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PPC OS X on non Mac hardware?

S

sasho648

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 19, 2020
82
38
So in my experience (I've recently blow up my G5 Quad - still have the DP though - but it's disassembled anyway) - the original PPC Mac hardware is becoming scarce and so I was thinking if there could be some way to run OS X on non original hardware - like the PS3 or WII (I know there was a video recently of that but it was using Mac on linux which is decade old and I doubt very efficient).

The idea would be to somehow run OpenFirmware and boot OS X. I don't have anything - just asking actually if anyone has some thoughts or experience on the matter?

In any case this is legacy (and so I hope I don't have issues with some mods here).
 
You can run OS X on e.g. the Pegasos using Mac-on-Linux. It's not that slow, if that's what you mean by "not very efficient". I've used it to run 9.2.2 on a Mac mini G4 before it was coaxed to run natively.
 
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Yeah I probably should have been more clear - I want to run GPU acceleration and also OS X 10.5.
 
Did you try qemu ?
If there is no workaround ( i.e. virtual driver ) for use of host accelerated sources, you can try GPU acceleration via PCI-passthrough ( with powermac flashed card ).

I am afraid, there is no simple and easy solution.
On Pegasos 2 there is also Molk - faster than Mac-on-linux, with minimal linux, but no hw accel. But Pegasos 2 is the same age like powermacs and has default G4 / 1GHz ( mine has 1.33 GHz ). So it is not solve the problem.
On AmigaOne X5000 you can use KVM, without CPU emulation. But this machines are expensive and less powerfull than G5 Quad was.
 
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sasho648 said:
So in my experience (I've recently blow up my G5 Quad - still have the DP though - but it's disassembled anyway) - the original PPC Mac hardware is becoming scarce and so I was thinking if there could be some way to run OS X on non original hardware - like the PS3 or WII (I know there was a video recently of that but it was using Mac on linux which is decade old and I doubt very efficient).
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear about your Quad. Just based on your signature deets, I'd say you spent a lot of time with that machine!

I know it's not the exact answer you're looking for, but I have had great success in migrating my Leopard-driven Late '05 DC PowerMac G5 DAW to a late 2009 Mac mini. Most Leopard apps and VSTs I had installed were Universal Binary, so only a handful of software required tweaking/upgrading/reinstalling to get that system back online.

Performance wise, the Core 2 Duo 2.53GHz mini shows a notable improvement over the DC G5 2.3GHz. The RAM ceiling is lower at 8GB, but when did my G5 ever really need 16GB anyway? Also, the Nvidia 9400m GPU, while decent enough, probably doesn't quite compare to the Quadro FX4500, but for what I am doing with this Mac, it's no loss at all. The difference in power draw alone is substantial enough to justify the migration in my books.

It's not quite as appealing as a functional Quad G5 (which I also have), but could certainly bridge the gap as an affordable, and much more available Mac to suit your Leopard needs.

:apple:
 
sasho648 said:
...the original PPC Mac hardware is becoming scarce...
Click to expand...

Really? I always find loads on eBay UK.

sasho648 said:
...and so I was thinking if there could be some way to run OS X on non original hardware - like the PS3 or WII (I know there was a video recently of that but it was using Mac on linux which is decade old and I doubt very efficient).
Click to expand...

Ah, I shared that video and it wasn't OS X, it was 9.2. The Wii only has 88MB RAM (with 66MB of that available for running games) and I dread to imagine how sluggish Tiger would be under those circumstances - even optimised to the extreme. Perhaps Puma might be more viable but you still wouldn't be able to get much done.
 
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sasho648 said:
the original PPC Mac hardware is becoming scarce
Click to expand...
Is it THAT bad in the States? I see few delusional fee-bay sellers over-inflating their dreams everywhere, but let's be realistic: replacing the G5 Quad 1:1 is probably cheaper than any alternative "solution".

You should not pay more, than, say, $100 (rough estimate).

Even the MacPro 4.1 / 5.1 / black cylinder prices collapsed.

You may spend more on add-on cards than on the Mac itself.
 
sasho648 said:
So in my experience (I've recently blow up my G5 Quad - still have the DP though - but it's disassembled anyway) - the original PPC Mac hardware is becoming scarce and so I was thinking if there could be some way to run OS X on non original hardware - like the PS3 or WII (I know there was a video recently of that but it was using Mac on linux which is decade old and I doubt very efficient).

The idea would be to somehow run OpenFirmware and boot OS X. I don't have anything - just asking actually if anyone has some thoughts or experience on the matter?

In any case this is legacy (and so I hope I don't have issues with some mods here).
Click to expand...

FWIW, https://www.talospace.com/2018/08/making-your-talos-ii-into-power-mac.html
 
Ataman Honcho Honchev said:
Is it THAT bad in the States? I see few delusional fee-bay sellers over-inflating their dreams everywhere, but let's be realistic: replacing the G5 Quad 1:1 is probably cheaper than any alternative "solution".

You should not pay more, than, say, $100 (rough estimate).

Even the MacPro 4.1 / 5.1 / black cylinder prices collapsed.

You may spend more on add-on cards than on the Mac itself.
Click to expand...

Prices reflect not only demand (which is not huge, obviously), but also scarcity. And the biggest issue here is that shipping a PowerMac from abroad doubles or triples the costs. I have seen plenty of G5 on Yahoo JP, for example, often for attractive prices, but shipping -_-

P. S. Those MacPros expectedly become cheap, since no one wants them. While PowerPC machines are something special, MacPros are just very outdated x86, after all.
 
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