Do you think the powermac G5 should be remade, but with intel processors?

[CheeseBread365]

Something that popped into my head

Of course, I know about first gen mac pro's, but I like the particular design of the Powermac G5

 

[redheeler]

Intel Power Mac G5? They did that, but called it the Mac Pro, and sold from 2006-2013.
[doublepost=1503951483][/doublepost]There was also the Developer Transition System, literally an Intel Pentium 4 placed in a Power Mac G5 case. Those are very hard to find now though.

http://vintagemacmuseum.com/the-apple-developer-transition-system-a-trojan-horse-powermac/

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/mac-pro/

 

[bunnspecial]

 

[CheeseBread365]

(Statement deleted)

 

[bunnspecial]

when i say a G5, i dont mean that first gen mac pro. in my opinian, they are hideous on the inside.

Have you ever worked on one?

I love my G5s, but the Mac Pros are a relative dream. There a WHOLE lot to like about them, and a whole lot of free space thanks to the lack of massive G5 heatsinks and a PSU that took up the entire bottom of the case.

On the 1,1-3,1, you can pull the RAM risers out and put RAM in without skinning your knuckles or flipping the computer over. On the 4,1/5,1, you can pull the entire processor tray out by undoing two latches. On all the generations, you have four HDDs that are right in front of you and don't require contortion or remember to insert them in the correct order as on the G5s. There are other nice little touches like a double height slot for the GPU so you don't have to lose an expansion slot if you have a double height GPU.

I work on the insides of MPs more often these days, and I always feel like going to a G5 is a step backwards.

 

[eyoungren]

Have you ever worked on one?

I love my G5s, but the Mac Pros are a relative dream. There a WHOLE lot to like about them, and a whole lot of free space thanks to the lack of massive G5 heatsinks and a PSU that took up the entire bottom of the case.

On the 1,1-3,1, you can pull the RAM risers out and put RAM in without skinning your knuckles or flipping the computer over. On the 4,1/5,1, you can pull the entire processor tray out by undoing two latches. On all the generations, you have four HDDs that are right in front of you and don't require contortion or remember to insert them in the correct order as on the G5s. There are other nice little touches like a double height slot for the GPU so you don't have to lose an expansion slot if you have a double height GPU.

I work on the insides of MPs more often these days, and I always feel like going to a G5 is a step backwards.

I will just state, that while my Quad PowerMac G5 has six displays, in order to get that amount I am running three video cards. Same as when I had my G4.

The Mac Pro at work is drivng three displays with ONE video card.

 

[bunnspecial]

I will just state, that while my Quad PowerMac G5 has six displays, in order to get that amount I am running three video cards. Same as when I had my G4.

The Mac Pro at work is drivng three displays with ONE video card.

@LightBulbFun would be the one to know, but you could probably run 6 off the right card in the MP.

That's not to mention the fact that if you need two GPUs, you have two PCIe power plugs available, as opposed to one on the last-gen G5s.

 

[iModFrenzy]

when i say a G5, i dont mean that first gen mac pro. in my opinian, they are hideous on the inside.

I think both are fine inside, but most of us here would keep the side panel on(I’m assuming the same would go for you? Correct me if I’m wrong). Pretty much- you wouldn’t see anything during normal use.

 

[AphoticD]

I can appreciate the evolution of the internal design of the G5s and I can see how the late 2005 models stepped up the internal thermal design and serviceability another notch, but the classic Mac Pros are truly beautiful to work on. Serviceability and internal layout have been thoroughly thought through.

After stripping down three G5s earlier in the year and doing multiple logic board and CPU replacements, I can say that at first it was intimidating and I had to source and forge a few specialized tools for the job, but after the first one I enjoyed it.

I don't have any desire to do it again any time soon, but knowing that I have stripped them right down and meticulously cleaned out every speck/ball of dust helped me to sleep at night. I know I need to apply new CPU thermal paste on all three of them and I keep putting this off.

If you need to strip a G5 though, be sure to clear your day. It takes time and patience. Whereas the Mac Pro (at least my '08 model) is easy to work on.

I did a tear down of my '08 Suzuki GS500E to clean out the carburetors and replace fuel lines around the same time that I stripped the G5s and in my memory, both the bike and the G5s shared the same shiny internals.

 

[CheeseBread365]

I think both are fine inside, but most of us here would keep the side panel on(I’m assuming the same would go for you? Correct me if I’m wrong). Pretty much- you wouldn’t see anything during normal use.

No I keep the panel on ha-ha (that ha-ha was not supposed to be sarcastic) they are OK on the inside, but I always like the interior of the g5 more. It might be hard to disassemble, but it looks nicer. I like the "G5" logo on the CPU covers

I would be fine working on a first Gen mac pro, and when I said I didn't like the inside, all I had saw was some google images.

