Bottom-Line, I love my G5 quad.

[jbarley]

As many of you know, I'm a senior (80 Yr old), and PPC has been my hobby ever since Apple and Stevie dumped it in favor of Intel.
Long story - short, I've had and still use many PPC systems, but in the end I keep coming back to my G5 quad.
As older PPC sytems go, my G5 is smooth, quiet and fast enough to be very usable, even in todays Internet oriented culture.
I still maintain my PowerBooks and Cubes along with several G4 MDD's, but all in all the quad is my go-to machine when it comes to PowerPC.
Plus the bonus, living up here in Canada I can use the extra heat.

 

[Dronecatcher]

I'm with you on this - I never feel short changed using my Quad and unlike my first one, this one is near silent and doesn't even push out that much heat. So far, it's only been Javascript heavy websites that have made me notice I'm using an old machine, in every other respect it's plain sailing. The fact that it cost me less than £40 is an added bonus!

 

[eyoungren]

Good! Someone else talking about a Mac they love instead of me blabbing on endlessly about the damn Quicksilver!

Although in general I am not a fan of the G5, I've always wanted a Quad. Glad you are enjoying yours!

 

[Gamer9430]

My Dual 2.3 is my go-to machine. It was my first and by far best PowerPC machine I own, and I love it to bits. It handles everything I toss at it like a champ. Sorry to take the limelight off @jbarley, but I figured I'd share the machine I love as well.

 

[MacCubed]

I am in love with my Quad too! It runs pretty fast on Leopard, plays YouTube videos smoothly, and runs iWork 09/iLife 09 which are both better than the newer versions IMO.

 

[redhatcode29]

As many of you know, I'm a senior (80 Yr old), and PPC has been my hobby ever since Apple and Stevie dumped it in favor of Intel.
Long story - short, I've had and still use many PPC systems, but in the end I keep coming back to my G5 quad.
As older PPC sytems go, my G5 is smooth, quiet and fast enough to be very usable, even in todays Internet oriented culture.
I still maintain my PowerBooks and Cubes along with several G4 MDD's, but all in all the quad is my go-to machine when it comes to PowerPC.
Plus the bonus, living up here in Canada I can use the extra heat.

Hi jbarley, nice to know that you are an eighty year old and 'still keepin in touch' with your machines !
I ddnt know that the Cube slayer was such a senior !

 

[SkyBell]

Good! Someone else talking about a Mac they love instead of me blabbing on endlessly about the damn Quicksilver!

Although in general I am not a fan of the G5, I've always wanted a Quad. Glad you are enjoying yours!

I could share the rambling on about my love for my eMac, but I feel the community got tired of me heaping praise on the thing quite a long time ago.

 

[eyoungren]

I could share the rambling on about my love for my eMac, but I feel the community got tired of me heaping praise on the thing quite a long time ago.

Your eMac is cool!

 

[bunnspecial]

I used my Quad as my main work computer for a while before replacing it with a Mac Pro 1,1. The realities of my work requirements dictate that I need an Intel Mac, but otherwise I'd still be using the Quad. In fact, it's still set up in my office.

It's unquestionably the most useable and responsive PPC Mac I've ever handled, and tears through programs like CS4 like they're nothing. As I said, if it weren't for specific software requirements, there's no reason I wouldn't still be using it daily.

 

[gavinstubbs09]

I'd love to own a quad, but seeing them on ebay when they sell for $305 on an auction kills all my hope.

 

[RedCroissant]

I also love my Quad (my second one actually since I had to sell my first). When ti comes to powerful and still usable PPC machines, this is the primary one that I think of. I use it of course for iTunes streaming and the basic stuff, but also for Geektool, classic gaming, repairing other Macs for other people, burning DVDs, of course taking advantage of FRONT ROW (love it), and of course the iLife suite of apps.

I have a 15" PowerBook G4 and a 14" iBook G3 that I intended to use but actually don't get around to as much as I had hoped especially when each of those machines is considerably less powerful than my "Energon." The only way that I would stop using this Quad was if I found a MP either 1st or 2nd gen. That way I can still use the same HDD before upgrading of course, and I get to keep the same design aspect until the later MPs get even cheaper.

I have noticed something weird though...I installed the Developer tools and also installed the processor preference pane in system preferences, but now that pref pane is gone. Any ideas?

 

[redheeler]

I'd love to own a quad, but seeing them on ebay when they sell for $305 on an auction kills all my hope.

I was watching that one as well. At $305+shipping, I wonder why the winning bidder couldn't look for a nice Mac Pro instead...

I suppose I'll have to make do with upgrading mine to a dual-core 2.3

 

[noodle654]

I was watching that one as well. At $305+shipping, I wonder why the winning bidder couldn't look for a nice Mac Pro instead...

I suppose I'll have to make do with upgrading mine to a dual-core 2.3

That 2.3GHz is the gold model. I had one up until about 3 years ago along with my quad. Rock solid.

