How hard is to sell a G5 ??

[MrVitalic]

For 100$ here in Quebec/Canada, I'm trying to sell a G5 fully loaded (late 2005 dc 2.3ghz, 8gb ram, x1900gt). This one is not in the greatest shape (small damage on rear foot, but otherwise almost pristine). Anyway, I thought that finding a buyer would have been very easy but this is not the case. :/ I'm keeping my quad and dp 2.5 forever, but dont need a third G5. Should I lower the price to 50$ ??

 

[eyoungren]

I'd split the difference and try for $75. That X1900 alone is worth a few coin.

 

[1042686]

Where you sell will also impact how much you get. On CL for example I see pmg5s go for 20-40 in varying conditions & spec. I see them go for more on eBay. Venue attracts different buyers.

 

[repairedCheese]

The local market around here has plenty of PowerMacs with visible case damage that doesn't actually make them worse machines, but seem to keep them from selling. They're not great machines, but they're the ones that stick around. Mind you, their case damage is a good deal worse than that, but I don't exactly know what it has to compete with.

 

[asifnaz]

I wish I could find something like that in such low price . I am curious what this machine is capable of

 

[AshleyPomeroy]

I think those machines will take 16gb, which would be ridiculous, but think of the bragging rights. In my opinion the big problem is postage. Here in the UK a dual-processor 1.25ghz G4 popped up on eBay recently, but sending old tower cases through the post is awkward and risky, and it was too far away to pick up.

It's a very nice machine and would be useful in Canada for clearing snow off the drive, but physically transporting it will put people off. There's not much you can do about that.

 

[1042686]

People do pay for postage though as is evidenced through completed auctions on eBay for example, so when the “need” is there, buyers will certainly loosen up the purse strings to get what they want. Heck put 300$ insurance on it & have them pack it so if the USPS kills it, you get your hundy, your pack job is covered and you pocket yet another hundy for your mental anguish lol

Local pick up is another option and it can take time for your buyer to find your auction. You can also part it out? or part out the nicer bits and sell the basic box on CL for $20. Lotsa ways to slice this pie.

 

[r6mile]

Here in the UK a dual-processor 1.25ghz G4 popped up on eBay recently, but sending old tower cases through the post is awkward and risky, and it was too far away to pick up.

I've bought and shipped lots of towers of the year. I bought my dual 1.25 MDD on ebay over the post a couple months, in an auction that also included a single 1.25 MDD and a 17' ACD. No issues with postage, and also sold the last two also with no issues. And I've just ordered a quicksilver dual 1.0, also to be posted.

It's fine and really quite common, as long as its packed properly! I saw a dual 1.25 MDD for £35 + £12 shipping just yesterday though I think it's gone now.

 

[eyoungren]

I think those machines will take 16gb, which would be ridiculous, but think of the bragging rights. In my opinion the big problem is postage. Here in the UK a dual-processor 1.25ghz G4 popped up on eBay recently, but sending old tower cases through the post is awkward and risky, and it was too far away to pick up.

It's a very nice machine and would be useful in Canada for clearing snow off the drive, but physically transporting it will put people off. There's not much you can do about that.

Yes, the DCs take 16GB of ram. They are akin to the Quad. I have the same model and it's been a really good and stable Mac.

 

[1042686]

Yes, the DCs take 16GB of ram. They are akin to the Quad. I have the same model and it's been a really good and stable Mac.

Yep, my dc2ghz a1117 is such a fun computer to use. Definitely one of my fav PPC macs I own.

 

[z970]

@RhianB I could pick up any G3, G4, or G5 machine and say the same thing. Even the old Pentium IIIs and 4s of their day can't compete with the joy of use any given PowerPC system may offer to its user. I think they are definitely similar to the Silicon Graphics machines in this regard.

I wonder what exactly it is that gives them all such a unique, irresistible charm? It's as if it were the difference between driving a vintage muscle car and a modern commuter SUV.

 

[eyoungren]

I wonder what exactly it is that gives them all such a unique, irresistible charm? It's as if it were the difference between driving a vintage muscle car and a modern commuter SUV.

I think, because they never give you any trouble. Always there when you need it, get the work done as you ask, without complaining and without roadblocks. As long as you stay within the parameters of what you know the machine can do you can expect it to perform.

