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Mac Musings
Older Macs in the Age of Leopard
The Future of G4 iMacs in the Age of Leopard
Dan Knight - 2007.10.18, updated - Tip Jar
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Apple has announced the system requirements for Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard": a drive that can read the DVD install disc, at least 512 MB of memory, and an 867 MHz G4 or better.
Several G4 iMacs aren't officially supported, but we have lots of tips on installing Mac OS X 10.5 on unsupported Macs in our article on Unsupported Leopard Installation.
First Generation
Those who subscribed to Time magazine were the first to learn about the flat panel, G4-based iMac, as it appeared on the cover of the magazine before Macworld Expo opened. Still, few would have conceived of the design Apple came up with for this one - it looks like half a volleyball with a flat screen attached to a stick. It's even more distinctive than the G3 iMac, which saw a handful of lookalikes.
The first
generation G4 iMac had a 700 MHz or 800 MHz G4 processor, a 1024 x 768
15" display that almost seemed to float above the hemisphere base, and
nVidia GeForce2 MX with AGP 2x support and 32 MB of VRAM. Standard
memory was 128 MB or 256 MB, expandable to 1 GB. There are two
FireWire 400 ports and three USB 1.1 ports, and it supports the
original AirPort card for wireless networking.
Although not officially supported under Leopard, these should handle it reasonably well with 1 GB of PC133 RAM installed (from $120 for two 512 MB modules these days) and a faster (and probably larger) hard drive. The drive bus in G4 iMacs supports drives over 128 GB in size, a limitation found in many older Macs.
The 15" iMac was joined by an 800 MHz 17" iMac in July. It has a 1440 x 900 display and weighed 1-1/2 pounds more.
Second Generation
The iMac was updated just over a year later in Feb. 2003. The newer 15" model runs at 800 MHz, includes a Combo drive and 256 MB of RAM, and had the same graphics chipset as the first generation. It also uses the same PC133 memory. The 17" iMac G4 runs at 1 GHz, uses PC2100 memory (as low as $25 per 512 MB module), and supports AirPort Extreme (the 15" model still used the original AirPort). Memory remains limited to 1 GB.
Apple made a 7200 rpm hard drive standard on the top-end iMac, which makes it well suited for Leopard and other flavors of Mac OS X. The 17" 1 GHz iMac G4 is the oldest iMac officially supported by Leopard.
Third Generation
The next revision came to market in Sept. 2003 - the first iMacs to support USB 2.0. The 15" model had pretty much the same specs as earlier 17" model, but with USB 2.0 added. The 17" iMac G4 bumped clock speed to 1.25 GHz, and these were joined by a 20" 1.25 GHz model in November 2003. These iMacs all use PC2700 memory, and you can pick up a pair of 512 MB modules for under $30 nowadays. Although not supported by Apple, you can use 1 GB memory modules in these iMacs, but at a cost of $48 or more per module, it may make more sense to stick with a pair of 512 MB sticks.
The entire third generation of G4 iMacs is officially supported by
Leopard, and to get the most out of the next version of OS X, you
will want to bring memory to at least 1 GB. The 17" and 20" iMacs
came with 7200 rpm drives, but the 15" may have a slower drive. If so,
replacing it with a 7200 rpm drive will boost overall performance.1
Further Reading
- Low End Mac's best used iMac G4 deals, updated biweekly.
Dan Knight has been using Macs since 1986, sold Macs for several years, supported them for many more years, and has been publishing Low End Mac since April 1997. If you find Dan's articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.
Recent Mac Musings
- IDE Is Dead; Long Live SATA!, 11.04. SATA has displaced parallel ATA. While IDE hard drives haven't disappeared, the best deals are in SATA hard drives.
- The Future of Personal Computing: Personal Servers and Low Cost Portables, 11.02. With WiFi everywhere, virtual network computing, and remote access, your iPhone, iTouch, iTablet, or MacBook Air becomes a gateway to your home or office computer.
- The Late 2009 Mac mini Value Equation, 10.21. We called the Mac mini 'the best value in desktop Macs' two months ago, and the refreshed Mac mini only improves that value.
- The Late 2009 MacBook Value Equation, 10.21. The redesigned consumer MacBook uses unibody construction, gains LED backlighting and battery life, but loses FireWire.
- More in the Mac Musings index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: 17" iMac G4/800 MHz, July 2002 - The iMac 'grows up' with a 17" 1440 x 900 display.
- Group of the Day: LisaList supports Lisa users.
- November 8 in LEM history: 99: OS 9: I think I like it - 01: The simplified Mac life - Soured on Windows - Flea market Mac - 02: Little room for improvement in new 'Books - Combo drive upgrade for iceBooks - 04: Re-Porter - 05: Fix the old iMac or buy a Mac mini? - Apple's Copland project - 06: MacBook Core 2 - MacBook value equation - Cheap is as cheap does - 07: Problems with Classic mode in Tiger - The G4 Power Mac that won't run Leopard
- Support Low End Mac
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Quad-Core CPU Makes Sense in MacBook Pro, OS X 10.6 Causing Overheating, Overseas Power, and More, The 'Book Review, 11.06. Also Late 2009 MacBook reviewed, how to add RAM to new MacBook, 18.4in Acer notebook used Intel i7, and SanDisk SSD chosen for Sony VAIO X.
- Dumping Macs for Google Apps, SSD in iMac, Late 2009 iMac Performance Problems, and More, Mac News Review, 11.06. /newsrev/09mnr/1106.html
- WiFi Paranoia, iMac-O-Lantern, Magic Mouse Does Click, Free Clipboard Managers, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.05. Also strange time stamps, problem with ColorIt on Intel Mac, and the story behind OS X 10.5.4 install discs.
- QuickTime X in Snow Leopard Imports, Trims, and Publishes Video Quickly and Easily, Alan Zisman, Zis Mac, 11.04. The long, slow process of importing video into iMovie to edit it, then render it to another format, is history as QuickTime X does that much more quickly.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.03. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 8-core. $2,299; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.26 8-core, $2,799; 2.93, $4,999.
- Best iPhone Deals, 11.03. New 8 GB iPhone 3G, $$99; refurb 16 GB 3GS, $149; new, $199; 32 GB, $299.
- Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.03. Used 867 MHz SperDrive, $348; 1 GHz, $499; 1.33 Combo, $298; SD, $559; 1.5 Combo, $448; SuperDrive, $589.
- Best Power Mac G3 and PCI Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used beige 300 MHz, $25; G4/366, $49; blue & white 350, $80; 400, $90; 450, $105; PCI video cards from $15; shipping additional.
- Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used 400 MHz, $50; 733 MHz, $69; 933 MHz, $209; 1.25 GHz dual, $299.
- Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.02. Used 2.0 GHz, $800; 2.2, $900; 2.4, $1,000; refurb 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,949; 3.06, $2,169; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
- Best Mac mini Deals, 10.30. Used 1.33 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.42, $389; 1.5, $419; 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $350; Core 2, $439; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $770; Server, $990.
- Best G4 iBook Deals, 10.30. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $225; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1 GHz, $349; 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz SuperDrive, $498.
- Best Classic Mac OS Deals, 10.30. System 6.0.8 floppies, $10; 7.1, $12; 7.5, $20; 7.5 CD, $4; 7.6 $13; 8.1, $11; 8.5, $20; 8.6, $90; 9.0, $20; 9.2.2, $30.
- More deals in our archive.
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