Is it possible for me to swap out a graphics card from a PC to my iMac G3?

[eyoungren]

Don't forget though that Macs were the centre of creative industries and facilites when they were still ugly biege boxes..it was more about the uptake of desktop publishing software.

Absolutely. In 1993 one of the design instructors had a Mac II with dual monitors. I got through school at that time on LCIIs and my first pro job had me on some beige Mac that I have no idea what model it was.

Later on in school I was using IIcis and IIvxs.

 

[z970]

But perception is entirely my point when it comes to 'collectibles'.

You think they are great and thus collectible. I've always had a different opinion about them. Part of the problem may have been that I worked in the industry while attending school so to go from a PowerMac G4 with a large monitor during the day using professional tools to a G3 with a dinky curved screen using student versions of pro apps was a big disconnect to me. On top of that they were often underpowered for what I was trying to do.

At one point I just started bringing my own PowerBook G4 to class and doing my work on that.

I never said they were 'great', just that you should use what's best for you.
[doublepost=1534528515][/doublepost]

Don't forget though that Macs were the centre of creative industries and facilites when they were still ugly biege boxes..it was more about the uptake of desktop publishing software.

I believe they exploded when the color era came around, especially in primary schools.

 

[1042686]

Yeah, I’ve been watching a craigslist Strawberry iMac g3 on that downwards slide from $200 towards reality. Currently it’s at $60. Still no way I’m going to pay for that but if I can snag it for 20, I might. The cute thing doesn’t even come with a kB/m lol.

Don’t let eBay be your sole guide. Specific to old macs, some sellers are straight up delusional & shill bidding/bidders abound, intentionally trying to manipulate the perception of value as a vintage Mac, thus selling price.

The two things I see them as in 2018 & forward are neat jukeboxes & robust, nearly indestructible edu-tainment devices for toddlers, either of which they’ll do great at.

Good luck. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.

 

[Eightbitgamer757]

i watched a pbg4 1.5ghz go out on ebay for 4.99 plus 20$ shipping wish i had the cash to get it for a new school year im starting high school this year

 

[AL1630]

i watched a pbg4 1.5ghz go out on ebay for 4.99 plus 20$ shipping wish i had the cash to get it for a new school year im starting high school this year

I'll be starting HS as well! I would try to get more Macs but Craigslist around here is dried up and I don't want to pay for shipping on most eBay listings. I always try to pick stuff up locally if I can.

 

[Eightbitgamer757]

I'll be starting HS as well! I would try to get more Macs but Craigslist around here is dried up and I don't want to pay for shipping on most eBay listings. I always try to pick stuff up locally if I can.

What part of the state are you in? normally there is a few older macs on the boise craigslist but a little expensive even ppc

 

[AL1630]

I'm in Boise. A couple years ago PPC stuff was all over craigslist, there's not much on there now though, which is unusual during summer. Maybe people realized they could get more for it on eBay, which they can, judging by those iMac prices from earlier.

 

[Eightbitgamer757]

i did happen to find a powerbook g4 right now but the seller will not reply on craigslist other than that there are 2 broken pismos thats about it for ppc i think

 

[z970]

i watched a pbg4 1.5ghz go out on ebay for 4.99 plus 20$ shipping wish i had the cash to get it for a new school year im starting high school this year

I know that feeling. It's a painful one.

Seems there are a lot of high schoolers around here (myself included).

I see a generation of tinkerers among us. Not a bad trait to have at all.

 

[Eightbitgamer757]

i really just need a laptop with a working battery to do schoolwork with. Im using my laptop as a desktop right now on a c2d 2ghz and 3gb ram with the laptop closed and connected to a 1680X1050 high end dell monitor

 

[colin348]

@colin348 as I told you in all the PMs - the spec of your iMac isn't the problem, the 3 or 4 methods I talked you through to play Youtube all work on my 500Mhz iMac - the problem is either you don't understand how the software works or you have a faulty OSX install?

It’s the fact that I don’t understand the directions. I’m terrible with computers and I had no idea what to do after I downloaded tonvid lol
[doublepost=1534546700][/doublepost]

Sometimes, there does come a point where a line has to be drawn.

