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Question: eMac

D

DaSchwartz

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 28, 2011
1
0
I was thinking about buying an eMac that already has 2GB of RAM installed, along with a 1.4Ghz processor. If I do, I think it'd be a fun project to completely replace everything in it and make it an up-to-date, speedy computer. I would probably need the replace the motherboard to do this though, correct? Is that very difficult? I don't mind spending hours doing this if I know it'll work, or will probably work.

I plan on having at least a 3Ghz processor, 6GB of RAM, a decent video card (1GB), and a wifi card. Is this possible?

I really would appreciate any info or tips I can get. Thanks.
 
A

AdrianK

macrumors 68020
Feb 19, 2011
2,230
2
DaSchwartz said:
Is this possible?
Click to expand...
Definitely not.

There just isn't the room. You might be able to fit the guts of a laptop in there (someone put a netbook mobo in an iMac G3 while back), but you can't go much beyond that.

Building your 3GHz rig in a regular case would make so much more sense. It would also mean that you aren't limited by the CRT with a lowly resolution of 1280*960.
 
NZed

NZed

macrumors 65816
Jan 24, 2011
1,136
1
Canada, Eh?
I also had a similar idea but instead, i was going to use an iMac G3 slot loading case and put my laptop parts in it, including the LCD.
 
A

AdrianK

macrumors 68020
Feb 19, 2011
2,230
2
NZed said:
I also had a similar idea but instead, i was going to use an iMac G3 slot loading case and put my laptop parts in it, including the LCD.
Click to expand...

Good point, didn't think about removing the LCD. I suppose that would make it possible, it's just that you'd need to find a way to mount the mobo since none of the stand-offs will line up.
 
NZed

NZed

macrumors 65816
Jan 24, 2011
1,136
1
Canada, Eh?
AdrianK said:
Good point, didn't think about removing the LCD. I suppose that would make it possible, it's just that you'd need to find a way to mount the mobo since none of the stand-offs will line up.
Click to expand...

It is possible as i have the dimensions to a 14.1" laptop screen. It fits the 15" iMac screen not perfectly but its nice.
Also, even though the iMac screen is 15", it is said(in Wikipedia) that only 14" is viewable.

Just use duct tape to patch the lcd to the iMac inside.
 
NZed

NZed

macrumors 65816
Jan 24, 2011
1,136
1
Canada, Eh?
zen.state said:
Even if you could easily do all these mods the CRT could go at any time.
Click to expand...

I can find empty cases on the net where the imac has no guts. So i dont worry and i believe ebay has them too(i found them on trademe.com a New Zealand site)
 
MacHamster68

MacHamster68

macrumors 68040
Sep 17, 2009
3,251
5
never change a running system ..and leave the little eMac's alone , they are the best and most reliable Mac's of all times ..the eMac 1.42 models , they will work nearly forever , when all those brandnew intel iMac's are long forgotten those eMac's and iMac G3's will still do their job ,
the lcd dies before a crt gets noticable signs of age

you are hard pushed anyway to find a non working eMac 1.42 , you got more luck with the 1.25/1/800/700 because some of those had bad caps inside ...
 
Last edited:
D

dandeco

macrumors 65816
Dec 5, 2008
1,182
992
Brockton, MA
DaSchwartz said:
I plan on having at least a 3Ghz processor, 6GB of RAM, a decent video card (1GB), and a wifi card. Is this possible?
Click to expand...

The Wi-Fi card is possible, but not the other stuff. Just get an AirPort Extreme card and you'll be all set. Did it with my eMac and it works perfectly, and it even seems to work much better than my brother's Dell 2.5 GHz Pentium 4 PC with 2.5 GB of RAM running Windows XP SP3! (My eMac is running Leopard 10.5.8.)
 
NZed

NZed

macrumors 65816
Jan 24, 2011
1,136
1
Canada, Eh?
I bet you could at least put in a single core 3Ghz in along with 2-4gb of RAM maxed. I dont think you could put in a decent GPU but maybe a low end or mid end GPU could fit. The wifi card is definitely possible but if you want more room, buy a wifi USB stick.
 
M

mutantteenager

macrumors 6502
Feb 26, 2006
258
0
Beware!

The CRT in the eMac holds a residual lethal charge. Make sure if you do open the case, you discharge the remaining charge thoroughly!

Either way there are better machines to give a brain transplant, like a G4/5 tower...
 
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