Is this considered a classic?

no it is not

 

If its less than 10 years old, IMO its not classic its just old.

 

It's old.

It's incompatible.

It is almost a classic.

Almost.

 

as steve jobs would say; nope.

 

there is a difference between 'old' and 'vintage'. I mean, I'm pretty sure it can even run 10.5 (?)

 

Definitely not a classic. Not even close. It has to go through Obsolete and Vintage first. (Heck, my PowerMac 8100/100 isnt a classic yet, and that thing is coming up on 18 years old - your G5 Quad is barely 6, possibly less). It is however the most powerful non-Snow Leopard capable Mac in existence, at least, outside of Apple. I mean, not only does your Quad run a still-just-about-supported version of OS X (10.5), but some professionals still have them in use as secondary (or possibly even primary) machines. Give it a decade or 2, then it might be considered a classic, but not quite yet

 

Compared to an Apple II, Mac Plus, or a Newton MP? Not a chance.

Of course, none of those are even old compared to the IBM 1401 from 1959, for which there is actually one running at the Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley.

 

I think anything that runs lower than 10.2 would be a classic.

 

Basically anything Pre-G3 then... Its probably better to tie the definition to CPUs/Hardware Differences than OS Versions, since someone managed to get 10.5 running on a G4 upgraded 8500, and G3 upgraded PCI Macs can run 10.2 and up just fine... which would take your definition to be restricted to NuBus PowerPC and 68K Macs... see the difficulty with your method... since it depends where along the "crazy upgrade spectrum" you draw the line.....

 

Anyone with the Macs you have in their stable would only get a PowerPC for nostalgic reasons. It's quite astounding to think a Mac Mini is more powerful than a G5 given their real estate difference though there is something to said about the timeless tower.

 

I would think the first G5 PowerMac would be a classic (if you have it complete in box).

Wasn't the Educational price on one like $1499?

 

First-gen G5s with the Box really really aren't that rare or "classic" - If its unopened it could be a collectors item, but its a long long way from being a "classic" - it could be a "future classic" however.

 

negative... just an obsolete desktop.

 

If by "classic" you mean an older system you would want to hang onto or specifically buy for collectable/nostalgic reasons fully intending not to actually use as your primary system then no, it most certainly is not.

Also, simply being old, even very old, doesn't make it a classic or collectable either, nor is extreme age a pre-requisite. A Mac IIvx is definitely not a collectable, nor is a Performa 5200. However, some consider iMac G4s and Power Mac G4 Cubes highly desirable.

What determines a Mac's collectibility is its uniqueness relative to its contemporaries. Did it usher in a new age of unparalleled performance? Did it introduce radically new industrial design that put the industry on notice? Was it just too damn cute and adorable?

Many times, people will have really wanted a certain system when it was new but couldn't afford it, then many years later buy that very same system to sort of "fulfill" that dream, even when its long since obsolete.

Here's a short list of some Macs people often seek out for nostalgic reasons:

Macintosh (original 128k)
Almost any 9" B&W Mac
Color Classic
Color Classic II
Mac II or any "big" form factor desktop
Quadra 900 or any based on this form factor
Mac TV
TAM
PowerBook 3400 or Kanga
PowerBook 2400
PowerBook 540 and 550
Pretty much any PowerBook Duo + accessories
Quadra 840AV
Some LCs and pizzabox form factors like Quadra 605
Power Macintosh 8600/9600
Blue & White G3 tower
PowerBook G3 Wall Street
PowerBook G3 Pismo
Certain iMac G3s
iMac G4s
G4 Cube
PowerBook G4 (Titanium)

A Power Mac G5 may fulfill some of the requirements of being a future classic, but as for right now, it is indeed still too new. Its form factor is still being produced even today, and the system itself may have represented an uncomfortable turning point for Apple that collectors may even want to avoid reliving in the future - that being the ultimate realization that our beloved PowerPC chips had no future.

 

That's what I was saying. Usually the first of a formfactor and the last of one tend to become collectible. I would think the first Aluminum Power Mac (the G5) would become collectible... especially those that kept the box - many I know that bought one threw the boxes out as they were too big to keep around.