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iMac G3 (Slot) with new hardware
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Here and there
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Since my wife's iMac has been sitting around for almost a year now without her doing anything besides playing music every now and then I was thinking about having some fun with it. Here's my idea: I'm gonna put in the smallest mainboard I can find, possibly from a notebook. If not, maybe a µATX motherboard and one of those AMD EE-class processors (45W). I might have to replace the CRT with a 15" LCD. Bottom line - make it faster so we can actually continue using it - that thing is a beauty and it'd be a shame if we actually had to get rid of it for good.
Anyone ever done something like that before?
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"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in one
pretty and well preserved piece, but to skid across the line broadside,
thoroughly used up, worn out, leaking oil, shouting GERONIMO!"
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Jun 2006
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sounds interesting, keep us posted. it would be a shame to get rid of the crt though.
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imac g3 600
imac g4 800 superdrive
ibook 466
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Senior User
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Aberdeen, UK
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Originally Posted by D'Espice 
Anyone ever done something like that before?
The LCD replacement has definitely been done before. As for replacing the motherboard with another one, I imagine it's most definitely possible (especially using the ATX power-supply you'd be installing to power the LCD). The biggest problem, I imagine, would be lining up the USB ports with those on the side of the casing; this could probably be done with some kind of extension cable, but specifics are beyond my experience.
Another alternative to adding a new motherboard is getting FastMac's G3 to G4 upgrade. It's something I've personally considered, and the performance boost of the G4 versus the G3 is significant; my Cube vastly outperforms the iMac G3, despite an identical clock-speed. The definite upshot of this is that you wouldn't be forced to use Windows/Linux or make a Hackintosh.
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Here and there
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Thanks, but that ain't gonna happen. These CPU upgrades are ridiculously overpriced - I can get hardware that'll kick any G4's arse for $200... we're talking AMD or low-end Intel dual core here. Also, other than most people here I'm not a fanatic that considers using Windows/Linux torture but rather an option to Mac OS X. Infact, I have even made the switch away from OS X and to XP/Vista since it suits my needs a lot better than OS X (not to mention the fact that some OS X "features" (or rather the lack thereof) and major quirks have been bothering me since 10.1).
Edit:
Thanks for the LCD-thing link. The very nex Mac mod is actually pretty much what I'm planning to do - someone's put a full-size ATX mainboard along with a nice 15" LCD into a dead iMac - that's what I'm gonna do, only faster 
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Last edited by D'Espice; Jan 21, 2008 at 03:59 PM.
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"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in one
pretty and well preserved piece, but to skid across the line broadside,
thoroughly used up, worn out, leaking oil, shouting GERONIMO!"
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: UK
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Do you definitely want to make it a PC? I would have thought there was space for a the guts of an 2nd hand Mac mini in there, especially if you fit an LCD screen. Bootcamp it and have the option of Mac and PC on the same machine.
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It'll be much easier if you just comply.
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