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JustinHoMi · May 10, 2005, 01:21 PM

Hey,

Someone graciously sent me an old 400mhz graphite iMac to help with some software I'm working on, and it works great for the purpose. The only complaint I have is that it's really noisy. It's been a while since I've cracked one open, but do they have fans? I don't recall them having fans, so I assume it must be a noisy quantum hd. Do they use 3.5 or 2.5 drives? Would there be any trouble throwing a quiet 40GB drive in there?

Thanks,
Justin

Edit: One other thing. This has an 8MB video card. Would that be enough to power a seperate 17in flat panel at 1280x1024 with 16bit color?

discotronic · May 10, 2005, 01:43 PM

That model iMac doesn't have a fan. You could be right about the hard drive. They use a 3.5" drive. A 40GB HD wouldn't hurt it at all.

The 8MB VRAM should be enough to push the monitor. I don't remember what you need to do to get the monitor to work though. Some of the earlier iMacs came with a VGA type port on the inside of the case. The model you have probably doesn't have one.

JustinHoMi · May 10, 2005, 01:54 PM

I'm pretty sure it does have a vga out behind the cover on the back of the case. I read the apple docs and it says that it only supports the same resolution as the primary monitor, which means that it probably can't go above 1024x768. I think I may just sell it on eBay and get a newer one.

Will C · May 11, 2005, 07:49 AM

Yes, to confirm otherr posts - that model of iMac can only support video mirroring - however I was once able to use an external display with my old one and run it at a higher res, though the internal monitor then switched off - not sure if I was doing it any good. I think I used 'Switchres' to do it, but I cannot be sure.

JustinHoMi · May 11, 2005, 02:22 PM

Oh, nice! That's exactly what I was looking for. I'll try that as soon as Mail finishes running the filters on 24,000 messages... not a speedy task on a 400mhz machine!

JustinHoMi · May 11, 2005, 03:01 PM

Well, switchres certainly did the trick. Too bad it's shareware. I am semi-worried that it'll damage the CRT. I'm not sure whether it is disabled, or actually trying to display the higher resolution....

Will C · May 11, 2005, 03:59 PM

Yeah, I'm not sure if it is doing any harm, that's why I did not use it for long - also seems a shame to have a balnk CRT 'staring' at you.

JustinHoMi · May 11, 2005, 04:01 PM

Heh, I hate CRT's. I'm glad to have it off. I'd just as soon let it break, but I plan on selling this iMac before too long.