Evan Kleiman
- 2002.07.17
Now that the blue and white G3
(a.k.a. Yosemite) is several years old, many owners are wondering
how exactly they can upgrade this computer to really run with all
of today's newer technologies and programs. Today I'll help you
pick out the right upgrades to make your computer still run with
the big dog G4s!
Hard Drive
Since many people want to run OS X on their Mac, hard drive
space is probably one of the top concerns. To run OS X and all
of its huge applications comfortably, you want at least a 20 GB
hard drive - and they're cheap enough right now.
There's also a large debate going on right now asking whether
hard drive speed makes a difference. 7200 RPM drives cost more than
5400 RPM one, and there are other 
factors that
influence disk speed, too, such as the drive's onboard cache.
However, it is my belief that you should just go out and spend the
extra few bucks on a faster 7200 RPM drive, as I've noticed a very
large difference in OS X disk access time, etc.
Memory
Unless you got a special deal, your b&w G3 probably came
with only 64 or 128 MB of memory. To run OS X, or even
OS 9 for that matter, you'll need a lot more. And, thankfully,
just like hard drive prices, memory prices are almost at an all
time low as well. You can pick up an extra few hundred megs very
cheap. Some people have upwards of a gigabyte of memory (the
highest a blue and white G3 can support), but you probably need
only between 256 and 512 MB to get your work done efficiently.
Also, since the memory used by the G3 is the common PC 100 68
pin sticks, you can get it easily, not to mention cheaply. (Visit
ramseeker.com
for current prices. As we posted this article, the lowest shipped
prices were $25.19 for a single 128 MB module and $35.23 for 256
MB)
Speed
Another large concern for Blue G3 owners who wish to make their
computer more compatible with OS X is speed. So, for these people,
there are several options.
- Overclocking: In last week's
article, we talked about how to overclock a computer, and it
can be rather simple - just tweaking a few thing inside the case.
The advantages of this option are that you can do this on your own,
and do it rather cheaply. If you already have the parts, you can do
it for free. See Yosemite CPU
Speed Settings on Accelerate Your Mac for more details.
- ZIF upgrades: Many companies, such as XLR8, make upgrade
cards for the Blue and White G3. All you do is replace the current
processor with theirs. The advantage of this option is that while
it isn't free like over clocking, you can get an entirely new
processor, with even the possibility to go with a G4. See Low End
Mac's Guide to G3 ZIF Upgrades and
Guide to G4 ZIF Upgrades for an
overview of your options.
- Used processor swap: Many people who once upgrade their
computer with a newer ZIF card still have their older processor,
and many of them sell them on places such as eBay, so you can
pick one up here pretty cheap, and since it's still a stock Apple
part, there'll be less chance for compatibility issues.
Other Concerns
The three things I've mentioned above are pretty much all you
need to consider upgrading to comfortably run OS X. However,
these aren't all you can upgrade on your computer. You can
also add various types of external devices (scanners, etc.) and
internal devices (SCSI cards, USB cards, FireWire cards, etc.).
Another option for upgrading is the video card. The b&w G3
came with 16 MB standard. However, many people find this not enough
for such things as serious gaming and others graphics-intensive
projects.
The only problem with this is that the newest cards are AGP, and
the b&w G3 doesn't support them - only PCI. Check out Korin
Hasegawa's article, Picking a PCI
Video Card, for more on your options.
In the end, while the blue G3 isn't exactly a new Quicksilver,
with the right upgrades it will be able to run the latest software
and run with the big dog G4s.
