Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Upgrading G5's
- Thread starter babelon
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Is this an iMac G5 or a PMG5?
They all support more than 512MB... In the iMac's case, the first two generations have two memory slots for PC3200, and each slot can hold up to 1GB, for a total of 2GB.
The third generation (with an iSight), according to Apple History, has 512MB onboard and one slot for PC4200 memory. That slot can hold up to 2GB, for a total of 2.5GB.
I would recommend going to 2GB (or 2.5 in the iMac G5 iSight case).
http://DealRAM.com can give you prices on the correct modules.... (EDIT: Oh, sorry, I thought dealram provided European pricing and suppliers, but maybe it doesn't).
They all support more than 512MB... In the iMac's case, the first two generations have two memory slots for PC3200, and each slot can hold up to 1GB, for a total of 2GB.
The third generation (with an iSight), according to Apple History, has 512MB onboard and one slot for PC4200 memory. That slot can hold up to 2GB, for a total of 2.5GB.
I would recommend going to 2GB (or 2.5 in the iMac G5 iSight case).
http://DealRAM.com can give you prices on the correct modules.... (EDIT: Oh, sorry, I thought dealram provided European pricing and suppliers, but maybe it doesn't).
Possible? Yes.
Start with identifying your model. The non-iSight versions use PC-3200 DDR SDRAM, the iSight models use PC-4200 DDR2 SDRAM. Both are standard chips and widely available.
Second, google for upgrade instructions.
Finding a supplier will be the easiest part but I recommend going for a big local vendor.
Also consider to make it worth your while and upgrade to maximum capacity while you're at it. It'll make a difference.
EDIT: Made some clarifications to the suitable memory chip types as there was some room for misinterpretation in the earlier expression.
Yes, it is possible, and will create no problems, but the rule of thumb is that having matching pairs of memory increases performance.
Thus, for example
512MB + 512 MB will very probably give you more memory speed than 512MB + 1024MB but, naturally less capacity. Depending on the intensity of use more is probably more important than faster. But both are best.
That is what I hinted at when I asked you to consider maxing out the memory (1GB+1GB). A 1 gigabyte SDRAM Chip costs about 30 €, so it's up to you.
Pekka
Yes, the pricing right now for appropriate RAM for the DDR iMac G5s in the US is about $80 for 2x1GB, FWIW... This is what I would get, also (actually, I have an iMac G5, Rev B, and although I rarely use it anymore, this is what's in it).
I also strongly suggest that you max it out to 2 GB of RAM, especially if you're running Leopard.
While you have the back off the machine and have it open, let me suggest:
1. Removing -carefully- as much dust as possible (it will help with cooling)
2. Check to make sure the capacitors all look good
3. Running out of HD space? Now would be the time to install a larger HD as well, and it's not terribly difficult on this machine.
While you have the back off the machine and have it open, let me suggest:
1. Removing -carefully- as much dust as possible (it will help with cooling)
2. Check to make sure the capacitors all look good
3. Running out of HD space? Now would be the time to install a larger HD as well, and it's not terribly difficult on this machine.