Purchasing a Powermac G5, some questions; plus, what to keep in mind?

[Dr.Pants]

First, before I begin, things I already know -
1. Snow Lepord will not have Power support
2. The G5 is very old
3. If Windows runs at all, its performance will be very poor.

That aside, I am considering purchasing a Powermac G5 Quad. What for? My A/V needs until the end of the year or early 2010, when I will be able to buy a MacPro - after that, it will more-then-likely serve as a disc server. I am considering the 2.5 Quad.

Basic things I would like to know (because I have been searching and results can be obfuscating at times) -
Do all of the Quads have PCI-E? (related, were there any other models with PCI-E?)
Are all of the Quads water-cooled? For that matter, was it that bad?
What type of RAM can I use? NECC PC2-4200 DDR2 SDRAM?

Furthermore, what are some general things that I need to consider before I pull the trigger?

 

[cherry su]

First, before I begin, things I already know -
1. Snow Lepord will not have Power support
2. The G5 is very old
3. If Windows runs at all, its performance will be very poor.

That aside, I am considering purchasing a Powermac G5 Quad. What for? My A/V needs until the end of the year or early 2010, when I will be able to buy a MacPro - after that, it will more-then-likely serve as a disc server. I am considering the 2.5 Quad.

Basic things I would like to know (because I have been searching and results can be obfuscating at times) -
Do all of the Quads have PCI-E? (related, were there any other models with PCI-E?)
Are all of the Quads water-cooled? For that matter, was it that bad?
What type of RAM can I use? NECC PC2-4200 DDR2 SDRAM?

Furthermore, what are some general things that I need to consider before I pull the trigger?

Yes all the quads have PCI-E. It was the final revision of the Power Mac (October 2005).

 

[jons]

Yes, they all have PCI-e.

They were liquid cooled.

They take DDR400.

Things to watch out: The liquid cooling is notorious for leaking (actually most liquid cooling is)

 

[OrangeSVTguy]

Yes, they all have PCI-e.

They were liquid cooled.

They take DDR400.

Things to watch out: The liquid cooling is notorious for leaking (actually most liquid cooling is)

The "quad" G5 used the cheaper DDR2 memory. All the previous gen G5s could use DDR. Only the "quad" G5 and dual 2.7 were liquid-cooled so be very cautious if you purchase one of these models. Check for leaks or corrosion. Random shut downs or high fan speeds are typically the first sign of failure.

The whole Snow Leopard and losing PPC support is still a rumor, I don't think it's set in stone yet but will more than likely be dropped. Also don't pay more than $1000 for one either.

 

[grue]

The whole Snow Leopard and losing PPC support is still a rumor, I don't think it's set in stone yet but will more than likely be dropped. Also don't pay more than $1000 for one either.

If they support PowerPC in Snow Leopard, I'm going to be furious.

 

[dontwalkhand]

If they support PowerPC in Snow Leopard, I'm going to be furious.

Why is that? How does that adversely affect you? If you do not want to write your app for PowerPC, then don't.

I think its Ok if Apple still decides to support G5s, since they are still good computers.

 

[Tallest Skil]

How does that adversely affect you?

Twice the code doesn't mean double the OS. Legacy code needs dropped.

If you do not want to write your app for PowerPC, then don't.

Apple shouldn't be writing code for PowerPC computers anymore, either.

 

[grue]

Why is that? How does that adversely affect you? If you do not want to write your app for PowerPC, then don't.

I think its Ok if Apple still decides to support G5s, since they are still good computers.

Because I'm sick of ridiculously large installs for operating systems and software. Legacy support is holding back those of us who don't cling to the past.

The whole point of Snow Leopard is a lean, fast, optimized OS. If they're wasting time writing it for two architectures, it'll be anything but lean and optimized.

PowerPC is dead. Bury it and move on.