Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iMac 333 is good for.........Old tech is old tech.

Dont Hurt Me

Dont Hurt Me

macrumors 603
Original poster
Dec 21, 2002
6,055
6
Yahooville S.C.
I have a 333 iMac and have no clue of what to do with it, I cant seem to throw it away, have thought about tearing it apart just for magnets and parts to goof around with, its to obsolete to give to family.....any ideas? Anyone want to make a aquarium? Its in the same category as my pioneer Laser player, old and obsolete:( Help..
 
Dont Hurt Me said:
I have a 333 iMac and have no clue of what to do with it, I cant seem to throw it away, have thought about tearing it apart just for magnets and parts to goof around with, its to obsolete to give to family.....any ideas? Anyone want to make a aquarium? Its in the same category as my pioneer Laser player, old and obsolete:( Help..
Click to expand...

Run a web server? Samba file server (with external drives attached)? Running game emulator apps (MAME, ScummVM, etc)? Install Linux on it and poke around? Hamster tank? :D

If you end up parting it out, please be EXTREMELY careful in handling the high voltage CRT and related parts (or a low voltage power supply with HUGE capacitors) when working nearby -- triggering a discharge while not protected or expecting it can kill you or put you in the hospital in immense pain. They need to have electricity fully discharged from them before it's safe to work on them.

There is a special but dangerous procedure involving a specific tool that Apple authorized service personnel used to discharge the iMac 333's CRT; would recommend someone with repair experience do that procedure. This tool is also available through a third party seller. In a pinch, there's a way to jury-rig a tool (at higher risk), but you still need to know where to connect stuff to and how to safely do it.
 
Thanks for the electrical advice, Hamster cage? Now that sounds interesting indeed. It was so so cool when it was new. Anyone want a hamster cage?
 
it would be a deadly sinn to rip a working imac g3 apart , its a tray loading model you`ve got there the grandfather of all imac`s ever produced
so respect it a bit ,it deserves it , try to get the original subwoofer that was available for them , yes there was a subwoofer available for them
the harman cardon speakers are good anyway so why not use it in the livng room as a replacement for a ipod ...at least it looks far better
:D
 
MacHamster68 said:
it would be a deadly sinn to rip a working imac g3 apart , its a tray loading model you`ve got there the grandfather of all imac`s ever produced
so respect it a bit ,it deserves it , try to get the original subwoofer that was available for them , yes there was a subwoofer available for them
the harman cardon speakers are good anyway so why not use it in the livng room as a replacement for a ipod ...at least it looks far better
:D
Click to expand...
That Sub your talking about went with the P-P-PowerMac Quicksilver, I should know I had one with the sub.. Guess it will keep collecting dust for now.:cool:
 
I think there's still a reasonable eBay market? Delivery is a pain though.

They're not useful for anything as such, but collectors will be interested, or geeks who started with OSX and feel like checking out the more historic versions.
 
Cloudane said:
I think there's still a reasonable eBay market? Delivery is a pain though.

They're not useful for anything as such, but collectors will be interested, or geeks who started with OSX and feel like checking out the more historic versions.
Click to expand...

i totally disagree they are still useful , ok with a imac g3 with 333mhz processor you cant play world of warcraft but they are still useful ,
install osx 10.3.9 on them and you can play itunes , you can surf the internet
you can even use photoshop , and other graphic programs , ok they might need a bit longer ,
but if you start to measure usefulness only by speed then you should not even use a core 2 duo processor as they are also damn slow if you compare them with a eightcore processor , pure speed is not everything ,

it`s pure fun to work with a imac g3 , and it surprises you every time again when you work with one, and you see that apple was right with the megaherz myth and these small
harman cardon speakers for example are awesome,
if you think of their size
 
Hmm you can sort of get away with Panther, but most apps these days require 10.4. I guess it's Good Enough if you can get hold of old versions of everything :)

Web browsing will be the biggest pain, but I believe Camino will work.
 
MacHamster68 said:
it would be a deadly sinn to rip a working imac g3 apart , its a tray loading model you`ve got there the grandfather of all imac`s ever produced
so respect it a bit ,it deserves it , try to get the original subwoofer that was available for them , yes there was a subwoofer available for them
the harman cardon speakers are good anyway so why not use it in the livng room as a replacement for a ipod ...at least it looks far better
:D
Click to expand...

