OS X on old G3 iMacs?
I just bought two old iMacs on ebay. One is 400Mhz and the other is 450Mhz. Really good deal for some old machines. But I'm curious how well OS X runs on these systems? I assume older versions of OSX (like 10 or 10.1)run better then the newer versions. And I assume OS9 runs even better.
I'd like to get a version of OSX up and running on them that is fairly current and has Expose. I don't know when Expose came included into the OS. Was it 10.3? Is it possible to run Tiger on these things with any kind of speed whatsoever?
I'd also be curious how much ram you'd suggest? I don't even know how much total ram these old imacs support.
I'd like to get a version of OSX up and running on them that is fairly current and has Expose. I don't know when Expose came included into the OS. Was it 10.3? Is it possible to run Tiger on these things with any kind of speed whatsoever?
I'd also be curious how much ram you'd suggest? I don't even know how much total ram these old imacs support.
Comments
They are 333Mhz x 2 500 MHz x 1
I have tried Tiger but it is to slow on these macs.
Definitely stick with Panther, which has Expose.
I assume older versions of OSX (like 10 or 10.1)run better then the newer versions.
Nope. Newer versions run faster but Tiger is kind of an exception because it has higher system requirements. On a fast enough machine, Tiger is actually faster at some things.
Really good deal for some old machines.
If you got them for £50 (or maybe $75) then the deal was ok, but not if they were any more given that the CRTs in them will be a bit worn out.
I'd also be curious how much ram you'd suggest? I don't even know how much total ram these old imacs support.
As much as you can smash in there. The G3 uses So-DIMM RAM, which is of course a little more expensive. Depending on the model, you might even need a low-profile So-DIMM. In any case, Apple says the upper limit on RAM is 128. That's crap ... I have a 333 MHz G3 that runs with 512 MB. Keep in mind though ... with that much memory in the machine, your processor is going to become the bottleneck. My 333 G3 runs 10.3.9 pretty well. A tad slow for my liking, but 10.2 and 10.1 will run at about the same speed
EDIT: Yes, Expose made its debut in 10.3. I would not reccommend running Tiger on a G3.
10.3 or 10.4 should be okay on your iMacs, but I'd recommend 512MB or 1GB RAM.
10.3 would probably be a better choice.
My kids are (right now) playing on a 400 G3 with 10.3 ... playing flash games on Safari .... no problems (though a little jumpy compared to the G5 at home.)
Compare the different models at http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/index.html
As rogue27 said, get 512 MB for those iMacs. Strangely enough, 10.4 will run faster on these machines than 10.3 or than any previous version (if you disable dashboard in 10.4 using Onyx or a similar utility) . But 10.3 is fine, too. Just make sure you have enough space left on the hard disk. OS 9 is fastest, no doubt about that, but obsolete for a long time now. If you want to use the internet, it is recommended to use 10.3. Also make sure to get the updates to 10.3.9 via Software Update.
I ran 10.3 on a 266 G3 ... no problems.
My kids are (right now) playing on a 400 G3 with 10.3 ... playing flash games on Safari .... no problems (though a little jumpy compared to the G5 at home.)
Good to hear since that is exactly why I bought one of these machines. My 7 year old was asking when he can get his first computer. I figured it would make for a good Christmas present, and at that price I can afford to do that and still get him a few other things. All he would really do is play flash games and watch DVD's on it. So it doesn't have to be a fast machine. The heavier old CRT will also be good for my 2 year old as he would probably break any LCD screen in a days time.
The reason I bought the second one... well.. nostalgia maybe? hehe. More or less for me to dork around on it or give it to my mom who will only type papers and casually browse the web. I used to own an indigo 400Mhz one years ago for a very very short time and remember trying out DV editing with iMovie in OS9. I don't remember it feeling slow or incapable. But that was OS9.
My 7 year old was asking when he can get his first computer. I figured it would make for a good Christmas present, and at that price I can afford to do that and still get him a few other things. All he would really do is play flash games and watch DVD's on it. So it doesn't have to be a fast machine. The heavier old CRT will also be good for my 2 year old as he would probably break any LCD screen in a days time.
That would have been useful info at the start. Those machines are not suitable for serious work but they are fine for a kid playing DVDs and things. 512MB will probably be ok in that case too but I'd still say to get Panther.