A G3 is really only usable for basic offline tasks. Anything else will be an inherent step down.
[doublepost=1534483713][/doublepost]

Great idea. Go for the 1.42 2005 model. It can take up to 2GB of RAM, has a good GPU, great speakers, is damn cheap, and looks like what would happen if the iMac G3 and iMac G5 had a baby. Also has a super quiet optical drive mechanism, depending on your luck.

I can't speak well enough of the things.

Just don't put Linux on it. There are many places, uses, and computers for it, but the eMac ain't one.

Does the 1.42 model have good video playback and load pages fast?

 

[1042686]

If you want easy breezy playback in a Apple PowerPC machine, a 1.42ghz eMac g4 isn’t it. I’d go after a dual core or quad core Powermac g5. Playback at 360p is pretty decent in browser using TFFx vs running mobile clients & using something like vlc.

If you want the iMac formfactor, I’d make the jump to an aluminum Intel
iMac new enough to run at least ElCapitan & supported browser.

IMO, YMMV. Best of luck to you.

 

[z970]

Does the 1.42 model have good video playback and load pages fast?

(This post is more fun if you read the below 2x the speed.)

If you use an optimized OS X install, running a tweaked TenFourFox / Leopard WebKit, on the iPad user agent, then yes. Very snappy. (Probably)

What will really work is an optimized OS X install, running a tweaked TenFourFox, on the iPad user agent, viewing videos through QuickTime Enabler / PPC Media Center.

On a 1.42 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 128mb Radeon 9600, + optimized software & above prerequisites, YouTube is no problem.

But like Rhian suggested, YouTube is a zero-step plug-n-play on a G5. I can confirm this from personal experience.

...

PowerPC's are fun.

 

[colin348]

Thanks guys I’m just trying to find a Mac that breaks the barrier between practicality and collecting.
[doublepost=1534552995][/doublepost]

(This post is more fun if you read the below 2x the speed.)

If you use an optimized OS X install, running a tweaked TenFourFox / Leopard WebKit, on the iPad user agent, then yes. Very snappy. (Probably)

What will really work is an optimized OS X install, running a tweaked TenFourFox, on the iPad user agent, viewing videos through QuickTime Enabler / PPC Media Center.

On a 1.42 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 128mb Radeon 9600, + optimized software & above prerequisites, YouTube is no problem.

But like Rhian suggested, YouTube is a zero-step plug-n-play on a G5. I can confirm this from personal experience.

...

PowerPC's are fun.

Wil QuickTime work better on leopard? QuickTime won’t work at all on 10.4.11 on my iMac G3.

 

[z970]

Thanks guys I’m just trying to find a Mac that breaks the barrier between practicality and collecting.
[doublepost=1534552995][/doublepost]
Wil QuickTime work better on leopard? QuickTime won’t work at all on 10.4.11 on my iMac G3.

Probably. Just make sure to use 7.7.

 

[Eightbitgamer757]

I used my ibook g4 for at least a year and a half before i broke it and it works just fine for a modern computer. I even had emulators running on it (PCSX, snes9x, Nestopia, and a few more) and plug and play ps2 usb gamepad and i was golden, hell even my dad played on it sometimes so ibook g4 in my opinion is best

 

[z970]

I used my ibook g4 for at least a year and a half before i broke it and it works just fine for a modern computer. I even had emulators running on it (PCSX, snes9x, Nestopia, and a few more) and plug and play ps2 usb gamepad and i was golden, hell even my dad played on it sometimes so ibook g4 in my opinion is best

Your experience would have been at least 1.5x better on a PowerBook G4.

 

[Eightbitgamer757]

well if i could get my hands on one for the school year or most likely more that would be perfect

 

[Dronecatcher]

It’s the fact that I don’t understand the directions. I’m terrible with computers and I had no idea what to do after I downloaded tonvid lol

But I don't know how to break it down any easier. In the PMs I guided you through and there are written instructions in the package too.

Plus, I guided you along the other methods, @AphoticD 's OneWindowBrowser couldn't be any easier - download, it go to https://m.youtube.com and that's it...and it works on my 500Mhz iMac.

As I said, I think the problem lies in your install, as every step along the way, nothing seemed to work.

At this stage I'd say, wipe the iMac, re-install Tiger and all updates, then try OWB - if still doesn't work there's a hardware issue.

