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Is this a good deal for a Quad G5?

I've never owned an LCS G5 so am sort of talking out of my rear end, but will take a stab at it as no one else has.

The LCS is self-contained in the area under the "G5" cover.

LCS leaks generally show themselves as either liquid on the bottom of the computer near the CPU, or as corrosion in this general area of the computer.

It's been my understanding that the LCSs in the G5s are generally regarded as reliable. The ones in some earlier G5s(specifically the dual 2.5 and dual 2.7) are the problematic ones.
 
bunnspecial said:
I've never owned an LCS G5 so am sort of talking out of my rear end, but will take a stab at it as no one else has.

The LCS is self-contained in the area under the "G5" cover.

LCS leaks generally show themselves as either liquid on the bottom of the computer near the CPU, or as corrosion in this general area of the computer.

It's been my understanding that the LCSs in the G5s are generally regarded as reliable. The ones in some earlier G5s(specifically the dual 2.5 and dual 2.7) are the problematic ones.
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Oh ok, thanks. Also, what is a 'high temperature' for the quad G5?
 
Once again, I have no real world experience with LCS G5s, only air cooled ones.

I've been playing with my Xserve G5 a lot lately, though, so will give you some numbers from that.

With a fresh repaste of Artic Silver 5, CPU "A" runs about 99-100ºF at idle, and 129-130ºF under full load(that's running 100% for at least a few minutes). CPU "B" runs a bit cooler-about 96º at idle, and 127º or so at 100%. Before repaste, I was getting 105-110º at idle, and 135-140º under load(CPU A ran warmer even before repaste). I don't monitor temperatures too closely on my dual core at work, but I think these are pretty close to what it gets-I think that core A tends to run a bit warmer on it, too.
 
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bunnspecial said:
I've never owned an LCS G5 so am sort of talking out of my rear end, but will take a stab at it as no one else has.
...
Click to expand...
I could change this. Haha.

Anyway, back on topic: I have a DP 2.5 GHz with the LCS. Average temps for the CPUs is between high 40°C and low 60°C. There is no doubt that these machines run hot. IIRC, I think there were two different LCS's for the Quad G5s, and I want to say that it's the dual pump setup that's the most reliable. Research that for yourself, because there is a good chance I am wrong. Like bunn, I sometimes talk out of my rear end.
 
I bough a Quad maybe a year ago and went to try the overhaul of the LCS...way too much work involved. Bought a DC 2.3 and plugged that into the Quad board...works great and plenty of power for casual use
 
I just bought it! In pretty good condition, cleaned it up a bit. What I did notice are that the fans are loud while booting up but return to normal once booted. Is this supposed to happen? Apart from this, the machine seems to be working perfectly! Got it for £50 in the end. ;)
 
It's normal for it to kind of "growl" when you first press the power button. If the fans rotate at high speeds constantly, than you might need to run thermal calibration. This is assuming that the LCS is in good shape - no leaks.
 
That seems like a normal boot sound... Fans return to normal after a bit. Now you need to test the CPUs to check idle and load temps to see if the LCS is ok
 
ctmpkmlec4 said:
It's normal for it to kind of "growl" when you first press the power button. If the fans rotate at high speeds constantly, than you might need to run thermal calibration. This is assuming that the LCS is in good shape - no leaks.
Click to expand...

Hmm. How do I run thermal calibration? This quad G5 seems noticeably louder than my dual 2Ghz G5.

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desantii said:
That seems like a normal boot sound... Fans return to normal after a bit. Now you need to test the CPUs to check idle and load temps to see if the LCS is ok
Click to expand...

Ok. I'll check the temperatures first thing tomorrow! The fans do return to normal, but on my dual G5 it is generally quieter throughout.
 
ctmpkmlec4 said:
You need ASD 2.6.3. Search the Internet and you'll find a .dmg to download. This disc was only provided to authorized Apple service folk.
Click to expand...

