My new Power Mac G5

[Orizence]

A while back I posted a thread about a machine I bought for $30 on eBay, that machine just happen to be the machine im currently typing this up on.

I was looking on eBay and found a "broken" G5 with only 2 lights lit on the logic board. I was intrigued, and I bought it. It was listed with no hard drive, and no power cord (which proved to be a issue as it is a dual-core model). But it apparently only had 512 mb of ram, so after some research I discovered the issue was most likely a ram problem.

So within a week of buying the computer, it cam in. I opened the box pulled out this 45 pound aluminum block and what did I find? Not only were the pins that hold the side panel on bent at a 90 degree angle... The whole computer WAS ABSOLUTELY COVERED IN DUST! So after cleaning it up for a while I went to plug it in, and this was my first of many road-stops... I had no clue the Dual and Quad core models used a c19 power cable. So this was when I had to call around to many shops in town yet everybody said the same thing "our guy said that that cord is only used in Europe". I will continue on this later.

After that I decided I was going to inspect the computer, even if I could not test it. Now for the second issue, I took out the ram and found out that it wasn't two 256mb sticks like was advertised, it was actually a 1gb stick and another 256mb stick... Thanks to a few members here I have found out that all ram in these machines had to be installed in pairs... SO even if I found a power cable I wouldn't be able to use the computer until I can find ram for a decent price. I ended up buying 4gb of ram and installed it into the computer.

Yet again I was brought to square one, I had no power cord, I also didn't want to wait for one to come in, so I made my own (which turned into a more permanent) method ... Then I turned it on, and can you guess what I heard? Well it was just three beeps, and because it was new ram I then automatically thought it was a logic board problem. So not only did I buy a new logic board, I bought 6gb of ram for an amazing price. After buying this new ram, and logic board... I brought the 4gb back and got my $120 back. Once the new logic board and ram came in, I had an idea just to try two sticks of ram on the old logic board and...

IT BOOTED (I had to install a hard drive of course)

Now not only do I have an amazing machine for a great price, I also have a spare logic board in my parts bin. Now only if my x1900 will come in sooner

 

[poiihy]

Aww you REALLY need to get some pictures!! I wanna see that homemade plug D:

 

[Orizence]

Well here is the pictures of the cord I had to rig up

 

[bunnspecial]

Just as a caution, it looks like you used fairly small gauge wire from the cord to your connections. I can't see for sure, but it looks like 20 gauge or smaller.

Depending on the G5 model, it will have either a 600W or 710W PSU. Assuming you are in the US and are on 120V, this is around 5-6A of current. I'd feel a lot safer using 16AWG at a minimum, and probably larger if possible.

 

[Gamer9430]

Wow! Impressive work! I had no clue they have different power cords from the standard 3 prong model. Hopefully it was worth all the work on it.

 

[bunnspecial]

Wow! Impressive work! I had no clue they have different power cords from the standard 3 prong model. Hopefully it was worth all the work on it.

I have "white" cords for both of my G5s, but as far as I know the AGP/PCI models will take a standard power cord.

The Late '05 Dual/Quad Core PCI-E models definitely do take a special power cord. All of the "prongs" are horizontal rather than vertical as on a standard power cord. The "classic" Mac Pro uses the same cord as these late G5s.

 

[Orizence]

I am in the process of getting an actual c19 power cable, but I have to wait until payday. This is a quite temporary solution, I don't really remember the gauge of the wire but my Dad said it was suitable for the time being (as he was the one who got the connectors from his work, and he is an electrician so ill take his word)

But yes it is a pretty thin gauge of wire, I just don't think its thinner than 18 gauge... (also it doesn't look any thinner than the gauge of wire inside the c14 cord i butchered for it)

 

[Surrat]

Very nice G5 you scored there!

The dual core are really fast too, having double the L2 cache of the older G5's plus the other changes. You can drop a quadro fx4500 in there if you like, and up to 16gig of ecc ram.

 

[MatthewLTL]

I have "white" cords for both of my G5s, but as far as I know the AGP/PCI models will take a standard power cord.

The Late '05 Dual/Quad Core PCI-E models definitely do take a special power cord. All of the "prongs" are horizontal rather than vertical as on a standard power cord. The "classic" Mac Pro uses the same cord as these late G5s.

