Power Mac G3 B&W Worth Upgrading?

Hi folks,

I have an old PowerMac G3 B&W 300Mhz rev 2.
The hard disk had been upgraded to 120GB.
Current ram is 512MB and it's now running Tiger 10.4.11.
Is it worth the money and effort to upgrade the ram to 1GB?
Will I see incremental performance?

Appreciate your opinions on this matter.

If you are happy with your machine's performance using Tiger, increasing the RAM to 2GB will make it much more responsive.

harryb2448 said:

If you are happy with your machine's performance using Tiger, increasing the RAM to 2GB will make it much more responsive.

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Hi harryb2448,

Thanks for the prompt comment.
I have checked on the G3 memory.
It only could accommodate up to 1GB max.
Currently, I have 512MB (128 PC-100 x 4).
If I upgrade to max these 128 PC-100 x 4 will go to waste.
Also the price of the ram is about US $90 for 4 pieces.
Any thoughts of should upgrade or should not?

Yes it will make a good improvement.

Or save your $100 and keep saving for a new mac that isn't 10 yrs old

Go over to OWC www.macsales.com and see their price. here is a link to modules much cheaper:-

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/100SD256324/

Bottom line it is your cash and your decision. If you are happy with the G3 go with it!

harryb2448 said:

www.macsales.com

Click to expand...

A useful link harry, thanks. I shop on our TradeMe for used RAM, haven't been stung - yet!

If you are happy with the G3 go with it!

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I have one of these Yosemite machines, 350 MHz, and love it. Ploughs through multi-tasking, as much as RAM will allow. Dual drives allows me to preserve the much-loved (and used) Classic software.

Macitizen may find this link useful: http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems.html
I'm not technically proficient to recommend or explain how a G3 b/w might be turned in to a racing Ferrari, but if it can be done, then xlr8 is the place to start.

Just a note, the B&W G3's will take 4 256Meg PC100 Dimms. I have tried many 512Meg Dimms and the machine will not even post. The maximum is 1GB.

Thanks everyone for the invaluable inputs.
Mac-forums Rulez!

I have checked the OWC thingie.
Think will order from them as they provide lifetime warranty.
Meanwhile, will be saving up for a new imac or macbook pro.
Cheers!

Btw, I'm a switcher. Been using PC for almost 20 years. Only used Mac in the past 3 years.

Also consider getting a used Powermac G4, they'll go up to 2gb and you'll notice a big difference from the G3 to G4.

www.wegenermedia.com has 400mhz G4s for $89 and 700mhz emacs for $139

I just bought 2 G4's from Wengener and am very happy with them. My wife's using one and the other will be a file server.
As far as the G3, yes, max the ram. Other upgrades can be expensive. I paid about $300 on a G4 cpu upgrade for mine and put a bigger video card.

Thanks Everyone for the helpful comments!