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G5 : what to do
- Thread starter DELINDA
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use it as a computer?? what else would you do with it?
are you considering to upgrade to a MacPro or something?
are you considering to upgrade to a MacPro or something?
you can use a G5 for most thing's unless your a power user, it'll handle web surfing and applications quite nicely,
have you got the 1.6 or 1.8Ghz single core?, thing's will prolly be a bit slow for those but if it's a 2.0 dual cpu then it should be ok for most things
have you got the 1.6 or 1.8Ghz single core?, thing's will prolly be a bit slow for those but if it's a 2.0 dual cpu then it should be ok for most things
G5
My G 5 is 5years old / 1.8 GHz /256 mb ram / airport extreme ready . I guess what I am asking is can this be upgraded to the new Mac ? What would it take and is it worth doing ? My lap is a core 2 duo , no prob there . I am thinking the G 5 may be used for just gaming (cards) and surfing . Thanks
My G 5 is 5years old / 1.8 GHz /256 mb ram / airport extreme ready . I guess what I am asking is can this be upgraded to the new Mac ? What would it take and is it worth doing ? My lap is a core 2 duo , no prob there . I am thinking the G 5 may be used for just gaming (cards) and surfing . Thanks
256Mb of ram :O cripes, thats not much, you want at least 1gig, what OS is on there, am guessing it's 10.4 i dont think 10.5 will boot with that little,
have a look about on ebay for more ram, specially if your after playing games,
sidenote, the G5 wont play the latest games, due to the swap over to intel cpu's so, but for most old games it should be ok, but yeah look for 1-2 gigs of ram at the very least,
if playing games and surfing the web is all your doing then, i think laying out for a brand new mac is a bit excessive, spending less then 75 dollars, you'll have a capable machine for the type of stuff your after
have a look about on ebay for more ram, specially if your after playing games,
sidenote, the G5 wont play the latest games, due to the swap over to intel cpu's so, but for most old games it should be ok, but yeah look for 1-2 gigs of ram at the very least,
if playing games and surfing the web is all your doing then, i think laying out for a brand new mac is a bit excessive, spending less then 75 dollars, you'll have a capable machine for the type of stuff your after
Max out the RAM, upgrade it to Leopard (optionally), and just use it for internet, email, and general productivity.
I'm guessing it's an iMac? (Mostly because the thought that someone let a PowerMac G5 languish so long with 256 MB saddens me).
If it is an iMac you can put 2gigs of PC3200 in there for about $75. Since it's so ram starved now it will seem like a new machine.
It won't be nearly as fast as your core 2 duo though, but still very usable.
Leopard works on my 1.5ghz, 512gb ram Powerbook quite well! Just sneak a bit more ram in there and upgrade to 10.5 and um, browse the internet?
I did a lot of stuff on my PowerBook. Edited a HD stop motion short film, composed the soundtrack to a game, designed poster artwork and digital art for games and university coursework. I mean a new machine will do these things much faster but they're still possible on a G4 or G5. Just stick in at least 256mb more ram!
I did a lot of stuff on my PowerBook. Edited a HD stop motion short film, composed the soundtrack to a game, designed poster artwork and digital art for games and university coursework. I mean a new machine will do these things much faster but they're still possible on a G4 or G5. Just stick in at least 256mb more ram!
Myself, I wouldn't put any money into it. Put that money towards a new computer what ever it would be. A Mini, iMac or a MacPro, even a laptop. Use it the way it is until you pull your hair out.
Well, that's kind of silly. Why use a computer that will be painfully slow for no good reason when even $40 (for 1GB RAM) would make it a drastically more pleasant experience, not to mention extend its useful life?
And really, a 1.8GHz G5 with a gig or so of RAM is a comfortably usable computer for what a lot of people do. My work machine is a measly 2x1GHz G4 and it's not like I'm hurting when doing anything short of video encoding, and we have people using the slower version of that same iMac. Certainly for what the original poster mentioned--playing card games and surfing the web--it's perfectly adequate.
As for the OS, it shipped with 10.3. If you've never updated it, the best browser you're going to have access to is Camino (Firefox 3, Safari 4, and the latest Opera all require at least 10.4). It's actually the browser I use most, but Safari 4 is going to be noticeably faster (again, with enough RAM--seriously, get some), so updating to 10.4 or 10.5 would be worth the expense, if you ask me.
You can check what you've got installed by selecting "About This Mac" from the Apple menu.
Also note that, if the computer does up and die on you, the RAM and OS you bought for it should still maintain some resale value. Personally, I'd beef it up a bit and enjoy it as a backup machine, then when you eventually upgrade or stop using it, sell it or donate it to someone.
G5
Thanks for your opinions , you have pretty much verified what I have been thinking . I will up my ram and use the iMac in another room or maybe in my studio for researching subject matter on the net . I do have leopard and it runs well . From what I read , the newest version will need the core duo . I do have a mac friend that is really into mac and when I see him this topic will be on my list . Thanks again , as usual the forum has been very helpful
Thanks for your opinions , you have pretty much verified what I have been thinking . I will up my ram and use the iMac in another room or maybe in my studio for researching subject matter on the net . I do have leopard and it runs well . From what I read , the newest version will need the core duo . I do have a mac friend that is really into mac and when I see him this topic will be on my list . Thanks again , as usual the forum has been very helpful
Buy an Apple TV and use your iMac to stream content to it. That's what I do with mine. I still use it for some tasks, but I use my MBP for most things. My trusty ole G5 iMac sits in the office with a 1 terabyte external drive connected to it, serving up my media library.