There's a certain joy in getting something done without hassle and you respect the tool(s) that let you do that all the more. Like in a toolbox, everyone's got their favorite tool because it feels right and does the job well. As an older tool you wouldn't use it to do something that requires a more modern tool, but it's still perfectly capable of doing the one job it was designed to do.

 

[Amethyst1]

I think, because they never give you any trouble. Always there when you need it, get the work done as you ask, without complaining and without roadblocks

The same can be said about other (more modern or not) machines as long as they are reliable.

 

[sparty411]

I wouldn't let that machine go for less than $100, seeing as how the GPU is probably worth about that much alone. It's typically difficult for me to sell older computers locally, as it takes a certain type of person to appreciate them. eBay is your friend in this regard, but I would be skeptical about shipping something as large and heavy as a Powermac G5.

 

[iluvmacs99]

For 100$ here in Quebec/Canada, I'm trying to sell a G5 fully loaded (late 2005 dc 2.3ghz, 8gb ram, x1900gt). This one is not in the greatest shape (small damage on rear foot, but otherwise almost pristine). Anyway, I thought that finding a buyer would have been very easy but this is not the case. :/ I'm keeping my quad and dp 2.5 forever, but dont need a third G5. Should I lower the price to 50$ ??


View attachment 944288
View attachment 944289
View attachment 944290

I am also from Canada and I used to work for a computer recycling business selling these computers. The going retail price for a Quad G5 is around $60-$75 Canadian and comes usually with the FX5800 Ultra and routinely the PowerMac G5 Dual 2.0Ghz (the dual processors) goes for $25 to $30 Canadian. The G5 Quad easily sells as there are people that need them for work and or buy them as collector items. We tried selling the lower end G5s in our store for $100 and it just sat there for years and just recently, we just gutted all the internals of the Quad and Dual to be recycled and make space for sellable inventory. I got a free PowerMac G5 from a customer who basically just gave it to me. She too was trying to sell it at the same price and no takers at all. Sadly with the G5 in Canada, you need to actually pay people to haul it away, except the Quad G5 as it is a collector's item and is being used by few businesses that need them.

Unlike the G5, the G4 tower and some G4 powerbook and ibooks are more in demand due to their ability to boot into OS9 natively and support SCSI with the Adaptec 2496. There are a few Canadian businesses that run databases that run exclusively on OS9 and no amount of virtualization (they tried) were able to run those programs reliably while being able to use the legacy devices, namely on Zip and Bernoulli drives and or on optical writeable medias. So it's funny that the G4 with much lesser specs than your G5 sells for $100 or more easily. You might want to try to lower it down to $50 for an easier and quicker sale. I know that the X1900 is a nice card; but it's no longer a selling point as the computer is just too old. The card itself, in the eyes of most people, isn't worth the price when you can get an Nvidia RTX-2060 or AMD 5700 that can easily blow the X1900 out of the water. That's how people in Canada compare it against. It is different though in the US as they have a much larger and stronger Retro PC backbone and interests. In fact, if it's not for COVID, there would be several of these retro PC shows and if you bring your G5 there, you could easily fetch $100 US because it's got the X1900 in it! If you prefer to wait until the pandemic ends hopefully by the end of 2021, you can go across the border into the states and attend the mid-west retro pc show which is one of the largest. All the famed youtubers go there; LGR and 8bit guy.. Hope this helps.

 

[EugW]

People sell the Intel quad Mac Pros for CAD$150-200, and they're actually still usable in 2020. The G5 Macs are totally unusable these days, so even at $100 they're not very attractive. They're basically collectors' items, but ones that are commonplace so they don't command a premium price.

I'd list it at $75 but you can consider an offer if it is less than that.

If you were in Toronto, I might have considered paying $50 for it, just to display it on my wall (if the machine was aesthetically intact and not so damaged), but not to actually use it.

 

[eyoungren]

The G5 Macs are totally unusable these days…They're basically collectors' items…

I don't believe that to be true. I know a lot of people think that, including you obviously. But I used a Quad G5 for years, until May of this year when I got a MacPro.

I don't want to make this long, so I won't belabor the details, but I was web browsing, emailing, word processing and doing graphic design with my Quad. What's the difference if you get a PDF from CS4 instead of CC 2020?