I guess this thread is kind of pointless, as if there was a Intel Power Mac G5, what would be the point of calling it a G5 without its PowerPC G5 processor(s)?

 

[redheeler]

No I keep the panel on ha-ha (that ha-ha was not supposed to be sarcastic) they are OK on the inside, but I always like the interior of the g5 more. It might be hard to disassemble, but it looks nicer. I like the "G5" logo on the CPU covers

I would be fine working on a first Gen mac pro, and when I said I didn't like the inside, all I had saw was some google images.

I guess this thread is kind of pointless, as if there was a Intel Power Mac G5, what would be the point of calling it a G5 without its PowerPC G5 processor(s)?

The Mid 2003 dual-processor 2.0 GHz Power Mac G5 is one the best-looking Macs on the inside IMHO. But let's be honest, the Mac Pros, especially the 2009-2012 models, are a lot more practical both inside and out. 2010 or 2012 Mac Pro is an absolute joy to upgrade compared to any Power Mac G5 (or even the 2013 Mac Pro for that matter).

 

[bunnspecial]

No I keep the panel on ha-ha (that ha-ha was not supposed to be sarcastic) they are OK on the inside, but I always like the interior of the g5 more. It might be hard to disassemble, but it looks nicer. I like the "G5" logo on the CPU covers

Out of curiosity, did you Ken Rockwell's review of the G5 Quad before posting this thread?

 

[chrfr]

Did anyone else besides Apple sell a computer that was anywhere near as large as the G5 but still offered only one optical bay and two drive bays?

 

[CheeseBread365]

Out of curiosity, did you Ken Rockwell's review of the G5 Quad before posting this thread?

Who is Ken Rockwell?

 

[bunnspecial]

Who is Ken Rockwell?

Don't worry to much about my comment.

KR is an infamous photography blogger who is much maligned. With that said, he bought a Quad and 30" Cinema in the spring of 2006(and went into detail as to why he chose that rather than wait for the yet-to-be-announced desktop that he was calling the PowerMac Intel) and wrote up a great review of the system. There was a lot about the industrial design of it in the review. It's worth a read. It should be one of the first things that pops up if you google "G5 Quad"

 

[comda]

Have you ever worked on one?

I love my G5s, but the Mac Pros are a relative dream. There a WHOLE lot to like about them, and a whole lot of free space thanks to the lack of massive G5 heatsinks and a PSU that took up the entire bottom of the case.

On the 1,1-3,1, you can pull the RAM risers out and put RAM in without skinning your knuckles or flipping the computer over. On the 4,1/5,1, you can pull the entire processor tray out by undoing two latches. On all the generations, you have four HDDs that are right in front of you and don't require contortion or remember to insert them in the correct order as on the G5s. There are other nice little touches like a double height slot for the GPU so you don't have to lose an expansion slot if you have a double height GPU.

I work on the insides of MPs more often these days, and I always feel like going to a G5 is a step backwards.

Hate to jump in while all these posts have already made it clear (and also a shame apple went to the trashcan tower ugh) these machines are awesome! Even for their age they are great and pack a ton of power.

My 2008 3,1 (that I just picked up a week ago) is running COMPLETELY stock with only 2gb of ram in el cap and I'm using it. Granted it needs ram BADLY it still chugs a long just fine, and I can even hack on Sierra and Hi Sierra if I wanted to. (won't even think till the Ram comes in)

If anything, apple should bring back just the classic design that has been the G5 and the MP tower and continue its ease of upgrade legacy.

 

[z970]

Hate to jump in while all these posts have already made it clear (and also a shame apple went to the trashcan tower ugh) these machines are awesome! Even for their age they are great and pack a ton of power.

My 2008 3,1 (that I just picked up a week ago) is running COMPLETELY stock with only 2gb of ram in el cap and I'm using it. Granted it needs ram BADLY it still chugs a long just fine, and I can even hack on Sierra and Hi Sierra if I wanted to. (won't even think till the Ram comes in)

If anything, apple should bring back just the classic design that has been the G5 and the MP tower and continue its ease of upgrade legacy.

But we all know they won't do that because Apple has chosen form over function.

*sigh*

 

[bunnspecial]

Did anyone else besides Apple sell a computer that was anywhere near as large as the G5 but still offered only one optical bay and two drive bays?

I doubt it. Most "mega towers" of old had 4-5 5 1/4" bays, a couple more 3 1/2" bays, and then a couple of HDD bays. The old Apple beasts like the 9600 were a bit less generous than their PC counterparts but I think still gave you 3 or 4 5 1/4 bays plus dedicated floppy and HDD bays.

I think thermal issues really were the bottleneck on the G5. The lower "open" half of the case is basically totally dedicated to CPU cooling, which eats up a ton of space. You then have a massive PSU in the bottom of the case. The Mac Pro has a similar thermal "zone" where the CPU is located, but the RAM is located in the same area.

