History
The G3 Beige was the first machine to ship with the Motorola/IBM designed G3 processor. Code-named the PPC 750, this processor was the first to use fast backside cache memory that could communicate directly to the processor.
It was significantly faster than its PowerMac predecessors, and came on a very small logic board. In other changes the CPU used a ZIF socket rather than a daughter board slot, and IDE was provided as well as SCSI.
This page deals specifically with Beige G3 Desktops using the revision 2 or revision 3 ROM. Machines with the revision 1 ROM (known as Rev.A Beige G3s) have some caveats and are dealt with on their own page. There is also a page for non-Rev.A mini-towers G3s.
See below for information on distinguishing the different revisions of the Beige G3.
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How to Identify these Machines
The G3 Beige desktop is labeled on the front with "PowerMac G3". The unit
came in the same case as the 73/7500s.
If the label is missing, to identify the machine follow these instructions: Turn off
the machine, there are two tabs on the underside of the front part of the case -
under the CD ROM and G3 label. Pushing these tabs allows the removal of
the case by pulling forward on the case.
The case is in two parts underneath,
which pivot to the left and right. The beige grill should be moved first,
then the two securing clips push inwards. The whole of the right hand side
of the machine, including the power supply and CD-ROM unit, move to the right
on a pivot.
The G3 logic board is so small and compact that the internal hard
drive can be mounted on the base of the machine. This makes the G3
desktop unique, and is a sure-fire way to identify it.
ROM Revision
This page does not deal with Rev.A Beige G3s. To find out whether your G3 is a Rev.A, you need to check the revision of the ROM.
You can find the revision of the ROM chip via the Apple System Profiler utility. The ROM revision should correspond with one of the below.
- Rev. 1: $77D.40F2
- Rev. 2: $77D.45F1
- Rev. 3: $77D.45F2
Rev.A machines all have the Rev. 1 ROM. If your Beige G3 has a Rev. 1 ROM, please see our Rev.A Beige G3 page.
If you are still unsure you can contact us on 01223 833 412 or by email for
confirmation. If you want to upgrade but aren't happy to install your upgrades
then we can help. Simply ask our engineers for further details.
Memory Upgrades
The PowerMac G3 Desktop has 3 memory sockets. These machines can accept up to 768MB in RAM, in 3 x 256MB modules.
When this machine was released, some revisions of this machine were unable to use 256MB chips, and Apple's original advice on RAM upgrades reflect this. With modern RAM chips, we are able to guarantee compatibility for all Beige G3s with our 256MB chips.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Difficulty 2 / 5 - Easy
Turn off
the machine, there are two tabs on the underside of the front part of the case -
under the CD-ROM and G3 label. Pushing these tabs allows the removal of
the case by pulling forward on the case.
The case is in two parts underneath, which pivot to the left and right. The beige grill should be moved first, then the two securing clips push inwards. The whole of the right hand side of the machine, including the power supply and CD-ROM unit, move to the right on a pivot.
The RAM sockets are now revealed near the middle of the main board. Install the RAM into a socket (this RAM is designed so it cannot go in the wrong way).
If you are unsure call or email our team.
CD & DVD Drive Upgrades
You can either replace the internal optical drive of the Beige G3, or you can use an external device. With all Beige G3s both these methods do have some caveats. Please note, a Beige G3 without an upgraded CPU is not powerful enough to burn DVDs.
Internal
Any replacement 5.25" IDE CD unit will install into this PowerMac, and should work to read data. However, unless there is an Apple ROM on-board the CD unit, the computer cannot be booted from the CD, and the unit will not integrate with Finder burning and Apple software like iDVD. Burning can still be accomplished by third party software such as Roxio's Toast.
Look for the footnotes on any internal drive listed below, to see if there are any issues as described above.
External
The Beige G3 does not have either FireWire or USB - the modern connection types used for this kind of external device. This means that you must install a PCI expansion card to provide the new connection type. See the expansion card section at the end of this page for information on available cards, and operating system requirements.
For an external CD-RW on this PowerMac, we strongly recommend FireWire as the best connection type.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Difficulty 2 / 5 - Easy (internal)
Turn off the machine.
There are two tabs on the underside of the front part of the case, under the CD-ROM and G3 label. Pushing these tabs allows the removal of the case by pulling forward on the case.
This reveals the CD-ROM unit. Move it forwards on the sled and replace the unit, connect this to the ATA controller and power supply, and turn machine on.
