Powermac G5 help

[Old Man McGuggins]

I found a cheap Powermac g5, and it's just about perfect. Cheap, and the only real issues can be solved with a leopard DVD install disc and a dent repair hammer. It's right by where I'm already going too, so it's easy to just get it on the way there.

But. I got a problem.

How do you tell if it's an air or liquid cooled model? There's 0 info outside simply the fact it's a Powermac G5. The thing has 2 fans aimed at the cpu block, but there's 2 separate modules making up the block, with each one labelled "G5". Are these liquid cooled or do I have to take it apart or get a model number to confirm it isn't? I don't see any green coolant leaked anywhere in the photos.

Also, if it is liquid cooled, what coolant can I use? Can I just patch leaks or replace hoses and top it off with fresh coolant like you can a car system? Or is it significantly more intense? I've heard that that green juice is Propylene Glycol, a chemical I'm familiar with in its pink rv antifreeze form. I have more of that junk than I need. Could I use this kind of Propylene Glycol? Could I use water?

And is swapping out the paste difficult in this model? I swapped the paste on the iMac G5 and it took an hour, but this seems like it'd be much more open. Also is it normal to be able to see into it? Is there normally another metal door? Can I use it without the door if so? Will a cut polycarbonate shield work if not?

Help!

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

When you’re looking at the guts of the machine, below the two G5 cpu shroud there is a long skinny sticker with the specs of your machine. Your machine sounds like a dual cpu a1047. The LCS quad iirc had a single G5 shroud and would be an a1117. Anyhow The composition of the machine is on the right side of that sticker if it is an a1047 which are single and dual cpu models and on the left side of that sticker if it is a a1117 which are the later dual & quad core models. Speaking of the door, there should be a brushed metal exterior case door and a clear plastic internal baffle that fits inside. You can run it w/o the metal case door but you need the plastic baffle installed. I run mine with just the plastic baffle all the time as I really like the looks of the engineered thermal zones and I’ve installed LEDs in mine. Keeping just the baffle in place showcases that. Repasting isn’t too hard however make sure you have an extra long torx set as the heat sinks on the cpus are no joke - very deep and require long torx screwdrivers to detach them from the daughter cards. If you are going to the trouble to repaste the cpus, you should consider a full disassemble so you can repaste the north bridge which is on the back of the logic board. To get the cpu shrouds off so you can get at the heat sinks, there is a small grey plastic rivet at the top right of the shroud which you’ll need to clip off/remove first. I used wire clippers & a straight razor to cut mine off. I do not own a lcs quad so can’t speak to its maintenance. Attached are some pics of my dual cpu 2ghz pci a1047 spec sticker location, rivet, and the door/plastic baffle. Best of luck to you.

 

[Old Man McGuggins]

When you’re looking at the guts of the machine, below the two G5 cpu shroud there is a long skinny sticker with the specs of your machine. Your machine sounds like a dual cpu a1047. The LCS quad iirc had a single G5 shroud and would be an a1117. Anyhow The composition of the machine is on the right side of that sticker if it is an a1047 which are single and dual cpu models and on the left side of that sticker if it is a a1117 which are the later dual & quad core models. Speaking of the door, there should be a brushed metal exterior case door and a clear plastic internal baffle that fits inside. You can run it w/o the metal case door but you need the plastic baffle installed. I run mine with just the plastic baffle all the time as I really like the looks of the engineered thermal zones and I’ve installed LEDs in mine. Keeping just the baffle in place showcases that. Repasting isn’t too hard however make sure you have an extra long torx set as the heat sinks on the cpus are no joke - very deep and require long torx screwdrivers to detach them from the daughter cards. If you are going to the trouble to repaste the cpus, you should consider a full disassemble so you can repaste the north bridge which is on the back of the logic board. To get the cpu shrouds off so you can get at the heat sinks, there is a small grey plastic rivet at the top right of the shroud which you’ll need to clip off/remove first. I used wire clippers & a straight razor to cut mine off. I do not own a lcs quad so can’t speak to its maintenance. Attached are some pics of my dual cpu 2ghz pci a1047 spec sticker location, rivet, and the door/plastic baffle. Best of luck to you.

Thanks for the info.

Turns out, I'm stupid. The door is there, I just didn't put it together.

As for it's cooling, the dual cpu models are air cooled, right?

I do intend on likely building a door for the drives just to protect them some and leave the plastic part open. That just looks too cool.