Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

How useful would a G3 iMac be today?

My Graphite iMac 500Mhz G3 does well for web browsing and word processing. Doesn't get used much anymore since the we got a hold of the eMac.

But I'll definitely agree with the flash comment. Before my daughter got the latest eMac in signature, she had an 800mhz version w/ 512 MB of Ram. A lot of the kids sights she likes to go to are LOADED with flash (Disney, Nickelodeon, etc) and they SERIOUSLY LAGGED. So I can only imagine the G3 would be worse.
 
From a power user perspective, they are just about useless. Really slow ide controllers and processors make me a sad panda. I have 2 eMacs (both are 1.25g4) which are fantastic. But I also have a PMG4 400 that I got for 10 bucks and with a gig of ram, the CPU makes it bound to very simple tasks. So for me, there is no desire to leave the chair in front of my PMG5 to use the PMG4.

Anyways, under 500mhz, I wouldn't bother unless it was going to be a Linux terminal. Of course if you need an os 8/9 machine for nostalgia, that might be something to look at.
 
  • Like
Reactions: throAU
The thread makes me a bit nostalgic . . .

I had an Indigo G3 400 DV for quite a few years, added ram and the slot loading DVD drive. Panther ran just fine and it was a great "life support" system for my 1st Gen scroll wheel 5GB iPod.
 
My DVD slot-loading 400 mhz Graphite G3 with 1G ram still works great. I use it for internet, word processing, email, music and photos management, iTunes, etc. without any problems. The one serious weakness is the choppy streaming video. Other than that, I don't have any problems with it. I was at an Apple store in San Francisco today trying out a new 24" iMac on internet and a couple of other applications, and it was just about as slow as my G3, except that video was smooth. I'm not saying that the G3 is anywhere as good as a new machine, or that it would be suitable for other users' needs, but for me it is fine. Having said that, I'm still going to buy a new 24" iMac later this year and use the G3 as a second computer upstairs. I love the looks of it and can't just toss it out when it still has a lot of life in it.
 
Not really sure how good the G3's were, but my G4 is still running very well with Leopard ;)

But *ouch* 233MHz. That sort of system can't be worth any more than a can of Guinness.
 
flopticalcube said:
Should be OK for browsing and iTunes. Just watchout for flash sights. You would need a fairly old version of OSX. Panther at the most, I would think. Or you could install Linux on it.
Click to expand...

THAT IS BULL$%# (Purposely Censored)!
I have an iMac G3 400Mhz*, and it works PERFECTLY! AND it Runs OS X TIGER
It can only run up to Tiger Though, because leopard uses more memory than
it can hold, and Snow Leopard Won't even SUPPORT the Power PC Processor!
I could swear that it might even be faster than a newly wiped Intel Pentium 6 Desktop PC on Windows XP!

My iMac works on basically anything (Just Avoid the CPU Intensive programs)!


*=With a 512MB RAM upgrade from a store that is closed down now(it has 576MB after upgrade).

Any way... you SHOULD buy it, It is excellent with the 512MB upgrade!
YOU WILL NOT REGRET BUYING IT!
 
KirbyMan- I don't mean to be rude, but do you know what you're talking about?
There is no Pentium 6, as you say. Leopard won't support G3s, and Tiger would tax the machine unnecessarily. Panther works just fine.

I own a G3, but it's not upgraded in the slightest. It's a great machine, I'm also trying to figure out what to do with it. iTunes server, probably. Browsing should be okay, slow though. Avoid Flash stuff. Pretend you're in 2003-2004 and go nuts. Everything software-wise from then should be cheap, so upgrade to your heart's content, just stay in that timeframe. Anything released in 2005 should be okay, but unnecessary. Buy it, have fun.

P.S. Collecting Apple systems is great, if you have the space to keep them all. LowEndMac is a great resource for information about legacy systems. :)
 
On Apples itunes download page there is actually a link near the bottom to download one of the version 8 that will still run on a G3.

Also as others have said it will be fine for web and email also. Just don't expect to watch video online.
 
