06-13-2009, 02:44 AM

Hi everyone,

Am a new apple user here, so please bear with my "noob questions" !

I'm considering buying a used, "cheap" mac to test out & explore Mac. What are some things to look out for when considering a used system? One worry I have with a iMac is, if something goes wrong with the hardware, would it be hard to fix (have always dealt with PCs before, and the iMac structure is very different than from a PC)? If the CRT screen has problems, then would that render the whole computer nearly useless because everything is in one whole package ?


Also I have come across several listings, are they a good deal?
Imac G3 400 mhz
640MB memory
10 GB hard drive
CD Drive
Mac OS X
$60



Thanks!

06-13-2009, 04:14 AM

If you buy cheap, you get what you pay for, and the example you quote, a G3 for $60 looks as though someone is trying to get just a few dollars for an old machine with very limited core memory.

More expensive, but safer, is to go to a reputable dealer in re-conditioned machines, who will probably give some kind of guarantee on the product.

On the iMacs - they just aren't designed to be opened up except to add memory, so if anything went wrong the thing to do would be to take it to an Apple Store to get it fixed. Again - more expensive than DIY, but safer!

06-13-2009, 01:25 PM

I would consider the $60 G3 iMac like you would a $200 used car.

06-14-2009, 05:23 PM

Thanks for your replies!

In general, how long do iMacs usually last? (if an estimate is at all possible)

06-14-2009, 05:24 PM

Originally Posted by funnytim

Thanks for your replies!

In general, how long do iMacs usually last? (if an estimate is at all possible)

You shouldn't have any problems with it turning on and off. However, that is an iMac from 1998-99 time period.

06-15-2009, 01:13 AM

Apparantely the imac had new ram installed a couple of months ago...would that make the $60 asking price any more "seem worth it"?

Probably the biggest thing I'm worried about is the screen...since it's a CRT screen it might have problems (such as color changing)(and that fixing problems with it would probably not be worth it)? Is there any way to connect an external monitor to it if/when that does happen?

And if I went to a "dealer" who sold these kind of things, how much more do you think it would be?

06-15-2009, 02:04 AM

You won't get the feel for OS X on a machine with that bad of a processor or that size of a hard drive. if you get this, don't even THINK of running leopard on it.

06-15-2009, 04:10 AM

I wouldn't bother with this machine - as other posters have said its 10 years old and will be on an old version of OSX - Leopard won't even run on it.

You could find a decent G4 emac for not much more - if you get one with 1.25ghz processor on a decent amount of Ram you would be able to run 10.4 or 10.5 on it no problem.

06-15-2009, 04:40 AM

Another vote for a used Emac with maybe 1Ghz or more G4. A G3 is so SLOW for todays OSX and programs. It will just drag and make your OSX experience not very enjoyable.

06-15-2009, 10:50 AM

As was alluded to earlier, you will be limited to OS 10.4. This, as it currently stands, is the previous generation of OS X. Think of it in comparison to Windows: it's like running XP when when Vista has been out for a while and W7 is on the horizon. To add to that, you won't be able to upgrade to either 10.5 or 10.6 because you don't meet the system requirements for either.