05-07-2020, 10:24 PM
People forget that one of the killer aspects of this machine was how much faster the RISC G3 CPU was than ANYTHING Intel was making. Indeed, the G3 was the pinnacle of the IBM/Apple/Motorola hardware alliance.
The G4 was not such a big jump, and we all know about the G5. (and all modern Intel CPUs are hybrid with many designs brought over, no longer a pure CISC CPU).
But the G3 - that was something special.
The failure to have a fast interface meant the first iMacs had NO backup options, so I refused to buy them for science usage at work. I waited until they released the model with Firewire.
In the end, I purchased a refurb third gen iMac for my son in grade school, he used it for a decade - it's still in use at the FIL running one of his favorite games.
The G4 was not such a big jump, and we all know about the G5. (and all modern Intel CPUs are hybrid with many designs brought over, no longer a pure CISC CPU).
But the G3 - that was something special.
The failure to have a fast interface meant the first iMacs had NO backup options, so I refused to buy them for science usage at work. I waited until they released the model with Firewire.
In the end, I purchased a refurb third gen iMac for my son in grade school, he used it for a decade - it's still in use at the FIL running one of his favorite games.