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Upgrade Your eMac
Leo Bodnar writes "This eMac upgrade proves that with some effort Apple's entry-level consumer models like eMac can be converted into reasonably serious workhorse system at very reasonable cost. Not for everyone, but some find it useful!"
This isn't the only old Mac that be somewhat upgraded.
Companies like MCETech sell DVDRW drives for the G3 iMac and iBook.
Vonal Declosion
Sorry, you're gonna be out of luck. All of the titanium powerbooks have the CPU soldiered(sp?) directly to the motherboard. To upgrade, you'd have to completely disassemble the unit and get a new motherboard.
Not cheap or easy. What you want is a machine which has a processor daughtercard (G4 towers, G3 powerbooks). Those make it easy to upgrade the processors.
Well the author of this article did not actually *replace* the CPU, he only *overclocked* it from 800 MHz to 1.33 GHz by changing some traces on the motherboard. It should work on any motherboard that supports more than one type of CPU, without removing the actual chip. This also assumes, however, that the existing chip will run at the increased speed without additional cooling, which may be difficult in a laptop.
In my experience most people don't upgrade computers anymore, they replace them. And most people don't modify their cars either.
I actually know somebody who recently replaced a computer because she couldn't work out how to fix a simple virus infection and figured the machine was ruined.
Now wash your hands.
This all goes back to the original Macintosh and Jobs thinking it was a piece of artwork that shouldn't be tampered with. Most people want a computer they can improve, much like people that mod and tune their cars.
I used to sell Macs, and I can tell you this: people who buy eMacs are generally not these sort of people. They might add some extra RAM (which they can do easily), but that's it. If you want an upgradeable machine, buy a G5. eMacs are there for people who want something that will work out of the box, and don't want to take up space with room (or money) for upgrading they will never use. I use an eMac myself for this very reason: cheap, relatively small footprint, and will do what I need for a few years yet.
I've lost track of the number of people I know with Windows towers that still have the exact same amount of empty space in them as the day they bought them, and they will stay that way until the day they are disposed of. They bought them, having been sold the "Well, you might want to upgrade..." line, but never do. Consequently, they end up with a computer that takes up 3 times more deskspace than it needs to, filled with expensive empty space (the hardware for those expansion slots isn't free).
Most people are not l33t b0xen hax0r5. Don't knock the all-in-ones; they fill an important computing niche.
SofaMan -- Occasionally Battling Evil With His Mighty Powers Of Indolence.
You can take them to 2GB RAM (mine has 1.5GB), and the 1GHz G4 I clocked up to 1.4, where it's been running stable for 4 days. I don't expect to have any problems with it either, after seeing others run slower G4s at 1.33 so well.
You're correct that they run well right out of the box, though, I'm an interminable tinkerer.
For anyone interested in accelerating/modifying/etc your Mac, there is a huge repository of information at www.xlr8yourmac.com. In particular, it has searchable database of Mac upgrades rated by the people who installed them, often with useful comments appended by the Mike Breeden, the site's owner. It also has a fairly extensive FAQ (although it's not always easy to find the answer you're looking for) on a dizzying list of mac system & upgrade tweaks, gotchas, and little known issues that might be relevant to someone mod'ing a Mac. Finally, the site has a daily news page on all manner of Mac related topics, but most typically involving updates, tweaks, compatibility info, etc...
The compatibility database is great because it's really the only relatively complete resource for figuring out whether something like an aftermarket CD-RW drive is likely to be compatible with iTunes, etc... (A lot of drives are clones of one another, or really similar, and Apple doesn't list all of those on its site, so having a reference of actual compatibility reports is especially useful.)
Unfortunately the forum isn't currently accepting new members, and it seems like it has been that way for a really long time. : (
NOTE: I'm not affiliated with xlr8yourmac.com in any way, except that I visit the site and find it useful.
I think it's a really great deal. You can buy a refurbished 800 Mhz emac for $529. If you overclock it to 1.33 Ghz, you get an inexpensive mac that should perform pretty well.
People buy SUV's because the CAFE standards have made it nearly impossible for a middle-class family to own a large car. Vehicles with truck frames are exempt from these standards, so the SUV (and to a lesser extent, the mini-van) have replaced both the station wagon and the luxury sedan. Notice that nobody makes station wagons anymore, and Lincoln no longer makes the Town Car.
The AWD and 4WD are popular packages because they make the vehicles safer for on-road driving. This is especially true in places like my home state of Minnesota, where snow, ice, and sleet are all factors which can compromise your ability to control the vehicle.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
The point was it is the same processor for the 800MHz or 1GHz machines. The speed is limited on the motherboard. This is how processors from the same branch are made. Each is tested, the "good" ones are given higher speed rating, and sold as 1.33GHz, and the "average" are sold as 1GHz, and the "below average" were sold as 800/700MHz chips. Essentially, the chip was sold to be used in a underclocked application.
ahem...
AUDI, M-B, BMW, Volvo, Subaru all make good station wagons, all available as AWD, IIRC.
BIGGER == BETTER (for most Aemricans)
Possibly, BUT there is one little problem. The iMac is a pain in the arse to get open. You can't tip it on any side, or you'll wreck the screen! How do you get around it? Simple, Apple gives all authorized service providers a foam shell that cradles the bottom and the screen in the perfect position to open it up. How a normal person such as you or myself would get one... that I do not know.
Your argument is based on the assumption that Macs are an inherently inferior platform because they're not as hardware hackable. This simply isn't true. I'll certainly grant that the open architecture of PCs makes them more conducive to hardware hacking, but since my "O/S of choice" is Mac OS X it doesn't really matter.
I very much enjoy doing upgrades and case mods, and I've been doing hardware hacking since before it was called modding (1993). At home I run a mixed networked environment that (at the moment) consists of 4 PCs, a 12" PowerBook (connected via WAP) and the iMac I'm typing this on right now. All but one of the PCs are homebuilt from the ground up (the fourth was a freebie), and I've done some minor upgrades to the iMac (replaced the hard drive with a beefier one- a snap in a PC but a much more significant endeavour on an iMac!). I've also homebuilt PCs for friends who wanted something better than a stock Gateway machine but lacked the ability to do it themselves.
That said, when I want to play Call of Duty I use a PC. For everything else, however, Macs provide a much more enjoyable and productive environment. I can get into the OS nitty-gritty much moreso than I can with Windows, and there's simply no comparison in the user interface.
Cheers,
-Cybrex
Boundless Expansion, Self-Transformation, Dynamic Optimism, Intelligent Technology, Spontaneous Order- BEST DO IT SO!