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WoW on iBook G4(know it's been asked search did not help!)

Xexis

Xexis

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 22, 2008
43
0
Everett, WA
Okay so on Craigslist I can get a iBook G4 fully loaded my only problem is the HDD 30GB ugh! :S But the other topic asking this question the thread starter tried it but did not respond after trying, google is so confused when you type in "iBook" with "WoW" or anything pertaining to the two it doesn't list what I need to find quite well. Now if you are going to say don't get it just for that, that is not the issue here.

I NEED a MAC so I can write my books and do Graphic Novel design basically scanning sketched images and shading them. web surking watching movies getting to know OS X cause I haven't been on a MAC since OS 8! :O And My windows HDDs are failing and also if I get a MAC nofricking viruses or spyware, I don't intend to fall victim to social engineering or pirating software. I have more uses for it then just WoW my wife and I seriously want to play in our room without the kids with two laptops.

Here is the craigslist link.
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/sys/1615098101.html
 
Mac System Requirements via Google

OS:
Mac OS X 10.4.11 or newer
Minimum processor: PowerPC G5 1.6 GHz or Intel Core Duo processor
Recommended: Intel 1.8GHz processor or better

Memory:
Minimum: 1 GB RAM
Recommended: 2 GB RAM

Video:
Minimum: 3D graphics processor with Hardware Transform and Lighting with 64 MB VRAM Such as an ATI Radeon 9600 or NVIDIA GeForce Ti 4600 class card or better
Recommended: 3D graphics processor with Vertex and Pixel Shader capability with 128 MB VRAM Such as an ATI Radeon X1600 or NVIDIA 7600 class card or better


Those specs say, that you can't run WoW on an iBook with a G4 CPU.
You should get 2006 MacBooks for 400€ if you look for them.
 
WoW on G4's
You may find (surprisingly) that WoW actually performs better on the later iBook G4 so long as it has a Radeon 9200/9550, compared to an early Intel Macbook which has the godawful GMA 950.
 
Xexis said:
Okay so on Craigslist I can get a iBook G4 fully loaded my only problem is the HDD 30GB ugh! :S But the other topic asking this question the thread starter tried it but did not respond after trying, google is so confused when you type in "iBook" with "WoW" or anything pertaining to the two it doesn't list what I need to find quite well. Now if you are going to say don't get it just for that, that is not the issue here.

I NEED a MAC so I can write my books and do Graphic Novel design basically scanning sketched images and shading them. web surking watching movies getting to know OS X cause I haven't been on a MAC since OS 8! :O And My windows HDDs are failing and also if I get a MAC nofricking viruses or spyware, I don't intend to fall victim to social engineering or pirating software. I have more uses for it then just WoW my wife and I seriously want to play in our room without the kids with two laptops.

Here is the craigslist link.
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/sys/1615098101.html
Click to expand...

I think that before you do anything you need to make sure to use spell check in your graphic novel. The G4, while can still be a good chip for doing web surfing, blogging email and a few small video edits with iMovie is way out of date and if you could run WoW it would do so very slowly. And please, its Mac not MAC, MAC is another term: Media Access Control
 
spinnerlys said:
Mac System Requirements via Google

OS:
Mac OS X 10.4.11 or newer
Minimum processor: PowerPC G5 1.6 GHz or Intel Core Duo processor
Recommended: Intel 1.8GHz processor or better

Memory:
Minimum: 1 GB RAM
Recommended: 2 GB RAM

Video:
Minimum: 3D graphics processor with Hardware Transform and Lighting with 64 MB VRAM Such as an ATI Radeon 9600 or NVIDIA GeForce Ti 4600 class card or better
Recommended: 3D graphics processor with Vertex and Pixel Shader capability with 128 MB VRAM Such as an ATI Radeon X1600 or NVIDIA 7600 class card or better


Those specs say, that you can't run WoW on an iBook with a G4 CPU.
You should get 2006 MacBooks for 400€ if you look for them.
Click to expand...
Seems they have changed from the last time I read them! From what I read on a fifteen page topic on the official forums they still test WoW on 10.3.X configuration but yes I would prefer a Powerbook over the iBook.
 
I play occasionally on a powerbook G4 with no problems. The only downside is that I get 3-5 fps in a city and 8 fps everywhere else with graphics set to minimum. I can't complain though because I'm able to play when on the road but I would not want it to be my primary WoW machine.
 