When I download the DMG, do I need to burn it to a disk and boot from it? When I am in the ASD, is there any specific thing I should run, and is there anything that could go wrong?
 
keremtezcan said:
When I download the DMG, do I need to burn it to a disk and boot from it? When I am in the ASD, is there any specific thing I should run, and is there anything that could go wrong?
Click to expand...
Yes, you'll need to use Disk Utility to burn it to a CD. I can't remember the size of the file, but I'm pretty sure it fits on a CD-R/RW. Once you burn it, you'll need to boot the computer from it by pressing the C key after powering on the Mac. Once it loads, you'll notice a menu at the top of the screen. From left to right, you'll see :apple:, Hardware Info, Thermal Calibration. Click on Thermal Calibration to begin the process.
 
ctmpkmlec4 said:
Yes, you'll need to use Disk Utility to burn it to a CD. I can't remember the size of the file, but I'm pretty sure it fits on a CD-R/RW. Once you burn it, you'll need to boot the computer from it by pressing the C key after powering on the Mac. Once it loads, you'll notice a menu at the top of the screen. From left to right, you'll see :apple:, Hardware Info, Thermal Calibration. Click on Thermal Calibration to begin the process.
Click to expand...

Alright, I'll do that first thing tomorrow, thanks! (It's 1am in the UK)

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ctmpkmlec4 said:
Yes, you'll need to use Disk Utility to burn it to a CD. I can't remember the size of the file, but I'm pretty sure it fits on a CD-R/RW. Once you burn it, you'll need to boot the computer from it by pressing the C key after powering on the Mac. Once it loads, you'll notice a menu at the top of the screen. From left to right, you'll see :apple:, Hardware Info, Thermal Calibration. Click on Thermal Calibration to begin the process.
Click to expand...

I've spent 15 minutes searching for the ASD 2.6.3 DMG but I cannot find one anywhere! Please could you point me in the right direction?
 
I can't comment on the fans, but will say that I'm glad that you were able to get the system and it(overall) seems to be working well for you.
 
desantii said:
Keep us posted on how its coming along!
Click to expand...

Alright. I booted up the ASD and started the thermal calibration.
All it would do is in red text say 'CPU0 exceeded max. temp, reseat' or something like that.
Clearly this was not working, so I restarted the G5. Nothing seems to have changed but I found that changing the Processor Performance in System Preferences/Energy Saver to Reduced helped a lot.

I am wondering what the error in the ASD means and if it has caused any damage to my G5?

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With the Processor Performance set to Reduced, the quad G5 is relatively quiet and with 2 250GB hard drives and 9GB of ram, it seems to be pretty snappy. YouTube videos do not seem to work any better however as the graphics card in this G5 is the same as the one in my dual 2Ghz.
I currently have a a Nvidia GeForce 6600. Is this card good and could anyone suggest any cheap cards which are better? (And easy to set up and install)
 
keremtezcan said:
Alright. I booted up the ASD and started the thermal calibration.
All it would do is in red text say 'CPU0 exceeded max. temp, reseat' or something like that.
Clearly this was not working, so I restarted the G5. Nothing seems to have changed but I found that changing the Processor Performance in System Preferences/Energy Saver to Reduced helped a lot.

I am wondering what the error in the ASD means and if it has caused any damage to my G5?

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With the Processor Performance set to Reduced, the quad G5 is relatively quiet and with 2 250GB hard drives and 9GB of ram, it seems to be pretty snappy. YouTube videos do not seem to work any better however as the graphics card in this G5 is the same as the one in my dual 2Ghz.
I currently have a a Nvidia GeForce 6600. Is this card good and could anyone suggest any cheap cards which are better? (And easy to set up and install)
Click to expand...
I doubt the ASD has caused any damage to the G5. You may want to check the thermal paste between the CPUs and thermal transfer blocks on the LCS. Who knows what has been done to it in the past. I almost wonder if there is a missing or faulty temperature sensor. My advice is to make sure all the fans are connected to their respective headers on the logic board, then put the clear air deflector and side panel on and try the thermal calibration again. That disc does also have a series of hardware tests you can run. Try running all the tests and see if everything passes.
 
Ok, I might try again. Is there any way to know if someone has previously been messing around with the CPU? Is there a warranty sticker etc?
 
If you look at the metal tray next to the video card, you should see a gray plastic pin that secures the G5 cover. If the gray pin is not there, this means someone has tampered with it.
 
ctmpkmlec4 said:
If you look at the metal tray next to the video card, you should see a gray plastic pin that secures the G5 cover. If the gray pin is not there, this means someone has tampered with it.
Click to expand...

I can confirm that the pin is in the G5. Would it help to take off the G5 cover and clean out any dust inside?
 
Be careful removing that pin, it can be a super pain in the a$$.

Use razor knife to pry out the central peg, then use a screw in type cup hook to grab the outer part and pop it out.
 
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