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CHAOS STEP

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Ahoy!

I have a G5 iMac (17" 1.6). However it sits in the spare room not getting used, as I have a Mac mini and a MacBook that do everything.

I'm reluctant to get shot of the iMac, as it was my first Mac, but it's slow and noisy and rarely gets used.

I used to have the RAM maxxed out, but months later the RAM went bad, so it's at 512 (I think). It runs Leopard, although I think that Tiger is a better OS for PPC.

I was toying wit the idea of sticking in a SSD - although I hear you have to get an adapter and cut a jump connection (I ave no idea).

After this I was going to 'upgrade' it to Tiger. Not sure I will bother maxxing the RAM, as I won't be doing anything intensive on it.

I am hoping that the SSD will make doing basic tasks seem a lot more efficient and may encourage me to use it more. (I SSD'd my MacBook and was quite chuffed with the performance).

With that said I am tempted to bash it in with a cricket bat (with tears in my eyes).

Any thoughts on the best way to soop up this relic?
 

ihuman:D

macrumors 6502a
Jul 11, 2012
925
1
Ireland
There still fast enough for today and if you fix the ram problem you'll have a great machine. I'd recommend to keep it on leopard because of better support and there's really no point to downgrade to an older OS if you have a G5/some G4s because they're more than capable of running it. It would make a great computer for someone too!
 

Jessica Lares

macrumors G3
Oct 31, 2009
9,612
1,055
Near Dallas, Texas, USA
I think it's time for you to just let it go. ;)

The only thing people will tell you here is to re-max out the RAM, keep it at Leopard (reinstall it even), and add a SSD. And to be honest, since you do have a couple of newer machines, it's only eating up power and getting older by the day. And being that the RAM did go bad, and the machine makes lots of noise (my G5 does too, my iMac G4 however is very, very quiet still), I think it's a sign of more problems to come. Those iMac G5s did have issues with capacitors.

Not that I don't think a SSD upgrade wouldn't be nice, but your Mac Mini or MacBook would benefit more from it.
 

AQUADock

macrumors 65816
Mar 20, 2011
1,049
37
If you want to get rid of it don't bin or trash it, sell it on eBay or give it away to someone who would want one.
 

MisterKeeks

macrumors 68000
Nov 15, 2012
1,833
28
Ahoy!
I was toying wit the idea of sticking in a SSD - although I hear you have to get an adapter and cut a jump connection (I ave no idea).

That shouldn't be an issue. The reason some people have had to do that is because they bought SATA III SSDs. Don't do that. JUst buy a SATA II- It will be cheaper, have the same performance, and work for sure, unlike SATA III drives out there. When you choose an SSD, get one with a Sandforce controller. Though these are slightly less reliable, they operate just fine without TRIM support, which other SSDs need. (If you were to get one for a computer running Snow Leopard up, you could use TRIM Enabler and not have to worry about the controller) This is important, as without TRIM or the special controller, the speeds are reduced drastically over time. OWC has a good line of SATA II drives that use the Sandforce controller- http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/internal_storage/Mercury_Extreme_SSD_Sandforce/Solid_State_Pro/

I hope this clears some things up!
 

FlatlinerG

macrumors 6502a
Dec 21, 2011
711
5
Ontario, Canada
If you want to get rid of it don't bin or trash it, sell it on eBay or give it away to someone who would want one.

+1. Don't toss it, give it to someone that wants it or sell it. Heck, I'd want it! I love older macs as they still serve the purpose of what most of us use computers for anyway (FB/internet/email).

If you're ever looking to part with it and just want someone to take it off your hands for the shipping cost, shoot me a PM. :D
 

Arkious

macrumors 6502a
Mar 14, 2011
583
0
Newcastle, UK
Never bin it, turn it into somthing useful, like an epic bedroom mirror!

Or if u love it like I love my g3, give it new life!
 

CHAOS STEP

macrumors 6502
Original poster
That shouldn't be an issue. The reason some people have had to do that is because they bought SATA III SSDs. Don't do that. JUst buy a SATA II- It will be cheaper, have the same performance, and work for sure, unlike SATA III drives out there. When you choose an SSD, get one with a Sandforce controller. Though these are slightly less reliable, they operate just fine without TRIM support, which other SSDs need. (If you were to get one for a computer running Snow Leopard up, you could use TRIM Enabler and not have to worry about the controller) This is important, as without TRIM or the special controller, the speeds are reduced drastically over time. OWC has a good line of SATA II drives that use the Sandforce controller- http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/internal_storage/Mercury_Extreme_SSD_Sandforce/Solid_State_Pro/

I hope this clears some things up!

Thanks for the response chaps (everyone).

