New desktop and what to do with old G5?

[rdp5008]

Hey all. I've been away from the forums for awhile now. I've spent the last 2 years at sea and am coming back to an office job in December. I have a 1.6 GHz Power Mac G5 and a 13" Macbook Al.

I prefer working a desktop machine at home and will be using the Macbook during frequent travel. I want something stable at home that I can use to store all of my photos and media I don't need with me on travel.

My question: How long should I hold onto the G5? I am not a power user so the G5 suited my needs perfectly 2 years ago (before it went into long term storage). Do you think I can keep using it? It did run a bit slow with Aperture but seemed to handle everything else just fine.

If I upgrade to a new or used Intel Mac Pro (or iMac) what should I do with the G5? How do I use it as a file server or for backups? It has a large HDD and plenty of RAM. I do not plan on selling it.

I like to use my computers as long as possible and prefer to have something that exceeds my needs so I can use it longer. I have the money to upgrade but I would prefer to either save it or spend it on a vacation. Lets just hope the G5 still works after being in storage!

 

[alust2013]

I'm sure it will still run, however, it may be a bit slower than you remember, especially a 1.6. The other problem is that software is being phased off of PPC, so eventually it will be Intel only (which some is), although since you have your MacBook, you won't have a problem with that. I imagine your MB is actually considerably more powerful than your G5 too. If you aren't a power user though, there is no real reason to upgrade, unless you wanted to buy a new iMac, and use the G5 for file server needs and such (although I personally don't know how to do that either). I think the iMac would very easily suit your needs, no matter what version you get, so I would recommend the C2D to save money. If you're not a power user, there is no real reason to spend the extra on the i5 or i7.

If you're still happy with how it performs though, I see no reason to upgrade, especially if you would rather use the money elsewhere.

 

[brayden8181]

Hey all. I've been away from the forums for awhile now. I've spent the last 2 years at sea and am coming back to an office job in December. I have a 1.6 GHz Power Mac G5 and a 13" Macbook Al.

I prefer working a desktop machine at home and will be using the Macbook during frequent travel. I want something stable at home that I can use to store all of my photos and media I don't need with me on travel.

My question: How long should I hold onto the G5? I am not a power user so the G5 suited my needs perfectly 2 years ago (before it went into long term storage). Do you think I can keep using it? It did run a bit slow with Aperture but seemed to handle everything else just fine.

If I upgrade to a new or used Intel Mac Pro (or iMac) what should I do with the G5? How do I use it as a file server or for backups? It has a large HDD and plenty of RAM. I do not plan on selling it.

I like to use my computers as long as possible and prefer to have something that exceeds my needs so I can use it longer. I have the money to upgrade but I would prefer to either save it or spend it on a vacation. Lets just hope the G5 still works after being in storage!

It should work fine, Apple machines are good for that!
I would use it as a file server, I use my old Powermac G4 quicksilver for a file server and backup system. Thats what these Powermacs are really good at!

 

[xparaparafreakx]

Lots of people whould like your case to built a custom pc in.

 

[rdp5008]

Thank you for the replies. I think I'll try to use the G5 for as long as possible before upgrading. Thanks for the tip on iMac processors. I just want to be sure I buy something powerful enough to last me another 5 years.

Can anyone direct me to easy to follow articles/posts on how to use a G5 tower for a file server or backup?

 

[TheMythTheMan]

http://www.freemacblog.com/category/server-video-series/

I haven't followed any of those guides but they seem to be the right thing.

Simply put, just go to your system prefs then click the sharing folder and enable what you want (Screensharing, ftp, remote login, etc). If you want to access your server outside of your home network ie when your on one of your trips, you will need to forward ports to your G5 which can get confusing depending on your router. With the airport extreme, go to manual setup then advanced options and you will see port forwarding, this needs to be sent to your G5s internal IP address and you should be good to go.

 

[rdp5008]

Thanks for the info! That sounds straight forward enough. I will definitely go that route eventually. She has a new logic board (2007) installed by a shop in Nashville, TN so she should be good to go for another 5 years!

 

[McDughf]

there's absolutely NOTHING wrong with the old PowerMacs, especially the G5's.
You will still find many a film production house that have a host of G5's running.
Up until a few months ago, my main computer was still one of the original G5 Dual 2.0's that came out ( and I work In Tv / Film editing ). Ran perfectly smooth and when I needed a bit of extra power I took my files to the studio. Heck, My parents still use a nine year old G4 for web and eMail, and apart from youtube videos still serves their purpose.

As you mentioned you are NOT a pro user though, do you really *need* a fileserver? Ok so it is a luxury everybody would like, but a PowerMac is a heafty machine, especially the G5's - They use a lot of electricity, can be noisy ( eight fans running ) and blast a lot of heat into a room ( the case was in effect designed to be a huge heatsink to cool the G5 chips...), Believe me, I remember a few winters when I did not need to put the heating on in the same room as My G5.

 

[JazzCollector]

Interesting thread for me as I also recently retired my PowerPC.

I've been looking to turn this machine into a home security server where I can attach several security cameras outside my home and have them save images to the computer.

I've not been able to find a vendor that makes systems for my old Mac. Can anyone point me in the right direction?