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buffalolee · 01:37 PM

This is a post as a satisfied customer from Technowarehouse. http://www.technowarehousellc.com

They recently performed an upgrade with my Strawberry iMac from a G3 350MHz processor to a G4 500 MHz for $300. I can tell you it is worth the money because it makes your iMac entirely usable with Mac OS X.

Surfing the web even a slow process (even though I had 384 MB of RAM) and my sister would constantly complain about how slow the Internet was with this computer than others.

So I made a decision to upgrade the iMac to a G$ 500MHz, and now it's a perfectly capable computer. Everything zips along the way they should.

I wanted to share my experience with you all for those who would like to upgrade their G3 iMacs to a G4 processor. It gave new life to my iMac, and now it's a fine machine.

Please note:
When you ship your motherboard, leave the battery at home. I had mine missing, but Technowarehouse is replacing mine with concern for my satisfaction.

Dex13 · Dec 11, 2003, 05:24 PM

OB1 · Dec 12, 2003, 09:16 AM

Originally posted by Dex13:

What's your point exactly? Did you get lost on your way? This is MacNN. A Mac discussion forum. See? If you find that boring, go away.

Thanks for the quick review buffalolee, I'm tempted to breah new life into my old iMac dvse now...

discotronic · Dec 12, 2003, 12:42 PM

Originally posted by OB1:
What's your point exactly? Did you get lost on your way? This is MacNN. A Mac discussion forum. See? If you find that boring, go away.

Thanks for the quick review buffalolee, I'm tempted to breah new life into my old iMac dvse now...

Get'em OB1. There are a few assh*les on here and I guess he's one of them.

Thanks for the info buffalolee. I have a friend with a DV G3 500. Do you think the upgrade would be worth it for him? Was $300 the total cost with shipping? Thanks in advance.

buffalolee · Dec 12, 2003, 03:33 PM

Originally posted by discotronic:

Thanks for the info buffalolee. I have a friend with a DV G3 500. Do you think the upgrade would be worth it for him? Was $300 the total cost with shipping? Thanks in advance.

It is $300 + $8 (have to look at my credit card bill) for shipping.

It took about a two week turn around for my motherboard to get back. Unlike other processors, the G3 is sodiered into the motherboard. When you see it, you realize you are paying people to do a difficult job that even techies would be scared to do.

I remember people reading about how slow the iBook 600 and 700 felt with Mac OS X. I can't say how much of a speed improvement over your freind's G3 500MHz, but I am sure he will feel that it has turned back into a "normal" computer.

Considering Aqua is altivec optimized, I am sure his computer will feel like a good computer again. I remember feeling so happy that my iMac has finally become usuable again. OS X was bearable with the G3, but it is a delight with a G4.

There is a slight whine coming from the hard drive when I turn on. It sort of disrupts the "quietness" of the iMac so the next upgrade is a Seagate Barracuda ATA V hard drive. While it is not the fastest hard drive, it is the quietest on on the market.

Hard Drive Information:
http://www.storagereview.com/article...20023AS_6.html

I spoke with Terry, the owner, several times. He actually picks up the phones, and talk to you if you have any concerns. Kind of interesting since I am used to talking to "sales representatives."

I used to want to go stick with OS 9 because it was more responsive than OS X. When I felt that way, I knew I needed to upgrade my little darling. I love the Strawberry iMac, and I wanted to give it more life.

While it may not play games, it will open up Microsoft Word, Excel, Safari, Quicken, etc much faster than before.

I hope this information helps you.

OB1 · Dec 12, 2003, 04:51 PM

Does your strawberry iMac have a fan? My fanless iMac dvse gets pretty toasty even with its G3...
Thanks again.

Dex13 · Dec 13, 2003, 02:41 PM

Originally posted by OB1:
What's your point exactly? Did you get lost on your way? This is MacNN. A Mac discussion forum. See? If you find that boring, go away.

Originally posted by discotronic:
Get'em OB1. There are a few assh*les on here and I guess he's one of them.

Sounded more like an advertisment then a review to me, hence the

.

And Also:
1
2
3

OB1 · Dec 13, 2003, 03:24 PM

Originally posted by Dex13:
Sounded more like an advertisment then a review to me, hence the

On behalf of the other members of MacNN I'd like to thank you for taking it upon yourself to police this forum.

But thanks for the links. Wouldn't it have been cooler to just post them in the first place?

Dex13 · Dec 13, 2003, 04:32 PM

Originally posted by OB1:
On behalf of the other members of MacNN I'd like to thank you for taking it upon yourself to police this forum.

But thanks for the links.

Your Welcome

discotronic · Dec 13, 2003, 06:45 PM

Originally posted by Dex13:
Sounded more like an advertisment then a review to me, hence the .

I still don't see your point. Why even respond. Keep the links.

Dex13 · Dec 13, 2003, 07:39 PM

Originally posted by discotronic:
I still don't see your point. Why even respond. Keep the links.

Then why should you?

OB1 · Dec 14, 2003, 06:00 AM

Originally posted by Dex13:
Then why should you?

True, we could've ignored you in the first place. But that's not the point we're trying to make. We're not here to ignore each other. We're here to ask advice, learn, maybe even help someone out. Which is just what you did when you went to the trouble of finding those other threads and posting links to them.

