;
- Slow Internet: The 5300 family suffers for design flaws that slows down any networking function;
- Slow computer: Forget about playing Starcraft or Diablo on this one! The 603 processor would be sufficient to most kind of work, but again, a design flaw makes this a much slower computer than what could have been;
- Lack of expandability: No CD drive available for these bays. There was a ZIP drive designed for it. Limited video option - Focus and others made accelerator cards , but there are some OS compatibility issues. The Focus Lapiscolor MV-8/MV-16 doubled as a 10BaseT networking card). Otherwise. the factory model supports a 16-bits external monitor.
- Screen: The 16-bits (Thousands of colors) 10.4" LCD screen is a bit hard on the eyes. The greyscale version (5300, no C or CS) is even worse - but runs faster because greyscale displays make less demands on the processor.
- Limited RAM: 16MB on board, maximum of 64MB
- OS Version: Can work with OS up to 9.1 - but I would not do that if I were you! OS 9 takes too much processing power. I found 8.1 (fastest), or 8.6 (for the extra features) to be ideal.
- Wireless: Works fine with an Orinoco/Lucent card. I have not tried an Airport card. Two Type II (or one Type III) PC Cards slots are available.
- Apple extended repair plan: There has been two repair extensions on these models (NOT "recalls"). Apple's web site will show you how to verify if yours has received the proper upgrades.
As well, Apple, previously tried to pull these models off the market by offering attractive trade-in plans on the purchase of new models: Your old $150 Powerbook 5300 may become a $500 credit on a new G4 if Apple reinstates such a plan again...
If so, the much maligned Powerbook 5300 series may be a deal to grab. Because of the dramatic fall in prices for faster G3/G3 Powerbooks, 5300's are available on eBay and elsewhere for as little as a hundred bucks..
Is this too good to be true? Before you make a decision, there are some facts to take in account:
- Gas Guzzler: Battery life is between one and three hours, at best. I have seen 5300 batteries liquidated at 3/$39 (new, long time in the warehouse) so this may not be as bad as it looks;
- Slow Internet: The 5300 family suffers for design flaws that slows down any networking function;
- Slow computer: Forget about playing Starcraft or Diablo on this one! The 603 processor would be sufficient to most kind of work, but again, a design flaw makes this a much slower computer than what could have been;
- Lack of expandability: No CD drive available for these bays. There was a ZIP drive designed for it. Limited video option - Focus and others made accelerator cards , but there are some OS compatibility issues. The Focus Lapiscolor MV-8/MV-16 doubled as a 10BaseT networking card). Otherwise. the factory model supports a 16-bits external monitor.
- Screen: The 16-bits (Thousands of colors) 10.4" LCD screen is a bit hard on the eyes. The greyscale version (5300, no C or CS) is even worse - but runs faster because greyscale displays make less demands on the processor.
- Limited RAM: 16MB on board, maximum of 64MB
- OS Version: Can work with OS up to 9.1 - but I would not do that if I were you! OS 9 takes too much processing power. I found 8.1 (fastest), or 8.6 (for the extra features) to be ideal.
- Wireless: Works fine with an Orinoco/Lucent card. I have not tried an Airport card. Two Type II (or one Type III) PC Cards slots are available.
- Apple extended repair plan: There has been two repair extensions on these models (NOT "recalls"). Apple's web site will show you how to verify if yours has received the proper upgrades.
As well, Apple, previously tried to pull these models off the market by offering attractive trade-in plans on the purchase of new models: Your old $150 Powerbook 5300 may become a $500 credit on a new G4 if Apple reinstates such a plan again...
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