Regarding an Emac 1.42 - yes, it's a considerable upgrade over your iMac. I've owned one and it's a great machine, with Leopard you'd be watching Youtube in Roccat or Webkit with no problem.

If Youtube is a priority, then you have to have a dual G4 or G5 for easy 360P playback in a web browser. For less than that, SMTube handles it fine - I have it running on my 800Mhz G4 iMac and it works fantastically...but the problem is SMTube won't last forever, Youtube keeps changing and it won't be able to keep up.

Again, here's my video showing what my 1.33Ghz Powerbook does:

 

[KawaiiAurora]

As I've seen loads of comments about watching YouTube on here, I felt like putting this out here.

You don't need a very powerful PowerPC Mac to watch 360p YouTube in Leopard Webkit itself. I watched a few 360p videos yesterday on my PowerBook G4 1GHz with a Geforce 4 MX and there were 0 framedrops.

That being said, you need to disable dashboard, enable the 2D dock, and nuke shadows for the better chances of getting a similar experience to what I got.


If the OP wants to watch YouTube, a solution that worked very well for me on a 400MHz PowerMac G4 was using MiniTube on Linux as that allowed for stutter-free 360p video back in 2012 at least. On the other hand, they can grab PPC Media Center (I think it works on 10.4.11?) and watch the videos through CorePlayer (does it work on G3s?) or QuickTime. For the best browsing experience on Tiger, the OP should use OmniWeb I think

 

[Dronecatcher]

On the other hand, they can grab PPC Media Center (I think it works on 10.4.11?) and watch the videos through CorePlayer (does it work on G3s?) or QuickTime. For the best browsing experience on Tiger, the OP should use OmniWeb I think

I've already exhausted all possibilities for the OP in PMs.

Coreplayer doesn't work on G3s - MPlayer is the only solution for 360P on my 500Mhz iMac.

 

[KawaiiAurora]

I've already exhausted all possibilities for the OP in PMs.

Coreplayer doesn't work on G3s - MPlayer is the only solution for 360P on my 500Mhz iMac.

Aah, I see. They're quite simple to use as I tried all of them. If the OP can't figure out how to use the various YT solutions on their own, I doubt that a PPC Mac is the right thing for them these days...

 

[colin348]

But I don't know how to break it down any easier. In the PMs I guided you through and there are written instructions in the package too.

Plus, I guided you along the other methods, @AphoticD 's OneWindowBrowser couldn't be any easier - download, it go to https://m.youtube.com and that's it...and it works on my 500Mhz iMac.

As I said, I think the problem lies in your install, as every step along the way, nothing seemed to work.

At this stage I'd say, wipe the iMac, re-install Tiger and all updates, then try OWB - if still doesn't work there's a hardware issue.

Regarding an Emac 1.42 - yes, it's a considerable upgrade over your iMac. I've owned one and it's a great machine, with Leopard you'd be watching Youtube in Roccat or Webkit with no problem.

If Youtube is a priority, then you have to have a dual G4 or G5 for easy 360P playback in a web browser. For less than that, SMTube handles it fine - I have it running on my 800Mhz G4 iMac and it works fantastically...but the problem is SMTube won't last forever, Youtube keeps changing and it won't be able to keep up.

Again, here's my video showing what my 1.33Ghz Powerbook does:

The one window browser won’t even display YouTube, and my main problem with tonvid and mplayer is that it keeps saying that there’s an error with youtube dl. I have it downloaded from the site in your thread about your software, and it keeps saying there’s an error with youtube dl when I click the resolution I want in the dock
[doublepost=1534605018][/doublepost]

Here’s what I mean by one window browser won’t display YouTube. It loads but it won’t display anything.

 

[Dronecatcher]

I have it downloaded from the site in your thread about your software, and it keeps saying there’s an error with youtube dl when I click the resolution I want in the dock

You have to follow all the instructions and not skip stuff. You have to have Python installed or PPC Media Center, make sure youtube-dl is up to date and placed in the correct folders (2 in the case of Tiger) and use the correct mplayer for your CPU.

OWB not showing anything is a sign something is amiss, maybe @AphoticD can help there?

Oh, install TenFourKit instead of using Safari:

https://code.google.com/archive/p/tenfourkit/downloads

 

[z970]

@colin348 Are you sure your Internet is good?