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I've had it!

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That's it! I'm done!

With my Quad G5 PPC that is. It's been degrading for the last year or so and this week when I booted it up after it being shut down for 7 or 8 days (I was out of town) I noticed the CPU A temp was upwards of 170F at idle. I've had the CPUs scaled back for well over a year now since the machine would shut itself down otherwise. Surfing the web and using MetaX proved to much and the machine shut itself down at 210F. I took it apart, blew about a pound of dust out of it with my air compressor, cleaned it, replaced the MB battery and reassembled it. When it booted, CPU A was running at 180F right off the bat and it wouldn't pull an IP address from my Airport via either Ethernet or Wireless. The machine refuses to boot from a disc so I can't even run the hardware diagnostics test anymore. Done. Reading the Apple forums and searching the web it looks like it's not worth the money to fix since it's an old architecture and has passed it's prime. Ah well, 7 years wasn't bad for that machine I guess.

So, looks like I'll be getting a MacMini as a temp replacement with perhaps an i3 or i5 27 inch iMac to follow shortly after. Once my wife finishes school and starts working again later in the year I'll look at getting a MacPro to replace the G5 as my main desktop machine. At least I'll be able to run the newest software again!
 
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Sometimes it's just nice to rant and get it all out there isn't it?


When I get mad at computer-related stuff all of my friends/family(all completely non-techies) just look at me like 0.o

So internet is a place I often like to rant as well; where people actually understand what I'm talking about.
 

CrimsonRequiem


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7 years is a pretty good run. I've had a custom Windows PC that my dad built for me when I was 12 and had it for almost 12 years until the power supply overheated and then exploded. >_>"

That's when I decided that I needed a new computer and that's how I got my first Mac. I still build gaming rigs on the side.
 
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Well baggss it has been coming for a while now. Better get the wife out working sooner rather than later!
 
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That's it! I'm done!

With my Quad G5 PPC that is. It's been degrading for the last year or so and this week when I booted it up after it being shut down for 7 or 8 days (I was out of town) I noticed the CPU A temp was upwards of 170F at idle. I've had the CPUs scaled back for well over a year now since the machine would shut itself down otherwise. Surfing the web and using MetaX proved to much and the machine shut itself down at 210F. I took it apart, blew about a pound of dust out of it with my air compressor, cleaned it, replaced the MB battery and reassembled it. When it booted, CPU A was running at 180F right off the bat and it wouldn't pull an IP address from my Airport via either Ethernet or Wireless. The machine refuses to boot from a disc so I can't even run the hardware diagnostics test anymore.!

Maybe your CPU just needs a little thermal grease? Also, I'd make sure the heatsink is secured properly. It's happened to me before. Try unplugging and re-connecting the IDE and power cables to your disc drive. Does it at least try to read but give up? You might also manually set the CD-ROM as your startup disc in the System Preferences.
 

pigoo3

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That's it! I'm done!

I understand that you're probably not necessarily looking for solutions. So FWIW (other than a thermal grease issue [already mentioned])...and knowing that the quad PM G5 had a liquid cooling system...maybe something is malfunctioning with it:

- slight leak/low level (due to slow evaporation of the liquid)
- clogged
- malfunctioning part/pump that circulates the fluid
- etc.

Maybe you don't want to fix it anyway...gives you a valid reason to upgrade!;)

- Nick
 
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You got it Nick.

baggss reported some six to eight months ago about the liquid coolant leaks.
 

pigoo3

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baggss
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It actually appears I never had any coolant leaks that I can find. That doesn't mean there wasn't a small leak and coolant evaporated though. The issue is really only with CPU A overheating, CPU B seems fine.

As for taking it apart and checking the heat sink and the grease, great ideas except it's a liquid cooled machine and all of that plumbing sits atop the CPUs. Taking the plumbing apart is the problem as getting parts etc makes it more difficult, hence why it's not worth the effort to take it apart. You can find used pumps and parts but what am I getting in return? A 7 year old machine that is only getting older? There is a point of diminishing returns somewhere and I think it lies there.
 

pigoo3

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...hence why it's not worth the effort to take it apart. You can find used pumps and parts but what am I getting in return? A 7 year old machine that is only getting older? There is a point of diminishing returns somewhere and I think it lies there.

