Power Mac G5, is it worth it?

[lecorbusier]

Hey peoples, need some help on the value of this machine being offered to me. It's a Power Mac G5 with the following specs listed below. I'm not to worried about hardrive size as I have a couple I can throw in. What I'm asking is, what is this roughly worth? Am I paying too much if I get it for $450 USD? I'd be using it for photography + graphics (Illustrator / Photoshop), and I'd be interested in running a Windows OS as well, is this possible with older machines like this, and what is my best option for doing that? Thanks for any and all your help!

Machine Name: Power Mac G5
Machine Model: PowerMac7,3
CPU Type: PowerPC G5 (3.0)
Number Of CPUs: 2
CPU Speed: 2 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 1 GHz
Boot ROM Version: 5.2.4f1


ATI Radeon 9600:

Chipset Model: ATY,RV351
Type: Display
Bus: AGP
Slot: SLOT-1
VRAM (Total): 128 MB
Vendor: ATI (0x1002)
Device ID: 0x4150
Revision ID: 0x0000
ROM Revision: 113-A58504-113

Capacity: 74.53 GB
Model: ST380013AS

 

[grue]

If you want a workstation that has no future, it's an ok machine.

It will not run Windows in any way worth doing.

 

[johndavidwright]

no its not. it will not run windows. you will not be able to use snow leopard when it comes out. im almost positive it will not run on powerpc processors. applications will stop supporting powerpc processors. for $450 its not bad but if you ask me, i would only buy a mac with intel processors.

 

[Dr.Pants]

Hrm... well, look around on eBay and Craigslist for a comparison. last time I checked, 1.8GHz was roughly $600, so it might be a deal. Need some non-PowerPC-bashers to weigh in. If I could get that computer for $450 USD, I would. Refer your friend to me please. I'll pay shipping

But then again, I want to run OSX/Linux programs. Are your programs specific to OSX? You would probably be getting a good deal only if you plan on running Illustrator and Photoshop under OSX, and you may have a good back-burner computer should you ever try a PowerPC Linux.

To surmise - If you have a more powerful computer (in comparison) that can run Illustrator and Photoshop in Windows, you are better off keeping that. If not, take it. However, this is my opinion, and I haven't had much time on PowerPC platforms.

 

[sigmadog]

Currently I'm using a computer with a very similar configuration for all my graphic design work. I've had my G5 Dual 2.0GHz since 2004 and never had issues working in Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator. I've got 5.5Gb DDR SDRAM and it runs fine. Sure, the set-up you are considering is not the fastest gun in town, but you already are aware of that, no doubt.

I also do some web work in Dreamweaver and often check my work in Windows XP using Virtual PC. It's very slow in Windows, and I wouldn't recommend actually running programs on it because of that, but it's adequate for browser compatibility checks, which is all I need.

You will be limited to OSX 10.5, as the next system will be Intel-based only. Whether software upgrades in the future will also require Intel machines is a good question. My guess: yes they will. So if you buy this system you are boxing yourself into a dead configuration. That's not necessarily bad, as long as you are fully aware of what you are getting into.

Hope this helps.

 

[TrapOx]

I'd be interested in running a Windows OS as well

Then a PowerMac is definitely not for you. Look for a new Mini when its updated.