My trusty G5, how far can I push her?

[hostage46]

Now a month into my (new) 4 year old G5 that I rescued from the dumpster as the IT guy was culling the herd.

Updated the keyboard, mouse, OS, added IWork and Entourage. I've now adopted this as my primary machine running entourage for work and iWeb to run my Soaring Club website. I LOVE THIS MACHINE.

I have this really nice 24 in monitor, and have access to another... so the question is, will she run two displays?

Her vitals are ...
Hardware Overview:

Model Name: Power Mac G5
Model Identifier: PowerMac7,2
Processor Name: PowerPC 970 (2.2)
Processor Speed: 1.6 GHz
Number Of CPUs: 1
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 1.25 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 5.1.5f2
Serial Number (system): YM3403G1NVQ


Dan in Dallas...

 

[Tomorrow]

Need info on the video card to answer your question about two displays, but chances are it can handle it.

As for how far you can push it, you can push a computer pretty hard - pay attention to the point where it starts to push back, and you'll have a good idea of the limit. You're not going to do any kind of damage. Computers are good that way.

Nice find, BTW!

 

[Dr.Pants]

I would say it probably will - as Tomorrow said, we need info on your graphics card. , About This Mac, More information, then there should be a graphics option on the right hand side of the screen (forgive me if some of these labels are odd, I am still getting back into using OSX). You may need an adapter for your second monitor depending on the card.

Do you get a lot of activity on your website?

 

[uberamd]

With your graphics card, you may need an ADC to DVI adapter. I am using a PowerMac G5 at work right now, and the video card had DVI, and ADC (looks like DVI, just longer). The adapter was ~$20 and I have 2 20" Cinema Displays hooked up to it, running great.

 

[hostage46]

Is this helpful...


GeForce FX 5200:

Chipset Model: GeForce FX 5200
Type: Display
Bus: AGP
Slot: SLOT-1
VRAM (Total): 64 MB
Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)
Device ID: 0x0321
Revision ID: 0x00a2
ROM Revision: 2060
Displays:
IMP_D24W33:
Resolution: 1680 x 1050 @ 60 Hz
Depth: 32-Bit Color
Core Image: Hardware Accelerated
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Quartz Extreme: Supported
Display Connector:
Status: No Display Connected

 

[hostage46]

With your graphics card, you may need an ADC to DVI adapter. I am using a PowerMac G5 at work right now, and the video card had DVI, and ADC (looks like DVI, just longer). The adapter was ~$20 and I have 2 20" Cinema Displays hooked up to it, running great.

I am running the adaptor, assume that second plug back there will work

 

[macuser154]

I am running the adaptor, assume that second plug back there will work

I'm guessing it would work then. I can't think of a reason why it wouldn't. I don't know how well it would run though.

 

[gugucom]

64 MB VRAM isn't an awefull lot to drive two monitors on decent resolution. You may find that you will need an upgrade. There are AGP cards that will run two 30" Apple monitors in full resolutions. If memory serves me right the Geforce 7800 GS is the top option for your machine. From ATI line it would be a X800XT.

 

[OrangeSVTguy]

If you are running Leopard, I would suggest upgrading that card. That card will run your 2 monitors that is if you got the adapter since one of the ports is an ADC port which were used on the older Cinema Displays. They do make ADC -> DVI adapters which runs around $20-$25.

Also upgrading to the 4gb max of memory would also help you more. PC-3200 400mhz memory will work and is usually cheaper than the 233mhz that is used. Just remember to purchase and install the memory in "pairs" otherwise it won't turn on.