Buying Titanium Apple PowerBook G4 (15.2", 800MHz, 40GB) on eBay for $170?

I have the chance to buy a usable PowerBook G4 on eBay for $170. I just started teaching (high school Science) and would like a inexpensive laptop that if damaged/stolen is not heartbreaking. At this price I figure it would be worth it, but just want a second opinion. I have 23hrs left to accept the second chance deal since I was highest bidder, but did not hit the reserve price.
Here are the specs on it as presented on eBay:
Item specifics - Apple Laptops
Condition:
Seller refurbished: An item that has been restored to working order by the eBay seller or a third party not approved by the manufacturer. This means the item has been inspected, cleaned, and repaired to full working order and is in excellent condition. This item may or may not be in original packaging. See the seller’s listing for full details.
Processor Type: PowerPC G4
Product Family: PowerBook
Processor Speed (per Core): 1 GHz
Screen Size: 15 inch
Processor Configuration: --
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.4, Tiger
Memory (RAM): 512 MB
Primary Drive: DVD+/-RW/CD-RW
Hard Drive Capacity: 40 GB
Detailed item info
Product Identifiers
Manufacturer Apple
Model PowerBook G4
MPN K1201LL/A
UPC 718908452387
Processor
Processor Type PowerPC G4
Processor Manufacturer Motorola
Processor Speed 800 MHz
Motherboard
Bus Speed 133 MHz
Display
Display Tech TFT Active Matrix
Display Size 15.2 in.
Display Max. Resolution 1280 x 854
Hard Drive
Hard Drive Capacity 40 GB
Storage Controller Type IDE
Memory
Installed RAM 512 MB
RAM Technology SDRAM
Max Supported RAM 1 GB
Installed Cache Memory 1024 KB
CD / DVD
CD / DVD Type CD-RW/DVD-ROM
Optical Drive Read Speed 24x (CD), 8x (DVD)
Optical Drive Write Speed 8x (CD)
Video
Installed Video Memory 32 MB
Audio
Audio Output Type Sound card
Audio Input Type Microphone
Modem
Modem Type Fax / Modem
Analog Modulation Protocol ITU V.90, K56Flex
Networking
Networking Type Network Adapter
Data Link Protocol Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b
Battery
Battery Run Time 5 Hours
Battery Technology Lithium ion
Dimensions
Depth 9.5 in.
Height 1.02 in.
Width 13.44 in.
Miscellaneous
Input Method Keyboard, Trackpad
Operating System Apple MacOS X, Apple MacOS X 10.1
Color LCD screen 1280x854 resolution
Built in Wireless Airport
Thanks!!!

Hi sp, and welcome to Apple Discussions.
It really depends on what you want to use it for. 10.5 is the highest OS you can put on it, and I would not recommend it. As has been stated, a 40GB HD is very small; figure $50-$60 to upgrade that if you do it yourself. More RAM would be good to max out at 1GB, which probably means buying 2 512 modules (there are probably 2 256MB modules in there now, and only 2 slots). VRAM also very low by today's standards, and cannot be upgraded. Processor very slow by today's standards. All that being said, it's still a usable computer depending on what you want to do with it. Basic word processing, email, spreadsheets, web surfing (not streaming video) should all be fine.
Two things to check:
Make sure you get the original install discs, and the Tiger install disc.
Make sure the hinges are good. TiBooks are infamous for hinges failing.

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Message was edited by: Fausto Pena

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Hey, where do you get the version for OSX 10.4.11? All I can find is for 10.5.2 or later.
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Buying Titanium Apple PowerBook G4 (15.2", 800MHz, 40GB) on eBay for $170?

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