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My G5 is leaking!

wow..thank God for applecare.

and i know there are lots of happy G5'ers out there, but this just put the nail in the coffin for me buying a used 2.5 quad... with new macpros supposedly coming out in a few months, i think i'll hold off for now :)

cheers and good luck,
keebler
 
Update...

Just wanted to post and update on the repair progress of my machine.

Apparently the damage from the leakage was more severe than the Apple techs suspected, so they've replaced the Logic Board, the CPU Module, and the Power Supply. The first Logic Board then failed the diagnostic tests, so they put in another one, after which the CPU Module failed. So they're waiting for a new CPU Module, which should be in Monday. If that doesn't fix it they are going to "pursue other alternatives" (I'm guessing that means a replacement machine).

So, that's the scoop. Hopefully I'll be back in operation by early next week.
 
Hence the problem with liquid cooling. Liquid and computers don't mix. I won't let my wife near my mac with a drink, and for good reason.

Liquid cooling is a radiator and all radiators go bad or need to be refilled. Look at aftermarket cooling systems. They need to be refilled after a while.
 
macenforcer said:
Hence the problem with liquid cooling. Liquid and computers don't mix. I won't let my wife near my mac with a drink, and for good reason.

Liquid cooling is a radiator and all radiators go bad or need to be refilled. Look at aftermarket cooling systems. They need to be refilled after a while.
Click to expand...

Yes. The very minute I heard about Apple using liquid cooling in the PowerMac G5, I ruled it out as a viable system.

What I found really telling, was the label inside the computer that warns against using it if you find a leak.

Right there, that tells you that they expect it may be a problem.

I know some people who love to tinker and over-clock in the PC industry use liquid coolers. But, then they are experienced and know how to replace parts as needed, and can get after-market replacement parts cheaply.

With Macs, it's not like you can walk into Best Buy and pick-up a new logic-board, cooling system, and so on for your Mac computer. So, I immediately knew that liquid cooling on the Mac meant it was destined for a short life.

Quite simply, it was a bad idea from the start. Apple's market is not people who tinker with and repair their own computers. If they did, they wouldn't buy a Mac because you cannot just grab any replacement main board and stick it in there.
 
flyinmac said:
Yes. The very minute I heard about Apple using liquid cooling in the PowerMac G5, I ruled it out as a viable system.

What I found really telling, was the label inside the computer that warns against using it if you find a leak.

Right there, that tells you that they expect it may be a problem.

I know some people who love to tinker and over-clock in the PC industry use liquid coolers. But, then they are experienced and know how to replace parts as needed, and can get after-market replacement parts cheaply.

With Macs, it's not like you can walk into Best Buy and pick-up a new logic-board, cooling system, and so on for your Mac computer. So, I immediately knew that liquid cooling on the Mac meant it was destined for a short life.

Quite simply, it was a bad idea from the start. Apple's market is not people who tinker with and repair their own computers. If they did, they wouldn't buy a Mac because you cannot just grab any replacement main board and stick it in there.
Click to expand...

I couldn't have said it better myself. Glad I never jumped on the liquid cooling bandwagon.
 
macenforcer said:
Hence the problem with liquid cooling. Liquid and computers don't mix. I won't let my wife near my mac with a drink, and for good reason.

Liquid cooling is a radiator and all radiators go bad or need to be refilled. Look at aftermarket cooling systems. They need to be refilled after a while.
Click to expand...

The aluminum radiators and commercial non-rubber hoses should last a 100k miles in a car -- basically a lifetime in a computer.

However, if you don't properly ground the aluminum radiators (they will corrode and leak) and if you use the wrong hoses and clamps those will become failure points.
 
dmw007 said:
Leaking coolant, scary thing. Makes me wonder how long the liquid cooled G5s are going to last without having a 'meltdown'. :eek:
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, I think that almost every other computer made in the last 5 years will out-live the PowerMac G5 with the liquid cooling system. For that matter, my older iMac G3 will probably still be running along just fine when the last PowerMac G5 with liquid cooling dies. It is unfortunate.

If I had one of those machines, I think I'd probably start investigating options for removing the liquid cooling and installing a longer-life cooling system that will work indefinitely. I have some experience in retrofitting and customizing some unique hardware solutions. But, unfortunately, your average Mac user is not likely to have those skills.

This might be the kind of thing that leads to yet another class-action suit for Apple though. It was a poorly conceived idea from the beginning.

The other PowerMac G5 systems will likely serve a long life though.
 
actually a well put together water-cooling system can last quite a while.