I still use an iMac DV 400 for classic OS9 games. They run very well. Fortunately, I have my Mac Pro's for my new OSX games and my PowerMac G5's for working. So, needless to say, the iMac does not get a lot of work anymore.
 
i have a g3 imac 400 mhz 256k memory and it runs tiger just fine. i use it for just about everything i need a computer to do except for photo editing i use my compaq running ubuntu 10.04 for that. i would get it and enjoy a nice stable machine.
 
It will be "useful" as a historical curiosity only.

RAM will be expensive or unavailable, as will additional storage. It will be slow. The OS is out of support and has no security updates. If you try to do many of the basic tasks people do these days (e.g., watch HD video) it will struggle. Let alone stuff like editing HD or 4k video.

On top of that, the hardware is old and hardware failure is a thing.


Put it this way, you could get a better performing machine for a couple of hundred dollars or less with a more recent processor and more RAM in it.

If you value your time (and you should, life is short and your free time is more valuable if you are employed, IMHO than what you get paid at work because you have less of it) then the cost of using a G3 to do things instead of something faster will add up quickly.

But if you want one to play with, then go for it.
 
A G3 iMac not only makes a good OS 9 station to enjoy classic Mac software, but it could also be used to play with OS X 10.1 and 10.2 that don't run on many of the later PPC machines.
 
throAU said:
RAM will be expensive or unavailable, as will additional storage. It will be slow. The OS is out of support and has no security updates. If you try to do many of the basic tasks people do these days (e.g., watch HD video) it will struggle. Let alone stuff like editing HD or 4k video.
Click to expand...

I've seen this stated more than once on here, and it's patently untrue.

The iMac uses PC-compatible SD-RAM. For slot load machines, you pop access door open and drop in a pair of PC-100(or PC-133) 168 pin sticks. For tray loaders, you find the CPU card and put a pair of low density 256mb 144-pin SO-DIMMs on it(although for the earliest tray loaders you max at 384gb). Either upgrade is less than $10 on Ebay.

The hard drive is a standard PC 3.5" ATA drive. Newegg has refurbished 7200rpm 80gb drives for $10 or so. Microcenter carries similar drives at similar prices in their brick and mortar stores.

When you get into the pre-G3 era, finding oddball RAM(especially for laptops) and hard drives(again, esp. laptop SCSI drives) CAN be a problem with certain computer models. Once Apple started sharing PC-type components for storage and memory, though(as they did pretty much across the board in G3 machines) the field is wide open.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 0248294
Plus, even if 3.5" IDE drives were to fade away, there's always other routes. There's SATA to IDE modules that could easily allow you to add a SATA drive to an IDE-using Mac. Sure, you won't get full speed, but you do get the ability to use modern drives. Any SSD that will do a good-enough job of managing cleaning up unused blocks itself without TRIM can also be used. Heck, you could even use mSATA with a mSATA to 44 pin IDE adapter, going through a 44 pin to 40 pin IDE adapter. As a matter of fact, most people with PPC Mac notebooks use those mSATA to 44 pin IDE adapters for relatively faster speeds, shock resistance, silence, and the ability to use modern drives on their older notebooks. And as said, you can easily find RAM on eBay for cheap.
 
Last edited:
We use the old stuff because we can!
Guess nobody here depends on it as his/her only working horse.
But we may still use it as a working horse - 'cause we can.
And besides that we can also "play" with it, and that's why we "go for it".
It's fun like driving an historic car ...
:)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
throAU said:
It will be "useful" as a historical curiosity only.

RAM will be expensive or unavailable, as will additional storage. It will be slow. The OS is out of support and has no security updates. If you try to do many of the basic tasks people do these days (e.g., watch HD video) it will struggle. Let alone stuff like editing HD or 4k video.

On top of that, the hardware is old and hardware failure is a thing.


Put it this way, you could get a better performing machine for a couple of hundred dollars or less with a more recent processor and more RAM in it.

If you value your time (and you should, life is short and your free time is more valuable if you are employed, IMHO than what you get paid at work because you have less of it) then the cost of using a G3 to do things instead of something faster will add up quickly.

But if you want one to play with, then go for it.
Click to expand...