BTW, the smaller G4 MDD case gives you four HDD bays and two optical bays. Earlier models(going back to the Rev. B G3 B&W) were set up to take 2 HDDs and of course a ZIP drive was a common upgrade. They could be had BTO with 3 HDDs. Depending on how much you want to stress the thermals and the PSU, it's not that difficult to use factory mounting position to put in 7 HDDs, and there are a few other places to put them if you want to get creative.

The Mac Pros at least give you 4 HDDs and two optical bays, and of course you can run SATA drives in the optical bays if you're so inclined(the 1,1-3,1 have SATA headers for these bays even though they were shipped with IDE-if you wanted you could probably pile 2 ATA drives and two laptop SATA drives into that space). I'm running my Mac Pro with a pair of PCIe SSDs, so I can pile a lot in there .

As a side note, I have a G3 Beige server that claims on the label to have four HDDs. It only has three, but further to that I can't figure out where a fourth would go nor does the cable have a connector for it. The drives run off a factory "Jackhammer" SCSI card. There's one drive in the usual mounting point(above the PSU) and two additional drives in the 5 1/4 bays at the front of the case. The third 5 1/4 bay is occupied by an optical drive(running off IDE) and then there's a floppy drive above it.

 

[chrfr]

As a side note, I have a G3 Beige server that claims on the label to have four HDDs. It only has three, but further to that I can't figure out where a fourth would go nor does the cable have a connector for it.

There were only 3 bays in the G3 Minitower. Do you have a photo of the label?

 

[pixelatedscraps]

Out of curiosity, did you Ken Rockwell's review of the G5 Quad before posting this thread?

He is such a douche. And his website is a joke. Two separate statements there.
[doublepost=1504239100][/doublepost]

But we all know they won't do that because Apple has chosen form over function.

*sigh*

Yeah, that happened a long time ago. Don't forget to be thankful for all your beautiful Apple toys in the meantime!

 

[bunnspecial]

He is such a douche. And his website is a joke. Two separate statements there.

KR is KR.

He is opinionated and obnoxious-I don't think anyone would disagree with that. I often disagree with his conclusions since he'll pick one arbitrary category and broadly sort things based on that, but overall I find his technical data sound. I also very much disagree with some of his suggestions-i.e. there's not a chance I'm taking my D800 and cranking out 6mp JPEGs from it, which is his go to for almost any camera. He is still one of my go-to references for a lot of stuff-I just ignore his hyperbole.

You also have to remember to take much of what he says with a grain of salt. To give an example, around the turn of the century there was an issue with Nikon F100 grips losing their rubber and he made up a big tale about having his recovered in Elephant Phallus Hide. There's also the photo on his home page that's a flipped negative and his apparently "special" left handed F100.

As for his web site in general-a lot of folks criticize it for being dated. Personally, I could care less about fancy design and flashy graphics. I find his pages easy to read without extraneous formatting blaring at me from everywhere. In that sense, I find it refreshing.
[doublepost=1504241343][/doublepost]

There were only 3 bays in the G3 Minitower. Do you have a photo of the label?

 

[pixelatedscraps]

KR is KR.

He is opinionated and obnoxious-I don't think anyone would disagree with that.
[doublepost=1504241343][/doublepost]

View attachment 715389

He was great when I was young and first started out googling camera and lens reviews but that quickly became tiresome and I switched to Diglloyd, Ming Thein, Naturfotograf and on occasion DPReview. The good thing is once you spend a few years with photography as your sole source of income, all the chatter on the internet about gear reviews quickly becomes noise and irrelevant.

Ken Rockwell also dumbs down so much information into the easiest, most arbitrary form. Personally, I really can't stand him. He's amateurish, incessant, unreliable in his opinions and at times inflammatory. He's nailed his SEO down very well, I'll give him that though. Ugh, thank god for freedom of speech, eh?

 

[z970]

He is such a douche. And his website is a joke. Two separate statements there.
[doublepost=1504239100][/doublepost]

Yeah, that happened a long time ago. Don't forget to be thankful for all your beautiful Apple toys in the meantime!

Well, the PowerPC's never had this issue.

And I don't see how the 2012 Mac Pro, MacBook Pro, iMac, or Mac Mini had form over function, either. And that was 5 short years ago! A lot of the retina models however, are a different story!

Beautiful Apple toys? Screw that! I've got a Power Mac G5 and a PowerBook G4 (with an iMac G4 and iBook G4 in the same house), and these suckers are prettier than anything I've seen Apple come out with today! The only modern Apple computer I have is a 2012 MacBook Pro, but the PowerBook sees more usage than it! Breaking news for them, slim does not equal sexy!

- Written From The Aforementioned PowerBook G4

 

[pixelatedscraps]

Breaking news for them, slim does not equal sexy!

- Written From The Aforementioned PowerBook G4

Hear, hear!