iMac G3

Indigo

History

Introduced: August 15, 1998

Discontinued: March 18, 2003

Original Retail Price: $999 (500 MHz ‘01 model)

Model #: M5521

Tech Specs

Display: 15” CRT

Processor: 500 MHz PowerPC G3

RAM: 256 MB (upgraded)

Hard Drive: 64 GB SSD (upgraded)

Optical Drive: CD-RW

OS: 9.1

Condition & Notes

This unit is in mint condition, and is complete with all the original packaging, power cable, modem cable, 4-pin-to-6-pin FireWire cable, keyboard, mouse, rear panel cover, software CDs, and documentation.

This unit was purchased from its original owner, who originally got it at CompUSA. It is a 500 MHz model in the beautiful Indigo color.

In mid-2024 I replaced both of the internal speaker drivers, and I also replaced the original 20 GB hard drive with a 64 GB SSD. Scroll to the bottom of the page for more on both of these upgrades.

It is in beautiful working condition and is currently running Mac OS 9.1.

Model Identifier

The red ‘X’ denotes the location of this iMac within the overall series.
This particular machine is the 500 MHz Indigo model from the summer of 2001. This was the final major ‘refresh’ for the iMac G3, with the new iMac G4 being introduced the following January (although a low-end G3 model was sold all the way through 2003).

Packaging

iMac

All set up with keyboard and mouse. The screen is crisp and sharp in person - these dark refresh bands/lines only appear on camera, as is typical for CRT displays.

Accessories

Setup guide, user’s guide, software coupons, AppleCare/license/warranty info, Apple stickers, and software CDs: Software Restore (4), Software Install, Applications, Apple Hardware Test, and iMovie 2.

This “VGA Vented Cover” shipped with all slot-loading iMac G3s equipped with a VGA port in the rear (DV, DV+, and DV SE models). Users could remove the original cover, which blocked access to the port, and install this one, which has a port access hole in it.

System Specs

Speaker Replacement

Both of the iMac’s speaker surrounds had completely rotted out due to age, and sounded terrible. This is an extremely common problem for these models, and is the same phenomenon that happens with the black surrounds of the G4 Cube speakers and the standalone Pro Speakers.

Rather than replace the entire assemblies with OEM parts, which are just as prone to this issue, I opted to replace the drivers themselves with these readily-available replacements. They are direct slot-in replacement parts that come in a convenient 2-pack.