A dirt cheap G5 of my own

[ptdebate]

Well, since picking up my 30" Thunderbolt display, I've been eager to see it operate at full resolution. My flashed FireGL x3 hasn't come in yet, so I haven't been able to test that guy out in my G4 yet. I finally have a whole day off from work, so I decided to look around on craigslist for a G5. And what do you know? A 2.7GHz DP model for only $50! 😀

Previously, I wasn't that fond of G5s because they look almost exactly like the Mac Pros that replaced them and stayed basically the same for 6 years. But man, this is a really pretty piece of hardware--especially on the inside.

Now I'm very conflicted. Do I put the FireGL card into my G5, making this the ultimate G5 system (barring the quad, which has issues of its own) or should I use it in the G4, which is awesome in its own right and would probably make it the most powerful single-processor G4 in existence?

 

[redheeler]

I'd stick it in the G5, although if it's an AGP card it obviously won't fit. The late 2005 G5 uses PCIe.

 

[bunnspecial]

I'd stick it in the G5, although if it's an AGP card it obviously won't fit. The late 2005 G5 uses PCIe.

A 2.7DP will have AGP

 

[redheeler]

A 2.7DP will have AGP

My bad, for some reason I thought it was a quad. Yes the 7,3 uses AGP.

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OP, I'd stick the card in the G5. You'd have a much more capable machine there.

 

[eyoungren]

Well, since picking up my 30" Thunderbolt display…

Thunderbolt display?

Is that correct? The 30" display you were talking about in the other thread is a Thunderbolt display?

 

[MagicBoy]

It's a Cinema Display. Thunderbolt only comes in 27".

 

[eyoungren]

It's a Cinema Display. Thunderbolt only comes in 27".

Yeah, that's what had me a little confused. I know that our old G4s and G5s can drive 30" displays with the right video card, but other than a DVI to Thunderbolt adapter (does such a thing exist?) I'm not sure how OP would hook a Thunderbolt display up to his FireGL X3 card no matter which Mac he chooses to put the card in.

 

[MagicBoy]

The 30" requires Dual Link DVI. There's a resolution cap of 1920x1200@60Hz on a single link connection which is fine for the Alu 20"/23" Cinema Displays.

There's an (expensive) Apple adaptor for Mini DisplayPort/Thunderbolt to Dual Link DVI to allow current Macs to use the 30".

AFAIK you can't convert a Thunderbolt display to anything else. The Thunderbolt port on the Mac is backwards compatible with Mini DisplayPort so you can use 24"/27" Cinema Displays, or adapt it for VGA/DVI/HDMI with older Cinema Displays or third party monitors (like my Dell 24") etc.

 

[ptdebate]

Whoops! I meant "Cinema Display." Not sure why I wrote "thunderbolt."

 

[desantii]

G5 totally, no taping required!