It seems to happen to most threads, whatever the subject, someone will pop up with a clever reason why the thread shouldn't be. Not that your reply was very clever, you didn't even try to explain your point. Why would anyone take the trouble to reply to a thread that was of no interest to them, pushing that thread to the top of the list in the proccess? There's some cool stuff going on at MacNN, I suggest you dig a bit deeper and just ignore the things you don't find intersting.

buffalolee · Dec 14, 2003, 08:57 AM

Originally posted by OB1:
Does your strawberry iMac have a fan? My fanless iMac dvse gets pretty toasty even with its G3...
Thanks again.

I don't really since any heat from my iMac. Not that I really tried to notice because it goes to sleep after 20 minutes of non-use.

The only I do notice is the whine from my hard drive which prevents my little sucker from giving me the "silent computing" experience.

buffalolee · Dec 14, 2003, 09:05 AM

Originally posted by Dex13:
Sounded more like an advertisment then a review to me, hence the .
://forums.macnn.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=155916&highligh t=Technowarehouse]3[/url]

Sorry if it doesn't sound like a review up to your likings. Is there anything you would like to see?

Before iMac G3-350MHz upgrade:
The internet felt slow. Pages would render slowly even with my cable modem connection.

Mac OSX was bearable, if you are the patient type. I was at the point where I wanted to decide between switching back to OS9 or stay with OSX because of the responsiveness.

After the upgrade with G4-500MHz:
Normal computing experience has been resumed. I do not expect my machine to be speedy, but basic computing happiness has been restored to where my iMac is a good home machine.

The G4 really does make a difference when it comes to basic computing experience.

slider · Dec 14, 2003, 11:28 AM

You might want to consider the powerlogix 900Mhz G3 offering for slot loading iMacs up to a certain original Mhz speed. http://www.powerlogix.com/buynow/imac_service/

Dex13 · Dec 14, 2003, 12:24 PM

Ok so I should have just added the 3 helpful links under the

.

But you two don't need to go on with your posts saying I am some sort of asshole who doesn't add to these forums in a positive way.

bradoesch · Dec 14, 2003, 07:56 PM

I'd consider the upgrade if it was a 1 GHz+ G4. My iMac DV (400 MHz G3) is feeling kinda slow lately, but a 500 MHz G4 still isn't enough power for current games, and doesn't sound that much faster to me. $800 for an eMac with a 1 GHz G4, Radeon 7500 32 MB video card, 17" CRT and combo drive sounds like a better deal to me than a $300 CPU upgrade. Plus there's no chance of getting that tilt and swivel stand without an eMac...

slider · Dec 15, 2003, 05:25 AM

Originally posted by bradoesch:
I'd consider the upgrade if it was a 1 GHz+ G4. My iMac DV (400 MHz G3) is feeling kinda slow lately, but a 500 MHz G4 still isn't enough power for current games, and doesn't sound that much faster to me. $800 for an eMac with a 1 GHz G4, Radeon 7500 32 MB video card, 17" CRT and combo drive sounds like a better deal to me than a $300 CPU upgrade. Plus there's no chance of getting that tilt and swivel stand without an eMac...

And there you have the problem with upgrading older machines with the current machines available.. What I recommend to people is that if you have already invested money in the machine, ie maxed out ram and a new hard drive and/or a different optical drive, then go ahead and spend a little more to maximize those investments. But, it you have a stock machine you're better off just getting an eMac. Of course $300 is not $800+50(stand), so sometimes it's the best one can do.

buffalolee · Dec 15, 2003, 08:30 AM

Originally posted by slider:
And there you have the problem with upgrading older machines with the current machines available.. What I recommend to people is that if you have already invested money in the machine, ie maxed out ram and a new hard drive and/or a different optical drive, then go ahead and spend a little more to maximize those investments. But, it you have a stock machine you're better off just getting an eMac. Of course $300 is not $800+50(stand), so sometimes it's the best one can do.

I was thinking about an eMac, but that only adds more machines to my home. It's like adding a layer of pine chips on top of your guinea pig's cage without removing the old stuff. You do get a new machine, but what the heck do I do with the old one?

I still like my old strawberry iMac. Even if I were to get a new machine, what would I do with my G3 iMac? I would to spend about $500 more for a new machine, which is not small change.

The machine is going to be a home machine. My mom will use it to surf the web (if she learns how), and my sister will use it whenever she comes home to visit.

I had the option of fixing my old WinTel machine, but I rather invest the money in the iMac.

If it was for my own personal use, and I needed a home machine, I would have bought a nice flat panel iMac to use. Since the machine was for my family, the investment is a wise one for general computing (surf web, create docs, etc)

buffalolee · Dec 15, 2003, 08:33 AM

Originally posted by slider:
You might want to consider the powerlogix 900Mhz G3 offering for slot loading iMacs up to a certain original Mhz speed. http://www.powerlogix.com/buynow/imac_service/

Thanks for the info, but my iMac is not listed on the "compatible" as per the website. (Strawberry 350Mhz)

Anand · Dec 15, 2003, 04:20 PM

Originally posted by slider:
You might want to consider the powerlogix 900Mhz G3 offering for slot loading iMacs up to a certain original Mhz speed. http://www.powerlogix.com/buynow/imac_service/

That is no longer available. Strange as it seems they just started selling it. Must have had some problems.

slider · Dec 15, 2003, 04:54 PM

Hmm, or they had a run of this upgrade and didn't feel the market for such an upgrade warranted another run. It would suck to produce say a 1000 and be left with a couple of hundred that you could not seem to get rid of or just find there is not much of a return. I would think most people would just choose to get a new machine instead of upgrading; given the cost of the eMac.