Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

kaitlin4599

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 27, 2013
44
7
ok so i have a 1Ghz imac g4 that im gifting to a friend who cant afford anything to game on i know its oldd but its better than nothing i need some game recommendations im not picky anything game wise will do os will either be puma or tiger havent decided yet gpu if im not mistaken is 32mb
 

Amethyst1

macrumors G3
Oct 28, 2015
9,315
11,422
ok so i have a 1Ghz imac g4 [...] will either be puma or tiger havent decided yet

An 1 GHz iMac G4 will not run Puma. It requires either Jaguar 10.2.3 if it's a 17in or 10.2.7 if it's a 15in. I would put Tiger on it as it provides the best balance of speed and compatibility with applications IMHO. Leopard will support more and newer versions of applications and games but will be on the heavy side due to the GeForce4 not supporting Core Image, thus my recommendation to stick wih Tiger. Jaguar and Panther aren't really worth it as you'd be stuck with much older applications (and games) when using them - the glaring exception to this, though, is running OS 9 games in Classic, which will be much better in Jaguar than in Panther or Tiger.

How much RAM does the iMac have? I'd recommend to max it out if it hasn't been already.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tevion5

Roman78

macrumors 6502
May 7, 2018
374
130
Eifel - Germany
For gaming I also would go for OS9, but you can't install it natively. Gaming on Classic-Mode is not that great. For Example whit "Full Trhottle" and "The DIG" the audio is stuttering and by "the Labyrinth of time" the colours go totally crazy.

There is apparently a OS9 hack for the iMac on os9lives.com I installed OS9 on a Mac Mini G4 1.5 Ghz.

Hmmmm i also have a 700 Mhz iMac with some games on it, but i cannot remember.
 

kaitlin4599

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 27, 2013
44
7
An 1 GHz iMac G4 will not run Puma. It requires either Jaguar 10.2.3 if it's a 17in or 10.2.7 if it's a 15in. I would put Tiger on it as it provides the best balance of speed and compatibility with applications IMHO. Leopard will support more and newer versions of applications and games but will be on the heavy side due to the GeForce4 not supporting Core Image, thus my recommendation to stick wih Tiger. Jaguar and Panther aren't really worth it as you'd be stuck with much older applications (and games) when using them - the glaring exception to this, though, is running OS 9 games in Classic, which will be much better in Jaguar than in Panther or Tiger.

How much RAM does the iMac have? I'd recommend to max it out if it hasn't been already.

256mb ram atm
 

weckart

macrumors 603
Nov 7, 2004
5,834
3,511
For gaming I also would go for OS9, but you can't install it natively. Gaming on Classic-Mode is not that great. For Example whit "Full Trhottle" and "The DIG" the audio is stuttering and by "the Labyrinth of time" the colours go totally crazy.

There is apparently a OS9 hack for the iMac on os9lives.com I installed OS9 on a Mac Mini G4 1.5 Ghz.

Hmmmm i also have a 700 Mhz iMac with some games on it, but i cannot remember.
I have the 1GHz 17" G4 iMac with USB 1.0 and the MacOS9lives build gives you native OS9 on it. Many games don't really work that well in Classic mode so this would be the way to go, especially with low RAM.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dronecatcher

Roman78

macrumors 6502
May 7, 2018
374
130
Eifel - Germany
I have the 1GHz 17" G4 iMac with USB 1.0 and the MacOS9lives build gives you native OS9 on it. Many games don't really work that well in Classic mode so this would be the way to go, especially with low RAM.

That's what i meant by "There is apparently a OS9 hack for the iMac on os9lives.com I installed OS9 on a Mac Mini G4 1.5 Ghz. "
 

weckart

macrumors 603
Nov 7, 2004
5,834
3,511
That's what i meant by "There is apparently a OS9 hack for the iMac on os9lives.com I installed OS9 on a Mac Mini G4 1.5 Ghz. "
Yes, I understood that. I am just confirming that it actually works. Previously, the hack would only give 256 colours on the 1GHz but that has been sorted now.
 

Windreader

macrumors newbie
Aug 3, 2019
17
24
Iowa
Yes, I understood that. I am just confirming that it actually works. Previously, the hack would only give 256 colours on the 1GHz but that has been sorted now.
Do you by any chance have a link to the fix? I do love my 17” 1ghz iMac and wanted to use it for OS 9, but I always did run into that 256 color mode and never was able to get it sorted.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.