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upgrading powermac g5 quad?

R

rroback

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 29, 2007
77
0
I'm trying to upgrade my powermac g5 quad 2.5ghz, as I'm a photographer and videographer, and I've got to the point where I'm annoyed by how slow my computer works in PS with big files, and the large video files from my new Canon 5d mk2 take awhile to manipulate. I just upgraded to 16 gigs of ram ( from 6.5), and I'm now thinking hard drives, or video card perhaps?

I've got the two 500 gig sata drives, and I'm wondering what I should get? I was thinking of getting a 15k raptor just for operating system/apps, but I'd really need the scratch disk to be fast, and although I'm not filling the full terabyte, I'm up to about 700 gigs of stuff. I could do a raid setup, but I'm not familiar with the ins and outs, and although I don't mind spending the money, I don't want to get junk, or not get a real gain in performance.

Finally, I'm not sure how much video cards effect image manipulations. I'm running two cinema displays, one is the fairly recent generation ( Al. housing), and the other is the acrylic 22inch ( which I think is dying).

thanks for the help, and suggestions.

Rhett
 
I'd love a new mac pro, but I don't have the money. I figure I'd need about 5k at least ( given I have lots of ram) to make it worth getting. I was even thinking about ditching the desktop, and getting a new 17'' mbp with the 256gig ssd, and then have an external disk setup, but that's not cheap either.

No comments out there? I'd like to know if a new graphics card would help, or if faster drives would help. I'm inclined to believe both would, but I'd like someone to comment.
 
Apparently, I just got one of the biggest fastest video cards for the Quad -- it's on my dual core (late 2005) 2.0 ghz. As I am not doing video editing yet, it is really not helping me that much.

It's a 512mb 4500 or something... I'll send you the specs. I don't know if the latest update on Leopard will make anything faster on our Powermacs but maybe?

I'm offering you a swap on the card for yours plus cash. If that's interesting, let me know. I'm still waiting for my quad to get back from the shop.
 
yah, get the specs. I'd be curious to know. Gosh, darn computers do get expensive quick.
 
The video card will only help w/ 2D image manipulations IF you are running CS4 AND the card supports OpenGL 2.0 w/ Shader model 3.0......CS 4 can offload these tasks to the GPU, older versions could not..... this would also speed up video work too.....

Faster HDD's OTOH, will help with I/O performance somewhat, so the system will feel faster/more responsive......but YMMV on this

Raid would also help improve I/O performance, but if not set-up correctly, could increase your chances of data loss.....
 
More HD's in your G5

rroback said:
I'd love a new mac pro, but I don't have the money. I figure I'd need about 5k at least ( given I have lots of ram) to make it worth getting. I was even thinking about ditching the desktop, and getting a new 17'' mbp with the 256gig ssd, and then have an external disk setup, but that's not cheap either.

No comments out there? I'd like to know if a new graphics card would help, or if faster drives would help. I'm inclined to believe both would, but I'd like someone to comment.
Click to expand...

There is a real fine option available for you G5 to stack three more HD's in your Powermac. This way you can use a fast Raptor Drive as start up Disc AND still have two more 1 Gig drives!

http://www.sonnettech.com/product/g5_jive.html

of course if you use that you will need more SATA ports so you would need an additional card which would be like that one here:

http://www.sonnettech.com/product/tempo_sata_e4i.html


This at least would solve your HD situation and by using a fast Raptor gain speed at the same time.
I use a Raptor in my G4 and it works great!
 
I use Aperture, Cs3 ( going to get 4 soon), and final cut pro. I'm going to look into more hd options, but I'm suddenly getting the feeling it might be worth just sucking it up, staying with what I got, then eventually getting an all new computer.
 
This is the card I bought... I guess it is a great card for the Powermac.

The ultra-high end NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 graphics card offers high-end workstation features and performance, including 512 MB of high-speed GDDR3memory and dual card SLI support with HP's AMD Opteron-based workstation.