I have see the power cords that look like that you can get one on Amazon or Newegg. Always wondered what computers used 'em

here is a power cord. there is probably cheaper but this is the 1st i found:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=C19_power_cable-_-12-120-841-_-Product

 

[Gamer9430]

I have "white" cords for both of my G5s, but as far as I know the AGP/PCI models will take a standard power cord.

The Late '05 Dual/Quad Core PCI-E models definitely do take a special power cord. All of the "prongs" are horizontal rather than vertical as on a standard power cord. The "classic" Mac Pro uses the same cord as these late G5s.

My 2005 dual 2.3 has the standard plug so...

 

[128keaton]

I have "white" cords for both of my G5s, but as far as I know the AGP/PCI models will take a standard power cord.

The Late '05 Dual/Quad Core PCI-E models definitely do take a special power cord. All of the "prongs" are horizontal rather than vertical as on a standard power cord. The "classic" Mac Pro uses the same cord as these late G5s.

My first gen MacPro uses the same plug as my G5, standard 3 prong,

 

[bunnspecial]

My first gen MacPro uses the same plug as my G5, standard 3 prong,

Interesting...I'll admit to having little experience with the Mac Pro, but I'd thought they kept the same plug as the last generation G5.

I actually didn't even realize that the last gen G5 used a non-standard power cord until I hauled mine into work and didn't bother to take the cord with me-thinking that I would just get one when I got there. I ended up with a useless computer on my desk for a day

 

[Orizence]

Very nice G5 you scored there!

The dual core are really fast too, having double the L2 cache of the older G5's plus the other changes. You can drop a quadro fx4500 in there if you like, and up to 16gig of ecc ram.

I'm pretty satisfied with 6gigs of ram right now But right now I cant afford a Quadro 4500, but I did manage to grab a x1900 for $30 (which is in transit as we speak) and all I have to do is flash it

 

[Surrat]

I'm pretty satisfied with 6gigs of ram right now But right now I cant afford a Quadro 4500, but I did manage to grab a x1900 for $30 (which is in transit as we speak) and all I have to do is flash it

When you get that x1900 flashed and running, I would be interested in its OpenMark benchmark score. Also if you use the x1900gt rom, or some other version.

 

[Orizence]

When you get that x1900 flashed and running, I would be interested in its OpenMark benchmark score. Also if you use the x1900gt rom, or some other version.

Well im going to be using the x1900 with the gt rom (of course) but im going to see if I can bring it back to XT clock speeds, but regardless ill post the scores for both

 

[poiihy]

Depending on the G5 model, it will have either a 600W or 710W PSU.

Question- Does the wattage mean the max wattage the PSU would draw from the mains (120v) or does it mean the max wattage the devices would draw from the PSU (+12/-12/+5/+3.3)?

 

[bunnspecial]

Question- Does the wattage mean the max wattage the PSU would draw from the mains (120v) or does it mean the max wattage the devices would draw from the PSU (+12/-12/+5/+3.3)?

As I understand, it usually now it means the maximum that can be drawn from the power supply.

In the "old days" power supplies(not computers specifically, but any sort of step-down transformer) were usually rated at the maximum they would draw from the line under full load. The maximum output was somewhat less. An example that I'm pretty familiar with is something like the old Lionel ZW transformer, which was rated at an input wattage of either 250 or 275 watts. Those of us who still use these now 60+ year old transformers know that realistically when good and warm they're good for about 180 watts output.

Modern switching power supplies are somewhat more efficient.

Remember, however, that watts are somewhat of a constant. A 100% efficient power supply(if such a thing existed) that output 600 watts would draw 600 watts on the line side. W=IV, where W=watts, V=volts, and I=current(in amps)(or probably more correctly for the line side AC, RMS volts x rms current). Current is what ultimately dictates the wire size needed, both for safety reasons(i.e. not overheating the wire) and to prevent voltage drop due to resistance in the wire(copper wire is more-or-less an ohmic resistor, so follows V=IR, where R is the resistance in ohms, fairly closely).

One last thing-just because a power supply is rated to supply a certain wattage, it will only actually supply what is required of the things connected to it. One can never have "too much" power supply.