I have one too, what could I do with it lol? Its worth nothing.. Its in my garage roof lol:D
 
Dont Hurt Me said:
Hamster cage? Now that sounds interesting indeed. It was so so cool when it was new. Anyone want a hamster cage?
Click to expand...

electroshock said:
If you end up parting it out, please be EXTREMELY careful in handling the high voltage CRT and related parts (or a low voltage power supply with HUGE capacitors) when working nearby -- triggering a discharge while not protected or expecting it can kill you or put you in the hospital in immense pain. They need to have electricity fully discharged from them before it's safe to work on them.
Click to expand...

Why not keep the high-voltage electronics and still make it into a Hamster cage? It would be twice the fun!

(Just kidding!!! I don't want PETA folks flaming me)
 
I assume it came with OS9? If you have the space I would box it up and keep close attention to the eBay prices. You should be able to sell it for a few hundred to some geek into retro stuff. Maybe not now, but at some point.
 
tofagerl said:
I assume it came with OS9? If you have the space I would box it up and keep close attention to the eBay prices. You should be able to sell it for a few hundred to some geek into retro stuff. Maybe not now, but at some point.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'll wait a few years till the numbers have dropped a bit more so they are worth a bit more:D

Thats what I'm planning to do with my Mac Classic:cool:
 
Wow, if I had an original iMac, I would keep it forever. Does it take so much space that you would give it away rather than booting it up 50 years later for nostalgia's sake?
 
i use mine now every day its so cool
and these speakers great for listen itunes
and it looks cooler then a ipod:)
 
I'd take it off your hands if I could since my 233 iMac died a few months ago, but my parents don't want me to have any more computers lying around. :p

Try messing around in OS 9 if you can, it's still a great OS. (If I could run it on my eMac, I would. It's a shame it's not supported anymore.) Or just load up 10.3, make it an iTunes server, play some old games, or whatever. It'll still be useful for some people if you put in a larger HDD and maxed out the RAM.
 
Maybe I missed it in your earlier post, but does it work? Like, can it be used?
 
o course it can be used , i`m just writing here the reply
on my imac g3 and its as fast as any other computer doing that ,

get 0s9 on it and enjoy the old games and
os x 10.3.9 for
surfing the internet and reading emails ,
get a external firewire hdd on it store your music files
with these little harman kardon speakers it makes a great jukebox
and use it as it was meant to be used :)
 
I used an older imac than that today!
it was an original bondi blue imac 233mhz!
with 35mb of ram
and mac os 8.5!
man that things classic
i wish i could have it
I would
upgrade it with
Mac os 10.3 (at least)
512 MB ram
600mhz processor upgrade (with firewire)
and maybe even get rid of the CRT and find an LCD to put in it (maybe not)
oh and a cd burner!
and clean it really good bc its kinda dusty! oh and its speakers have never been used and never connected to the internet!
 
I love them ghetto computers! Actually when i was in Kindergarten to 2nd grade they had iMac G3s in the school computer lab. If I could find a cheap one i would buy it.
 
ibookos9 said:
I used an older imac than that today!
it was an original bondi blue imac 233mhz!
with 35mb of ram
and mac os 8.5!
man that things classic
i wish i could have it
I would
upgrade it with
Mac os 10.3 (at least)
512 MB ram
600mhz processor upgrade (with firewire)
and maybe even get rid of the CRT and find an LCD to put in it (maybe not)
oh and a cd burner!
and clean it really good bc its kinda dusty! oh and its speakers have never been used and never connected to the internet!
Click to expand...
If anyone wants my 333 and lives near beaufort sc its yours.
 
ibookos9 said:
I used an older imac than that today!
it was an original bondi blue imac 233mhz!
with 35mb of ram
and mac os 8.5!
man that things classic
i wish i could have it
I would
upgrade it with
Mac os 10.3 (at least)
512 MB ram
600mhz processor upgrade (with firewire)
and maybe even get rid of the CRT and find an LCD to put in it (maybe not)
oh and a cd burner!
and clean it really good bc its kinda dusty! oh and its speakers have never been used and never connected to the internet!
Click to expand...

Good luck
with all that
it sounds like
a very ambitious project
but it's probably quite possible
Was there a 600mhz upgrade for it?
LCD will have to be quite small!
 
raysfan81 said:
I love them ghetto computers! Actually when i was in Kindergarten to 2nd grade they had iMac G3s in the school computer lab. If I could find a cheap one i would buy it.
Click to expand...

Craisglist. Easily snag one for less then $50. On eBay you can find them for $35 or less, but the shipping could kill you.

I've been thinking about replacing my original 233 Bondi that died a few months ago... but all it really needs is a new power supply, so it would be a waste to throw it out and get a new one... maybe one of these days I'll fix it. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back