Upgrading iMac G3

dmurandmuran
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Hello guys,



I have a iMac G3 with 400Mhz and I was wondering if I can upgrade the CPU and what is the highest speed I can upgrade it too.... Also, would it make financial sense to upgrade it? I am new to Mac's and any help would be great.



I also have a question about memory. Does the memory have to be specific to apple machines or ??? Any good web sites where I can find some reading on apple?



Thank you in advance,



DM

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 6
    cosmocosmo Posts: 662member
    I believe you would have to replace the entire mother board to upgrade that machine (other than ram and HDD, of course).



    I guess you could try eBay and see if a MB of that gerneration of iMac with a faster processor is on sale, but thats not too likely to happen. Even if you did get an 800Mhz version, you still have a g3 chip, 100mhz FSB, rage graphics etc.



    With the release of the Mac Mini, upgrading older machines makes less and lses financial sense. Chances are you could get a Mini and 15" CRT (go at least 17" if you can afford it) for not much more than upgrading your machine (if you can even find an upgrade).



    The Mac Mini also comes with all kinds of great software (iLife, etc).
  • Reply 2 of 6
    dmurandmuran Posts: 4member
    Thank you for the reply. The reason I got this system is because I'm a PC user and know nothing about Mac so I thought I'd go with a lower end and I think I'll buy another one. I think its a lot better then Microsoft (no offense to anyone). I guess I'll be ok with 400Mhz for now and if I need more speed I'll get a a Mini Mac. No that was Mac Mini



    DM



    Quote:

    Originally posted by Cosmo

    I believe you would have to replace the entire mother board to upgrade that machine (other than ram and HDD, of course).



    I guess you could try eBay and see if a MB of that gerneration of iMac with a faster processor is on sale, but thats not too likely to happen. Even if you did get an 800Mhz version, you still have a g3 chip, 100mhz FSB, rage graphics etc.



    With the release of the Mac Mini, upgrading older machines makes less and lses financial sense. Chances are you could get a Mini and 15" CRT (go at least 17" if you can afford it) for not much more than upgrading your machine (if you can even find an upgrade).



    The Mac Mini also comes with all kinds of great software (iLife, etc).



  • Reply 3 of 6
    powerpcpowerpc Posts: 109member
    drop a 1GB of RAM and a 7200RPM hard drive in it, and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
  • Reply 4 of 6
    dmurandmuran Posts: 4member
    I was planning on changing the hard drive to 120GB. Question about the memory. What kind does it use. Is it same as PC or a lot different?



    Quote:

    Originally posted by PowerPC

    drop a 1GB of RAM and a 7200RPM hard drive in it, and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.



  • Reply 5 of 6
    powerpcpowerpc Posts: 109member
    head over to crucial.com and put in your system specs. They will set you up with the right RAM. I'm pretty sure its regular PC-100 SDRAM...but they will make sure you get the right stuff.
  • Reply 6 of 6
    dmurandmuran Posts: 4member
    Thank you, this is really valuable source. 512MB goes for $100 which isn't bad at all.



    Another question. Does any of you have AOL setup with Mac? I have DSL and just connecting to AOL through high speed (please don't ask why having AOL, its my g/f who likes it) and I can't seem to get it working. On the setup page it sees the modem but no network card. It does work well though, I can connect to the internet using Safari.



    Thanks,



    DM
Sign In or Register to comment.