snagged a G3 desktop, now what?

[luckybob]

Few weeks ago now, I found someone selling a G3 beige desktop for $15.  Turns out the damn thing was practically new.  Problem is, I don't really now how to move forward with this machine, (been mulling it over for weeks) so I figured I might as well ask the peanut gallery.   Don't worry, there is a TL;DR at the bottom.

For a while I've been looking for a gaming type setup, only because my 840av is just too slow to play the game I want to.  (Escape Velocity)  Not to mention the sequel and mods.  Even though I played it on an LCIII as a kid.  I also had the goal of being able to capture the video for reasons.  I was certain the before-mentioned 840av would do this.  Anyway, I'm hoping the personality card thing will fit the bill, or I buy a proper svga capture dongle.  I still want to find a 9600/MP machine, I just haven't found one.

Anyway, I just don't know how I should go about farting around with this machine.  I am compelled to fully upgrade any machine I get my grubby fingers on.  That said, I know practically nothing of macs beyond 68k 040's.  From what I understand, there is not much you can do beyond ram and cpu.  I'm curious to see if I can toss in a pair of voodoo 2's and do something with them.

I also have a 7550/132, but there is some sort of upgrade card in it.  Haven't really taken a hard look at it, but it runs at 445mhz.  I like the option of upgrading the 7550, but the case is VERY rough.  The cpu on this upgrade card is removable, can I just use it in the G3?  Are there any sort of compatibility issues I should be wary of?  I know in the PC world, the P2's and 3's are all interchangeable for the most part.  At the very least nothing will explode or start a fire.  What research i've done show me there will not be any real problems, but information is really spotty compared to what i'm used to in the pc world.  Also, is there any real difference between g3 and g4?  Is it anything like the p3 katmai chips vs the coppermines?

I'm thinking of OS 8.6.  "Technically" Escape Velocity is OS9 ready, if I download the new version, but is there some requirement for going to OS 9?  I never used it, or anything newer than 7.6.1 if I'm being honest.  I'm not keen on 9 or 10.  I never liked the mac os once I used windows.   :O  I'm thinking older OS'es will play better with V2's anyway.  If this is wrong, let me know.  I'd like to see if I can get Quake 3 or UT running on this at a decent clip.  I have some newer ati video cards if need be, but V2's are cooler.  If this was PC, i'd just break out my voodoo 5, but its agp and for pc.

As for the G3 itself, it is fully functional.  Came with no HDD, but ide drives are a dime a dozen.  I literally slapped in a 80gb drive I had within arms reach and it worked just fine.  I read somewhere about an 8gb hdd limit?  Anyway, How are these systems with SSDs?  16mb/s is slow for ide, I'm thinking of a pci sata card and a used 16gb ssd.  In other news, the system has 768mb of ram, 6mb of vram, rev c bios and rev 2 logic board.  So honestly, its already halfway fully upgraded.  Got a picture of it here:



I know I referred to you people as the peanut gallery, but I'm open to opinions here.

TL;DR

I'm pimping out a G3 desktop.  I want the fastest cpu and hard drive solution I can get (within reason).  Maybe also video card recommendations for Q3 & UT.

 

[luckybob]

Also, please excuse the rambling nature of the post, I just finished a 60 hour work week.  I'm tired and my head hurts.

 

[just.in.time]

Hi there, you got a great deal in that desktop. First things first, change the clock battery.

Yes, big difference in performance between G3 and G4.

I used to have a very similar G3 to yours. It will run 8.6 excellently. Unless you have money to burn, if that 80gbhard drive is running okay I would leave it for last on the upgrade list.

First two items should be USB and a video card. I recommend finding a USB 2.0 compatible card. Under classic Mac OS (less than X) it will run at 1.1 speeds, but if you ever end up with X then you can take advantage of better performance. And in all honesty, finding a 2.0 PCI card will probably be easier. Just verify the chipset is mac compatible. USB will open up your supported game pad list a bit.

In my G3 I had an ATI something 7000 something series card, with 32mb of video ram (I believe), and VGA, DVI, and an RCA video out. Great card, got it from eBay around 2007 or so for cheap. It absolutely blew the stock graphics out of the water (flurry screensaver, visualizer in iTunes, moving windows in 10.4, etc all became buttery smooth). Also, it worked fine in Mac OS 9. I can't recall if I used it with 8.x though. Point being, find a Mac compatible PCI graphics card, and verify it has accelerated drivers for 8.6.

I never did a major CPU swap (just some over clocking), so I can't speak to CPU swapping compatibility. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that any upgrade cards you do find will most likely set you back 10 times the cost of the machine, best case. Older Mac PPC upgrades in general have seemed to hold their value.

All that said, your system as is should run every PPC 604 and below game flawlessly. Most early G3 games (like Cro-mag Rally, etc) should be playable. Upgrading to a better graphics card will definitely buy you some for FPS. Also, Connectix Virtual Game Station should be playable on this system*.

*may need upgraded video first, can't remember.

 

[EvieSigma]

Does a G3 need a clock battery? I was gonna toss the one in mine when it arrives...

 

[just.in.time]

It shouldn't need one since they soft-power off. But yes, definitely toss the old battery. These systems are nearing 18 years old now. Next to zero chance the original battery still works, not worth the risk of keeping it in there.

 

[luckybob]

I know mine does.  The machine is very unreliable without it.  Once its started its fine.  Maybe needs a re-cap.  

 

[flashedbios2012]

Iirc the caps are on a vrm. So u could avoid soldering and replace the vrm

 

[John_A]

I upgraded my G3/233 dt to a g4 with a zif card, wich looks almost identical to the g3 that it replaces. The card itself is a small pcb with cpu pins underneath, with the cpu itself, some cache memory, semiconductors and a few dipswitches mounted on the top side. I had mine run at a low 350/400 mhz (adjustable via the dips) so all I needed was thermal grease and the original heatsink.

The other card you have is likely a pci card and I doubt you will get that to work in the g3.