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Thread: Upgrading an older Mac - is it worth it?

  1. #1
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    Default Upgrading an older Mac - is it worth it?

    Because I'm thinking about doing exactly that with a refurbished 350 MHz Blue & White G3 purchased from a mail-order company 18 months ago for $125.00

    Original specs:

    No OS, 128 MB Ram and 6 GB Hard Drive

    Added when first purchased:

    1. Replaced original Hard Drive with a 120 GB HD for $50.00 after mail-in rebate
    2. added 128MB of RAM for $20.00
    3. Purchased Panther install CDs for $100.00, mail-order.


    Considering three more upgrades:

    1. Adding 512 MB Ram for $60.00, which will max out the DIMMs.
    2. Purchasing a Tiger DVD for $100.00 via mail-order, plus whatever it costs to exchange the install DVD for CDs from Apple.

    3. And the most "iffy," upgrade being considered is a Sonnettech 500 MHz G4 CPU replacement for $150.00

    While the approx. $300 would probably be sufficient, considering my modest requirements, for another 18 months of use from this system, what I primarily would like to know:

    a) is 768 MB of Ram sufficient for Tiger when running on a 350 MHz G3, or would Tiger really need the 500 MHz G4 upgrade to run well?

    And b) will Leopard, in your opinion, when released, need a G4 to run at a decent speed?


    After the 18 months has passed, I'll finally get around to replacing the B&W with an Intel-based Mac. It's just a matter of deciding which Intel model to choose at that time.
    Last edited by PhaedrusZ; 09-22-2006 at 11:59 PM. Reason: changed word

  2. #2
    Featured Member maximvsv's Avatar
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    Default Re: Upgrading an older Mac - is it worth it?

    I remember reading about a series of complaints because of aspects of OS 10.2 that did not work well because G3's do not have the same Altivec(?) processing ability as the G4's. Check with the reviews on the specific model of the proposed upgrade and see whether that processing capability is available through the bus that the upgrade uses (PCI versus ZIF socket of the original chip)

    768MB should be enough to run the OS, but what programs are you trying to run?

    There are a few principles to keep in mind when using any older computer. The first is that it will run the original programming the same way it used to. Another is to not throw money into upgrades that you won't use.

    In this case, the B&W G3 with DVD originally shipped with OS 8.5.1, if I recall. 8.6 was the next big upgrade, then people had to start finagling things with the upgrade to OS 9 through 9.22.

    I have an original CD for one of these machines, which I could provide you, if you want. With even 256MB of RAM, OS 8 moves pretty well.

    After that, the old word processors work just like they used to. You can still use older web browsers, though you might have to find patches for Flash 9 and XTML to work correctly in some situations. You should be able to find functional anti-virus software, but keep in mind that there shouldn't be anyone writing new viri for OS 8 any more (just like Windows 95 and 98 were "blaster worm" immune).

    So, unless you are doing something OS X specific, you might not want to go through all of the upgrade process you've outlined.
    Last edited by maximvsv; 09-23-2006 at 10:19 AM.

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    Veteran Member jordankeywest's Avatar
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    Default Re: Upgrading an older Mac - is it worth it?

    get a g4 or 5

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    God/dess Mastridonicus's Avatar
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    Default Re: Upgrading an older Mac - is it worth it?

    you're already half way to a duo core mini or 3/4s to a solo core.

    Truth is, OSX croaks on anything less than a gig. Naysayers disagree, but the animation engine coming in leopard is going to be pretty demanding.

    Go new and get a few years out of it.
    People are not ruled by their memories.

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    Default Re: Upgrading an older Mac - is it worth it?

    I was running Tiger on a G4 and it was slowing down in a big way. I got a new G5 iMac and it's so nice. I think Leopard would have been close to paralyzing on the G4.

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    Default Re: Upgrading an older Mac - is it worth it?

    I agree, buy a used G5. I have a G4 imac and it's slow on 10.4.7. The duo cores are blazin', though. The 24" imacs are SCHWEEEEEEEEEEET!

    (I've been a mac devotee for over 20 years now. God, I'm old).

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    Default Re: Upgrading an older Mac - is it worth it?

    Thank you for all of your advice, everyone. Also thank you for the offer of the old OS 8 CD. As it happens, though, I have an OS 8 CD I purchased long ago, and have not used for a while now - just become too spoiled by Panther. I only use the machine for wordprocessing, email, light web surfing and some of the world's smallest spreadsheets, and the G3 has been rock-solid stable, at least for my purposes.

    After reading everone's advice, I think I'll probably purchase the $799.00 Mac mini (Duo core version) to replace the G3. But I'll wait until at least next January. With Macworld Expo held in San Francisco then, it's the logical time for Apple to release Leopard, but you usually have to wait a few months after the release of the new OS for the "debug" updates. E.g., see

    http://www.lowendmac.com/fishkin/06/0915.htm
    l

    So I'll wait until Leopard is included with the Mac mini, and then just long enough for the first bug fixes.

    Thanks again, everyone!
    Last edited by PhaedrusZ; 09-24-2006 at 09:21 AM. Reason: typos

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    God/dess Emily's Avatar
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    Default Re: Upgrading an older Mac - is it worth it?

    you can get the updates for free, so you might as well take the plunge and get Leopard when it's released.

    I thought about waiting for Leopard, but I wasn't overly impressed with the capablities. I got this imac in late August right before the 24" imacs came out. I so woulda wanted that, but this one rocks....2.0 ghz/2GB/500GB (purrrrrrrr)

    Basically, what I'm saying is that there is always something about to come out. You can't keep waiting. If you want it, get it.

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    Default Re: Upgrading an older Mac - is it worth it?

    Quote Originally Posted by Emily
    I so woulda wanted that, but this one rocks....2.0 ghz/2GB/500GB (purrrrrrrr)
    That is sooooo hot. LOL.

    Reminds me of how I used to hope that someday I'd meet a girl that understood my tech passions.

    I swear. Myself and a friends hacked into a computer mainframe to use the processing power to run simulations. A bolt of lightning hit during the storm, and 5 minutes later, Emily came out of the closet.

    Then she looked at us, with all her beauty, intelligence, and un-explainable powers, ...shook her head... and went to work as a stripper.

    *Cries*
    Last edited by Mastridonicus; 09-24-2006 at 09:36 AM. Reason: I can't remember if this movie was the one where they had bras on their head.
    People are not ruled by their memories.

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    Featured Member maximvsv's Avatar
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    Default Re: Upgrading an older Mac - is it worth it?

    Mine isn't just an OS8 CD, it's the restore CD for the G3 350 w/DVD drive. I haven't used it in a few years, because my G3 has been waiting for me to get some space for it.

    I'm a fan of obsolete stuff.

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    Default Re: Upgrading an older Mac - is it worth it?

    Quote Originally Posted by Mastridonicus
    That is sooooo hot. LOL.

    Reminds me of how I used to hope that someday I'd meet a girl that understood my tech passions.

    I swear. Myself and a friends hacked into a computer mainframe to use the processing power to run simulations. A bolt of lightning hit during the storm, and 5 minutes later, Emily came out of the closet.

    Then she looked at us, with all her beauty, intelligence, and un-explainable powers, ...shook her head... and went to work as a stripper.

    *Cries*
    Dude - I knew this girl - blonde - packed - awesome - wrote some of the BEST fortran code I ever saw (mathematics course) ...

    Became a dietician.

    She better write a book or something cuz she could have made some fucking money with that head.

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