iMac G3 purchasing adivce

mrcmainemrcmaine
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Howdy,



I'm looking to get an older iMac or ebay or somewhere for the kids to use. I like the form factor, price for older ones, and the purty colors



Can someone help me out with what minimum specs should be? Just looking for it to be able to get online and play some games (Dora the explorer etc.)

e.g. will an 350 mhz machine w/ 128 mb ram and OS 9 do the trick? or do I need Os X?



I've been out of the Mac work for so long I just don't know what required anymore. Will be access the net via a cable connection.



Thanks for any guidance you can provide.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 1
    agnuke1707agnuke1707 Posts: 487member
    Well, about 2 years ago, I helped my parents purchase a 333 MHz blueberry iMac G3 for the same reasons, and let me tell you - it can be painfully slow. It's a kids computer, so it probably doesn't matter much to them though...



    As far as 9 vs. X, it really depends on what you have. We had a copy of 9 so it was easy to install, but if you don't have one, they can cost almost half what you'd pay for the computer. Some websites, plug-ins, etc. for little online games will probably require you to have some version of X installed, so consider that as well.



    What'd I'd recommend is that you put in a few extra bucks for the 500 MHz G3 and 256 RAM. RAM for the G3 can be expensive because it uses So-DIMMs. Load it up with a copy of Jaguar (10.2) if you can get one. I think we got one from eBay for my brother for $20 - $30 or so. That should tackle any kids internet games with ease. You might also need a bigger HDD, because usually they come with 6 or 8 GB drives.



    But of course, it's entirely up to you. I don't advise dropping more than $300 all said and done on a 5 year old computer, but you know your budget and what your kids are going to use it for better than any of us!



    Good luck ... let us know if you need any more advice
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