Now my use case may be different, but that's the thing. It's a blanket statement to say it's unusable because that means NO ONE can use it to do anything. And that just isn't true. My own experience denies that statement.

 

[EugW]

I don't believe that to be true. I know a lot of people think that, including you obviously. But I used a Quad G5 for years, until May of this year when I got a MacPro.

I don't want to make this long, so I won't belabor the details, but I was web browsing, emailing, word processing and doing graphic design with my Quad. What's the difference if you get a PDF from CS4 instead of CC 2020?

Now my use case may be different, but that's the thing. It's a blanket statement to say it's unusable because that means NO ONE can use it to do anything. And that just isn't true. My own experience denies that statement.

It's unusable for the average person partially because it doesn't have proper web browser support. Yes you can web browse, but IMO, it's horrible. There are some back ports of more modern browsers, but most of them suck. The best back ports of modern browsers only work on Intel Macs.

A G5 can be used for very specific purposes (including your example editing some PDFs), but IMO it's a waste of money to buy one of these to do real work in 2020 when you can get a perfectly functional Intel Mac for less than CAD$200 (US$150) with modern browser and other software support.

That's why people don't want to pay CAD$100 for a G5 Mac, even if it's a Power Mac quad. Even if you can edit your simple MPEG or even h.264 videos with legacy software, it's rather annoying not being able to access all your banking and tax info online.

P.S. I have thirteen Macs in this house from the G4 and up, so I believe I speak from experience.

 

[Alex_K]

Unless it is a Quad or in absolutely pristine condition, you'll struggle to get anything for it, to be honest. Here in the UK, they are pretty much worthless. And likely the only people who'll be interested are vintage computer collectors. I needed to get rid of one of mine recently when moving house. Just left it outside and after a few days someone picked it up. Hope they have fun with it.

Yours has a rare graphics card. I'd remove the graphics card and list that separately on ebay. Probably make more money that way.

 

[eyoungren]

It's unusable for the average person partially because it doesn't have proper web browser support. Yes you can web browse, but IMO, it's horrible. There are some back ports of more modern browsers, but most of them suck. The best back ports of modern browsers only work on Intel Macs.

A G5 can be used for very specific purposes (including your example editing some PDFs), but IMO it's a waste of money to buy one of these to do real work in 2020 when you can get a perfectly functional Intel Mac for less than CAD$200 (US$150) with modern browser and other software support.

That's why people don't want to pay CAD$100 for a G5 Mac, even if it's a Power Mac quad. Even if you can edit your simple MPEG or even h.264 videos with legacy software, it's rather annoying not being able to access all your banking and tax info online.

P.S. I have thirteen Macs in this house from the G4 and up, so I believe I speak from experience.

I agree with everything you say and I acknowledge your background on the matter. All I was saying was that 'unusable' was a generality. It may apply to most people, as you said, but not to everyone. It has to be qualified.

I put out a newspaper, including classifieds, legals, layout, ads, etc, from 2004 to 2013 using PowerPC Macs. The only reason we switched to an MP in 2013 was because the LB on the work G5 died. I replaced it and upgraded my coworker from a G4 to that G5. She was still able to do everything I was. We were both using CS4.

I'm a graphic designer, so using my Quad G5 to lay things out and then export a PDF or whatever is required for the job is still doable. And I can tell you that all a print shop cares about is if the PDF you send them is right. They don't give a crap about what platform and what program made it.

CC 2020 also uses CS4 as its baseline for downsaving, making PowerPC still relevant.

Maybe design is a narrow use case for a lot of people, but I know there are still plenty of designers out there using these old systems.

 

[EugW]

I agree with everything you say and I acknowledge your background on the matter. All I was saying was that 'unusable' was a generality. It may apply to most people, as you said, but not to everyone. It has to be qualified.

I put out a newspaper, including classifieds, legals, layout, ads, etc, from 2004 to 2013 using PowerPC Macs. The only reason we switched to an MP in 2013 was because the LB on the work G5 died. I replaced it and upgraded my coworker from a G4 to that G5. She was still able to do everything I was. We were both using CS4.

I'm a graphic designer, so using my Quad G5 to lay things out and then export a PDF or whatever is required for the job is still doable. And I can tell you that all a print shop cares about is if the PDF you send them is right. They don't give a crap about what platform and what program made it.