Can I buy 10.3 Panther restore discs off ebay that originally came with another computer like an ibook or emac? Will they work or will I need to get a full install retail set?
Can I buy 10.3 Panther restore discs off ebay that originally came with another computer like an ibook or emac? Will they work or will I need to get a full install retail set?
If you get a restore disc for the same iMac that you have it should work but you are much safer getting the full version as you can install it onto any machine - eMac etc won't work. Panther should be cheaper than Tiger in this respect.
not like my old dell or any other winbloz brick. also it's amazing that a g3 still has value and still very capable.
you should congratulate me..... after i get my new macbooks, i can get rid of my hp/dell and be windows free--i figure less than 5 days and counting
That would have been useful info at the start. Those machines are not suitable for serious work but they are fine for a kid playing DVDs and things. 512MB will probably be ok in that case too but I'd still say to get Panther.
Oh I dunno, I had a B/W 350MHz G3 with 256MB of RAM running MacOS X Server up through 10.4 until just last month. Seven years running, that old workhorse went. Still going too, although it's been replaced with a *blazing* 1GHz G4 Cube with 1GB...
The old beasts still have life in them - it *completely* depends on what you want to do with them.
iMac G3 350MHz (Cost w/64mb SDRAM = 100$ CND/75$ US)
8 GB IDE HDD
15" CRT (built-in)
24x CDROM
512mb PC133MHz SDRAM (1 DIMM) = 75$ CND/50$ US) < sure u could get it cheaper now
we got this 1 year ago and still working great.
MAC OS X Tiger 10.4.6
She's on Dial-up so I haven't run the updates to 10.4.8 yet.
EXPERIENCE & OPINIONS:
Her G3 runs properly with OS X Tiger and she has no errors or weird problems. Her main functions are word processing with MS-WORD 2004, Flash creation, web page creation, web browsing and the ocassional game of GL-DOOM2 Legacy.
When I go to her place and need to use her computer for the web or to make a resume, I have no problems. Sure it's a little slower processing than my eMac 1.0GHz or my Intel Core 2 Duo PC, but it doesn't slow down and waste your time like Micro$oft Windows 98/2k/XP does when your computer is slow.
Her previous computer was an intel 450GHz with Win98SE and it was unusably slow. The iMac G3 350 is an upgrade for her.
Bottom line is, put 10.3 or 10.4 on with 384mb or 512mb of RAM and you'll enjoy your experience. You will have to find CD versions of OS X, but they're available to purchase for around 50$ online various stores (or free if your concience won't bother you).
I just bought two old iMacs on ebay. One is 400Mhz and the other is 450Mhz. Really good deal for some old machines. But I'm curious how well OS X runs on these systems? I assume older versions of OSX (like 10 or 10.1)run better then the newer versions. And I assume OS9 runs even better.
I'd like to get a version of OSX up and running on them that is fairly current and has Expose. I don't know when Expose came included into the OS. Was it 10.3? Is it possible to run Tiger on these things with any kind of speed whatsoever?
I'd also be curious how much ram you'd suggest? I don't even know how much total ram these old imacs support.
Works like a charm.
I Run 10.4 server on a blue/white G3 450 Mhz/756 Mb RAM.
Works like a charm.
I have a blue and white g3 with 1 gb ram and an IDE 160 gb HD fomratted HFS+, as per the orginal. I also installed an IDE DVD burner to replace the old CD Rom and that also works well using OS 9.1. I am upgrading this beast for a friend of mine so he can use OSX 10.4 or earlier but I cannot boot from the DVD drive even though the firmware is up to date and that the hardware works flawlessly. Any help on this would be terrific.
Regards
Remoran
I have a blue and white g3 with 1 gb ram and an IDE 160 gb HD fomratted HFS+, as per the orginal. I also installed an IDE DVD burner to replace the old CD Rom and that also works well using OS 9.1. I am upgrading this beast for a friend of mine so he can use OSX 10.4 or earlier but I cannot boot from the DVD drive even though the firmware is up to date and that the hardware works flawlessly. Any help on this would be terrific.
I had the same problem with the DVD. There was no way I could install it from a DVD, be it internal or external. The solution that worked for me was 'simply' installing 10.4 server from CD's.