I think I will def look into getting a SATA II SSD, I would do the RAM too, but I don't want to throw too much money at it.

Not sure that I would smash it to bits to be honest, I do reallly like the PPC Macs. I had an old G3 that I gave to my neice a little while back with Tiger and upgraded HDD and RAM and hope that she gets something out of it.

Thing is, it's worth next to nowt, so it's not really worth selling, plus I don't think that there is much point just moving it to the loft to gather dust to only get chucked eventutally.

I would rather it go out in a blaze of glory, perhaps I should put it on a little raft on the river and torch it? -so it can go with honour! :D
 

rjcalifornia

macrumors 6502a
Oct 4, 2012
668
7
El Salvador
Ahoy!

I have a G5 iMac (17" 1.6). However it sits in the spare room not getting used, as I have a Mac mini and a MacBook that do everything.

I'm reluctant to get shot of the iMac, as it was my first Mac, but it's slow and noisy and rarely gets used.

I used to have the RAM maxxed out, but months later the RAM went bad, so it's at 512 (I think). It runs Leopard, although I think that Tiger is a better OS for PPC.

I was toying wit the idea of sticking in a SSD - although I hear you have to get an adapter and cut a jump connection (I ave no idea).

After this I was going to 'upgrade' it to Tiger. Not sure I will bother maxxing the RAM, as I won't be doing anything intensive on it.

I am hoping that the SSD will make doing basic tasks seem a lot more efficient and may encourage me to use it more. (I SSD'd my MacBook and was quite chuffed with the performance).

With that said I am tempted to bash it in with a cricket bat (with tears in my eyes).

Any thoughts on the best way to soop up this relic?

That's a nice iMac... If you decide to sell it, let us know, I'm super interested on getting an iMac G5...
 

joepunk

macrumors 68030
Aug 5, 2004
2,553
13
a profane existence
Thanks for the response chaps (everyone).

Not sure that I would smash it to bits to be honest, I do reallly like the PPC Macs. I had an old G3 that I gave to my neice a little while back with Tiger and upgraded HDD and RAM and hope that she gets something out of it.

Thing is, it's worth next to nowt, so it's not really worth selling, plus I don't think that there is much point just moving it to the loft to gather dust to only get chucked eventutally.

I would rather it go out in a blaze of glory, perhaps I should put it on a little raft on the river and torch it? -so it can go with honour! :D

:cool: I greatly appreciate it that you are just having fun/toying with the idea of a viking funeral. It is sometimes fun to imagine such spectacualr ways to say goodbye to computers (and other electronic devices) But...

If you want to get rid of it don't bin or trash it, sell it on eBay or give it away to someone who would want one.

Agreed 100%. NEVER bin it/trash it/destroy it. RECYCLE it or sell it to someone who would pay for it. Though it probably is better to recycle this thing.

I have to say though I like the idea of keeping the outer case and making like a mirror or a picture frame.
 

tom vilsack

macrumors 68000
Nov 20, 2010
1,880
63
ladner cdn
I had same model,other then a little noisy when fans kick in (mine was first gen and known issue) this is a perfectly good internet machine...i find the case with a lot of older computers what slows them down is not so much the ram (1 gig or more) but rather the older harddrives.Even if you where to put in a newish drive it would make the world of difference.

With these macs it's super easy to pull the back off and get at the drive (thanks apple for now making this once easy upgrading,now a pain the the ***)

whatever you do...please don't kill it...give it to local kid,charity ect...I'm sure someone would be thrilled to have it!
 
Last edited:

MisterKeeks

macrumors 68000
Nov 15, 2012
1,833
28
I had same model,other then a little noisy when fans kick in (mine was first gen and known issue) this is a perfectly good internet machine...i find the case with a lot of older computers what slows them down is not so much the ram (1 gig or more) but rather the older harddrives.Even if you where to put in a newish (ide drive) it would make the world of difference.

With these macs it's super easy to pull the back off and get at the drive (thanks apple for now making this once easy upgrading,now a pain the the ***)...with a fair amount of room you might be able to get away with using a sata ssd and buying a ide-sata adapter. (thus not having to pay $$$ for ide ssd).

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iMac+G5+17-Inch+Model+A1058+Hard+Drive+Replacement/962/1

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aide%20to%20sata%20converter%20adapter

whatever you do...please don't kill it...give it to local kid,charity ect...I'm sure someone would be thrilled to have it!

His has SATA.
 

Falstaff

macrumors member
Dec 11, 2012
45
0
Arizona
Every working computer is useful to someone. As many have offered, sell or maybe donate it to someone less fortunate than yourself.