CC 2020 also uses CS4 as its baseline for downsaving, making PowerPC still relevant.

Maybe design is a narrow use case for a lot of people, but I know there are still plenty of designers out there using these old systems.

A friend a mine was using a G4 Mac for OS 9 support in the firm he was working for, just because their printing machine was controlled by custom OS 9 software that was never updated to OS X or Windows.

Consider yourself lucky if your workflow works well with such inexpensive hardware. You could pick up 4 of these units for $200 or whatever. So, I understand where you're coming from, but as you acknowledge, the point was that your average person isn't not going to fit that mold the vast majority of the time.

It's ironic. A pro in very specific circumstances can use a Power Mac G5 to do real work, but I would never recommend one of these to anyone just looking for a general computing machine, given the cost of entry for much, much more versatile (and more powerful) Macs is only a couple of hundred US bux.

 

[iluvmacs99]

Part of the reason why I still keep the PowerMacs in the house are basically to support my work with my clients who still use their legacy machines for some work. As I had worked with low income people and some corporate clients (one is a big Canadian law firm); many of them are still using the PowerMacs to do some writing and publishing materials and printing to their specialized OS9 printer software and storage media. They are still ok for that, but pretty much useless for modern web support especially accessing Canadian government websites. I used to be able to access the government sites that provide social assistance, but now because of rampant fraud due to compromised social security numbers; they had recently changed the sites to block out all browsers that are not on their approval list. Therefore, that was the final nail in the coffin for all PowerPC machines. Even the latest TFF can't get on now without some errors. You must need an intel or later macs with approved browsers to get on. That's important for a lot of Canadians who are on social assistance now due to COVID and need to do everything online to get the benefits.

 

[r6mile]

I would also add, just from my personal experience as someone interested in PPC - which I don't use for work or anything, I just find them cool - the G5 is probably one of my least favourite PPCs. I don't know why, maybe because it has the same design as a Mac Pro, so with that you get a machine that looks the same as the G5 but also does a lot of modern stuff really well. Whereas the G4s, like the G5, are also useless at what most people use computers for, but at least they have a proper retro look, which might explain why they often fetch more?

 

[eyoungren]

I would also add, just from my personal experience as someone interested in PPC - which I don't use for work or anything, I just find them cool - the G5 is probably one of my least favourite PPCs. I don't know why, maybe because it has the same design as a Mac Pro, so with that you get a machine that looks the same as the G5 but also does a lot of modern stuff really well. Whereas the G4s, like the G5, are also useless at what most people use computers for, but at least they have a proper retro look, which might explain why they often fetch more?

I have never cared for the external design of the G5s. When Apple first launched them all I can recall thinking is "That's ugly".

However, I'm a fan of the G5 because of the internals. Because of that, these Macs can handle at lot more modern stuff. Conversely, while I love the look of the G4 Quicksilver it has been my experience that the internal design is a miserable failure. Loading it out to get close to the ability of a G5 makes it very thermally unstable and sensitive to power issues. Unless you're going to run what I had with the door down (dangerous when you have a cat), it's going to cost you time troubleshooting and fixing.

It's a weird spot to be in.

 

[EugW]

Part of the reason why I still keep the PowerMacs in the house are basically to support my work with my clients who still use their legacy machines for some work. As I had worked with low income people and some corporate clients (one is a big Canadian law firm); many of them are still using the PowerMacs to do some writing and publishing materials and printing to their specialized OS9 printer software and storage media. They are still ok for that, but pretty much useless for modern web support especially accessing Canadian government websites. I used to be able to access the government sites that provide social assistance, but now because of rampant fraud due to compromised social security numbers; they had recently changed the sites to block out all browsers that are not on their approval list. Therefore, that was the final nail in the coffin for all PowerPC machines. Even the latest TFF can't get on now without some errors. You must need an intel or later macs with approved browsers to get on. That's important for a lot of Canadians who are on social assistance now due to COVID and need to do everything online to get the benefits.

The Revenue Canada website is one of the most picky. Even modern Safari is problematic with it, so I use Chrome for Revenue Canada. On older machines, Firefox Legacy 67 (supported on 10.7 Lion) works IIRC.

Ten Four Fox is no longer good enough as you say, and it's slow as hell too.