 

[redhatcode29]

That 2.3GHz is the gold model. I had one up until about 3 years ago along with my quad. Rock solid.

Gosh .. Seems most you guys own a quad, i have never come across a quad locally... Just have to settle for the dual of mine.
Most of the models here are single and a few duals..

 

[RedCroissant]

Gosh .. Seems most you guys own a quad, i have never come across a quad locally... Just have to settle for the dual of mine.
Most of the models here are single and a few duals..

The sad thing is that the one I have now is my second one. The first one I had came with a working 23" ACD in addition to the dual 500GB HDDs. I had enough money at the time to go with dual 1TB HDDs and upgraded to 16GB RAM and it was beautiful. Luckily I was able to sell it for more than I purchased it but it still wasn't ideal.

The one I have now came with a messed up optical drive, poorly seated RAM (not a huge deal), bent/tilted ACD with faulty power adapter, faulty graphics card..etc. But I love the machine and decided to go ahead and buy it anyway. As luck would have it, someone in the area was wanting to get rid of their late 2005 dual PowerMac G5 and I was able to take some of those parts to make mine the machine it should have been and it was perfect.

 

[redhatcode29]

The sad thing is that the one I have now is my second one. The first one I had came with a working 23" ACD in addition to the dual 500GB HDDs. I had enough money at the time to go with dual 1TB HDDs and upgraded to 16GB RAM and it was beautiful. Luckily I was able to sell it for more than I purchased it but it still wasn't ideal.

The one I have now came with a messed up optical drive, poorly seated RAM (not a huge deal), bent/tilted ACD with faulty power adapter, faulty graphics card..etc. But I love the machine and decided to go ahead and buy it anyway. As luck would have it, someone in the area was wanting to get rid of their late 2005 dual PowerMac G5 and I was able to take some of those parts to make mine the machine it should have been and it was perfect.

It came with a 23" !
What possessed you to sell it ?
Perhaps u werent into collecting such Macs back then...

U sold for a higher price, but i can see that you miss it

But i guess the fun part is when one gets a messed up rig and then builds it up to a level which it can perform fairly and be proud of it.

So now you have a running beast and a cannabilised G5.... Dnt let it go!

 

[chibiterasu]

I'm only into a month of my G5 love and other than a power supply issue (that's now fixed) but I'm very happy with the 2.3 DP, I know it's not quite on the level of a quad but leopard really does flies on these machines when compared to single core G4 systems that I've used for the past 5 years (I'm sure a dual 1.8 mdd is also on another level when compared to single processor G4's and G5's)

 

[RedCroissant]

It came with a 23" !
What possessed you to sell it ?
Perhaps u werent into collecting such Macs back then...

U sold for a higher price, but i can see that you miss it

But i guess the fun part is when one gets a messed up rig and then builds it up to a level which it can perform fairly and be proud of it.

So now you have a running beast and a cannabilised G5.... Dnt let it go!

I KNOW!!! I actually had to pay rent and allow for a move because our rent was going to be raised about 10%. Yeah, the selling for a higher price is the only way I can justify the sale other than being able to afford a move.

I actually wasn't into collecting Macs and to be honest I still am not. I like older Macs but I like to use what I get as opposed to just holding on to them. I almost had an iMac G4 20" but the seller got too much interest and decided to keep it.

My Quad was manufactured in the 3rd week of June of 2006, so one of the last is going to stay with me for good. PLUS, even considering selling this machine hurts me and the possible value now is outweighed by its usefulness. I have impressed myself many times with this machine and as long as it can do what I need it to, then I will keep it and use it.

 

[eyoungren]

I have noticed something weird though...I installed the Developer tools and also installed the processor preference pane in system preferences, but now that pref pane is gone. Any ideas?

I've found that to happen from time to time. Why, I don't know. But my usual solution (when it does happen) is to reinstall it using Onyx or Tinkertool (forget which one at the moment).

 

[Daisy81]

I'm curious about the quad G5.

What is the latest graphics chip that they support?

Any suggestions for someone not familiar with PPC?

 

[bunnspecial]

I'm curious about the quad G5.

What is the latest graphics chip that they support?

Any suggestions for someone not familiar with PPC?

There are a couple of graphics options that the were offered for the G5. They need a PCIe GPU, and at least within OS X it has to be flashed to a PPC-specific ROM. This limits the choices pretty severely.

All the factory cards were nVidia. The "standard" card was the 6600-there were actually two different versions of this card, and I forget which is better. The next step up from this-and a fairly common/popular upgrade-was the 7800GT. The top tier card was the Quadro FX4500. The 6600 and 7800GT are single height cards with dual DVI, although only one of the ports is dual link. The 4500 is dual height, and also has dual dual-link ports.

There was a rare retail Radeon X1900XT . I have one of these, and it gets a higher score in Openmark than the FX4500. It's also single height, but has dual dual-link. If you can find one, IMO it's probably the best option short of flashing(I'm not sure what the flashing options are, although I know a fair number of folks have flashed PC FX4500s).

