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Breaking down late 2005 Power Mac G5 for parts

feelingsupersonic

feelingsupersonic

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 2, 2020
79
105
Texas
Decided to throw in the towel on this machine. I bought it in 2021 thinking it was a quad G5... it was not, it's a PCI-express dual-core 2.0 model. It arrived with case damage and the seller didn't have any insurance on it. It runs just fine, I had Sorbet Leopard on it. But it's taking up precious space and I've been trying to sell it locally, with zero interest at all. I would have taken $50 and a 12 pack of beer for it :(
I tried to bend the case back into shape, but it was hopeless, it's pretty bad on the other side that you can't see.

Wanted to give you all the first shot at any parts that you want, just make a reasonable offer on anything you see in the images below.
Some further details:
  • System was running normally with no known hardware faults
  • 6600 LE graphics card
  • 1000W AC-Bel power supply
  • 1x Dual core 2.0ghz, air cooled, everything in great condition (so obviously no coolant corrosion)
  • Tried to re-install the screws / associated parts with each item wherever it made sense

IMG_1816.png


IMG_1817.png


IMG_1821.png
 
That’s a shame. I run this exact machine and it runs fairly well. What was wrong with your case? It looks fine from what I can see in the pictures.

EDIT: NVM. I see the dent at the top of the case. Still looks way better than mine which has a dented top-rear handle and case damage severe enough to make opening and closing the case a hassle.
 
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Yeah. It was mint before it was shipped to me. I've just given up on selling it whole... keep getting a lot of tire kickers and generally low/zero interest locally.

Here's a video I made for a prospective buyer a few years ago (who flaked). It shows the case damage and some other footage. After filing this, I tried my best to bend the case back into shape but it's just not great. It can barely even balance upright when the side door is off.


 
It's a real shame since the Dual 2.0 GHz model is quite a good machine.

My general experience is that the retro Mac market tends to be on the smaller side, which can mean that it takes a long time to sell items locally, even if they may be reasonably priced, and even if they may be collector's items. The low volume of both sellers and buyers also means it is hard to gauge a good price.

Since the 2.0 GHz seems to be one of the more common models, my guess is that you will probably end up with most people looking at it to see if it may be a rarer 2.7 GHz or Quad, or wanting a case to install new PC/Mac parts and make a "Frankenstein G5", or looking for specific parts to upgrade their G5 (e.g. video card, ram).

However, a good selling point is that the Dual-2.0 GHz is the second most reliable G5 (only outclassed by the Dual 2.3 GHz) and second most powerful air-cooled (from what I understand anything G5 2.5 GHz+ is water-cooled, which is prone to leaks).

Power Mac G5 Overview

Power Mac G5 Overview
lowendmac.com lowendmac.com

I'm not sure if it will be any easier to sell as parts; however, if I were trying to sell it myself, I would try listing it for $30 and see if it raises more local interest.
 
I picked up my Dual CPU 2ghz a1047 for $20. It was missing its BT and wifi antennas but otherwise was intact and in good condition. Of the PMG5s, I am partial to the aircooled dual core 2.0Ghz+ a1117s. The one I scored years back (still sits on my desk) was on CL for $40 and it included an Apple Aluminum cinema display , Apple wireless kb/m and some music recording interfaces - my point is it sounds like Op has at least +$50 into this machine which can be a tough sell locally not to mention post-holiday budgets but by selling a couple higher dollar items off the machine like the 6600LE and Acbel PSU for example (on ebay) would pretty easily net him more than the $50 he was looking to get out of it. Sales & cash might not come at the same time and you'd have to ship so more work than a single sale but Ops skin in the game can be recouped that way and to keep it easy, they can drop off the remaining unwanted parts at recycling to keep home tidy.

Another thought is to post your parts/lot at a few other retro Mac sites to see if anyone is interested there like 68kmla or TinkerDifferent or MacintoshGarden. Those communities are very 68k mac centric but all have folks using or who have collected PMG5s.

Best of luck
 
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For the recycling part, I might suggest donating the unwanted parts which don't sell to good will or an organization that deals with used computers. They may be able to find a good use for them and could provide you with a tax credit voucher in exchange.
 
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Thanks all for the inputs. No Airport/BT card unfortunately.

I would be willing to give away many of these parts for the cost of shipping - thanks for being a great community. A few of the more desirable parts will just go to eBay I suppose.
 
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feelingsupersonic said:
Thanks all for the inputs. No Airport/BT card unfortunately.

I would be willing to give away many of these parts for the cost of shipping - thanks for being a great community. A few of the more desirable parts will just go to eBay I suppose.
Click to expand...
Do you know what size the RAM sticks are?
 
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