G3 Imacs - what can i do with it?

[California]

You got the 700mhz iMacs? Great find. Go Panther with them 10.3 otherwise I'd recommend you disable Dashboard on Tiger to save CPU exertion.

You want 133mhz 168 pin 512mb ram chips for these machines.

I have some 128 chips but you should try to get 512 x2 for these top of the line iMac g3s.

 

[Killyp]

Tiger = 10.4
Panther = 10.3
Jaguar = 10.2
Puma = 10.1
10.0 = not sure

 

[CRAZYBUBBA]

so 120gb PATA / EIDE are the drives to look for

also Whats the difference between Tiger / Jaguar / Panther / 10.4 ?
is there a basic one, that i can try and then move up?

Thanks

Jaguar is the earliest os that will run flash/javascript, word 2004 etc. it has aqua and has the same look that panther and tiger had.

Panther is more sophisticated, it works faster and has expose.

Tiger is a 50/50 thing with these machines many complain that it's slower, others have no issues. Tiger def is more resource hungry than panther/jaguar. However, tiger has cool new features, ie : dashboard, spotlight.

Edit: For the record please don't buy Puma, it was a mess. For me jaguar or panther are the way to go.

 

[venomphil]

ok i'll have a hunt round for that ram and the drive

to buy the os, do i just need the disk? or is it like XP where u need the cd / code

I think thats tha last question (for now)

 

[CRAZYBUBBA]

ok i'll have a hunt round for that ram and the drive

to buy the os, do i just need the disk? or is it like XP where u need the cd / code

I think thats tha last question (for now)

Aprox prices:

Ram $50 shipped for 512 sticks, buy 2 ($100 total)---- Make sure to ask if they work with the imac!

HD: 80 GB 7200 rpm $50 last time i checked

OS: Yes, you just need the disc.

Jaguar- $25 shipped
Panther $35 shipped
Tiger-???

 

[venomphil]

Thanks
When i buy all that im sure i'll be back with more questions

 

[kuebby]

so 120gb PATA / EIDE are the drives to look for

also Whats the difference between Tiger / Jaguar / Panther / 10.4 ?
is there a basic one, that i can try and then move up?

Yes, 120GB is what you'll want.

Those names refer to the operating system. The newest OS, Leopard, is 10.5 and Tiger, Panther, and Jaguar are 10.4, 10.3, and 10.2 respectively. I would recommend 10.3 (Panther) for your machine. It isn't totally outdated so you'll be able to use new-ish versions of software but keep in mind it is outdated. But it was made for those machines so it'll run very well. It's a couple years old so you should be able to find it really cheap either on the MR forums or eBay (probably around $30).

 

[eRondeau]

Mac Trivia: OS X 10.0 was called "Cheetah". Rather hard to find now.

I have a 600MHz iMac G3 at my mother's house, I use it a few times a week to check email etc. It's running Panther (10.3.9) w/ 640MB RAM and it runs most everything great, although as mentioned -- video playback is choppy at best, unwatchable at worst. I've been tempted to upgrade it to Tiger. I'll let you know if/when I do.

BTW, replacing those hard drives is NOT for amateurs. Not only are there about a zillion screws to keep track of (all different sizes) but remember this is a CRT so you need to take high-voltage precautions every step of the way. Take it to somebody who knows what they're doing.

 

[venomphil]

is there a guide on how to replace hard drives in G3's

 

[CRAZYBUBBA]

is there a guide on how to replace hard drives in G3's

Here ya go

and there are others which are good for laughs

Funny kid 1

Funny kid part 2

 

[MacsRgr8]

Here's another idea

That is so cute!
Brilliant!

 

[iCube]

Get Seagate Barracuda 120GB drives!!

Put Seagate Barracuda Ultra ATA/100 7,200 rpm 120GB drives if you can find some online, skip the 80 or 100GB drives. The faster 7,200 rpm and 8MB Cache will make your iMacs a lot snappier! MAKE SURE THE JUMPER IS SET TO MASTER!!

Samsung and Hitachi are also very high quality HD's.

CompUSA is sold out for now at $87.99 each

http://www.compusa.com/products/pro...93+4294963846&Ne=301050&product_code=52825256

 

[avincent52]

FWIW, I've got an Ibook G3 with a 600 processor. I've maxed out the ram to 768, and it's a perfectly serviceable machine, my main laptop until three weeks ago.
I use word, but also rather large spreadsheets on Excel, surf the web, watch DVDs. I just invested $40 in a new keyboard which still has letters on it so that my kids can type.
And honestly, if I wasn't a little afraid of a catastrophic HD failure on a five-year old, out of warranty machine, I'd still be using it everyday.
good luck with your G3, and remember that a computer with a tiny fraction of the power put a man on the moon.
best
Allen

 

[JNB]

to buy the os, do i just need the disk? or is it like XP where u need the cd / code (for now)

Looks like the answer to part of that was missed. No activation/serial/first-born child is needed. As has been noted earlier, though, if you go with 10.4 (Tiger), a DVD drive will normally be necessary. I seem to remember that Apple made CD's available for a nominal charge. Whether or not they're still out there, or you cand find them on eBay or the like, will take some further searching.

EDIT: That was easy (http://hardcoremac.stores.yahoo.net/macosx10tion.html). Awful pricey, though. Just Google "OS X 10.4 CD" and enjoy!

 

[maccompaq]

If you are just doing word processing, surfing the web, etc, a hard drive of 40GB ATA 66 is more than adequate. If you will be downloading music, then larger is better. For a G3, I would strongly recommend OSX Panther 10.3.9.

