Considering buying an iMac g3...questions...

[Luigi239]

Hey ya'll. Im considering buying an old iMac 333mhz G3, with 64mb ram.

It currently has OS 8.6 on it. Will that run ok with the current specs? I plan on upgrading the ram to 256, and then putting either Jaguar or Panther on it. (which would you recomend, or will they both suck?)

Also for the internet, I know that it has an eathernet port on it. But, is there any way I could get an airport card for it? If so, where, and how much?

Thanks

 

[Eraserhead]

airport might be possible, I can't remember though the card will cost like $100, so your probably better using a Wireless router/bridge instead.

Panther is perfectly good, it's like Tiger without some of the bells and whistles.

I would get at least 512MB RAM for OS X if you can, it will run better but 64MB should be OK for 8.6 (though not amazing), if it's anything like the 1G iMac (233Mhz) you'll have to practically dismantle the computer to add RAM, but it is doable and Apple has instructions too.

EDIT Here are the instructions, the limit is apparently 256MB, though I believe that 512MB will work, you'd need to check and there are no guarantees.

 

[Jasonbot]

I would up the RAM to at leastt 512mb, and as for airport, you'de need an OSX compatible wireless dongle. The OS you want to use is a good choice for that mac.

 

[iHerzeleid]

Slot load or tray?

 

[Luigi239]

Slot load or tray?

I think it was the last tray model produced.

And thanks for the instructions, Eraserhead. Also, Is Panther going to be at all slower then Jaguar? I dont think Tiger would be worth using on it.

 

[Jasonbot]

I think it was the last tray model produced.

And thanks for the instructions, Eraserhead. Also, Is Panther going to be at all slower then Jaguar? I dont think Tiger would be worth using on it.

All incarnations of the Mac OS have been faster than the previous incarnation. the only problem with Tiger is that it has too many intensive features which would end up unused due to your machines specs. By all means, go get Tiger just know that you'll end up disabling its features due to the speed @ which they'll run.

 

[Dustman]

if u get tiger, u can always download a freeware program called "DisableTigerFeatures" which gets rid of spotlight & dashboard, making it essentially the same as panther, just that much more compatible. also, if u do plan on installing tiger, since these iMacs didnt include a firewire port, you're gunna not only have to find the version on CDs, (rather than the DVD version) and use an application called "XPostFacto" to bypass the firewire checks : ) hope that helps you out some

p.s. or you could just go with panther, which is still very very usable, just doesnt allow you to in all cases run the latest and greatest versions of programs.

EDIT: you also might wanna upgrade the hard drive as those if i remember correctly only included a 4 gb hard drive, which a basic install of os x will fill over half of it.

 

[Luigi239]

Ok, thanks everybody.

 

[danielem]

I have a Graphite 400 running 10.4 quite well.

 

[strider42]

A 333 mhz machine does not have an airport slot. Your best bet for wireless is an ethernet based wireless adpator (USB ones are flaky, ethernet ones are much better). I can recommend the linksys wet54 for this, but belkin, dlink and macsense all make such devices.

OS X will run much better on a slot loader (350 mhz and above). But it will run on that machine up to 10.3. go with 10.3 if you're gonna put oS X on it.

Consider just getting a slot loader though. a 400 mhz machine or more will net you upg'rades like firewire, airport slot, compatibility with 10.4, etc. It'll be better all around. or an eMac.

 

[CubeHacker]

Yep I agree with the above poster - if you're going to get a G3 iMac, get a slot loader model (350mhz and up). They are huge improvements over the tray loading models, and are much easier to upgrade. A lot faster too thanks for their 100mhz FSB (not that they are going to run Panther or Tiger very fast, but useable for internet browsing and the like). I would personally stay away from the tray loaders.