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G5 processor upgrade?

D

DickBastardly

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 15, 2007
3
0
London
hi, i'm new to this forum and new to upgrading computers as well. i've just picked up a power mac g5 single 1.8ghz on the cheap and was wondering if anyone knew anything about upgrade potential of this machine processor-wise cos its pretty dated now.
i suppose its very hopeful to suppose that it might have the same motherboard as the dual processor g5 powermacs and i can just lump one straiught in?!
if i require a new motherboard in order to upgrade are they easy to fit, do they cost a lot and is it worth it?
would very much appreictae it if anyone can shed any light on the matter
 
i was afraid it might!

i guess ill have to make do with it for a couple of years and just ramp up the ram to 2-4gigs.

in your opinion, is a 1.8ghz g5 still viable? i mean in all honesty my computer needs are very limited. ive only got a power mac cos it was cheap second hand and i felt im getting more value for money getting such a pretty beast compared to the woefully un-upgraded state of the mini. if im using just safari, itunes, office and doing a little phoo editing its enough right?

also is it future proof in terms of leopard? its still a 64bit chipset liek the dual-processor ones right?
 
DickBastardly said:
i was afraid it might!

i guess ill have to make do with it for a couple of years and just ramp up the ram to 2-4gigs.

in your opinion, is a 1.8ghz g5 still viable? i mean in all honesty my computer needs are very limited. ive only got a power mac cos it was cheap second hand and i felt im getting more value for money getting such a pretty beast compared to the woefully un-upgraded state of the mini. if im using just safari, itunes, office and doing a little phoo editing its enough right?

also is it future proof in terms of leopard? its still a 64bit chipset liek the dual-processor ones right?
Click to expand...

All G5s are 64-bit and the 1.8GHz G5 can still be good if you add a lot of ram to it and install Leopard on it. More ram and Leopard will speed up your PowerMac G5 even more. The reason Leopard will make your mac faster is because Leopard is truly a 64-bit system and will be truly optimized for all 64-bit macs. Leopard will support 32-bit applications and 32-bit macs (G4 and above) too.
 
Depending on your intended usage you could also upgrade the video card. A larger and faster HDD may also help.
 
thanks for your thoughts gentlemen.
so the general consensus is ram ram ram + that beast called leopard.

grfx card is not necessary for me really. i dont intend to power two screens. i've got a lovely new hdmi 22 inch lg that should do me fine and look great, and a ps3 to use for games and other media.

what's the best place to find cheap ram in the uk? im probably thinking of two sticks of a gig...
 
1.6 Ghz G5 won't carry the load

Hi everyone:

I've got an old G5 (1.6 Ghz CPU) that's been running like molasses since Leopard upgrade. RAM is maxed out at 4 gig and I just bought a new 1 terabyte internal HD (all installed).

Here's the problem: iChat uses up to 75% of CPU when I am doing triple chat and 60-ish when doing dual chat. Other apps slow to a crawl. I never had this problem pre-Leopard.

I moved iPhoto and iTunes to external drives to free up space, but I don't think RAM is the issue. It appears to be a horsepower issue. Should I just bite the bullet and get a new MacPro?

Thanks.

p.s. would there be any advantage to making my system drive the new terabyte internal or doesn't it matter.
 
A faster HDD will do wonders too - you'd be surprised how much of a difference it makes to have a good 7200 or 10000 rpm drive.
 
gee fiver said:
Hi everyone:

I've got an old G5 (1.6 Ghz CPU) that's been running like molasses since Leopard upgrade. RAM is maxed out at 4 gig and I just bought a new 1 terabyte internal HD (all installed).

Here's the problem: iChat uses up to 75% of CPU when I am doing triple chat and 60-ish when doing dual chat. Other apps slow to a crawl. I never had this problem pre-Leopard.

I moved iPhoto and iTunes to external drives to free up space, but I don't think RAM is the issue. It appears to be a horsepower issue. Should I just bite the bullet and get a new MacPro?

Thanks.

p.s. would there be any advantage to making my system drive the new terabyte internal or doesn't it matter.
Click to expand...

I think there is something wrong with iChat in your case... it definitely should not be doing that. You might want to google and see if anyone else is having your problem.

There is an advantage to using your new drive as the system drive. Your new drive will be faster (newer technology, higher density). Maybe use this as an excuse to reinstall Leopard and fix your iChat issue. =P
 
I guess this tread is still alive...:)

I just bought my first Mac after years with PC and now i´m a new disciple...
I have a Mac OS X v.10.5.8 Dual 2.5 PPC G5(3.0) with 3.5 GB DDR SDRAM

Now i want to upgrade it with some Intel processors. Is that possible?
 
