Advice needed...

[Audone]

I'm in a dilemma, and would appreciate some input. I have an iMac 233, 4 GB harddrive, 96 mb memory, running 8.6. Peripherals include Iomega 100 Zip, Agfa scanner, 4 port hub. I want to increase the memory and possibly look at a bigger harddrive, as well as update to 9.1 with the possibility of running OSX in the future, and a CDRW would be nice.

My questions are these:
-what is the max memory I can upgrade to on my machine?
-would internal or external harddrive be better?
-am I looking at spending so much on a machine not really capable of all the above? Would I be further ahead to wait on all my "wants" and invest in a new computer??

My head goes round in circles everytime I try and figure this out......any input would be valued!!

[Bill]

Well gal lets start out by stating that I have the same iMac 233 as you do.
4gb HD/96mb/8.6./zip 100/4port hub and mine is also blue <grin>.
It's fully functional in another room.

One:
" -what is the max memory I can upgrade to on my machine? "

You have two seperate locations to the ram slots; upper slot(fairly easy to get to) and the lower slot( one big pain in the a*s to get to).
I'm 100% positive that you have a 64meg stick in the upper slot and the stock 32meg in the lower slot.
When the first iMacs came out "yours and mine" old Stevie Jobs produced them out fast to flood the market etc etc. The rams chips are of a different breed all together as to what one can use now. At first the story was [that's it..you can only stick a 64chip in on the top and nothing bigger in the bottom slot].
Well that has changed sense then. I'm not to sure about the sizes but off the top of my head I think I've read that one can put a 128ram chip or even maybe a 256 ram chip in the top slot now and a 64 in the lower slot. BUT again...the ram is of a different breed still!!!! You can get them although...???.... Cost? I've no idea.


Two:
" -would internal or external harddrive be better?"

Again when Stevie put that puppy together he jammed everything in any-0-way just to get it on the market... BTW--I'm NOT bad mouthing the 233(s) by no means!! Just telling it like it is. There great machines but limited!
Anyway.. You can put a lager harddrive in internally. Myself if I was going to go that route, I'd go for an external harddrive. Less of a hassle all the way around the board. Also external harddrives are very cheap these days!!!! Although all that is on the 233 is USB ports so one have to think about that also.


Three:
" -am I looking at spending so much on a machine not really capable of all the above? Would
I be further ahead to wait on all my "wants" and invest in a new computer??"


The cost might not be to bad ; say ram ($75 to maybe $200 including labor? Remember those guys are a bit tricky on the 233.) Harddrive "internal" (have no idea on that one [labor??]). External ( taking a wild guess of 30gig being maybe $250 ??).


Now on to the new Macintosh .... http://www.cybertechhelp.com/ubb/biggrin.gif http://www.cybertechhelp.com/ubb/biggrin.gif Well you know how great the G4s are!!!!


I'm using right now is a iMacDV/400 with 10gig harddrive and 512mb of ram.
Hey it works for me.
The ram is the standard PC100 sdram and will be very soon PC133 which in either case you can get just about anywhere. AND mine is a older model...sheesh.

As far as Vram etc etc, much more better (<---like that http://www.cybertechhelp.com/ubb/smile.gif ).

Prices....you'll have to check that out yourself. I know on ebay a guy just won a iMac/400 loaded with solfware, hardware for $780.

Well Girl I hope that helps you some what.

All I'm doing young lady is giving you my thoughts/opinion on this matter.

Good luck...
-Bill-


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<A HREF="http://palws.tripod.com/Main.html" TARGET=_blank><FONT COLOR="#A36503">Photopage</FONT c></A>

[Audone]

Thanks alot Bill.....it really helps to just have someone bounce the ideas for a while!! Because our prices are so beejeebers high up here, we're thinking of making a trip to the good old USA in late June, and if I do my math correctly I think I can come out further ahead by purchasing down there, even by the time I pay the exchange.

