Apple Archive

Picking a Used G3 iMac: 600 MHz Is Sweet

, 2005.04.22

Low End Mac Reader Specials

Memory To Go Special: New 2008 iMac 2GB $42 / iMac Intel Core2 DUO & MacBook Pro 2GB $36 - 1GB $20. MacPro 8 Core Memory 4GB kit $154 / 2GB kit $94 -- Free shipping available.

Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com

LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.

OWC: NewerTech NuPower Batteries for iBook and PowerBooks Designed+Built in USA to run longer, LAST LONGER TOO! Free Battery Recycling Return Label; Quality High-Capacity from $99.95

Mac users can finally play Party Poker for Mac. Not only that, they can also learn how to play PokerStars for Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, laptops, and LCD TVs side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for a new cell phone GPS products or MP3 players. The Ciao network makes searching products easy for you.

MacBook/MacBook Pro / MacMini / iMac Intel Core2 DUO DDR2 667Mhz 4GB Kit $80, 3GB Kit $60, 2GB Kit $40, 1GB $20 - Click to Maximize your Macs...

My last article, Picking an Older Power Mac: Go G4, brought up the subject of buying an older Power Mac for basic, typical modern computing tasks. While Power Macs are very useful, expandable, and great for those who want to use a large monitor, they're not what everyone is looking for.

Five years ago, if you wanted an all-in-one Mac, you had to go with something like the Performa 5400 - unless you didn't mind the 5200 series (which had many inherent design problems) or the non-PowerPC LC/Performa 500 series.

These days there are some much better options for those looking for an inexpensive all-in-one computer. For the same $300 that gets you a 400 MHz PowerMac G4, you can get quite a nice 600 MHz G3 iMac.

I'm not too big a fan of the early iMacs - the ones that use tray-loading CD-ROM drives. They're slow, not worth upgrading, somewhat ugly, and have a tendency for the analogue boards to fail.

They are cheap, though - for around $100 you can get yourself a decent, working 266 MHz iMac setup. (See This Week's Best iMac G3 Deals.) You'll be able to run OS X, but only if you don't mind waiting for the text you type to catch up with you (especially if you're using more than one application at a time or don't have the maximum RAM).

iMacWhat's next in the line? There were the 350 MHz blueberry iMacs, which used the new (much nicer) case design and a slot-loading CD-ROM drive. All 400 MHz and faster models had built-in FireWire, so if you plan on going for one of these, be sure you get a model that has it. If you don't, Apple won't officially support Mac OS X 10.4.* These are great machines for OS 9, and they run OS X about as decently as a blue and white G3.

That may not be decent enough for you. The next step in the line is a 400 MHz iMac. Most 400 MHz iMacs shipped with CD-ROM, but some have DVD-ROM drives, and they're decent performers with OS X. They also shipped with the newer Apple Pro keyboard and mouse, so if you're not planning on buying third-party peripherals, you might consider one of these machines based on the peripherals that come with it.

Then again, many times these older machines get resold without the keyboard and mouse, so that may be irrelevant. The additional performance in OS X is noticeable over even a 350 MHz machine.

There was a single 450 MHz iMac. It included a DVD drive, and it's not nearly as common as other iMac speeds.

These machines are sometimes available for under $200 these days, and a 500 MHz CD-RW model is generally available for not much more.

But if you want something that will be sitting on your desk for more than six months, you might consider one of the 600 MHz iMacs. These came with CD-RW drives,* were available in the more subdued graphite and snow colors, and generally have a more professional look to them.

The 600 MHz processor as well as the better video card (the 350-450 MHz iMacs had only 8 MB of VRAM with Rage 128 graphics, as did some 500 MHz models; other 500 MHz and all 600-700 MHz models had 16 MB with Rage Ultra 128) will significantly increase OS X performance - some of these models shipped with OS X installed. If you go with a 500 MHz iMac, try to find one with Rage Ultra.

Flat Panel iMacIf you've got a bit more money to spend, G4 iMacs are available for under $600. However, unless you really need the integrated display, it's probably a better idea to simply buy a $499 Mac mini. It's an amazing value - you're getting a machine almost twice as fast as the low-end iMac G4 with all the same features except for the display (which you may already have from a previous computer).

If you want to keep it under $300, I recommend the 600 MHz iMac. If not, go with the Mac mini. LEM

* Tiger (Mac OS X 10.4) will ship on DVD. Only the faster 1999 and 2000 iMac models included DVD-ROM drives, so if you want to go with Tiger, your options are sending the DVD back to Apple with $10 to cover shipping on the CD version or picking up a DVD-ROM, Combo, or DVD-RW drive (internal or external using FireWire). ed

Recent Apple Archive articles

Links for the Day

Recent Content on Low End Mac

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Apple Archive articles copyright ©2000-07 by Adam Robert Guha. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2008 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
  Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
  Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, PowerBook, MacBook, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.


Have a question?
Ask an expert!

Navigation

Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Best Used Macs
Video Cards
Email Lists
InfoMac's Low
End Mac Forum

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
   Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
   Mac FAQ
Abandonware
   Petition
Mac vs. PC Info

Affiliates

The Apple Store
Mac Connection
MacMall
TechRestore
MacResQ
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com

Advertise

All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For price quotes and advertising information, please contact at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Open Link

Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We recommend Firefox for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox than any other browser.