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Help me choose a Power Mac G5!

R

rondocap

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 18, 2011
527
307
OK guys, so I currently own a 2003 PowerMac G5 with the single 1.8ghz CPU, and a Mac Pro Quad Xenon machine that's super fast.

I absolutely love the old G5's, something about them just do it for me. Unfortunately my old G5 with the 1.8ghz is just too slow. I use it for web browsing and youtube, but it is just not performing well. My Mac Pro is a champ.

Having said that, I need to replace the G5. I have read the forum and done some research, and it seems like the 2005 2.3ghz dual core G5 is the best one. It's not necessarily the fastest, but it seems like the most stable and reliable because it is not liquid cooled.

Basically, I just want to browse the internet and youtube without the system constantly beach balling, stalling, freezing, and being fussy.

Should I go for a dual core 2.3, or is a 2.0 enough? Is the quad 2.5 really much better for my purposes? How about the 2.7?

I also want to put in an SSD drive in there, hopefully I can put it in any of the G5's.

Ideas?
 
Intell

Intell

macrumors P6
Jan 24, 2010
18,955
509
Inside
I'd stay away from the 2.5Ghz dual and the 2.7Ghz ones unless you want to maintain their liquid cooling system. I have a 2.0Ghz one and I find that it can do lots of stuff. The 2.3Ghz may be the best one to get. It's air cooled and is fairly stable. The quad 2.5Ghz is the fastest, but it has a liquid cooling system.
 
W

Whargoul

macrumors member
Apr 27, 2012
65
1
Denver
The 2.3 dual core is a great machine, but the Quad 2.5 is absolutely the best.

Don't be scared of the liquid cooling system. It actually works very well and is very reliable. Mine has been running 24/7 since 2005 with zero problems.

If you modify the AppleFan.kext file with the settings below, it will run cooler and further increase the cooling system's lifespan.
Stock code has it set to start to spool up up at 135*f and max them out at 144*f with very small even speed steps between and a very long delay before they spool down.

I modified the code to spool up gradually 129*f-163* then ramp up to max quickly between 165*f-167*f. Slowdown delay was cut by 2/3 from 48 to 16.
Code: 
<key>fan-hysteresis-temp</key>
				<integer>13300</integer>
				<key>fan-polling-period</key>
				<integer>8</integer>
				<key>fan-slowdown-delay</key>
				<integer>16</integer>
				<key>fan-speed-table</key>
				<array>
					<integer>13800</integer>
					<integer>14200</integer>
					<integer>14600</integer>
					<integer>15000</integer>
					<integer>15500</integer>
					<integer>16000</integer>
					<integer>15500</integer>
					<integer>16768</integer>
					<integer>17200</integer>
					<integer>17800</integer>
					<integer>18176</integer>
					<integer>18700</integer>
					<integer>18950</integer>
					<integer>19100</integer>
					<integer>19150</integer>
					<integer>19200</integer>
				</array>
				<key>fan-speedup-delay</key>
				<integer>8</integer>
Click to expand...
 
R

rondocap

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 18, 2011
527
307
I think I'm going for a G5 2.3 dual core with 8gigs of ram, the last 2.3 to come out.

For web browsing it should be enough, and I really like the old systems, plus I have a Mac Pro to do the modern stuff.

I really am contemplating the Quad G5, just because it's such an awesome machine. I am just afraid of the liquid cooling issues, so I figure the 2.3 will give me good performance and be more reliable.
 
R

rondocap

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 18, 2011
527
307
I also have a chance to pick up a 2006 iMac, Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 Ghz with 2 gigs of ram.

What would you guys choose for web browsing: The iMac or the G5? I think the G5 with 8 gigs of ram should be a little faster, no? The iMac may be a bit crippled by the ram..but I would be running Lion on it.
 
Colpeas

Colpeas

macrumors 6502
Sep 30, 2011
497
162
Prague, Czech Rep.
RAM is dirt cheap these days. Even if the G5 was a little bit faster I believe it wouldn't be very significant difference. Plus Intel CPUs can handle Flash far better than PPC processors, so you will be able to stream YoutubeHD without struggling.
Also, the iMac can run OS X Lion, right? I mean, Leopard is a brilliant OS, but it's a terribly out-of-date OS and most of the applications are not compatible with PowerPC architecture at all.
I have a late 2005 dual-G5 tower myself so I know what i'm talking about... If I was in your place, I would definitely pick the iMac. the G5 is really power-hungry with its 1kW PSU and the iMac can do its task as well as G5 and maybe even better in some aspects - all that at a fraction of the G5's power consumption. The only advantage of G5 I see is the 2nd HDD bay.
 
Last edited:
R

rondocap

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 18, 2011
527
307
Actually I am being swayed towards the iMac. I have a Mac Pro at home, but at my parents house I need a computer to mostly just browse the web, email, etc.

The iMac seems to perform better than the 2.3 dual core G5 - and it has intel and is already running Lion, which is a big plus.

Dang, I really wanted to try out that 2.3ghz G5 to see how much faster it'd be over my 1.8ghz single CPU G5, ha.
 
Nameci

Nameci

macrumors 68000
Oct 29, 2010
1,944
12
The Philippines...
How much faster is the dual core 2.3 G5 over the single 1.8? Light years... lol.

Even my dual processor 1.42 G4 is faster than a single 1.8 G5.
 
R

rondocap

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 18, 2011
527
307
So I ended up getting the iMac, 2.0ghz core 2 duo with 2 gigs of ram. It's actually pretty fast for web browsing, blows the 1.8 G5 out of the water. Not as fast as my Mac Pro, but it will do just fine!
 
Medic278

Medic278

macrumors 6502a
Feb 1, 2012
657
0
New York
I just bought a Power Mac g5 and while it has arrived yet you couldn't be happier. I think they are great machines and still serve a purpose. PLus the people on here are very nice helpful and very very knowledgeable.
 
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