Having trouble identifying the cpu on an iMac G3 motherboard

Hi,

I've got about 20 of these motherboards, and the CPUs seem to be glued or soldered on. I have three questions, which chip is the CPU? Should I try to get it off? If so, how do I get it off? I tried using a flathead screw driver and prying/chiseling the chips off but just chipped the green plastic squares these chips are on. Do buyers buy these with the cpus attached? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Here's what the computer looks like when it's whole (I think it's an iMac g3)
Here's the whole mother board
Then there are three chips on it.

The one that says rage is the video card. That's about all I know of ewaste lol

Oh geez, Apple and their goofy mobo designs again... OK, the ATI and the Lucent are not the CPU. It should have a PowerPC CPU, and I honestly don't know what that VLSI chip is. Was there an additional card? On some of these iMacs the CPU was on a separate card. Was there a heat sink?

I think its on the botom. ibm chip. btw, last time I had one of those, I pulled the heavy parts off the power supply board and attached it before mailing off.

I think the Rage chip had a heat sink on it. I took another look at the board, and there's a small chip on a little green board on the other side. I'll try to get a picture up of it later today, but it might be a green fiber processor. Sorry I didn't see it earlier, I'm pretty new to this.

The CPU is on the other side of the mobo? Ah, those nutty Apple engineers, what will they come up with next? What kind of heat sink do they put on it? Is there a fan down there too? Or do these mobos end up frying themselves in their own heat?

I know in an earlier version of this same computer, the CPU was mounted on a daughter board. Those machines were upgradeable. In the later revisions, though, they just soldered the CPU right on. I didn't know it was on the bottom of the mainboard, though. Not sure I would have thought of turning it over to look for the CPU either!

Originally Posted by mikeinreco

You are correct it should be on the bottom and should say motorola (I have done 100's of these as the local school system sells them cheap)

Thanks mike and everyone else for the help. I think I found the processor, the first photo. None of them on the 15 or so I have say motorola or IBM, they all just have a bunch or letters and numbers. They do appear to be ceramic, though, with some sort of plastic and foam or rubber glued on top. I started to peel it off in the second photo. Should I try to detach these processors before selling? It seems like the common hot-sand desoldering method would remove all of the chips from the board, so should I just leave that to the buyer? If I sell the boards with the cpus attached, how much more should I ask for them?

does anybody know if the yellow blocks to the right of the cpu are tantalum capacitators? they have an orange stripe on one side...or maybe the little yellow ones to the left?...thanks

Yes the yellow with orange stripe of all sizes. Also, the black ones with white stripe that are the same design as the yellow ones.

I've done many G4s (The Successor to your iMac G3). The CPU seems to be non-removable. I've tried everything I can think of. I'm sure the older iMac G3s and the eMac are similar.

I don't know who your buyer is, but I would assume to send them with the CPU on if possible.

If you use a large buyer, they'll probably be able to give you a value, or some advice.

I use a hammer to get into those... pull the board, hard drive, etc...rest is junk...thankfully I don't get many of them.

I like those see through Apple computers. I have 2 of the older ones. I got them years back and kept them as I liked the way they looked and that they talked.

I sort of view them in much the same way that I would view a Nintendo 64 system that was clear green or blue. They just look real cool for a larger paper weight as they are not "very smart",lol...

Originally Posted by newattitude

I just finished taking one apart, I started at 8:20 and just now finished to come here and ask if there was a CPU chip as well.

NA's take on imac's - ''Grrrrrrrr.....''

Lol

BIG X2 !

#$@!&&^ Macs !

The easiest way i found for breaking them down was to go on-line and find the step by step dis-assembly instructions. The first few breakdowns are slow but once you get the knack of it they aren't all that bad. The trick is to focus on the bottom part where all the goodies are. There's some aluminum & copper up in the CRT assembly but you have to work for it. Then you're left with dealing with a CRT that's out of it's protective case. Maybe not worth the hassle ?

I tried breaking down the main board for the processor & the other goodies but it doesn't seem to be worth it. You might get more value from selling it whole.

Same here NA.

I avoid the TV's & CRT's as much as possible but someone asked me to break down an I Mac so that they could use the plastic for an art project last month.

Disposal really isn't a problem because the state sponsors e-waste collection sites where you can drop them off for free but that exposed end is a concern. I had some bubble wrap so i duct taped that to the end and put the whole thing in a box & packed crumpled up newspaper around it. I probably worry too much but someone down the e-waste line is gonna have to handle it.

Ohh well .... at least they have one less Mac to break down.