Dual 2.3 G5: disassemble, clean, apply new thermal paste?

[dpny]

Just got a dual 2.3 GHz G5 from a friend who had it in his basement. I got it home, booted it up, and everything works. However, I'd like to take it apart, give it a thorough cleaning, and put new thermal paste on the CPUs and Northbridge. I've googled but haven't found any specific instructions.

I've built PCs, so I have no worries about working on machines, but is there anything particular to the 2.3 G5s I should be aware of?

 

[DearthnVader]

Unless it's ruing hot, don't mess with it, or be sure you can hide it if you break it!

 

[netsrot39]

Look for an "Apple service manual" about your G5 online (Google, Archive.org, etc.) and you will have yourself a nice read since these manuals cover almost anything related to the machine including disassembly and troubleshooting. If you can, replace at least the thermal paste and clean the machine inside because G5s accumulate tons of dust over the years. Also make sure you have the right tools (especially a 3mm and 4mm Allen key).

 

[Vaccaria]

When the Cpu coolers are removed/repositioned a safetymechanical kicks in:
all fans inside the Tower start to run at 100%. Therefore to get the normal fan behavior back you should recalibrate your fans after you are done.

 

[bkmoore773]

Just got a dual 2.3 GHz G5 from a friend who had it in his basement. I got it home, booted it up, and everything works. However, I'd like to take it apart, give it a thorough cleaning, and put new thermal paste on the CPUs and Northbridge. I've googled but haven't found any specific instructions.

I've built PCs, so I have no worries about working on machines, but is there anything particular to the 2.3 G5s I should be aware of?

Cleaned up, and calibrated, it is a fantastic machine. Get the service manual. It's pretty easy to disassemble. Take the power supply out and clean all the dust bunnies out. Clean all the fans. Replace all the thermal paste, there are two chips on the mother board, CPU, and GPU. Download the Apple Service Diagnostic DVD, and run thermal calibration. Once that is done, you'll have an awesome machine that is very quiet, reliable and fast. Find a 30" Cinema Display and a set of Sound Sticks (I had both already). I posted a photo of my setup on the Show your PowerPC thread.

Imho, you got the best G5 ever made. Yes there are faster ones, but the difference isn't noticeable for normal computing and gaming. This machine runs so quietly and is just so reliable. Subjectively it is faster than both my early Intel- iMacs.

 

[dpny]

Thanks all.

 

[dpny]

An update: opened it up, cleaned it out, applied new thermal paste and it works like a charm. An older, slower, charm, but still so much better than being stripped for parts or tossed into a landfill. The only real issue I'm running into is incredibly slow network speeds. Don't know if the old Airport card plays well with my router.

Speeds are so slow trying to upload this screenshot kept timing out and I had to do it with my MBP.

 

[Amethyst1]

The only real issue I'm running into is incredibly slow network speeds.

Try disabling IPv6 (System Preferences > Network > AirPort > Advanced > TCP/IP).

 

[dpny]

Try disabling IPv6 (System Preferences > Network > AirPort > Advanced > TCP/IP).

A definite improvement, but still very slow. Getting about 400K/sec down and maybe 80K/sec up.

 

[ww2_1943]

This is the setup I’m using in my 2.3 dual core. It’s fast! I know there is a thread here that talks about this. When I went on eBay to find the parts this premade on was offered for sale so I purchased it.

BCM94321MC Wireless WiFi Card PCIe Apple | eBay

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www.ebay.com

 

[dpny]

This is the setup I’m using in my 2.3 dual core. It’s fast! I know there is a thread here that talks about this. When I went on eBay to find the parts this premade on was offered for sale so I purchased it.

BCM94321MC Wireless WiFi Card PCIe Apple | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for BCM94321MC Wireless WiFi Card PCIe Apple at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

That says it's PCI-E. It works in a dual 2.5 G5?

 

[ww2_1943]

That says it's PCI-E. It works in a dual 2.5 G5?

Only if it is a 11,2. https://everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac_g5/specs/powermac_g5_dual_2.3.html

I can see what wireless card is in my 7,3 G5. It is not as fast, but I don't think it is anywhere near as slow as yours. It was tough to find a working driver for it. I can't find the original installer but I think I can save my install as a DMG.

 

[dpny]

Only if it is a 11,2. https://everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac_g5/specs/powermac_g5_dual_2.3.html

I can see what wireless card is in my 7,3 G5. It is not as fast, but I don't think it is anywhere near as slow as yours. It was tough to find a working driver for it. I can't find the original installer but I think I can save my install as a DMG.

Think I have the earlier model.

 

[ww2_1943]

Think I have the earlier model.

This is what I have in my 7,3 Power Mac G5

 

[dpny]

This is what I have in my 7,3 Power Mac G5

View attachment 2136688

Do you have a model name/number?

 

[Amethyst1]

This is what I have in my 7,3 Power Mac G5

Do you have a model name/number?

This uses a Ralink RT2760T chipset.