Apple Archive

Retired Power Mac G3 Gets a New Lease on Life

, 2005.08.26

Since I recently purchased my Power Mac G5 (see Moving Up from a 15" 350 MHz Power Mac G3 to a Dual 1.8 GHz Power Mac G5), I had had my old blue and white G3 sitting around the house. I was a bit unsure of what to do with it - the thrift shops around here don't like taking computers, and I didn't particularly want to throw it out - especially since it's a perfectly useable machine (if a little bit slow).

Then I remembered that a friend of my neighbors had been without a computer for nearly a year. While she was primarily looking for a laptop, at this point "anything would do". She'd been using the library to check her email, and it was slightly inconvenient. She didn't need the computer for anything more than that - and the b&w G3 would be perfect.

My G3 had 384 MB of RAM. While not the best amount for OS X, it's not quite as bad as having only 128 MB or 256 MB. We decided that with the high price of PC133 RAM, it's probably not worth adding more. The 40 GB hard drive still had a fair amount of space left, and there was no need to upgrade that for just Internet and email use.

The machine was running OS X 10.3.8, and I left things like Safari, iTunes, iPhoto, and a few others on the machine so that she could do some basic tasks. It had been running just fine with 384 MB of RAM, so we didn't bother to upgrade that. She did want AOL, and I managed to set up the modem (which I'd never even used before) to work with AOL. When AOL first came out for OS X, I remember it was fairly difficult to get AOL to dial correctly, but it seems that they've improved things since.

The initial plan for her was to look for a laptop - something basic that would allow her to check her email and put the computer away when she was done. However, she'd expressed interest in using Bluetooth with her phone. This means that she'd need - at the very least - OS X and a USB Bluetooth adapter. She'd also said she might want to get an iPod, which means she'd need FireWire or USB 2.0, none of which the laptops she was looking at had.

At the very least she needed something with modern ports, regardless of whether it was a laptop or a desktop. The b&w G3 that I had seemed perfect. Paired with an old CRT monitor it seemed to be a great low-end solution for someone who really didn't have the money to buy a new computer. The G3 is capable - it can run OS X up to the current version (though I have a feeling G3s will probably be cut out with 10.5), is 100% compatible with iPods, digital cameras, PDAs, and pretty much anything USB that's sold in the stores today (unless it requires USB 2.0), and it's got built in 100 Mbps ethernet for connecting to broadband. The b&w G3 typically come with 56K modems for those who have to use dialup.

Blue G3s area also cheap. Very cheap, in some cases. I've seen them for around US$100 - low-end models, of course, but they're still very capable machines.

If you're in the market for one, try to get one with a Revision 2 motherboard. Earlier versions have problems with addressing large hard drives, although there is a workaround. If you get a good deal on a Rev. 1 G3, be sure to connect the hard drive to the CD-ROM controller, and the CD-ROM to the hard drive controller. While the CD-ROM controller isn't as fast as the HD controller, the higher RPMs of newer hard drives seem to negate any additional slowness. It works great, and that's how I set up the 40 GB drive in my G3.

You might also try looking for a machine which has already had its RAM upgraded. PC133 RAM is more expensive than current PC2700 or PC3200 RAM, and Mac OS X also tends to be fussy about what RAM you use - it often has issues with cheap RAM, whereas OS 9 was okay with pretty much anything.

(The B&W usually shipped with 64 MB or 128 MB of RAM. It has four memory slots, and each can accept up to 256 MB for 1 GB total. Current best RAM prices are $10 for 128 MB and $23 for 256 MB before shipping.)

The b&w G3 gave me great service for the time that I had it, and now it'll enjoy a second life for someone else. Perhaps eventually she'll end up with a laptop as well, and then she can use that in FireWire disk mode with the desktop.

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