Jimmi 1973 said:
I just bought my first Mac after years with PC and now i´m a new disciple...
I have a Mac OS X v.10.5.8 Dual 2.5 PPC G5(3.0) with 3.5 GB DDR SDRAM

Now i want to upgrade it with some Intel processors. Is that possible?
Click to expand...

No, the PPC and intel are completely different and it would require replacing everything but the case, disk drive and hard drive. In short, sell the 2.5 and buy an intel mac pro if intel is your wish.
 
Not to hijack this thread, but does anyone about upgrading a dual 2.0 G5 to a dual 2.5 or higher?
 
Jimmi 1973 said:
Now i want to upgrade it with some Intel processors. Is that possible?
Click to expand...

Not physically. You can put some "Intel Inside" stickers on the case and pretend, thats as close as it will ever get.

bzollinger said:
Not to hijack this thread, but does anyone about upgrading a dual 2.0 G5 to a dual 2.5 or higher?
Click to expand...
Not economically possible. You would need to change the logicboard and power supply, at which point it would be cheaper to just sell the machine and buy what you want.
 
Thanks all...

kellen said:
No, the PPC and intel are completely different and it would require replacing everything but the case, disk drive and hard drive. In short, sell the 2.5 and buy an intel mac pro if intel is your wish.
Click to expand...

Still im happy for my G5 just a little annoyed that there are some software that i cant install - even software from Appel...
 
Part of life. I'm pissed I can't install Windows 3.1 on my G5, OS7.6 too, and thats from Apple!
 
scary

you can try a cpu pin mod, this has worked on several cpu's were the bios was locked, i have without incident went from 1.8 to 2.5 by using this mod without upgrading power supply or additional mods.
 
johann sr said:
you can try a cpu pin mod, this has worked on several cpu's were the bios was locked, i have without incident went from 1.8 to 2.5 by using this mod without upgrading power supply or additional mods.
Click to expand...

You tried this successfully on a G5 CPU? Macs don't have a BIOS. Going from a 1.8>2.5 would dramatically increase heat on a G5. This is why Apple went to liquid cooling for the higher-end models. The G5 is a very hot CPU.

I tried doing this by changing around resisters but couldn't get anything. It worked fine on the G4 CPUs but I could never get anything to work on a G5. I compared the pin layout to various G5 CPUs: 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0. Guess I was just changing the wrong ones because it seemed all 3 CPUs were physically the same except for those resisters in different places.

Added:
On a side note, I know this thread has been dug up many times over but it is possible to upgrade the CPU with a faster one. I've successfully installed a 1.8ghz G5 CPU from a dual processor model onto a single 1.6ghz model. I also swapped the 1.6 CPU onto my dual 1.8 model and that worked. I even thought about picking up another 1.6 CPU to make a dual 1.6 configuration :D
 
I have a 1.6 G5 with a new HDD, 2.5 gb of RAM and running 10.5.8.
However, when I start Skype for example, the CPU useage still goes to !00% and it takes forever to synch up video and audio, and then video freezes after 3 to 5 minutes of use. Also, similar with Facebook. CPU jumps up to 100% useage, and when typing the text lags the keyboard by at least a second or two. I reckon it is just time for a new computer, unless anyone has any other hints.
I have also repaired permissions, and my HD is only about 20% full.
 
BigDukeSix said:
I have a 1.6 G5 with a new HDD, 2.5 gb of RAM and running 10.5.8.
However, when I start Skype for example, the CPU useage still goes to !00% and it takes forever to synch up video and audio, and then video freezes after 3 to 5 minutes of use. Also, similar with Facebook. CPU jumps up to 100% useage, and when typing the text lags the keyboard by at least a second or two. I reckon it is just time for a new computer, unless anyone has any other hints.
I have also repaired permissions, and my HD is only about 20% full.
Click to expand...

Time to get a new computer. That single 1.6 struggles with what you are doing and why you get 100% CPU utilization and it will slow down to a crawl.
 
As others have said, put as much RAM as possible, that's your best bet. You might also consider moving to a faster hard disk(s), that can speed things up considerably.

If you are willing to do LOTS of research and take a little risk you can upgrade the CPUs or overclock them but that's usually an activity restricted to hobbyists.

Finally, your BEST bet would be to try and get your hands on an Intel Mac, but there is still life left in the G5 for a while yet.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the input. Yup, I know the correct answer is to get a new computer. And, as soon as I get my new Macbook paid off, I will probably get a mini. But, the G5 will have to keep me going for awhile, but I will retire it to some other use, not get rid of it as I love the way it looks and has life left in it for sure.
 
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