Sounds like a good candidate for e-Bay or Craig's List as a parts computer.;)

- Nick
 

cwa107


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Yeah, 7 years is a pretty good run - particularly for a machine with a liquid cooling system. I know it's a sealed unit, but I'd imagine the fluid has a finite service life, much like the coolant in your car.

Anyway, sorry to hear you're having trouble with it. The nice thing is that you really can't go wrong with a Mac Mini. Even if it's only temporary, the form factor gives you a lot of versatility once finances permit buying a bigger machine. You can turn it into a media server, make it a dedicated media center, or even attach some storage to it and it'd make a very nice NAS.
 
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So, looks like I'll be getting a MacMini as a temp replacement with perhaps an i3 or i5 27 inch iMac to follow shortly after. Once my wife finishes school and starts working again later in the year I'll look at getting a MacPro to replace the G5 as my main desktop machine. At least I'll be able to run the newest software again!

You might find the Mac Mini surprisingly quick - even my 2009 version is still pretty zippy. The only real down side is the 5400rpm HDD... now if you could stretch for the 7200 or even an SSD, it will probably make your old G5 look last decade.
 
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baggss
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You might find the Mac Mini surprisingly quick - even my 2009 version is still pretty zippy. The only real down side is the 5400rpm HDD... now if you could stretch for the 7200 or even an SSD, it will probably make your old G5 look last decade.

That's true. My Macbook makes the G5 seem old, then again having the CPUs throttled back didn't help.

I figure once I get either an iMac or a MacPro I'll turn the mini into the media center hub and stream all content to the ATVs from there vice our individual machines.
 
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That's true. My Macbook makes the G5 seem old, then again having the CPUs throttled back didn't help.

I figure once I get either an iMac or a MacPro I'll turn the mini into the media center hub and stream all content to the ATVs from there vice our individual machines.

I just got an i7 MBP... the speed is staggering, makes my Phenom II windows desktop look like something made in the Soviet Union. I wouldn't normally say this about incremental speed bumps, but the i7 is worth it over the i3/i5. It just 'feels' a lot faster. The SSD helps a lot.
 
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I just had the Quad running. Still wouldn't pull an IP from anywhere. It ran for 15 min, the fans at full blast, CPUs between 65 and 95%. After 15 min it hit ~209F and shut itself down. I have no idea why the CPUs were running that hot, there were no Apps open, just the finder. Nice.
 
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I just had the Quad running. Still wouldn't pull an IP from anywhere. It ran for 15 min, the fans at full blast, CPUs between 65 and 95%. After 15 min it hit ~209F and shut itself down. I have no idea why the CPUs were running that hot, there were no Apps open, just the finder. Nice.

I guess the liquid cooling system has quit altogether. Still, that PowerMac is getting hot enough to fry an egg. :|
 
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baggss
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I guess the liquid cooling system has quit altogether. Still, that PowerMac is getting hot enough to fry an egg. :|

Well, only CPU A was that hot. CPU B was running at about 109F so it's obvious where the issue really is here.
 
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Well, to conclude this saga, or add to it for now. I'll be getting a 21 inch Core i3 iMac in the next few weeks. Placed the order today. Getting it through a hotel points program (just like I did my Plasma HD TV) so no cost to me.

I'll probably see it in 3 or 4 weeks but for free you can't beat it!
 
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Back to my old 2.2GHz C2D MB after selling my MBP and wondering what my next Mac will be :)
Well, to conclude this saga, or add to it for now. I'll be getting a 21 inch Core i3 iMac in the next few weeks. Placed the order today. Getting it through a hotel points program (just like I did my Plasma HD TV) so no cost to me.

I'll probably see it in 3 or 4 weeks but for free you can't beat it!

WooHoo

Congrats baggss :)
 

cwa107


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Well, to conclude this saga, or add to it for now. I'll be getting a 21 inch Core i3 iMac in the next few weeks. Placed the order today. Getting it through a hotel points program (just like I did my Plasma HD TV) so no cost to me.

I'll probably see it in 3 or 4 weeks but for free you can't beat it!

Sweet! Can't beat that deal. Sounds like a nice machine.
 

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