i'd like input on the best way to approach this possible project. i have a pile of parts from an ibook g3 that died due to the graphics card frying itself (video output completely ceased to work) and an ibook g4 that has been stripped of its case. i might possibly need something more powerful than my wallstreet for work, so i'm debating what to do with the parts. i could get a dead 12" ibook g4 to put the board from mine into (my g4 is a 14" and my g3 is a 12") and install the casing from the g3 onto it since i put hours of work into making it clear. the other thing i could do is simply get another g3 board and run the risk with the graphics card again. or, most simply, i could get a clamshell ibook and toss my wallstreet and all the ibook parts since the work laptop needs to handle some abuse. thoughts?
iBook boards. The 12" and 14" iBook G4 boards are the same, except for that pesky battery connector - with some creative soldering - you may be able to make a 14" board work in a 12" - and that is assuming that your 14" is from the same revision as the 12". (late 03 and early 04 models are the same inside - late 04 and mid 05 are completely different beasties)
As for putting the board from a g4 into a g3 ... it'll work - as long as you have the appropriate g4 frame, heatsink, ribbon cables, lvds cable, fan, dc-in board, top case, etc. The display housing and possibly the bottom case will work on a g4 from a g3.
How much of the g4 iBook do you have? (i.e. which parts) Knowing this will better assist us in giving you guidance.
I'd say your best bet is to get a new logic board for your g3 or to get a 12" iBook G4 with a cracked lcd - the lcd panel from your 12" g3 will work with a 12" g4. (the panel works in 12" Ai PBG4's too!)
the g4 is one of the first ones made. i have all the parts as far as i know (unless a screw became lost from my diagrams like what happened with one screw for the g3). the g4 was stripped of the case simply because the screen casing was destroyed by goof off, and then the trackpad section cracked later on, so the case is total crap. as far as i know, the innards are still good apart from the microphone connector having ripped off the board (i'd need to see a picture of one installed to make sure i reinstall it the right way). this all just suddenly went up in the air with the possibility of me getting a desktop machine at work to do much of my work, but a laptop that's smaller and more powerful than my wallstreet would still be nice.
i found one good candidate with a good case and a completely destroyed screen on ebay for cheap. the price is good, but the shipping is HORRENDOUS! i'll see what the price is nearer to the end of the auction and see if i'm willing to bother with it for the shipping charges.
My current laptop - a 14" iBook G4 1.33 came as a package deal - it came with a cracked lcd and a 1.0 ghz 14" iBook G4 that wasn't powering on. I managed to make the 1.33 whole, and got bored with the 1.0 - I shimmed the board, removed the display assembly (hinge, cables, and all) used the airport antenna from a clamshell (works with airport extreme cards) and put it into an old tv cabinet with a 17" crt. It's got Marine Aquarium on it and is used for the odd bittorrent here and there.
well, the price for the g4 candidate skyrocketed after two more bids. ridiculous.... i've found a g3 with no lcd assembly to speak of, and that one looks good. it's only 500mhz, but i don't need an insanely powerful machine for what i do, and it's certainly smaller and faster than my wallstreet.