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Buying a classic iMac G3

L

Leite28

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 19, 2013
10
0
Portugal
Hi there,

Me and a friend of mine are big fans of Apple and we are planning to buy 2 iMacs G3 from 98, the first model. I wanted to know what we should look when buying one of these, since there are 4 up to sale and we want to get the betters.

Also, is 30€ a good deal for a machine like these? We are buying then to a photography studio, so we hope they are fully upgraded and they come with original mouse, keyboard and Apple puck mouse.

Cheers! 
 
I wouldn't pay anything for 15 year old devices.

You wrote: "we hope they are fully upgraded and they come with original mouse, keyboard and Apple puck mouse."

Do you expect to use them at your business? If yes, buy some iPads, MacBook Air, or current iMacs instead.


Leite28 said:
Hi there,

Me and a friend of mine are big fans of Apple and we are planning to buy 2 iMacs G3 from 98, the first model. I wanted to know what we should look when buying one of these, since there are 4 up to sale and we want to get the betters.

Also, is 30€ a good deal for a machine like these? We are buying then to a photography studio, so we hope they are fully upgraded and they come with original mouse, keyboard and Apple puck mouse.

Cheers! 
Click to expand...
 
Consultant said:
I wouldn't pay anything for 15 year old devices.

You wrote: "we hope they are fully upgraded and they come with original mouse, keyboard and Apple puck mouse."

Do you expect to use them at your business? If yes, buy some iPads, MacBook Air, or current iMacs instead.
Click to expand...

We are buying the iMacs for what they are and for what they represent and for their history, not for performance.

They will be just for us to explore the older days of Apple and to have it as a collectors item, since it was the computer that saved Apple back in the 90s and the first Apple product Ive designed with Steve.
 
For collectors purposes....

you have to look at leas on:

-Medium to excelente cosmetic shape

-Original accessories (keyboards, mouses)

30 euros are a hard to discuss price for 15-year old tech. For your information, a guy some months ago tried to sell me a 2000 iMac model for $50, so figure....

:):apple:
 
phoenixsan said:
you have to look at leas on:

-Medium to excelente cosmetic shape

-Original accessories (keyboards, mouses)

30 euros are a hard to discuss price for 15-year old tech. For your information, a guy some months ago tried to sell me a 2000 iMac model for $50, so figure....

:):apple:
Click to expand...

Macs here in Portugal are super overpriced because they are still seen as a premium item exclusive to the rich. I saw an indigo iMac on OLX - kinda our equivalent to Craigslist - for 250€! I've also seen a iBook G4 with the palm rests cracked and some screen issues (the seller said it sometimes flickered) for 200€.

The sellers says they only have some scratches ate the back because they were stored against a wall, but the scratches, not having CDs and the fact that one of the keyboards is in bad shape are 3 good reasons for us to try lowering the price. ;)
 
Things to look out for are blown caps....especially in the PSU areas...if you are fairly handy with a soldering gun, you can replace them, and parts are still fairly easy to obtain....I love the idea of resurrecting the old Macs and just wish I had the space and time to do it myself....Post some pictures as you go..:)
 
Macman45 said:
Things to look out for are blown caps....especially in the PSU areas...if you are fairly handy with a soldering gun, you can replace them, and parts are still fairly easy to obtain....I love the idea of resurrecting the old Macs and just wish I had the space and time to do it myself....Post some pictures as you go..:)
Click to expand...

I hope it doesn't gives me any problems, I still have a G5 Quad with a problematic LCS to fix… :rolleyes: Thanks! He's also a user here, so we'll post pics of the new addition to our collections.

This is only one of my wish list:
  • Macintosh 128k
  • iMac G3
  • iBook G3 Clamshell
  • PowerMac G3 - first Mac I used
  • Power Mac G4 Cube
  • iMac 1st gen Intel 20" - the first Mac that I saw and that started it all
  • White MacBook
 
Leite28 said:
I hope it doesn't gives me any problems, I still have a G5 Quad with a problematic LCS to fix… :rolleyes: Thanks! He's also a user here, so we'll post pics of the new addition to our collections.