 

[maccompaq]

Ok heres a (crap) picture -->

They are both the same

They are slot-loaders IMAC SE 700/GR/256/60/CDRW/ULTRA/56K/FW/VGA
Ive had a go at upgrading the FW to 4.1.9 (thats the newest one yes?)


I just reread your post to see that your hard drive is 60GB. I would just leave that in there. If you need extra HD space, buy an external Firewire drive.

 

[iCube]

Ive had a go at upgrading the FW to 4.1.9 (thats the newest one yes?)

Yes 4.1.9 is correct. It is very critical before installing OS X! Double check System Profiler to make sure the Boot ROM version is 4.1.9. Installing OS X on a G3 iMac without 4.1.9 firmware may result in cooking your motherboard AGP video!

 

[iCube]

The picture you took almost looks as if they are "Sage" green in color. After reading about them, I realized that it is "Graphite."
They only came in "Graphite" or "Snow" in 700MHz.
Those 700MHz iMacs were $1499 new in 2001. The tech name is "Summer 2001" I am on my "Snow 600 iMac now running 10.4.11. It is a very capable machine!
Do they have Airport Cards inside?

Enjoy this great Apple commercial for the "Graphite"

http://www.theapplecollection.com/Collection/AppleMovies/mov/iMacIIDVSE.mov

 

[bigandy]

I just reread your post to see that your hard drive is 60GB. I would just leave that in there. If you need extra HD space, buy an external Firewire drive.

The point of the advice to upgrade the drive was the increase in RPM. Moving from 4,200rpm to 7,200rpm makes a huge difference.

 

[eRondeau]

I am on my "Snow 600 iMac now running 10.4.11. It is a very capable machine!

I have the same machine as you, at my parent's house. Works great! Snow/600MHz/40GB/640MB/Panther 10.3.9. I'm thinking about upgrading it to Tiger. Any issues? Is it noticeably slower on Tiger than on Panther? Have you ever wanted to go back to Panther?

 

[iCube]

10.4 Tiger Is Dvd Install! You Have Cdrw Drive Only!

After checking your iMac specs and saw it came with a CDRW "CD burner" optical drive, you can't install 10.4 because it is mainly on a DVD!! There are CD versions of , but it is many CD's! iMacs came with CD-ROM, DVD or CDRW drives. They never had combo (DVD/CDRW) drives. So , of course you can't watch a DVD movie on your 700MHz. When I put 10.4 on my Snow 600 CDRW, I used an internal DVD optical drive in a temp fashion from another iMac DV G3. Don't try to install Tiger from an external DVD firewire drive, it won't work. 10.3 Panther comes in CD media, but see if you can get 10.4 Tiger in CD media!!

 

[BigPrince]

After checking your iMac specs and saw it came with a CDRW "CD burner" optical drive, you can't install 10.4 because it is mainly on a DVD!! There are CD versions of , but it is many CD's! iMacs came with CD-ROM, DVD or CDRW drives. They never had combo (DVD/CDRW) drives. So , of course you can't watch a DVD movie on your 700MHz. When I put 10.4 on my Snow 600 CDRW, I used an internal DVD optical drive in a temp fashion from another iMac DV G3. Don't try to install Tiger from an external DVD firewire drive, it won't work. 10.3 Panther comes in CD media, but see if you can get 10.4 Tiger in CD media!!

T boot the machine. Mount onto a mac with a DVD driver. Problem solved (Although in 10.5 I think you have to be booted to that volume so it may not let you do that)

 

[California]

Yeah, he's got to just find an old Panther os cd to install. Just upgrade the memory and upgrade the hard drive. Sometimes you can find an 200gig hard drive for cheaper than an 80 gig one... Get the largest, cheapest one you can find as long as it is 7200 rpm and has an 8mb cache. The machine will only read up to 128gb of hard drive, though. But if you get a cheaper larger one, who cares? Good luck. Great machines.

 

[iCube]

I have the same machine as you, at my parent's house. Works great! Snow/600MHz/40GB/640MB/Panther 10.3.9. I'm thinking about upgrading it to Tiger. Any issues? Is it noticeably slower on Tiger than on Panther? Have you ever wanted to go back to Panther?

It really runs great!! Widgets is very fast too! I do have a 120GB Seagate 7,200rpm 8MB Cache, so it is a bit snappier than the factory original 5,400 40GB Seagate.
Tiger runs just as fast as Panther did, if not faster. I'm using 768MB RAM.
I have NEVER wanted to go back! 10.4.11 now has Safari 3 with the last update. Your optical drive probably isn't DVD, which 10.4 comes on! Check the post I just finished above. You might have to find it on CD media.
I have a Power Mac G4 533, a 450 Cube G4, iBook G4 1.42GHz and 7 iMac G3 slot-loaders and there's just something about using G3 iMacs!!
Your 600 does meet the minimum requirements for using iChat AV "video"
Many "off the shelf" logitech cams work with iChat now that the Firewire Apple iSight is gone. There are two 10.4 screensavers that don't work on G3's because of low GPU specs. They are "Spectrum" and "RSS Visualizer" not a problem! Hope this helps!!

Here's the Apple "Snow" commercial...
http://pulsar.esm.psu.edu/Faculty/Gray/graphics/movies/snow_T1.mov

Found at this awesome site!
http://www.esm.psu.edu/Faculty/Gray/movies.html

 

[Xeem]

I agree that Mac OS 10.3 is the way to go- the best balance of speed and features. Throw in some RAM, and bigger hard drives, and suddenly you have two all-in-one computers that will do very well as little Firefox/iTunes/word processing computers (definitely get Firefox, as you're restricted to to older versions of Safari in Mac OS 10.3). The iMac Harman Kardon speakers are pretty impressive for their size (especially if you can dig up an iSub somewhere), so if nothing else, your iMacs can be nice little jukeboxes.