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Mac G5 can run Linux?

lhoffstadt

lhoffstadt

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 15, 2014
99
6
New Hampshire
Hi, I was wondering if is possible that a Mac G5 1.6ghz with 4gb ram can run Linux to have a better performance has email server or something like that or would be best to stick with 10.5.8?

Not even sure if a Mac g5 can do this?

Thank you for your advice.
 
Sure - you can use a PPC version of one of the Linux flavors.
MintPPC
Ubuntu (in various forms). I have run this at various times on an eMac that I use.
Debian
5 or 6 other Linuxes (Linusa? Linii? Linuu? whatever, lots of Linux :D )
Just search for your favorite, most are available in PPC versions. Some are better than others, depending on your use.

Maybe some other Linux users will chime in with their preferences.
 
currently I have 512MB of RAM, but I'm plan to upgrade to 4GB to used all the slots with 1GB.
Based on your experience, what do you think would be best, to re.install OSX 10.5.8 or to switch to a Linux distribution?

also in the case I keep OSX, I'm not sure if I have the recovery partition, can I try to install Leopard with a bootable USB from an ISO image from the OS?


thanks a lot
 
lhoffstadt said:
currently I have 512MB of RAM, but I'm plan to upgrade to 4GB to used all the slots with 1GB.
Based on your experience, what do you think would be best, to re.install OSX 10.5.8 or to switch to a Linux distribution?

also in the case I keep OSX, I'm not sure if I have the recovery partition, can I try to install Leopard with a bootable USB from an ISO image from the OS?


thanks a lot
Click to expand...
You only have two RAM slots, making your max 2.0GB
 
But I see 4 slots
6694bfe7f174249d76670ff6ff3426e2.jpg
 
the photo don´t see OK, but the are 3 DIMM populated , I know they need to work in pairs, but I have an empty slot still
 
I've heard from a number of people that linux distributions on PPC are severely lacking in a number of areas compared to OS X; but you'd have to wait for more experienced users in this field to chime in, as I've only used Lubuntu on a PowerBook G4 and gave up pretty quickly on that idea.
 
I have used Lubuntu before on a G3 iBook, and it had okay performance(only 256mb of ram), but wifi did not work, and graphics had some problems. Debian, MintPPC, and various Ubuntu flavours are great, but be prepared to fix graphical issues(some problem with radeon drivers on powerpc)
 
lhoffstadt said:
currently I have 512MB of RAM, but I'm plan to upgrade to 4GB to used all the slots with 1GB.
Based on your experience, what do you think would be best, to re.install OSX 10.5.8 or to switch to a Linux distribution?

also in the case I keep OSX, I'm not sure if I have the recovery partition, can I try to install Leopard with a bootable USB from an ISO image from the OS?


thanks a lot
Click to expand...
Just know, Linux does not support the 5200 64MB card, so if your G5 is running that card you will run into issues.
 
GeForce 5200 is usable under Linux as I've ran it in the past on a 12" PB G4, just remember you'll need to grab drivers which are woefully limited in hardware acceleration as nVidia half-arsed the closed source 5-series GPU drivers after Ubuntu 9.xx and never truely opensourced that generation(ATI/AMD on the other hand opensourced certain aspects such as hardware MPEG-2 decoding support on the Radeon 8x00-9800 & All-In-Wonder model functions so you have slightly better video & 3D acceleration).

Since you have a PowerMac G5, you're lucky enough GeForce 6200 AGP cards are extremely common on the new/used market and the 6-series has great Linux support.

SkyBell said:
I've heard from a number of people that linux distributions on PPC are severely lacking in a number of areas compared to OS X; but you'd have to wait for more experienced users in this field to chime in, as I've only used Lubuntu on a PowerBook G4 and gave up pretty quickly on that idea.
Click to expand...

Linux on G4/G5 is possible, however you need to use non-free source for the Airport Extreme drivers just like non-free codecs. Getting everything working is more time consuming than just buying a cheap $99 ECS Liva PC.
 
lowendlinux said:
Just put Leopard on it..

If you were a Linux guy it might be a fun project but you're not and it won't be.
Click to expand...
Some years ago I tried hard to be "a Linux guy", but could never quite get it right, there was always something lacking.
So when I heard Apple had a new operating system based on UNIX I jumped right on it and have never looked back.
 
jbarley said:
Some years ago I tried hard to be "a Linux guy", but could never quite get it right, there was always something lacking.
So when I heard Apple had a new operating system based on UNIX I jumped right on it and have never looked back.
Click to expand...
We all have things we like, it takes a while to be proficient and I don't think anyone is a master.
 
lowendlinux said:
We all have things we like, it takes a while to be proficient and I don't think anyone is a master.
Click to expand...
Well, I've definitely met some Linux masters in my day....including his holiness Linus Torvalds himself, but as has often been stated here PowerPC Linux is not for the uninitiated, and its headache upon headache compared with x86 Linux. Full props to those who do it (like ppcluddite) of course. You are limited to just a handful of distros, most with community only or spotty as hell support/documentation. MintPPC had a lot of promise but is not under active development at the moment. Stick with OS X on PowerPC unless you are looking for a learning experience, in which case, have fun with that. If you have an old PC lying around here are my recommendations:

Best distro for old (five to ten years old) PC's: LXLE runner up: Lubuntu (lxle is based on lubuntu)
Best distro for really old (ten to fifteen year old) PC's: AntiX, runner up: Puppy
Best distro for newer (last five years) PC's: Linux Mint
Best overall Linux experience: Ubuntu or Mint on a ZaReason, System 76 or Think Penguin machine, as they are specifically designed to work out of the box with Tux. Kinda like how a mac is designed to work out of the box with OS X.
 
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