[X4U] Best System Version for Old iMac

[Philip J Robar]

On Oct 26, 2005, at 8:53 PM, Rick Gordon wrote:

> A friend with an old 400/128 G3 slot-loading iMac ...
>
> With a pretty basic OS X installation, what kind of performance  
> might she expect on that computer (compared to running native in  
> OS9), and which OS level would offer the best performance? I'm sure  
> she'd do well to have a more modern browser to work with, but  
> outside of that, she'd probably opt for not having to learn new  
> tricks.

OS X has gotten faster, more feature full, and less buggy with every  
release. It doesn't make sense to get anything less than the latest  
release unless you really need to save a few 10s of dollars.

You can put in up to 1 GB of ram (2 x 512 MB) in a slot loading iMac.  
(Unofficially, Apple says 512 MB (2 x 256 MB), probably because 512  
MB DIMMS weren't available for testing when these Macs were made.) If  
she's currently got 2 x 64 MB then toss one and get at least a 256 MB  
($21 including shipping at www.dealram.com). The machine will then be  
useable for a light load. If she's got a single 128 MB then she may  
be good to go with just an additional 256 MB. Best thought would be  
to get 512 MB, either 2 x 256 MB ($42) at dealram or one 512 MB  
($60). (512 MB PC100/133 DIMM prices seem to have gone up over the  
last few weeks.)


Phil
--
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or  
that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only  
unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American  
public." -- Teddy Roosevelt