I was going through eBay, looking for a good condition iMac G4 to add to my collection and came across something shocking: an unopened iMac G4 from 2003! It's a bit rich for my taste (and wallet) but I think it's very interesting. All she would need is a new CMOS battery, I assume, or you could save $5 keep her in the box. https://ebay.us/m/jcQ3Gc
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$100k iMac G4
- Thread starter markredf150
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Can you imagine the price tag if it was the 20" version? That is $100K for the 15" version. They are the most beautiful and balanced computer between form and function Apple has ever made. I have a dead 15" on my desk at home and it never ceases to impress me with the design. I will at some point try and replace the power supply and see if I can use it as a juke box with the original HK speakers that came with it. Really wish Apple would put this much thought into the iMac today.
Damn, that's still my favourite iMac design to date. I'd also do anything for them to bring back the metal keys they had on the PowerBook G4s of old!
I believe it was Luke Miani who has a video on YT where he took an M1 machine and stuffed it into a G4 iMac chassis, so there's hope that you could revive your 15 and make it usable again!
Non-Euclidean
macrumors 6502a
I did see that video, and a little above what I think I want to try. Now if the MacMini could fit directly in without a lot of fuss then I might be willing to try that. If I remember that video correctly he took the Mini apart to use components in the iMac base.
Lord Blackadder
macrumors P6
It's gone back up for $55k....
'Sealed' vintage electronics is a seriously rarified niche in computer collecting and it carries its own out-of-this world value structure. It sounds absolutely crazy to me, but in all fairness sealed 20+ year old PCs are undoubtedly quite rare finds. I'm not going to criticize people if that's what they want, but boy, you're going to pay for it!
It's also a bit different, from, say, a sealed vintage vinyl album. Those should keep (more or less) forever in their original state if stored properly. But, as we all know, the vast majority of vintage PCs have a CMOS battery and at least a couple electrolytic capacitors in them somewhere....eventually they will digest themselves if left sealed forever. This iMac is 'new' enough that I would guess the caps stand a good chance of still being intact. The battery could already have blown up though.
So this iMac is less the case of a super-rare sealed record and more like 200 year-old claret. Super cool, super rare, but if kept this way long enough it will eventually become unusable.
'Sealed' vintage electronics is a seriously rarified niche in computer collecting and it carries its own out-of-this world value structure. It sounds absolutely crazy to me, but in all fairness sealed 20+ year old PCs are undoubtedly quite rare finds. I'm not going to criticize people if that's what they want, but boy, you're going to pay for it!
It's also a bit different, from, say, a sealed vintage vinyl album. Those should keep (more or less) forever in their original state if stored properly. But, as we all know, the vast majority of vintage PCs have a CMOS battery and at least a couple electrolytic capacitors in them somewhere....eventually they will digest themselves if left sealed forever. This iMac is 'new' enough that I would guess the caps stand a good chance of still being intact. The battery could already have blown up though.
So this iMac is less the case of a super-rare sealed record and more like 200 year-old claret. Super cool, super rare, but if kept this way long enough it will eventually become unusable.