Imac G3 options?

I'm not sure what model iMac G3 you have but the later ones could support an internal Airport (802.11b) card in them. You'll have to check your model number to see if it's compatible.

My 400mhz iMac G3 with I think 640mb of RAM did Tiger pretty decently. It's not a speed demon (of course) but it ran it solidly.

It would make a very good secondary, kids computer, or something along those lines. A lot of people use older Macs as iTunes media servers.. that's another option. You could also put OS 9 on it and just load up on classic games.

KurtangleTN said:

You could also put OS 9 on it and just load up on classic games.

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omg i never thought about that, a friend gave me a G5 (i think don't remember)
I haven't really used it much, aside from installing the latest OS I could get on it. I have no real use for it, I'm always on my MBP.

That would be pretty cool, if it just played classic games, people would be so impressed when they come over; "OMG IS THAT ORGAN TRAIL!?"

accessoriesguy said:

omg i never thought about that, a friend gave me a G5 (i think don't remember)
I haven't really used it much, aside from installing the latest OS I could get on it. I have no real use for it, I'm always on my MBP.

That would be pretty cool, if it just played classic games, people would be so impressed when they come over; "OMG IS THAT ORGAN TRAIL!?"

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The G5s have a catch... They can't natively boot OS 9. You'd have to run Classic under OS X, which isn't as compatible. Old games I've had specific issues with under Classic.

As mentioned above, I'd load OS 9 on it and use it for old games. You could also set it up as a digital picture frame or put it in a common area for web browsing or checking e-mail.

Lol :d

walterwashere said:

Thanks! I think I have the first version out, with a whopping 333mhz processor and nice 6gb hard drive. I'm currently on the hunt for a tv tuner for it. I think i'll use it for some of my media.

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That's the Rev C iMac. Rev A was 233 MHz (Bondi Blue only), Rev B 266 Mhz (Bondi Blue only), and Rev C 333 MHz (5 fruit colors).

You might be able to get a TV tuner that's compatible, but you won't get it to play at real time, or at all if you live in the US. You won't get real time video because it would have to connect via USB 1.1, which doesn't have enough bandwidth for standard definition video. If you're in the US, you won't get one to work at all because all compatible TV tuners would be analog, and the US has switched completely to digital broadcasts.

I think loading up some old, classic games is an awesome idea.

KurtangleTN said:

...an internal Airport (802.11b) card in them...

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this is 11mbit/s and the tray-iMacs do not have an airport slot, but you can add a WLAN-USB-dongle (any kind hama, D-Link, etc.), which will have the same speed via USB1, I do not know if bluetooth-USB-sticks work, too.
I would rather use the ethernet port 10/100Base-T, though.

Or you could gut it out completely and install PC-parts and a flat TFT in it

That machine will run Diablo II, Myth: The Fallen Lords/Myth II: Soulblighter and Unreal Tournament like a champ. Buy these vintage classics on ebay and get gaming!

I actually got used to the hockey puck mouse, but just about nobody else did.

These are great for word processing!

Lord Blackadder said:

That machine will run Diablo II, Myth: The Fallen Lords/Myth II: Soulblighter and Unreal Tournament like a champ. Buy these vintage classics on ebay and get gaming!

I actually got used to the hockey puck mouse, but just about nobody else did.

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Yea, iMacs make perfect old computer gaming machines.
When Macintosh Garden isn't offline check them out, they got tons of older Mac games!

If your willing to pull it apart you could do something like i did, the orig thread is here, unfortunately Macgarden is down atm

those imacs make pretty awesome classic gaming comps, i just took mine one step further

am on one now:

hey guess what: I am on a imac g3 right now. with 9.2.2

1gb ram.
400mhz.

it can load Tiger...slowly.

I prefer native boot of 9.2.2

it does many things...but not F player. ...or 2nd gen and up...ipods.

browser = classilla.
also can get iText, aDock, and After Dark.
tons of apps and games...available at Macintosh Garden.
but EA Games took down Old School Sim City.

