So my father is getting a free imac G3 from a friend and from what i've been told it looks like the (233MHz with tray loading drive) model but i'm not sure if it's the /B version or not,. I'm wondering what i can do with this i.e. what is the highest OS version i can upgrade to. I'm also thinking of upgrading the memory if possible and have had a look of the apple support page and it looks like i can get max 128 MB; 256 MB for /B models, Also is it possible to swap the drive over for say a DVD drive or won't it work? This is the first mac i've owned although i have used several MAC's like the G3, the G4 cube and older ones so i'm not too knowlegable on upgrading them or anything like that. Cheers
After taking the thing apart i found out it had Rage Pro Turbo graphics which is found in revision B and having a quick scout arround the web it looks like i can possibly install 2x 256mb memory modules giving me 512mb in total or if not then 2x 128mb modules for 256mb memory.
If it really is a /B iMac then you can try to put in 512mb but it may not see all of it. There are a few out there that can only see 384MB (or 256MB + 128MB) but almost all can see memory above Apple's "Maximum" of 256MB. As for the OS the normal latest OS it can reach normally is MacOS X 10.3 Panther. If your daring you can use a tool called XPostFacto to install MacOS X 10.4 Tiger. You will not beable to squeeze MacOS X 10.5 Leopard or 10.6 Snow Leopard on to the sucker. You could also install Mac OS 9.2 if you feel like going way back. The max HD size you can stuff in an iMac G3 /B is I think 120GB. IIRC its because of the 32bit LBA it uses to address the drive. I dunno if this was fixed in a firmware update or not as I've only ever had a 60GB in mine. You can swap the CD drive in it for something else as long as its compatible with Mac OS X and has the right connector its not a standard IDE drive connector. My recommendation, leave it alone. Your really only going to be using it to install the OS and thats available on CD (no need for a DVD). If you must have a DVD drive or a burner of some type, pick up an external drive so you could use it else where if needed. As for what you could do with it: Run some old Mac games or Apps. Turn it into a file server. Make it a simple web terminal. Thats really up to you. If you really want to go nuts and have cash to burn you could pickup a G4 CPU upgrade and the Voodoo video card thats out there (Really no point to them beyond collecting them unless your really hurting for the performance boost).
3do, I have the 500Mhz Snowy iMac sitting in my kitchen which I recently pulled out of the attic, dusted down and turned into a web terminal. I'm undecided on which laptop to buy for my course (really waiting to hear back from my Uni to see whether I am going to be expected to use PC / Mac or a combination). So until then, the iMac lets me jump online whilst the wife is using my newer iMac upstairs. TBH, it's limited even at 500Mhz and sometimes it slows down to a slow ass crawl. Don't be tempted to use Youtube AND be able to view anything in Facebook for example, it will lag. I guess I am now really used to dual core processors and 4Gb memory at my disposal lol. One thing you could do with the iMac is turn it into a PS1... yes, there was Sony PS1 emulation software available for it amazingly enough! I used to have it years ago and remarkably the company actually sold the emulator at the time the PS1 was available OVER THE COUNTER! Sony of course sued, tied the company up in red tape, killed them and then bought up the company. The thing with it was you had to have the PS1 disc to put in the unit, it was a strange trade off. I bought it out of curiosity and played a couple of games end to end on it. Worked well.
There is a bit more history to Connectix then that but oh well If you want to try out PS1 emulation thats top of the line (for its time) you've got the best machine (outside a Pismo PowerBook or a B&W G3). Grab it here: http://www.macintoshgarden.org/apps/connectix-virtual-game-station BTW Macintosh Garden also has some neat older games as well as regular software.
I forgot what the name of the emulation software was, but it was for the Mac G3... Basically, you install this software, and then you find Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs (Windows XP, but requires half the RAM at 64MB) and you got yourself a strange freak of nature machine. That, or mod a Dreamcast or other game console into it.