Another sad post above.
My G3 iMac's truly gives me as much pleasure as my RMBP, but obviously for different reasons.
And echoing what bunnspecial stated, RAM certainly isn't unavailable or expensive! And I recently picked up four 3.5" drives all serviceable for 0.50 centimes each from a charity store here. And there's more where they came from.
Also, using the Ten4Fox tweaks indicated on this forum, never fails to confirm that these Macs and similar spec PPC machines - not unlike an attractive cougar - still have plenty of life left in them........:rolleyes:
Like yourself, I too may have scoffed at what I didn't know 2 or 3 years ago, but having re-discovered these G3's, goes to prove that these 'old girls' still have a lot of love and satisfaction to offer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jbarley and 0248294
dingdongbubble said:
Hello

I managed to find someone who has an old iMac G3 and he wants to sell it. Now as Macs arent popular over here, no one is buying it I think. So when I talked to the guy about the price, he said give me anything :D. Yeah I can name my price.

So in the worst case scenario, the iMac G3 will be a 233 mhz machine and in a best case scenario it will be a 700 mhz 'beast'. So can you tell me how useful each would be?

Hopefully not, but if the machine does not have any OS on it, then what should I do? Where can I get the specific RAM for it?

A 700mhz G3 can be compared with what clock speed from Intel Pentium? And how about a 233 mhz? I am sure you ahve heard about the megahertz myth. I am talking in that context. I think that a G5 1.8 ghz can totally own a Pentium 2.8-3.6 ghz.

I was thinking of getting at a negligble price ( afw bucks maybe the change leftover in my pocket). :eek: What do you think?
Click to expand...
It won't be of much use... my 700 Mhz G4 (see signature) is still in use...mostly for iTunes (the speakers were THAT GOOD!!!) and for filling my 1st gen iPod.

It does get some browsing activity but not much and if you plan usign OS 9 (mine boots only in 10) it is even worse cause the browsers are very outdated.

Some light word processing can be done and some retro gaming too but it won't get much use.

If it was me i would get it in a heartbit, as you can see i collect a lot of old Apple stuff (more than my signature can handle) and still daily use a lot of "obsolete stuff"...there's something cool about going around with a 1st gen iPod!!!
 
ppcebay said:
It won't be of much use... my 700 Mhz G4 (see signature) is still in use...mostly for iTunes (the speakers were THAT GOOD!!!) and for filling my 1st gen iPod.

It does get some browsing activity but not much and if you plan usign OS 9 (mine boots only in 10) it is even worse cause the browsers are very outdated.

Some light word processing can be done and some retro gaming too but it won't get much use.

If it was me i would get it in a heartbit, as you can see i collect a lot of old Apple stuff (more than my signature can handle) and still daily use a lot of "obsolete stuff"...there's something cool about going around with a 1st gen iPod!!!
Click to expand...
You know you just tried to answer a question for a 8 year old thread right?
 
Dronecatcher said:
Whe
When throAU said "expensive or not available" I think he means relatively expensive and/or not available at retail stores.
I've found both to be true in the UK - in every instance of upgrading a vintage computer, I've had to pay a premium price from a reliable source eg 512MB PC133 RAM from Maplin - £29.99. Even with lower prices, relative to modern hardware, it's not value for money.
Not so bad if you can find what you want from the bargin bin in a local shop but most online sellers are aware of the retro market and cash in accordingly.
Click to expand...
Maplin is absolutely insane. This eBay seller sells low density 512MB RAM for just 3 quid and 60 pence, free shipping. No affiliation, just showing that if you look around, you can easily find this stuff for better prices. Just not at big chains like Maplin.
 
Daniël Oosterhuis said:
Maplin is absolutely insane. This eBay seller sells low density 512MB RAM for just 3 quid and 60 pence, free shipping. No affiliation, just showing that if you look around, you can easily find this stuff for better prices. Just not at big chains like Maplin.
Click to expand...

I buy RAM on Ebay all the time. For the quoted price above of a single stick, I could probably buy 10 or 12 brand new 512mb sticks of PC-133.

As I mentioned also, refurbished ATA desktop drives are also quite inexpensive both from online sources and some chains.
 
Daniël Oosterhuis said:
if you look around, you can easily find this stuff for better prices
Click to expand...
That's true and mostly I do - however, after a spell of buying cheap "Mac compatible" RAM from ebay that didn't work (from sellers who point blank refused to refund) I went to reputable companies, Maplin & Crucial Memory - guaranteed to work...and also empty your wallet :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back