We must all unite against EA Games ...and their cats.
but Amiga's Cats are okay.

In-Correct said:

hey guess what: I am on a imac g3 right now. with 9.2.2

1gb ram.
400mhz.

it can load Tiger...slowly.

I prefer native boot of 9.2.2

it does many things...but not F player. ...or 2nd gen and up...ipods.

browser = classilla.
also can get iText, aDock, and After Dark.
tons of apps and games...available at Macintosh Garden.
but EA Games took down Old School Sim City.

We must all unite against EA Games ...and their cats.
but Amiga's Cats are okay.

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I only have OS 9 on one of my g3 imacs but boy it is fast!!!

The built-in speakers are great. iMac G3s make excellent jukeboxes.

They're fanless, so the only real noise in them is from the hard drives. Stick a new, quiet (but less than 127GB!) hard drive in one, and you've got a nice little jukebox.

I have two iMac G3s used like this: one in the living room, one in the bedroom. The one in the bedroom turns on every (weekday) morning at 7AM, opens VLC and starts playing a German radio station. It's a good way to wake up.

You can do exactly the same on the iMac G3 as you can on a brandnew iMac i7 , only real difference will be slower boottimes(ide ssd's help a lot to close that gap), older OS TIGER and OS9.2.2, older versions of the same app's
i own now 6 of them
even fitted superdrives inside3 of them the others only with dvd drives, so burning and watching dvd's are possible too
i fitted in 2 of them ide ssd's 64GB which even makes a huge improvement, the original drives i use for backup via firewire

but for me the most important thing is: its a real Mac with PPC processor not just a PC made by Apple and it shows APPLE could produce high quality in the past that lasts more then 10 years

but for me the most important thing is: its a real Mac with PPC processor not just a PC made by Apple

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The best line I have ever read.

tom vilsack said:

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Posts like this are petty, childish and don't help the original poster at all. He didn't ask for some goofy joke or your limited view of PowerPC hardware.

To the OP:

I can't tell you how you should use a computer but it's easy to add wifi and bluetooth via cheap usb options out there.

Nameci said:

The best line I have ever read.

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I like it too.

Just did this today with my old broken emac! Salvaged the HDD and the RAM though.



But in all seriousness, I use my blueberry G3 for SC1, Diablo 2 and Nanosaur!

I still have a Strawberry Red iMac Rev. C 333MHz OS8.6 and I tend to use it for older games. I also let my young niece and nephews use it for their play typing and the usual Nanosaur game.

Problem is, these iMacs are CRTs, so it wouldn't be efficant to have them as a digital picture frame or something along those lines, as they can be quite loud, plus they'd drain a ton of electricity...

OS9 for games off Macintosh Garden would be a great use for it. Thats what I use my iBook G3 for

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joepunk said:

I still have a Strawberry Red iMac Rev. C 333MHz OS8.6 and I tend to use it for older games. I also let my young niece and nephews use it for their play typing and the usual Nanosaur game.

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Oh yeah, those computers come loaded up with Nanasour, Bugdom and Cro-Mag-Rally don't they? I remember playing those when I was 8 or 9

mrsir2009 said:

Problem is, these iMacs are CRTs, so it wouldn't be efficant to have them as a digital picture frame or something along those lines, as they can be quite loud, plus they'd drain a ton of electricity...

OS9 for games off Macintosh Garden would be a great use for it. Thats what I use my iBook G3 for

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Oh yeah, those computers come loaded up with Nanasour, Bugdom and Cro-Mag-Rally don't they? I remember playing those when I was 8 or 9

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if its a slot loading iMac G3 it will emit less noise with quiet harddrive fitted , in one of mine a i have a ssd inside and it is absolute silent .
A tray loader of course because those have a fan inside will be about as loud as a current iMac 21" or 27".


For draining electricity ...around the figures of a normal lightbulb 60-100watt and the iMac G3 is somewhere in between around 85-90 watt average a bit more if you rip a dvd and a bit less if its just looking up some website with flash content disabled and near no graphical content (e.g.pictures), for example looking up the MacRumors forum