Obviously these leaks of the G5's cooling system were unforseen problems.
 
djdawson said:
OK - My bad. But the 2.5 is more like the 1st gen, and the 2.7 is more like the 2nd gen. In any event, my G5 is about 2.5 years old, so it's not one of the new ones...
Click to expand...

there were 4 generations, topping out at 2.0, 2.5, 2.7, and 2.5 (quad) respectively. So yours is most certainly a second gen. G5. ;) Anyway, those are some pretty wild photos, but I'm glad you're getting it taken care of free of charge.
 
i forgot, do the current gen mac pros have these.

i remember reading some "rumors" that the redesigned case will vent heat passively out of the top. but these are, again, "rumors"
 
metsnyfan87 said:
i forgot, do the current gen mac pros have these.

i remember reading some "rumors" that the redesigned case will vent heat passively out of the top. but these are, again, "rumors"
Click to expand...

Nope.

Without ever acknowledging that there was a problem with the design (like they always do), Apple did away with Liquid Cooling. So, it is not present in any of the new machines (as in none of the Intel Macs).

Fortunately, the Intel processors run cooler. So, extreme measures are not really necessary. At least if you believe what Apple has to say. I still don't see why Liquid cooling was necessary in the first place (unless they were actually over-clocking slower processors). They managed to cool other G5 processors that ran just as hot (later) without liquid cooling.
 
metsnyfan87 said:
i forgot, do the current gen mac pros have these.

i remember reading some "rumors" that the redesigned case will vent heat passively out of the top. but these are, again, "rumors"
Click to expand...

Mac Pros are passively cooled heat-piped/stacked plate heatsinks. They also have a fan blowing air through the CPU bay.

Likely the next generation will be actively cooled heatsinks, aka a similar heatsink to the current one with a fan directly on the heatsink.
 
Sun Baked said:
The aluminum radiators and commercial non-rubber hoses should last a 100k miles in a car -- basically a lifetime in a computer.

However, if you don't properly ground the aluminum radiators (they will corrode and leak) and if you use the wrong hoses and clamps those will become failure points.
Click to expand...


Yes, it will work for 100k in a car but a car would get 100k on it if you drove 24hrs a day 7 days a week very quickly. A computer like mine never gets turned off so 100k miles comes very quick. I would not want a radiator in there. Now if apple sold the radiators seperately or provided a refresh kit these would not be issues.
 
macenforcer said:
Yes, it will work for 100k in a car but a car would get 100k on it if you drove 24hrs a day 7 days a week very quickly. A computer like mine never gets turned off so 100k miles comes very quick. I would not want a radiator in there. Now if apple sold the radiators seperately or provided a refresh kit these would not be issues.
Click to expand...

Exactly. But, who wants a computer with a pre-dertermined date of failure. Sure, obsoleting it is one thing. Insuring that it will be useless in the next three years is something else entirely.

Liquid Cooling is bad.

But, yes, a refresh kit would be nice.

Another good idea would have been a leak containment system that would have captured leaking liquid and kept it away from the electronic stuff like the CPU.

Knowing that the potential for leakage was there (they did put a warning label on it), they should have designed the system to capture leaking liquids and drain it into a small holding container to settle. This could have been done with external tubes that would have surrounded the existing tubes.

For example, the current tubes could have been inside larger hoses. The larger hoses could have had leads that would run any stray liquid to a separate box.

Just preventative.
 
Apple actually did include at least some technology for catching leaks - an absorbent pad under the liquid cooling system, like a "computer diaper" if you will. The issue with my system was corrosion I guess, not the actual liquid. I'm most surprised that the system continued to run without all the coolant it was supposed to have, but maybe not much leaked out.

Anyway, my G5 is back and seems to be running fine, but now the front CPU fans make more noise at low speeds than they used to - sort of a clicky toy motorcycle sort of sound. I suppose it could be a bad bearing, but it doesn't really sound like that. Guess I'll wait a while and see how things go...
 
djdawson said:
Apple actually did include at least some technology for catching leaks - an absorbent pad under the liquid cooling system, like a "computer diaper" if you will. The issue with my system was corrosion I guess, not the actual liquid. I'm most surprised that the system continued to run without all the coolant it was supposed to have, but maybe not much leaked out.

Anyway, my G5 is back and seems to be running fine, but now the front CPU fans make more noise at low speeds than they used to - sort of a clicky toy motorcycle sort of sound. I suppose it could be a bad bearing, but it doesn't really sound like that. Guess I'll wait a while and see how things go...
Click to expand...

Glad to hear that it is working again. Don't wait too long before deciding if the noise is a problem. Repair work (especially if out of or nearly out of warranty) has a limited guarantee. So, if it's not right, take it back before the service repair period expires.
 
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