Internal Hard Drive Upgrades
The Beige G3 Desktop can take internal IDE hard drives of sizes up to 80GB. Assuming your machine is not a
Rev.A model
an extra drive can be added alongside your existing hard drive - although a straight replacement is possible as well.
If you want to use a larger hard drive you will need to use a SATA drive and install a SATA controller into a PCI socket. See the expansion cards section at the end of this page for details on available cards.
If you don't want to fit a new hard drive yourself, you can take advantage of the MacUpgrades Installation Service. Add the installation service from the list below to your cart along with your chosen hard drive. We can also clone your existing hard drive onto the new one, simply add the Clone Original Hard Drive service below to your cart.
Once you have booked the service, send your machine to us, we will carry out the work and return it to you. Alternatively, we do offer a Collection Service with our courier, please see here for details.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Difficulty 2 / 5 - Easy
Turn off the machine, there are two tabs on the underside of the front part of the case - under the CD-ROM and G3 label. Pushing these tabs allows the removal of the case by pulling forward on the case.
The case is in two parts underneath, which pivot to the left and right. The beige grill should be moved first, then the two securing clips push inwards. The whole of the right hand side of the machine, including the power supply and CD-ROM unit, move to the right on a pivot.
This reveals the logic board and the original hard drive. If replacing the existing drive do so here.
If adding an
additional drive you can place the drive on the shelf next to the CD-ROM (after switching setting the new drive to slave).
If you are unsure, please call or email our team.
Graphics Card Upgrades
Your PowerMac G3 Beige desktop has three 33MHz PCI sockets, any of which can take a PCI graphics card. The existing graphics capability is integral to the main logic board.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Difficulty 2 / 5 - Easy
Install any supplied software and then turn off the machine.
There are two tabs on the underside of the front part
of the case, under the CD-ROM and G3 label. Pushing these tabs allows the removal of the case by pulling forward on the
case.
There is a beige grill which pivots about the side of the case. This reveals the cream PCI sockets. Install the new graphics card in a free PCI slot.
If you are unsure please call or email our team.
Expansion Card Upgrades
Your PowerMac G3 Beige has up to 3 available PCI sockets for connectivity expansion.
Since these machines were
released FireWire, USB, faster Internal IDE controllers, faster wireless and wired connectivity, and more modern graphics cards have been released.
By using PCI cards you can add these modern connectivities, although please be aware there are minimum operating system requirements for some of these products.
| 1 | FireWire requires OS9, USB 2 requires OS 10.2.8 for this card. Beige G3s with the revision 3 logic board cannot use this card. To check: open the Apple system profiler utility and find the ROM revision line. If it is listed as $77D.45F2, this product is not compatible. |
| 2 | Requires OS 9 or above. |
| 3 | Requires OS 10.2 or later. |
| 4 | Requires OS9 or any version of OSX. |
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Difficulty 2 / 5 - Easy
Install any supplied software and then turn off the machine.
There are two tabs on the underside of the front part of the case, under the CD-ROM and G3 label. Pushing these tabs allows the removal of the case by pulling forward on the case.
There is a beige grill which pivots about the side of the case. This reveals the cream coloured PCI sockets. Install the new expansion card in a free PCI slot.
If you are unsure please call or email our team.
Keyboards & Mice
The following keyboards and mice are compatible with this Mac.
| 1 | Requires a USB expansion card, and must be running MacOS 9.2 or later or MacOS 10.1.5 or later. |
The fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Difficulty 1 / 5 - Very Easy
Keyboards plug into the relevant port on your Mac. Mice can either be plugged into your keyboard, or they can be plugged directly into your Mac.
Power Supplies & Batteries
Listed below are power supplies, batteries and related products
we supply for this Mac.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Cables & Tools
Listed below are power cables, tools and related products
we supply for this Mac.
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
External Hard Drive Upgrades
It is possible to upgrade this Mac with an external hard drive, however you will need to add a modern connectivity type to your Mac. For this machine we
strongly recommend looking at FireWire if you want any external data storage devices. FireWire can be added with an expansion card (see below).
You will need to be running at least OS9 to use FireWire.
| 1 | Requires a USB 2.0 expansion card and OS X. |
| 2 | Requires a FireWire expansion card and 9.2 or later or 10.1.5 or later. |
| 3 | Only suitable for this Mac if you have added USB 2.0 or eSATA with an expansion card. Will not boot this Mac. |
Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.
Difficulty 1 / 5 - Very Easy (assumes you have already added the required connectivity)
Install any supplied software and connect the new device.
You will need to format the drive before use. This is done with the "Drive Setup" utility, which can be found in Applications > Utilities.
