Any 17 inch iMac users out there?

[2006iMac]

So i have wanted one of these iMacs since they were new in 2006. Fast forward to 2015, i got one that was perfect at first and then shortly after it started having the vertical lines issue. So i ordered another one right after that and i ended up not using it very often until a few days ago when i decided to get it out of the closet and set it up to replace another computer that had quit working and i absolutely love it!

I don't think this particular iMac was used very much in it's life. It is in 99% perfect condition except for two small scratches on the screen, and it's hard drive S.M.A.R.T data shows it only has a power on time of just over 2,000 hours. It is very possible the hard drive has been replaced sometime during it's life but i am not sure. This is the 1.83ghz model with the intel GMA 950 graphics with 2gb ram and a 160gb hard drive running snow leopard. I once had some software on this one that said it was manufactured in 2007, but i don't have that software anymore. I think this computer might have been an education model. I would like to install windows 10 on it in the future. I would upgrade it to an ssd but due to how horrible i am at taking things apart i don't think i will be doing so.

Does anybody else here still use a 17 inch imac?

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

Yep. It’s a retro console emulator.

 

[JMStearnsX2]

Yes, I have one

 

[Amethyst1]

This is the 1.83ghz model with the intel GMA 950

Only the education model had the GMA 950. Others had a discrete ATI (Mobility?) Radeon X1600 GPU.

I once had some software on this one that said it was manufactured in 2007, but i don't have that software anymore.

If you want to, share the first five characters of the serial number (System Profiler displays it) with us. This allows establishing when the machine was manufactured. No extra software required.

I think this computer might have been an education model.

Yep, see above.

 

[Heindijs]

Yes! I use my 2ghz Ati Radeon X1600 model every day.

It has been my main iMac for years and thanks to recent developments, it has been more useful now than say for example, 2016. Up to date fast web browser + Mavericks is something I could only dream of a few years ago.

I’d don‘t know how reliable it really is, but it has served me really well without issues and I hope that I will be able to use the thing for many years to come.

let’s hope the web doesn’t become too much of a resource hog in a few years, because I intend to keep browsing the web on it when the thing turns 20

 

[B S Magnet]

Does anybody else here still use a 17 inch imac?

I don’t, no, but I do have a kitty who does her very best just like yours does in the pic you posted.

 

[2006iMac]

Only the education model had the GMA 950 - the others had a discrete ATI Radeon X1600 GPU.


If you want to, share the first five characters of the serial number (System Profiler displays it) with us. This allows establishing when the machine was manufactured. No extra software required.


Yep, see above.

W87254

I remember reading back in the day that only the 2006 manufactured iMacs suffer from the screen lines issue.

I am glad this is an education model, as because at the schools i went to, (class of 2014) the computers were rarely used and mostly just sat there. Especially if it were in a an elementary school.

 

[Amethyst1]

W87254

Manufactured in 2007, week 25.

 

[2006iMac]

Manufactured in 2007, week 25.

Awesome!!

 

[ovoidprogressive]

Yes! I use my 2ghz Ati Radeon X1600 model every day.
View attachment 1866465
It has been my main iMac for years and thanks to recent developments, it has been more useful now than say for example, 2016. Up to date fast web browser + Mavericks is something I could only dream of a few years ago.

I’d don‘t know how reliable it really is, but it has served me really well without issues and I hope that I will be able to use the thing for many years to come.

let’s hope the web doesn’t become too much of a resource hog in a few years, because I intend to keep browsing the web on it when the thing turns 20

Heeeyy!!!
It has exactly one such iMac. Unfortunately, even at a beginner level, I have the knowledge to apologize in advance for the question. I want to use my computer to surf the internet.
The machine is running Mac OS X 10.6 (10A432) 2GHz Intel Core Duo 1GB RAM 250GB hard drive.
What kind of installations do you think are needed for the machine? Specific drivers. What specific programs would you recommend anyway?
Essentially exclusively for playing music and video on the Internet and surfing the Internet. I am very grateful for your reply in advance too!

 

[B S Magnet]

Heeeyy!!!
It has exactly one such iMac. Unfortunately, even at a beginner level, I have the knowledge to apologize in advance for the question. I want to use my computer to surf the internet.
The machine is running Mac OS X 10.6 (10A432) 2GHz Intel Core Duo 1GB RAM 250GB hard drive.
What kind of installations do you think are needed for the machine? Specific drivers. What specific programs would you recommend anyway?
Essentially exclusively for playing music and video on the Internet and surfing the Internet. I am very grateful for your reply in advance too!

First thing: let Software Update run all the needed updates to bring your system to 10.6.8 and associated security and/or firmware updates. This being a 32-bit system, 10.6.8 is the end of the line for supported OS X — which is still a really good OS for everyday stuff like using iTunes and browsing. Sotware Update will also update iTunes to the final version which can run on 10.6.8.

For browsers, there are a few to consider. Look for this forum’s pinned “SuperWikiPost” to find the wiki page for Web browsers for early Intel Macs. Ones which work on Snow Leopard and which are semi-maintained with security updates include Interweb, Firefox Legacy (Nightly), and Spiderweb. (I’m using Interweb on Snow Leopard to write this on a 2008 MacBook Pro.).

For video, either QuickTime (after you’ve updated to 10.6.8) or VLC for Snow Leopard will do the job nicely — with VLC also being able to play x265 HEVC video.

 

[Heindijs]

Heeeyy!!!
It has exactly one such iMac. Unfortunately, even at a beginner level, I have the knowledge to apologize in advance for the question. I want to use my computer to surf the internet.
The machine is running Mac OS X 10.6 (10A432) 2GHz Intel Core Duo 1GB RAM 250GB hard drive.
What kind of installations do you think are needed for the machine? Specific drivers. What specific programs would you recommend anyway?
Essentially exclusively for playing music and video on the Internet and surfing the Internet. I am very grateful for your reply in advance too!

B S Magnet wrote a lot of useful information but there are also a couple of things to consider. Your iMac has a Core Duo processor which limits it to Mac OS 10.6, however, you can upgrade the cpu (which I wouldn’t recommend for beginners) to a Core 2 Duo like mine has and that way you can upgrade it to 10.7 or even 10.9 with a few issues.

There’s the Chromium Legacy project which sadly requires 10.7 at its minimum. It’s basically a port of the latest build of Chromium (Chrome) and that’s what I’ve been using for a while now.
On 10.9 you can also install a working version of Spotify, which is pretty great. But iTunes works great on 10.6 as well.

Upgrading the ram also never hurts especially when you want to browse complicated and resource heavy the web in 2021

I hope you‘ll have as much fun with your iMac as I have had the past years!

 

[mortlocli]

I have one too. Imac 5,1 - intel core 2 duo.
I dont want to take it apart so Ive got Mavericks (unsupported) running on an external SSD drive. Ive Mavericks on the HD too.