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Apple Archive

Death of the G3 iMac? The G3 Ain't Dead Yet

- 2003.03.21

This week Apple dropped their last desktop model based on the G3 processor. The 600 MHz G3 CRT iMac was not only the last G3 desktop, but also the last Macintosh to share the original iMac's basic design. This iMac, which had basic features such as a CD-ROM instead of CD-RW, DVD, or DVD-R drive, most likely had poor sales, with most people opting for the new LCD iMac.

The G3 processor was first introduced in 1997 with the Power Macintosh G3 computers. The "beige G3" was initially available running at 233 MHz or at 266 MHz and in either a desktop or tower configuration. This model was later boosted to 300 MHz and beyond.

The G3 processor was code compatible with the PowerPC 603e, so it was able to run older Macintosh applications easily, and it ended up being even faster than the then top of the line 350 MHz Power Mac 9600 at some tasks.

What type of news is the discontinuation of the classic iMac for the G3 processor? Most likely, it is going to be discontinued very soon. The iBooks are the last Macs to use a G3 processor, and since they have not been updated to work with AirPort Extreme as of yet, it is possible that their G3 processors will get replaced with G4s with the next update.

However, replacing the G3s in the iBook probably won't happen too soon. Doing so would take away sales of the new 12" PowerBook G4 which is essentially a silver iBook with an option DVD-R drive.

The major difference between the G3 and the G4 is AltiVec, which accelerates tasks that are optimized for it, such as Photoshop filters and Mac OS X. Those who are using Mac OS 9 will not notice much of a difference between a G3 and a G4 running at the same speed. Since many users are sticking with OS 9 for the time being but may wish to try OS X later on, older G3s remain in high demand.

The Beige G3

Beige G3s typically sell for between $150 and $300 these days. The basic 266 MHz tower version was available with 32 MB of RAM, a 6 GB hard drive, Zip drive, and personality card with RCA jacks for sound and video input and output, as well as S-video jacks. A 233 MHz desktop typically came with 32 MB of RAM, a 4 GB hard drive, and a standard sound card, lacking the special jacks.

For those trying to buy one, unless you get an exceptional deal, try to find a machine with a Rev. B or C ROM chip, as Rev. A ones don't support more than one hard drive and has a slower graphics chip built in.

There are three PCI slots, so you can always use another video card. USB and FireWire are other things you may want to add - since these machines are still built on the "old world" architecture (not the more modern NewWorld ROM, where the ROM is stored on the hard drive and not built into the computer), they lack the non-legacy ports that only started showing up on Macs with the iMac in 1998.

The G3 processor can also be replaced with a faster G3 - or even a G4 (ones made for Apple's "Yikes" G4 will not work). These computers definitely have life left in them: Even with a RAM upgrade alone, a 233-300 MHz G3 processor can perform quite satisfactorily.

WallStreet PowerBooks

As Dan Knight talked about in his recent column about Lombard PowerBooks, the WallStreet was the last PowerBook to use the old architecture, just as the beige G3s were the last desktops to do so. This also means that they contain the full compliment of legacy Macintosh ports (ADB, SCSI, Apple serial), none of which you can buy devices for these days (at least no devices I know of). The only solution for upgrading this PowerBook is to use the CardBus compatible PCMCIA slots to install a FireWire and USB card.

Also, as Dan mentioned, these PowerBooks have very limited video RAM, 2 MB or 4 MB for those with larger screens. Unfortunately, this can't be upgraded, and it makes running Mac OS X very slow. RAM also cannot officially be upgraded past 192 MB, which is not enough for OS X to run well. Thankfully, more recent memory chips allow it to be upgraded to 512 MB.

However, these machines are great if all you want to use is OS 9 and you don't want to spend a lot of money. While a Lombard will cost you $600, I've seen WallStreet PowerBooks for as little as $400. For that price, you really can't go wrong. The WallStreet is a solid laptop, and although it is heavy, it can stand up to quite a large number of abuses.

Even with Apple discontinuing its current G3 line, it doesn't mean that Macs with G3 processors are obsolete. Far from it. Many companies still use beige and blue and white G3s, and a large number of WallStreet G3 PowerBooks are still in use today, and many of them will most likely still be in use at this time next year.

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