Vintage Mac Living

How Much Mac Do You Really Need to Run OS X?

- 2006.11.16

Well, my experience with using only my Power Mac 6500 and the "classic" Mac OS for the last few weeks went smoothly.

I must say that while it can be done, I can understand why most people wouldn't want to. You have to put up with a lot of pages being rendered incorrectly, even when using iCab 3.

As much as I hate bloatware, I must concede that you can no longer avoid feeding the beast if you need an Internet connection.

For the Average Joe Mac user who needs to be online (and not put up with incorrectly rendered pages, and fewer "must have" features), you've got to have OS X 10.2.8 or later (I would suggest OS X 10.3.9).

While you might need OS X to access the Internet the way you want to, you definitely don't need a new computer to do it. That's why I decided to compile the following list of computers that I would recommend to the average user for daily use (prices are for base computer - memory, optical drive, and video care upgrades and OS X may be additional):

Low End: iMac G3/350 (1999) or iMac 350 (2000)

Mac OS X 10.2.8
256 MB RAM
10 GB hard drive
CD-ROM
US$50 and up

Low End Plus: iMac DV or DV+, 400/450 MHz (1999 or 2000)

Mac OS X 10.3.9
384 MB RAM
20 GB hard drive
DVD-ROM
US$100 and up

Midrange: Power Mac G3/400

Mac OS X 10.3.9
512 MB RAM
20 GB hard drive
replace CD-ROM with CD-RW or Combo drive
US$100 and up

Midrange Plus: Power Mac G4/500

Mac OS X 10.3.9
640 MB RAM
40 GB hard drive
replace DVD-ROM with Combo drive
US$190 and up

High End: Power Mac G4/667 (rare) or G4/733

Mac OS X 10.3.9
768 MB RAM
60 GB hard drive
SuperDrive
upgrade to 32 MB ATI Radeon AGP video card
US$400 and up

High End Plus: Power Mac G4/800 dual

Mac OS X 10.3.9
1024 MB RAM
80 GB hard drive
SuperDrive
upgrade to 64 MB ATI Radeon 9000 AGP Graphics Card
US$700 and up

I think these models with the configurations listed would be the best bets based on what you do. All you need to do is ask yourself: Do I need a low-end Internet station, a midrange G3, a G4 workhorse, or a high-end DVD burning power house?

Join us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, use our Google+ page, or read our RSS news feed

Recent Vintage Mac Living articles

What a waste! Some schools would rather store old computers than put them to use, 2007.09.12. Denver Public Schools is one example of a school district so ready to buy new computers that it has tens of thousands of old, usable computers sitting in storage.
My incredible $110 Lombard and Power Mac G4 deal, 2007.07.11. Sometimes pawn shops can be a great source for older Macs, such as turning up a Lombard PowerBook and a very upgraded Power Mac G4 Digital Audio for just $110!
Too stressed to even think about computers, 2007.05.16. "I've been so preoccupied that I haven't been able to think about computers, much less write about them."
More in the Vintage Mac Living index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: Color Classic, introduced 1993.02.01. A cult classic, this was the compact Mac with color that everyone had been waiting for.
May 23 in LEM history: 00: A computer I understood - 01: Mac: A dream fulfilled - 02: PowerKey - 03: 12" PowerBook better than 15" TiBook - 05: The First Macs - 06: What's in your workspace? - Picking the right laptop - Sun has set on the G4 - 06: Running your notebook using flash memory - 08: MacBook holds its own against Dell and HP
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM Support Usage Privacy Contact

Vintage Mac Living articles copyright ©2005-07 by Ted Hodges. Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Opinions expressed are those of their authors and may not reflect the opinion of Cobweb Publishing. Advice is presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all.
Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2013 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc. unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Low End Mac, LowEndMac, and lowendmac.com are trademarks of Cobweb Publishing Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iPad, iPhone, iMac, iPod, MacBook, Mac Pro, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.
Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Email may be published at our discretion unless marked "not for publication"; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it, and we don't share the information we have with others. For more details, see our Terms of Use.