I am really leaning towards the new machine, but $$ doesn't grow on trees in this cold winter climate!! But you've sure given me food for thought!!! Thanks..... http://www.geocities.com/audoneca2000/smilies/wave.gif

[Buzz]

Here's my thoughts.
Did a bit of checking..

iMac 233 will hold a max of 384mb. The top slot will accept 2" sticks and the bottom slot accepts 1.5" sticks. So 1 -128mb stick and 1 - 256mg stick. I believe they are PC-133 chips not sure though.If you run the Apple System Profiler it will tell you exactly what chips are in the machine so you'll know what can be used. You should check on prices around the web. I just bought a 256k stick from www.datamem.com (http://www.datamem.com) for under $100. That's dirt cheap!

as for the hard drive. . . Now's a good time for that as well. I just saw a 45gb hd for $155 and a 30gb for $129. Both internal. Your iMac should use just about any HD on the market. Internal will be faster. External will allow you to add to your existing capacity though and if, down the road, you do buy a new machine you'll be able to move the external to it and increase capacity there as well. So internal would be my bet if you plan to stick with your current machine for at least 5 years. External if you might purchase a new mac in the next year or two. Just a thought.

As for the labor, I'll defer to Bill's post because personally, I always crack a machine open and do it myself and have no hands on experience with a first generation iMac like the 233.

The main drawback your iMac has Audrey is the bus speed (66mhz) there really isn't any way to overcome that. Most newer bus speeds are at least 100mhz. But that shouldn't really be that noticable. if you boost the RAm you will see an immediate speed increase overall.

Alltogether you're looking at less than $500 to max out the ram and install a huge internal HD. Compared to the $1,200 of a new mac. I don't think you're asking for too much.

Your machine should handle 9.1 fine. You may notice a bit of a slow down due to the RAM. (32mb reccommended I believe) OSX will require 64mb of RAM I think. So you'll almost definitely want to boost the RAM if you want to run OSX.

The CDRW will run fine on your present configuration. Again the RAM upgrade might not be a bad idea but by no means is it required. I've got a scsi burner hooked up to an ancient 8100 with 48mb of RAM and Toast Deluxe. I don't use it for anything anymore except burning cds but it does a great job, just wish I'd have bought the new Mac I have before the scsi cd burner. I just saw the new Iomega Predator ($269), wow, that's a good looking burner for a usb connection. Oh well.

So basically ± $800 to upgrade your machine that you have with everything you want or $1,200 + for a new Mac. You're choice.

Remember most new Macs come with about 128mb RAM max, even on the new Macs RAM upgrades are worthwhile.

[This message has been edited by Buzz (edited 04 February 2001).]

[Audone]

Well now I certainly have lots to mull over, in those hours when sleep eludes me!! I am going to do some price-shopping locally to see what it will cost me in Canadian $$, and then do the conversion, including exchange, if I purchase online. I am really quite happy with my machine, and will likely opt to do the upgrades for now.

My memory is DIMM, according to the Profiler. Does that mean I have to stick with that??

Thanks again for the advice!! http://www.geocities.com/audoneca2000/smilies/pconfettiright.gif

[Buzz]

Sorry i don't know the canadian exchange Audrey.

they are all DIMMs for the iMacs the question is whether it's PC-100, PC-133, PC-148, etc Look in the profiler where it reads DIMM and check the Memory Type. It should read PC- something. Those are the sticks you want.

[Bill]

http://pages.hotbot.com/photo/palws/images/DIMM.jpg
Buzz this all that Audrey will see in her ASP.

Thats what I meant before about the chips being an odd type. Picture a business card (normal size), then tear it in half length wise. About the thickness of a nickel. Thats what those chips look like. Weird .. yup...

Maybe they have changed sence I put my 64 in, I don't know.

On the bottom slot you have to just about disconnect everything to get to the puppy.

Anyway folks take care....

[Buzz]

Wow. It doesn't tell you the chip type. I can't seem to find anywhere that tells me exactly what chip they use.

Spec list from Lowendmac.com
http://www.lowendmac.com/imacs/imac.shtml


[This message has been edited by Buzz (edited 05 February 2001).]

[Audone]

From an Apple TIL article I got this info re: memory for the iMac 233, Rev.B...

PC 66, 144 pin, 3.3v, SDRAM, SO-DIMMS


Now, all I know about this subject you could put on the head of a pin, but just thought I'd let you know!! Am still researching, but hope to have a decision by the weekend....