BTW, the dual link issue probably comes into play most prominently if you want to run a 30" Cinema display, although with the abundance of high resolution displays now on the market DL ports are nice to have to open up a broader selection.

 

[redheeler]

There was a rare retail Radeon X1900XT . I have one of these, and it gets a higher score in Openmark than the FX4500. It's also single height, but has dual dual-link. If you can find one, IMO it's probably the best option short of flashing(I'm not sure what the flashing options are, although I know a fair number of folks have flashed PC FX4500s).

I scored one of these last month for my dual-core 2 GHz G5. Great card, Leopard is buttery smooth with the normal optimizations (QuartzGL enabled and Beamsync disabled). In a G5 quad-core I'm sure it would perform even better.

 

[Daisy81]

There are a couple of graphics options that the were offered for the G5. They need a PCIe GPU, and at least within OS X it has to be flashed to a PPC-specific ROM. This limits the choices pretty severely.

All the factory cards were nVidia. The "standard" card was the 6600-there were actually two different versions of this card, and I forget which is better. The next step up from this-and a fairly common/popular upgrade-was the 7800GT. The top tier card was the Quadro FX4500. The 6600 and 7800GT are single height cards with dual DVI, although only one of the ports is dual link. The 4500 is dual height, and also has dual dual-link ports.

There was a rare retail Radeon X1900XT . I have one of these, and it gets a higher score in Openmark than the FX4500. It's also single height, but has dual dual-link. If you can find one, IMO it's probably the best option short of flashing(I'm not sure what the flashing options are, although I know a fair number of folks have flashed PC FX4500s).

BTW, the dual link issue probably comes into play most prominently if you want to run a 30" Cinema display, although with the abundance of high resolution displays now on the market DL ports are nice to have to open up a broader selection.

So I'm looking for a Radeon X1900XT or a nVidia 7800GT and a Quad 2.5GHz G5? Do these machines have dual 2.5GHz G5 processors like the G4 variations did back in the day?

What is the max ram that they can be upgraded to and what drives can they support.

This sounds like it could be a interesting side project to see what I can do with it.

What is considered a fair price for a G5 Mac Pro with preferably 2 processors and the either of the better graphics chip options?

 

[eyoungren]

So I'm looking for a Radeon X1900XT or a nVidia 7800GT and a Quad 2.5GHz G5? Do these machines have dual 2.5GHz G5 processors like the G4 variations did back in the day?

What is the max ram that they can be upgraded to and what drives can they support.

This sounds like it could be a interesting side project to see what I can do with it.

What is considered a fair price for a G5 Mac Pro with preferably 2 processors and the either of the better graphics chip options?

You are mixing models.

There is no such thing as a G5 Mac Pro. It's either a PowerMac G5 which has a PowerPC processor or a Mac Pro which has an Intel processor.

The Quad PowerMac G5, the Mac under discussion, is only capable of Leopard 10.5.8 max. Just so you are aware of that.

I believe the max ram is 16GB and SATA 2 is as good as you can get. Some SATA 3 drives will be recognized, but not all of them and there tends to be problems.

The PowerMac G5 is the only model of PowerPC Mac that has SATA natively.

 

[bunnspecial]

So I'm looking for a Radeon X1900XT or a nVidia 7800GT and a Quad 2.5GHz G5? Do these machines have dual 2.5GHz G5 processors like the G4 variations did back in the day?

What is the max ram that they can be upgraded to and what drives can they support.

This sounds like it could be a interesting side project to see what I can do with it.

What is considered a fair price for a G5 Mac Pro with preferably 2 processors and the either of the better graphics chip options?

There were effectively two "generations" of the G5-the original models that used AGP graphics, and the late '05 models that used PCIe graphics and had a bunch of other changes. The above listing of GPUs is only applicable to the late '05 models.

The AGP computers came with either one or two processors with speed ranging from 1.6ghz to 2.7ghz. As far as I'm aware, anything above 2ghz was dual processor, and anything above 2.5ghz was liquid cooled. If you're buying a dual 2.5 or dual 2.7, look for signs of liquid leaking very carefully, as these are a known trouble spot. The max ram for lower end models was 4gb, while most higher end models maxed at 8gb. These used DDR PC3200 RAM.

The late '05 models used the 970MP processor, a dual CORE version of the G5. These came in a 2.0 dual core, 2.3 dual core, and 2.5 quad core. The last is what's collectively referred to as a "quad." The Quad has two dual core 2.5ghz processors. It is also liquid cooled, but the cooling system is generally pretty reliable.

The late '05 models take DDR2 PC2-4200. They have 8 slots for a maximum of 16gb of RAM.

All G5s have two 3.5" hard drive bays for SATA hard drives. Boot drives must be formatted HFS+/APM, which limits the maximum partition size to 2TB. GUID can be used for non-booting drives, which gives you more flexibility. There can be issues with SATA III drives, but SATA I and SATA 2 are fine. The optical bay has a single slot for an IDE drive, but the IDE bus can support a hard drive if you want to shoehorn one in.