With NVIDIA High-Precision Dynamic-Range (HPDR) Technology, the Quadro FX 4500 sets new standards for image clarity and quality through full IEEE 32-bit floating point precision per color component in shading, filtering, texturing and blending.

Performance and features include 512 MB GDDR3 memory, Rotated-Grid Full-Scene Antialiasing (FSAA) and performance optimized OpenGL and DirectX drivers. Features also include support of Scalable Link Interface (SLI) Technology which enables the FX 4500 to be linked together with other FX products via an intelligent communication protocol resulting in true graphics scaling to optimum levels of performance and quality.

The Quadro FX 4500 Graphics Controller is a perfect solution for the ultra-high end CAD and professional DCC user communities requiring breakthrough application performance.

Key Benefits of the NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500:
* 512 MB of GDDR3 graphics memory
* High-Precision Dynamic Range Imaging Technology
* Two dual-link DVI-I outputs
* SLI support
* Full support for Vertex and Shader Model 3.0
* Infinite length vertex and pixel programmability and dynamic flow control
* 12-bit subpixel precision
* Rotated-Grid Full-Scene antialiasing
* OpenGL quad-buffered stereo
* Advanced high-level shading language support for both OpenGL and DirectX
* Optimized and certified for OpenGL 2.0 and DirectX. 9.0c
* Multi-display productivity

Performance:
The Quadro FX 4500 is optimized for High End 3D imaging, including CAD, DCC, medical, scientific, and oil & gas configurations. Add the NVIDIA Quadro G-Sync for advanced multi-system visualization and multi-device film and video environments.

Comes with 1 year warranty

Best Selection for Apple Power MAC G5 !

this card is retailed at $3700


... I guess I got a good deal for my PM G5
 
That card won't speed up your apps more than "regular" upgrade cards will..

These Quadro monsters are justified only in very high-end CAD software and 3D modeling.
 
rroback said:
I'd love a new mac pro, but I don't have the money. I figure I'd need about 5k at least ( given I have lots of ram) to make it worth getting. I was even thinking about ditching the desktop, and getting a new 17'' mbp with the 256gig ssd, and then have an external disk setup, but that's not cheap either.

No comments out there? I'd like to know if a new graphics card would help, or if faster drives would help. I'm inclined to believe both would, but I'd like someone to comment.
Click to expand...

Just buy the 2.8ghz 8 core mac pro and go to www.transintl.com and buy the 16gb of RAM for $340. Total cost about 3k.
 
Go get a refurb mac pro. I just ordered a 2.8 octo for 2399.00. Save money on the monitor and get a dell 24 inch for 500 bucks or less. Want to save more, get a quad 2.0, 2.66 or 3.0 for leass than a octo. I have a 2 ghz mac pro am selling as soon as my octo comes in and gets set up. Your G5 is nice but don't think its worth upgrading anymore. Good luck to what ever you do but would suggest a intel mac pro.
 
I've got a question:

Do you think the new MBP fully decked out ( 8 gig ram+ ssd) would be more powerful then my powermac? I know mine is a quad, versus the mbp's double, but the speed of the mbp is higher, and then chip's are newer ( and intel). I'm looking at 4k to buy a worthwhile used macpro, and thinking, maybe sell my current thing, and just go 17''mbp.
 
rroback said:
I've got a question:

Do you think the new MBP fully decked out ( 8 gig ram+ ssd) would be more powerful then my powermac? I know mine is a quad, versus the mbp's double, but the speed of the mbp is higher, and then chip's are newer ( and intel). I'm looking at 4k to buy a worthwhile used macpro, and thinking, maybe sell my current thing, and just go 17''mbp.
Click to expand...

Anything Intel is faster than anything PowerPC.

The MacBook Pro in question is around 4x faster than your computer.
 
4x faster in actual use for photo/video work? I would have originally assumed the quad versus dual chip would make up the difference in clockspeeds.
 
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