Powermac G5 Upgrade help

[Drich290195]

Hi guys I have a dual 1.8ghz powermac g5 with 4gb ram. I really want to make use of this machine instead of having it sat there. It's got the base graphics card in and I'm running leopard. Is there anything i can upgrade to make it a decentish machine. Can you include any parts so I can search ebay. Thanks everyone

 

[reco2011]

What would you like to do with it?

 

[Drich290195]

Just make use of it day today web browsing or podcast production machine something like that

 

[Altemose]

Just make use of it day today web browsing or podcast production machine something like that

They are plenty capable with Leopard. Use Leopard WebKit or TenFourFox for web browsing, Office 2008 for Office tasks, MacTubes or YouView for YouTube.

 

[Drich290195]

What about graphics what are my options there

 

[Altemose]

What about graphics what are my options there

What card is in it now. Click --> About This Mac --> More Info --> Graphics.

 

[Drich290195]

Not near it now but think it's the base at I 5200 or something

 

[Altemose]

Not near it now but think it's the base at I 5200 or something

The top of the line cards are going to cost a decent penny. I'd recommend getting a mid-range ATI Radeon 9600 Pro or 9600 XT. Intell has great suggestions on video cards and price points...

 

[Intell]

I second Altemose's suggestion of an ATI 9600 Pro/XT. They're much more powerful than the lowly GeForce 5200, yet they aren't as expensive as the higher end cards like the ATI X800 or GeForce 6800 Ultra.

 

[Altemose]

Woah! Intell agrees with me.... that is actually the first time! 😀

I have a 9600 XT in my PowerMac and it drives a 17" Apple Studio Display and a 20" HP S2031 without issues even with streaming video on both displays. I also can play games like Minecraft (Lower Settings with both displays attached) and Battlefield 1942 (Max Settings) without issues.

 

[Intell]

I've agreed with you before. But beyond that, it shows that you're learning well.

 

[Altemose]

I've agreed with you before. But beyond that, it shows that you're learning well.

Now I just need to memorize every specification, board schematic, fan size, placement, power rating, capacitor size, brand of capacitors, placement of every part on the Logic Board, updates to OS X and what each one included, the entire Terminal command dictionary and then maybe I will have 1/4 of the knowledge of Intell.... 🙄