I really don't understand those who would suggest throwing away a good working unit, especially a g5. Yes they have capacitor issues...sometimes. The fix, though, is not expensive or particularly difficult. And isn't the point of this forum to keep these work horses alive and useful?
 

Starfighter

macrumors 6502a
Jun 17, 2011
679
35
Sweden
The number one step towards making an old computer useful is not, if you ask me, to start thinking about upgrades that would make it on par with newer computers - because that is in many cases not possible and/or very expensive, time consuming and in the end not at all worth it. Of course it can be very fun to play around with an old computer just for the heck of it, that's one of my biggest interests, but if I was to hope every project ended in a computer worthy of 2012 - I'd be fooling myself.

No, the first step is to figure out a reasonable use for it, that is not way out of its league. If I see no use for it and do not have any great emotional bonds to it I'd sell it.
 

Falstaff

macrumors member
Dec 11, 2012
45
0
Arizona
Upgrades also serve the purpose of making it so that a computer can operate at its peak abilities. That's what I aim for. Just something else to keep in mind.
 

Starfighter

macrumors 6502a
Jun 17, 2011
679
35
Sweden
Of course, I agree. But there is times when it just isn't a good option.

A made up example:
I have a computer which runs Leopard just fine with a stock video card, RAM and processor. I want a computer that allows me to check my email and do light schoolwork - which said computer does extremely well. This computer can be upgraded both in memory and the graphics department, but that will set me back around $150 with shipping and all that. If I'm still going to use it for email and light schoolwork - then the upgrade didn't serve any "real world" purpose. So, I could upgrade it, but it wouldn't change anything more than me having less money to spend on intoxicating beverages.

(This reasoning is only appliable when not having special bonds with a computer or maybe a dislike for new technology.)
 

mwhities

macrumors 6502a
Jul 13, 2011
899
0
Mississippi
I'm currently looking for an older G4/5 iMac for my 5yo. If you are interested in selling it, I am interested in it.

(If you are in the states.)
 

CHAOS STEP

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sorry to bump this thread but I thought I'd do an update.

Basically I decided to get a SSD in the end. I had quite a lot of 'fun' fitting it in though, I had to hack a drive caddy to bits to get it securely in. - It was either that, or just have the drive flopping about by it's cable.

I even resited the heat sensor, even though that is pretty much useless.

The iMac then, had a stay of execution and I have been happily using it on and off since then (was using it this afternoon in fact).

All in all, its for the best to keep it going for a while longer, it was my first Mac after all, and it does still work.

My only problem at the moment is that the wi-fi is very dodgy, not sure if that is down to a hardware issue with the card, or if wi-fi was always bad on these things (I used to run it via the ethernet, until I resited our cable modem). It's so bad that if I do have to use the internet for anything at all, I have to bring the cable modem back in and run it by wired.

Also, and this may well be Leopard being pants, but I just can't get my HP printer to work, I just never can seem to get the drivers to work. I think there was an issue with Leopard and printers, but I thought all of that would have been sorted by later Leopard updates.
 

rabidz7

macrumors 65816
Jun 24, 2012
1,205
3
Ohio
Thanks for the response chaps (everyone).

I think I will def look into getting a SATA II SSD, I would do the RAM too, but I don't want to throw too much money at it.

Not sure that I would smash it to bits to be honest, I do reallly like the PPC Macs. I had an old G3 that I gave to my neice a little while back with Tiger and upgraded HDD and RAM and hope that she gets something out of it.

Thing is, it's worth next to nowt, so it's not really worth selling, plus I don't think that there is much point just moving it to the loft to gather dust to only get chucked eventutally.

I would rather it go out in a blaze of glory, perhaps I should put it on a little raft on the river and torch it? -so it can go with honour! :D

The SSD will need an IDE to SATA convertor cable. Your iMac was the last model to have IDE, so it will need to be converted to SATA. This is a small cable that attaches to the end of the IDE cable and goes in to the hard drive instead of the IDE cable going directly to the hard drive. You can also buy a IDE SSD and have the IDE cable go directly into the hard drive. There is zero performance difference between using a converter and a IDE SSD; because the IDE cable is a bandwidth bottleneck.
 

MisterKeeks

macrumors 68000
Nov 15, 2012
1,833
28
The SSD will need an IDE to SATA convertor cable. Your iMac was the last model to have IDE, so it will need to be converted to SATA. This is a small cable that attaches to the end of the IDE cable and goes in to the hard drive instead of the IDE cable going directly to the hard drive. You can also buy a IDE SSD and have the IDE cable go directly into the hard drive. There is zero performance difference between using a converter and a IDE SSD; because the IDE cable is a bandwidth bottleneck.

I'm sorry, his has SATA.
 
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