Apple’s 2002 iMac G4 comes back from the Dead with M1 Chip

Do you recall the iMac G4 from 2002? It’s understandable if you don’t remember – it’s been 20 years since Apple debuted its iconic all-in-one desktop.

However, nostalgia is a powerful force, and when combined with a “why not?” attitude, everything is possible, as demonstrated by the modder who opted to resurrect the iMac G4 and outfit it with an Apple M1 chip.

The iMac G4 is no longer in production

but it retains its allure. It looks nothing like its younger brothers or the 24-inch iMac, with a 15-inch screen surrounded by thick bezels that had bezels of their own, as well as a big, circular stand with an optical drive.

The G4 featured a resolution of 1,024 × 768 pixels in its original incarnation (remember those?) … the PowerPC G4, a processor that ran at just 1GHz. It came with a GeForce4 MX graphics card from Nvidia, as well as a massive 256MB of DDR SDRAM running at 333MHz. That’s right, there are just three digits here, not four. Given the rest of the gear, the 80GB hard disc spinning at 7,200 revolutions per minute (RPM) appears to be exceptional.

The iMac G4 and modern-day Apple M1 silicon wouldn’t even exist in the same galaxy if the Apple ecosystem was its own world, but a bold modder opted to change that. Connor55 opened the dome and swapped out hardware until the iMac was no longer functional.
If you’re wondering if the hacked iMac G4 is more than just a nostalgia piece, the answer is yes: it’s fully working. Connor55 installed Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on the all-in-one, and he claims that the iMac can reach internet rates of over 100Mbps. The Bluetooth, on the other hand, is “borderline worthless,” but it works if you use it right next to the dome. It’s always entertaining to see PC builders and modders breathe new life into old hardware and software, especially when the experiment is as effective as this one.