About to buy iMac G4 tower! Can any non-apple screen work???? Please help! Quick!

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The Mac

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I'm about to buy an iMac g4 tower on ebay and wanted to get a couple questions answer asap! Will give rep and thanks!

It doesn't come with a screen, can I use any monitor? Or dose it has to be apple supported or something?

And

It comes with a 450MHz single core. Can I buy another processor and add it on to make it a dual? Dose it has to be 450 too or can I buy a 300 or 500MHz one?


Also
Dose iMac G3 and iMac G4 ram work with each other? Like get ram from my Imac g3 and put it in my g4?
 
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Be very cautious when you buy form any auction site, such as eBay as buying any electrical equipment is a bit of a gamble. You have to really cover the groundwork, checking out the buyer etc and should never rush no matter how much of a good deal you perceive is on offer.

Having said that, I'm sure there are many others who have been more than happy with their 2nd hand macs that they won on eBay and I am one of those ... but it is definitely Buyer Beware!

I *think* you are looking at the "Sawtooth" Power Mac G4 AGP Graphics model which was released back in Sept '99.

I have no clue as to the difficulty of upgrading a processor ... and as for converting to Dual, I'm afraid I can't answer that as I honestly am not sure.

But I have decided to provide the following info regardless:

For processor upgrades :

Check out Other World Computing(you can return to this link to find info about upgrades for the 300mhz or 500mhz)

When the above webpage loads, select the type of upgrade you need then click the "Show Upgrades" button:



The next page lists all the possible choices and you can see how much it's going to cost you.

I found this link regarding processor upgrades:

G4 Processor Upgrades

How-To: Upgrade the processor on an older macintosh G4

G4 Sawtooth Overclocking (Optimize your Processor!)

Regarding the Monitor side of things ...

The Sawtooth's Graphics has a VGA (Video Graphics Array) and a DVI-D (DVI Digital) display connection so you'll need to check that any monitor you find has the above connectors.

This has some good info regarding the ATI Rage 128/ATI Rage Pro graphics card that is in those model G4's:

Can my G4 handle a widescreen monitor

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@ The Mac:

I'd like to finish by saying that bribing is totally unnecessary and any assistance offered is done because I enjoy volunteering my services to this forum and NOT for any gain, be it a stats boost of sorts in the form of rep/thanks, so whether you choose to do those things is entirely up to you. ​
 
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yeah sorry sending you the message cause the auction is going to end soon and i know I can rely on you for great advice/help. Any chance knowing about if my iMac g3 ram will work on the g4?
 
I would've got back to you sooner but couldn't access this site for ages due to a random Server Strike error ...




Don't "impulse buy" a mac from ebay, is my advice ....

Regarding the RAM .... it depends on which model G3 iMac you have ... in Oct '99 Apple changed from using PC66, 144 pin SO-DIMM RAM, and started using PC-100, 168 pin SDRAM in the iMac G3.

The Power Mac G4 takes PC-100, 168 pin SDRAM modules so it is quite possible, depending on the G3, that is. ;)
 
I got the same sign. lol. But Nice! I got the same Type for my G3! Do you know if they sell that ram at stores like best buy or circuit city? Also idk this might sound stupid, but all G4's come with a VGA port for my VGA monitors? lol.
I'm buying the G4 for a fun project, really want to try to upgrade this to its max. Its only 40 bucks and comes with some decent specs. thanks!
 
AFAIK & FWIW, the G4 won't run the next OS (10.6), due out in the next 12 or so months as it will be for Intels only ....

Good online sellers of RAM that I've seen mentioned time and time again are:

OWC (other world computing)
Newegg
Crucial​

I'm not sure of best buy or circuit city ... are they stores?

The Flat Panel iMac G4s come with a Mini-VGA which is Composite/S-Video plus adapter. The G4 Towers come with a few different configs depending on the model:

  • VGA
  • VGA/DVI-D
  • VGA/ADC
  • DVI/ADC

Be sure to scrutinise the specs of any RAM you purchase so it is a match for the type required ...
 
Plus what are you going to pay for that Mac? I hope it is cheaper than a Mac Mini because a Mac Mini will be faster than that OLD G4.
 
I have an old G4 attached to an old Dell flat screen monitor and it works fine.

A good site for upgrading old Macs is here.

BTW, I'd go with Satcomer's suggestion.
 
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