upgrading a B&W

[benyaimin]

I love Blue and Whites, and I was thinking of upgrading one. I don't want to buy a new mac because then I have to save for it all at once, instead of just buying upgrades when I have the money. This is my plan:

Base B&W G3 (specs don't really matter)
500MHz G4 or 1GHz G3 upgrade
1GB RAM
Dual Layer Superdrive
SATA PCI card
120GB 7200RPM SATA HD
USB 2.0 PCI Card
Bluetooth + Apple Wireless Keyboard/Mouse
Radeon 9200 PCI

What do you think?

EDIT - I would be using a 20" flatscreen CRT

 

[Macmaniac]

Seems like a good plan, but money wise it might be a better investment to get a G4, you would have slightly better architecture to work with (AGP vs PCI) and you would probably get more bang for the buck out of it.

How much do you intend to spend, it looks like you are spending about $400-$500.

 

[benyaimin]

yeah, that's a good point.

 

[RacerX]

If you are going to get a Blue & White make sure you get a rev 2 version. There were manufacturing issues with some of the rev 1 logic boards (part number 661-2104). Back when these systems were still semi-current the only real fix was to replace the logic board completely... and what you would have gotten from Apple would have been either a rev 2 logic board (661-2194) or a G4 PCI graphics logic board (661-2253).

I've retired (disassembled for parts) two Blue & White rev 1 systems.

Other than that, the Blue & White is a good foundation for what you are planning.

Upgrades are the best way to make sure that a system pays for itself because the system can be doing work while being assembled. Back in October of last year I was given two Beige G3 Mini Towers and took the best parts of both systems (an ATI Radeon 7000 video card, UltraATA-66 card, a USB card and a 20" display) and put them into one system. I then started selling off leftover parts to clients to finish off the upgrade (so far I've added a DVD drive and a G4/533 upgrade).

The main advantages of the Blue & White over the Beige G3 is memory, graphic card/number of slots, and built in USB and Firewire. The advantage of the Beige G3 over the Blue & White is the number of removable media bays (I'll end up with a 24x CD-ROM, 6x DVD-ROM and a CDR drive in my Mini Tower when I'm done).

 

[im_to_hyper]

If you wanted, I could just give you a system with those specs for like $300... an already upgraded B&W

 

[wmmk]

If you wanted, I could just give you a system with those specs for like $300... an already upgraded B&W

ooh, ooh, i'd like a system like that! PM me with details? i'd trade a non upgraded B&W and a mac mini!

 

[dmw007]

I love Blue and Whites, and I was thinking of upgrading one. I don't want to buy a new mac because then I have to save for it all at once, instead of just buying upgrades when I have the money. This is my plan:

Base B&W G3 (specs don't really matter)
500MHz G4 or 1GHz G3 upgrade
1GB RAM
Dual Layer Superdrive
SATA PCI card
120GB 7200RPM SATA HD
USB 2.0 PCI Card
Bluetooth + Apple Wireless Keyboard/Mouse
Radeon 9200 PCI

What do you think?

EDIT - I would be using a 20" flatscreen CRT

Sounds like it would be an okay computer for most tasks benyaimin.

 

[wmmk]

Sounds like it would be an okay computer for most tasks benyaimin.

yeah. but MAKE SURE its a rev 2 motherboard. the first revision ones refuse to take HDDs over 10GB

 

[dmw007]

yeah. but MAKE SURE its a rev 2 motherboard. the first revision ones refuse to take HDDs over 10GB

Good point wmmk- go for a rev 2 B&W if possible benyaimin.

 

[Spock]

yeah. but MAKE SURE its a rev 2 motherboard. the first revision ones refuse to take HDDs over 10GB

Well I do agree about the getting a Rev.2 Motherboard but he also noted that he will be adding a PCI SATA cart and I think the big problem on the Rev.1 was the faulty IDE chip on some, but not all models.

 

[Maxwell Smart]

Yeah, if you're going the blue and white route, definitly avoid the Rev. 1 units, I've had nothing but problems with them. However, I would really recommend getting at least a Sawtooth G4 as a basis for upgrades, as it has a much more improved architecture (AGP gfx, 2GB RAM support, etc. etc.) and they aren't all that expensive anymore now that the Intels are out.

 

[wmmk]

Well I do agree about the getting a Rev.2 Motherboard but he also noted that he will be adding a PCI SATA cart and I think the big problem on the Rev.1 was the faulty IDE chip on some, but not all models.

hmmm..... very true. maybe I should get a PCI SATA card for my Rev 1 B&W! Then again, even PCI is not as fast as a direct connection to the mainboard.

 

[ReanimationLP]

*drumroll* Dont buy that overpriced 9200! If you can get access to a PC, you can flash a GeForce FX5500 to a Mac FX5200, and have Core Image and Quartz Extreme on your Blue and White!

Staples has them on clearance as well for 60 clams.

I can even do the conversion for you for a small fee.

 

[Whizard72]

Sorry....

You're wrong there pardner... First of all, the ATA/33 controller, as on ANY motherboard is attached to the PCI bus so it's a PCI device built onto the mainboard. Furthermore, benchmarks have proven that if there's any speed increase with built-on IDE controllers vs PCI cards, it's negligible.

But ANYTHING is an improvement over a B&W ATA/33 .. That PCI SATA card will improve system responsiveness by a LOT. With enough memory and a fast hard disk controller coupled with a fast PCI video card there's nothing wrong with a G3.

hmmm..... very true. maybe I should get a PCI SATA card for my Rev 1 B&W! Then again, even PCI is not as fast as a direct connection to the mainboard.

 

[blakespot]

Yeah, if you're going the blue and white route, definitly avoid the Rev. 1 units, I've had nothing but problems with them.

I bought my B&W G3 the day of MacWorld SF in Jan '99, when it was introduced, and used it for nearly three years with nary a problem. As an FYI...

Pics of it: here and here.


blakespot