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Thinking of buying a G5. Need advice from the plc pros

O

OliverOSX93

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 26, 2010
192
0
Accrington
Sorry if this should be in buying advice. I think the chaps in here will be more knowledgable.

Anyway. Im planning to buy a power mac G5 for amature photography, retro gaming and maybe some creative writing. (got my gaming pc for all the other)

What I need to know is what was the most powerful model that was air cooled? I don't want to struggle with water coolers. And what should I look to pay for it?
 
Depending on configuration, the dual core G5's can be as low as 200.00 and higher, but usually not exceeding 500.00 dollars. The Quad G5 which is LCS based and is the last PowerPC mac before the Mac Pro can fetch over 300 to about 800.00, again this depends on the configuration and if its really beefed up and in pristine condition.

Your best bet is check ebay for good pricing, but make sure you get one with the DISCS, as the Apple Hardware Test is essential with these machines. If you can't find the discs, I have ASD and AHT for you should you require it.

Hope this helps in your search for a dual core G5.

PPCMM

Starfighter said:
I know that the 2.3GHz dual core is fastest amongst the fan cooled G5's, but I have absolutely no idea how expensive they are.
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The dual 2.3GHz was the last air-cooled. I'd say getting one at $100-150 is a reasonable price. That's what I'm seeing on eBay lately.
 
Like many others have said, the 2.3Ghz Dual Core was the fastest powermac without the LCS. You can usually pick those up for around $100-200. Some people have been lucky and have gotten them for less. It depends on where you look and your location.
 
OliverOSX93 said:
Im planning to buy a power mac G5 for amature photography, retro gaming and maybe some creative writing.
Click to expand...

1. What sort of creative writing do you do?
2. 2.3Ghz air-cooled can be had for less than $300.
3. FYI a G4 will meet all the needs you mentioned, and they can be had for less than $100.
 
I have a 2.3Ghz Dual Core and have very similar uses for it as you propose, currently running Aperture 3 for photo work (love playing with this) and as far as gaming is concerned run Call of Duty 1 & 2, Medal of Honor, Amnesia, Quake 3 & 4, Doom 3, Unreal Tournament 2004 and Civilisation IV no problem at all (all except Amnesia at Max Settings).

However be aware that both Aperture and Games will be dependent not just on the CPU but also RAM and very much the graphics card, your experience with a 2.3 (or any PowerMac G5) will be very different with these applications if you have a low end graphics card and a small amount of RAM.
 
zen.state said:
The only recommendation in the whole thread that actually makes sense.
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While I agree that a G4 would be the smartest choice (a maxed out G5 is of course overkill in this situation, I think we all know that), it doesn't answer the question.
 
Last edited:
GermanyChris said:
This is with pistols

it's dual..

I'm not trying to be a d**k but you do this all the time so I'm assuming that you don't know.
Click to expand...

Pointing out to someone's grammar or spelling mistakes is against this site rules, be aware.
You know what he meant so just leave it that way.


Regarding G5, they also consume quite a lot of power, take that into account, a G5 uses more than a G4, but it all depends what you need it for.
The G5's are better looking, that is, if you care.:)
 
justperry said:
Pointing out to someone's grammar or spelling mistakes is against this site rules, be aware.
You know what he meant so just leave it that way.


Regarding G5, they also consume quite a lot of power, take that into account, a G5 uses more than a G4, but it all depends what you need it for.
The G5's are better looking, that is, if you care.:)
Click to expand...

I don't mind, I end up in time out enough..

Just trying to be nice to the young guy.
 
Well, eBay seems to have a lot of G4s for similar prices to G5s that need a HDD or RAM. So I might as well go for the G5. Thanks for your help guys. I'll post a reply or make a new thread when I have it up and running.
 
OliverOSX93 said:
Well, eBay seems to have a lot of G4s for similar prices to G5s that need a HDD or RAM. So I might as well go for the G5. Thanks for your help guys. I'll post a reply or make a new thread when I have it up and running.
Click to expand...
A dual CPU/core G5 will crush any G4.

I got my June 2004 dual 1.8GHz for $160. Put in a big hard disk, maxed out memory, added an SSD, added the fastest graphics card a PPC Mac can get, total of 23 USB 2.0 ports, yeah, this thing is no slouch.

Based on your need a G5 would do you best, though be aware that it was only really after Apple went Intel that developers started programming their software to take advantage of more than one CPU core, example, UT2004/Doom 3 benchmarks on my G5 are totally CPU limited; it gets maxed out under use while the FireGL GPU is barely worked.
 
Jethryn Freyman said:
A dual CPU/core G5 will crush any G4.

I got my June 2004 dual 1.8GHz for $160. Put in a big hard disk, maxed out memory, added an SSD, added the fastest graphics card a PPC Mac can get, total of 23 USB 2.0 ports, yeah, this thing is no slouch.
Click to expand...

I thought the 2004 dual 1.8's could take up to 8gigs?
 
For the super light workload your doing, you could not even bother with a G5, they are hot running beasts, and loud as ****.

For 100-150 bucks you can get 2 things, one of those Mini PCs, or a G4, if you want to go Mac, clearly you should go G4.

G4s are great computers, they were never my thing, much more of a G5 guy here myself ( probably because it was my first ' big ' purchase out of college, the 2nd ' big one ' being a 4800 dollar Voodoo Omen ), but I've used G4s. super reliable and great machines.
 
G51989 said:
For the super light workload your doing, you could not even bother with a G5, they are hot running beasts, and loud as ****.
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Your statement here is mildly contradictory,
If as you say, the original poster has a "super light workload" then noise, even from a G5 should not be a problem.
It is only under stressful loads that the fans in a G5 tower ramp up, but then as a user you would already know that.
 
G51989 said:
For the super light workload your doing, you could not even bother with a G5, they are hot running beasts, and loud as ****.

For 100-150 bucks you can get 2 things, one of those Mini PCs, or a G4, if you want to go Mac, clearly you should go G4.

G4s are great computers, they were never my thing, much more of a G5 guy here myself ( probably because it was my first ' big ' purchase out of college, the 2nd ' big one ' being a 4800 dollar Voodoo Omen ), but I've used G4s. super reliable and great machines.
Click to expand...
My G5 rarely has the fans ramp up even under heavy load. Never noticed any heat issues either, as far as ridiculous claims you hear about them "heating up a room".
 
Okay. I bought a 2.7GHz G5. I got it for £50 from a shutting down business and it lacks a HDD but is otherwise fine from the photos. I'll check the cooler when it arrives and if it's beyond hope I can still build a pretty awesome hackintosh from the case. :D
 
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