[Bill]

"memory for the iMac 233, Rev.B..."

You have the rev B ?
opps I thought you have the rev A.

[Audone]

Bill, my head's spinning with numbers, etc. But I'm sure that I read somewhere (same article I think), that Rev.B shipped with 8.5 and has 6 mb. video memory....what I have! So I'm assuming mine is a "B".

[Audone]

Have nearly driven myself crazy with this, but have finally decided to do the upgrades, and leave a new purchase for a couple years. Still questions however, and emails to memory supply places aren't giving me the answers!!

1) Are the 128MB and 256MB modules reversible as to slot location? I know the lower slot needs low profile, but most places aren't offering 256 low profile, but do offer 128 low profile. Can either module fit the lower slot, if it's 'low profile'?

2) I want to go with an internal hard drive, but would like to get it big enough that it'll last awhile (20-30 MG).....is it easy enough to swap hard drives, so that when I get a new machine I could take the big HD from the older one, and put it in the new one??

Answers to these queries will let me go ahead with this part of the upgrade for now.....I'll deal with CDR's later!!

Thanks bunches...... http://www.geocities.com/audoneca2000/smilies/burnout.gif

[Buzz]

#1) Yes.

It doesn't matter which slot you put 128 in or 256 in. Just make sure you get the proper size for the slot you plan on filling. i.e. if your getting 256 for the upper then you'll need to make sure it's a 1.5" chip not a 2" chip. And you'll need to be sure and get a 2" stick for the 128. As long as it fits physically in the slot you should be fine.

#2) Yes.

Switching HD's is a matter of just unplugging the old one and plugging in the new one basically. I can't say for sure on an iMac I've never cracked one open. But the process has been the same for every other Mac I've seen from a Mac II to a G4. I'd bet my bank account that it will take you three times longer to actually get to the HD than to switch it based on Bill's post about getting to the lower slot for the RAM. But even then the whole process should only take about 20 - 30 minutes tops. The iMac revb was the 2nd iMac. Switching hard drives is even easier now than it was when Apple made those. I don't think it could get any easier. So I wouldn't hesitate at all about the process of switching it out in the future to another machine. Worse case scenario is you get a case and make it an external drive, but I really doubt that would ever be necessary unless someone invents a new type of drive. I've moved the same HD from one machine to another for almost 7 years. I only stopped because it seemed pointless to install a 750mb drive since I already had gigs of space. But I do still have the drive (and it will fit in my Mac) in case I find myself 750mb short. http://www.cybertechhelp.com/ubb/smile.gif

I think you're wise for going with the upgrade Audrey. In the fast paced world of Computers you're better off holding onto the machine you have until you can no longer upgrade it to meet market standards. Then, when you're stuck, buy a new machine because the new ones will be better than the one's on the market 6 months earlier.

Be aware that in the future the RAM you buy probably won't fit any Macs. Nothing from Apple uses the PC 66 chips anymore that I'm aware of.

[This message has been edited by Buzz (edited 10 February 2001).]

[Audone]

From the bottom of my heart, thanks guys for getting me through this one......again!! I feel quite confident now that I'm on the right track, and will go ahead and place some orders. You guys are the best!! http://www.geocities.com/audoneca2000/valentinegifs/lilharts.gif

[Bill]

You might want to look at these two links Audrey.

http://www.info.apple.com/info.apple.com/applespec/applespec.taf?RID=279

http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1212427654

Just to give you an idea of...

[Audone]

Great info Bill.....thanks and thanks!! http://www.cybertechhelp.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

[Bill]

Your welcome..I hope.. http://www.cybertechhelp.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

[Bill]

Audrey, I was going to ask you to check out
http://www.imac2day.com (http://www.imac2day.com/) but surprise surprise. http://www.cybertechhelp.com/ubb/frown.gif

[Audone]

I checked it out anyway Bill, and at MacNN there are still some links to various installations, etc for the iMac. I wish I'd known about that site earlier.....think I may have spent a fair bit of time there!! As it is, I now just spent an hour at the iMac part of MacNN!! http://www.geocities.com/audoneca2000/smilies/ezpi_blush.gif