What Graphics card is in this G5?

BaddestArvai · Mar 26, 2014

So I saw on google and I saw this "Quad" G5 with a massive graphics card inside:

What kind of card is that? Looks super powerful and it also looks like it needs additional power.

noodle654 · Mar 26, 2014

Looks like the Nvidia Quadro FX 4500. It does require a booster cable.

tevion5 · Mar 26, 2014

BaddestArvai said:
Looks super powerful

It was! 9 years ago that is...

iamMacPerson · Mar 26, 2014

Looks like thats sucker was water-cooled too. Was it available as a BTO?

Altemose · Mar 26, 2014

iamMacPerson said:
Looks like thats sucker was water-cooled too. Was it available as a BTO?

All dual 2.5, dual 2.7, and quad 2.5 GHz PowerMac G5s were liquid cooled. However, the systems used on the duals were rather unreliable and leaked often. You were then left with rebuilding the the liquid cooling or waiting until it fried the logic board, PSU, and corroded the case.

Intell · Mar 26, 2014

The video card is not liquid cooled.

repentix · Mar 27, 2014

The best grafics sard for a quad or a dual core G5 is a Radeon 1900 XT from Ati it was available seperatly in 2006.

iamMacPerson · Mar 27, 2014

Altemose said:
All dual 2.5, dual 2.7, and quad 2.5 GHz PowerMac G5s were liquid cooled. However, the systems used on the duals were rather unreliable and leaked often. You were then left with rebuilding the the liquid cooling or waiting until it fried the logic board, PSU, and corroded the case.

I know about the machines, I was asking about the video card itself.

Intell said:
The video card is not liquid cooled.

Oh ok. Looks like it is.

Altemose · Mar 27, 2014

Intell said:
The video card is not liquid cooled.

Sorry, meant the CPUs. That is just a really large heat pipe to disperse heat over the heatsink.

jbarley · Mar 27, 2014

Intell said:
The video card is not liquid cooled.

actually I would think there is liquid of sorts in those pipes, otherwise there would be no heat transfer from the GPU to the radiators.

Intell · Mar 27, 2014

jbarley said:
actually I would think there is liquid of sorts in those pipes, otherwise there would be no heat transfer from the GPU to the radiators.

They're solid copper heatpipes. Copper is a very good conductor of heat. Liquid wouldn't move around without a pump.

gavinstubbs09 · Mar 27, 2014

Intell said:
They're solid copper heatpipes. Copper is a very good conductor of heat. Liquid wouldn't move around without a pump.

And if they used the same coolant as the LCS system cross your fingers it wouldn't leak and corrode everything!

jbarley · Mar 27, 2014

Intell said:
They're solid copper heatpipes. Copper is a very good conductor of heat. Liquid wouldn't move around without a pump.

Thanks for that info.
Now as to liquid not moving around without a pump, good thing nobody told that that to our old hot water tank that was heated with a coil in the wood stove.

VanneDC · Mar 28, 2014

yup, as said before, fx4500, or a flashed gtx 7800 512mb ..

very nice card, i also had one of these, and i also had the ati, the better card is the fx4500, gtx 7800. much quiter, and in some apps much faster..

actually, i still have both.. lol.. though my gtx7800 still needs to be flashed..
think i am starting a video card collection.

nicest one i have is the 3dfxv5 5500

laurihoefs · Mar 28, 2014

Intell said:
They're solid copper heatpipes. Copper is a very good conductor of heat. Liquid wouldn't move around without a pump.

Heatpipes are not solid, and have liquid inside.

jbarley · Mar 28, 2014

laurihoefs said:
Heatpipes are not solid, and have liquid inside.

Good article, supports my original impression.

Intell · Mar 28, 2014

laurihoefs said:
Heatpipes are not solid, and have liquid inside.

Most are solid. Those in the G5's video card are solid. I've cut them up for scrap copper in the past. Still quoting Wikipedia as a source doesn't make a good argument.

laurihoefs · Mar 28, 2014

Intell said:
Most are solid. Those in the G5's video card are solid. I've cut them up for scrap copper in the past. Still quoting Wikipedia as a source doesn't make a good argument.

Interesting. None of the ones I've seen to this day have been solid. None.

If it's called a heat pipe, it's a pipe filled with a liquid. If it's solid, it's not a heat pipe.

I quoted Wikipedia, as it explains the basic principle of heat pipes quite well, and as such makes an excellent argument. You might want to read the linked article.

Intell · Mar 28, 2014

It's called a heatpipr because it pipes or moves away the heat like a pipe carrying away water or gas.

noodle654 · Mar 28, 2014

Intell said:
Most are solid. Those in the G5's video card are solid. I've cut them up for scrap copper in the past. Still quoting Wikipedia as a source doesn't make a good argument.

Most are not solid. Having it solid defeats the entire purpose of a heat pipe in the first place. There is a liquid inside along with a 'wick' in a kind of vacuum, so it has a lower boiling point, which is why most times there is no liquid if you cut it open. Maybe the ones you took out were solid, but almost all of them have liquid.

laurihoefs · Mar 28, 2014

Intell said:
It's called a heatpipr because it pipes or moves away the heat like a pipe carrying away water or gas.

No. They are literally pipes. Check the article linked earlier, it explains the principle and construction.

Or, if you for some reason distrust Wikipedia as a source, here's another one: Heat Pipe Basics and Demonstration

What Graphics card is in this G5?

macrumors regular

macrumors 68020

macrumors 68000

macrumors 68040

macrumors G3

macrumors P6

macrumors regular

macrumors 68040

macrumors G3

macrumors 601

macrumors P6

macrumors 65816

macrumors 601

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 601

macrumors P6

macrumors 6502a

macrumors P6

macrumors 68020

macrumors 6502a

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