This is only one of my wish list:
  • Macintosh 128k
  • iMac G3
  • iBook G3 Clamshell
  • PowerMac G3 - first Mac I used
  • Power Mac G4 Cube
  • iMac 1st gen Intel 20" - the first Mac that I saw and that started it all
  • White MacBook
Click to expand...


Super jealous! One day I will start a collection...I look forward to the pictures!
 
Macman45 said:
Super jealous! One day I will start a collection...I look forward to the pictures!
Click to expand...

I'm starting mine now, the G3 is the first Mac that I'm buying just for that purpose. I hope it's a rev. A, that would be a hell of a start! :D

I had a teacher who once told me she had a Macintosh at college and that she had kept it in the attic. Later this year I want to get her contact so I can negotiate with her a good price for the Mac. (and by good price I mean SUPER cheap)
 
Leite28 said:
I'm starting mine now, the G3 is the first Mac that I'm buying just for that purpose. I hope it's a rev. A, that would be a hell of a start! :D

I had a teacher who once told me she had a Macintosh at college and that she had kept it in the attic. Later this year I want to get her contact so I can negotiate with her a good price for the Mac. (and by good price I mean SUPER cheap)
Click to expand...

You'd be amazed at what folks on the board have found in attics / storerooms...Good luck!:)
 
Leite28 said:
Macs here in Portugal are super overpriced because they are still seen as a premium item exclusive to the rich. I saw an indigo iMac on OLX - kinda our equivalent to Craigslist - for 250€! I've also seen a iBook G4 with the palm rests cracked and some screen issues (the seller said it sometimes flickered) for 200€.

The sellers says they only have some scratches ate the back because they were stored against a wall, but the scratches, not having CDs and the fact that one of the keyboards is in bad shape are 3 good reasons for us to try lowering the price. ;)
Click to expand...

People can list anything for any price. Doesn't mean it's going to sell.

These are virtually free 10 years ago in the US:
iMac G3
iBook G3 Clamshell
PowerMac G3

The others were inexpensive at that time too. Now they'll be harder to find.
 
Buying a classic iMac G3

Consultant said:
People can list anything for any price. Doesn't mean it's going to sell.

These are virtually free 10 years ago in the US:
iMac G3
iBook G3 Clamshell
PowerMac G3

The others were inexpensive at that time too. Now they'll be harder to find.
Click to expand...

I know, but they really believe that's the right price and they almost feel offended when you try to say that they are wrong. I've also seen iBooks being sold as MacBooks and Power Macs G5 being sold as Mac Pros.

Well, I guess that there are some people less tech savy that might get tricked and believe in them..

lannister80 said:
I threw away/recycled one of these about a year ago. No regrets!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Macintosh_G3#All-In-One
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac_g3/specs/powermac_g3_233_aio.html

It wouldn't boot anyway, the upgraded processor I bought for it died and I couldn't find the original ZIF card, probably got thrown away. C'est la vie!
Click to expand...

If they had CPU problems maybe that was the better choice. Although you could have done some crazy case mods, like an aquarium or a hackintosh. ;)
 
u8u8erut.jpg


Here it is! First gen iMac G3 rev. B, running Mac OS 8.6! :)
 
Cute,
Also add the iMac lamp to your wishlist. IMO a bit weird but totally fantastic engineered device! I got a like new looking one with Firewire iSight and translucent speakers for 70€. It now acts as my voip telephone /itunes machine as Skype still runs awesome on it.
 
I just got my Graphite (for $20), popped in a hard drive and 512 mb ram , installed Tiger , what an amazing machine , I love it .
Also hooked it to a LCD monitor , the old CRT is a pain on the eyes :)
 
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