iMac G3 upgrades

[MagicBez]

Hi there,

I recently got one of these for free

http://www.lowendmac.com/imacs/350.html

and am looking to pimp it out, max the ram a little and maybe HDD and CD-Rom->dvd upgrade. Where is a good place in the UK to get some parts, second hand is cool. Looking to do it all as cheaply as possible. The RAM and HDD is most important, DVD isn't really necessary but would be nice.

I looked into eBay and Crucial for RAM so far. But eBay has little over the 128Mb size range and crucial is expensive. I already have a 256 in there with a free slot left over.

HDD i gather anyting under 128Gb will work, over that will need partitioning? Would be nice to get something around the 30-40Gb mark 7400RPM I guess but this thing runs pretty hto anyway. Is there anything I can do about that heat?

Thanks in advance for the help.

[aquajet]

HDD i gather anyting under 128Gb will work, over that will need partitioning? Would be nice to get something around the 30-40Gb mark 7400RPM I guess but this thing runs pretty hto anyway. Is there anything I can do about that heat?

Your iMac will recognize up to 137 GB, partitioned or not. So look for something 120 gb or smaller.

These machines have never had any heat-related issues, so no worries there.

I've always purchased my memory from 18004memory.com. They're consistently among the lowest-priced outlets and guarantee Mac compatibility.

[madmax_2069]

i got the 256mb stick from here that is in my Beige G3 AIO its fast (PC100 CL2) and cheap
http://www.datamem.com/memory_select_frame.asp_Q_C_E_1318-G3_BW300

[MagicBez]

I'll have to check those out, any specifically in the UK though?

I assume any 168pin, SD RAM, PC100 chips 512 and under will be fine. Like I say I currently have 256, any reason to not get a 512 in there? Also should I match the Latency of the previous chip (if so does it tell me in system profiler what the Latency is?) Should the RAM be EEC or not? I can't see any answers to this around.

[MagicBez]

Any problems with these?

HDD - http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/99727

RAM - http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1861739837.1158312059@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccceaddilflijjecflgceggdhhmdgmi.0&page=Product&sku=619864&fm=15&sm=0&tm=undefined&tabIndex=1

(might not work as link req session i think, product is

Features for this VALUE PC100

- Value 256MB PC100 SDRAM Memory
- 100 MHz Memory Speed
- 168 pin Module Configuration
- Non-ECC

No further info, single sided?)


Also, any way I can get airport/bluetooth working on this without spending too much. I read somewhere that airport cards are incompatible with this system - correct?

[Queso]

How about one of these (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/G3-Imac-Mac-500MHZ-System-Logic-Main-Mother-Board-w-CPU_W0QQitemZ230028797428QQihZ013QQcategoryZ25439QQssPageNameZWD2VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)? It will up the speed, double the VRAM and add two firewire ports.

[MagicBez]

Just been looking around, seems to me I have a little problem. I have a 400Mhz indigo G3 which according to this site could be one of two models.

http://www.galaxyhp.com/ieMac/notes_iemac.html#indig

is there a way to tell without taking the bottom casing off which one it is. Anything distinctive like screw placements, ports, etc etc.

Thanks

[Sawtoothdude]

www.sonnettech.com has an upgrade for i beleive all G3 iMacs "Harmoni" or something like that.

[aquajet]

www.sonnettech.com has an upgrade for i beleive all G3 iMacs "Harmoni" or something like that.

That upgrade is for tray-loading iMacs. The 350 is slot-loading.

[Sawtoothdude]

oooh sorry about that i thought the older model of the harmoni could use more of them.