Plutonius said:
I play occasionally on a powerbook G4 with no problems. The only downside is that I get 3-5 fps in a city and 8 fps everywhere else with graphics set to minimum. I can't complain though because I'm able to play when on the road but I would not want it to be my primary WoW machine.
Click to expand...

Same. I used to play wow on a similarly spec'd mac mini, and it wasn't anything great, but it worked. Of course Blizz has upped the requirements since then I think...But if they haven't, then it will still work.
 
You are aware that WoW alone takes ~15GB?
With system + WoW your 30GB HD will be full.

Btw, WoW has because a totally different beast over the years.
It's a lot slower than it used to be and it's pretty much unplayable on my iMac (20" G5 1.8GHz nvidia5200),
where as it used to play almost fluently on it when WoW came out!

My brother lvled from 1-60 on a PowerMac G4@450Mhz with a geforce 4mx and 756mb ram
 
Xexis said:
Seems they have changed from the last time I read them! From what I read on a fifteen page topic on the official forums they still test WoW on 10.3.X configuration but yes I would prefer a Powerbook over the iBook.
Click to expand...

They changed with every addon, since every addon made the game look better. With the latest, Wrath of the Lich King, you won't get an enjoyable experience on any G4 'Book, not even the 1,67 ghz ones with the 128 mb gfx card. Believe me - I had one of those.
 
Xexis said:
if I get a MAC nofricking viruses or spyware, I don't intend to fall victim to social engineering or pirating software.
Click to expand...

a Mac can't make you invulnerable to social engineering! They cant strip people of human nature, you could be manipulated by scams what ever computer you use! :p
 
G4's and Wow

My first WoW experience was on my 1.5 PowerBook G4, It ran pretty well back a year and a half ago.

I then got a uniMacBook Pro, which then became my main machine, but I do also have a MMD Dual 1.25 G4 and Dual 1.8 G5, and although WoW will start up... wotlk is completely out of the question, and cities are a no-go!

Even in Dalaran my uni 2.4 gets a frame rate of 3-13...

If your gonna be wow'n it up for extended periods of time... Intel or bust...
 
You can run it min. settings fine. Don't have high expectations though. (I still play it on a G4 occationally)
 
So I got the iBook G4 and WoW plays quite all right to me at least and the3 person who sold it to me bought me carrying case installed all the extra ram and installed MS office 04 he also bought a new charger for me because the old one was short circuiting and he updated all software to boot! For a craigslist sale he was very very helpful he even gave me $20 back from my offer and told my three year old and myself to go have lunch at McDonald's. He called me later too to check on the power adapter and if wasn't charging till he said take the battery out then put it back it. That actually fixed it. battery holds a three hour charge to boot!
 
I have an iBook G4 from mid-2005. My specs:

PowerPC G4 1.42GHz
1.5GB RAM (DDR PC3200)
ATI Mobility Radeon 9550 (32MB)

My HDD is larger - says it's 55 GB so I imagine this is a 60 GB HDD that lost a little due to the HFS+ formatting. I don't have WOW installed currently, but I remember that the game installed will take up around 10-15 GB, and if you wanted to download the installer from the Blizzard Website in lieu of using the installation CD/DVDs, you're looking at another 10 GB.

If you have to pursue this route, I really suggest an external drive - even a cheapo 150-250GB one - just to use in a pinch.

That being said, reference the initial thread, I have been able to play WOW fine on this Mac with a few exceptions:

1. I first noticed some slowdowns in 40-man raid content in 2005ish within Blackwing Lair's suppression room, most likely because although the polygons and textures were more simple, there were like 200 mobs in the room, plus the textures from all the players themselves.

2. Aside from that, the game experience was fine, up until WOTLK expansion pack.

3. Upon installation of LK, I was told my iBook is below minimum requirements, but you can tell it to install anyway.

4. The only time I found that the iBook could not perform, even on the lowest graphics settings, was while I was in high-populations areas. This includes the city of Dalaran, the city of Ironforge, Wintergrasp during a battle, and 25-man raid content, such as Eye of Eternity.

Other than that, I've had no problems whatsoever with my iBook in WOW and would think the same, assuming you have similar specs.
 
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