Which iMac G3 would you choose?

[Heb1228]

I thought I'd get some MR opinions on this...

I'm thinking of getting an iMac G3 off ebay to use as a living room/internet/extra computer. I won't be doing much other than surfing the internet and other really light, general use. Obviously a slower, older model is going to be cheaper and thats important cause I'd like to keep the price as low as possible.

What do you guys think would be the minimum specs for what I should look for. I'm pretty sure I want something over 400 MHz (so it can run Tiger) and a DVD drive is probably important. Any other thoughts? I'd probably like to stay somewhere between $150-200 shipped.

 

[frankblundt]

The DV editions are handy for not just the firewire ports and the dvd player but the video out if the screen dies. I run Panther just fine on a 400 with 512 RAM (and even better on a 350 with 1GB). I've heard conflicting advice as to whether Tiger is faster or slower on old Macs.

 

[Cheese]

My DV400 is still a great computer, but if I were to buy an iMac G3 today, I would go for the fastest G3 I could find. Besides a faster CPU=faster folding. Also, I love Garageband, and the DV400 can't run that. Just not fast enough, or so I'm told. As for a DVD burner (Superdrive) I don't personally have knowledge of any G3 iMacs that were so well equipped, but I don't remember. Must be the lack of Guinness.

 

[Eidorian]

- FireWire
- DVD-ROM
- 512 MB of RAM
- External Video Output
- Panther/Tiger


The 400 MHz iMac DV or higher meets all of these requirements and is around that price range.

 

[laidbackliam]

Besides a faster CPU=faster folding.

whats folding?

 

[Eidorian]

whats folding?

http://folding.stanford.edu/

Distributed computing, you use your CPU time to fold proteins.

 

[CubeHacker]

Any slot loading model would be fine, although the 350mhz model only came with a CD-ROM drive and no Firewire ports (if those are important to you).

Just be sure to stick in some RAM (512mb would be enough), and you'd probably want to replace the old whiny hard drive in it too. The great thing about the slot loaders is that they have no fan, so they are virtually silent, except for whatever noise the hard drive makes.