Use for old Power Mac

Turbo1 · Turbo1 #1 (**permalink**)

02-26-2012, 09:52 PM

Hey Guys,

I have recently come into possession of an old Power Mac G5, and am trying to think of some kind of use for it. The specs are pretty unimpressive at just SP 1.6 Ghz, 2 gigs of ram and an 80 gig hard drive. Its a gorgeous machine it would be a shame to just junk it.

Any unique ideas? or has this dinosaur seen its last days of use.

pigoo3 · pigoo3 #2 (**permalink**)

02-26-2012, 10:06 PM

The older Powermac G5's are great for running older software (software that was vintage to the computer)...and they are certainly perfect for e-mail and most internet surfing.

One the "down-side"...the Powermac G5 1.6ghz single processor is probably the worst (the dog) of all of the Powermac G5 lineup for various reasons.

- Nick

Turbo1 · Turbo1 #3 (**permalink**)

02-26-2012, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pigoo3

The older Powermac G5's are great for running older software (software that was vintage to the computer)...and they are certainly perfect for e-mail and most internet surfing.

One the "down-side"...the Powermac G5 1.6ghz single processor is probably the worst (the dog) of all of the Powermac G5 lineup for various reasons.

- Nick

Yes, unfortunately this beast is limited to its single processor, I thought perhaps I could throw another processor inside and make it a tad more lively, but due to what I believe to be logic board limitations this is not possible. Instead I may end up just hooking it up to my lcd tv and use to for playing ppc games or something. Thanks for the suggestions

pigoo3 · pigoo3 #4 (**permalink**)

02-26-2012, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turbo1

Yes, unfortunately this beast is limited to its single processor, I thought perhaps I could throw another processor inside and make it a tad more lively, but due to what I believe to be logic board limitations this is not possible. Instead I may end up just hooking it up to my lcd tv and use to for playing ppc games or something. Thanks for the suggestions

Besides being only 1 of 2 single cpu Powermac G5 models (out of 14 models)...it also had:

- a slower logic board (compared to other Powermac G5 models)
- a max ram of 4gig
- PCI slots (instead of PCI-X)

But still a decent computer compared to most Powermac G4's.

Enjoy it,

- Nick

harryb2448 · harryb2448 #5 (**permalink**)

02-27-2012, 04:28 PM

Contact your local church groups, boy scouts and schools. They will be able to help you pass the G5 on to a disadvantaged student which is a long way better than junking it.

ragu · ragu #6 (**permalink**)

03-03-2012, 08:16 AM

With a hard drive upgrade it could be used as file server or backup machine..

chas_m · chas_m #7 (**permalink**)

03-04-2012, 05:33 AM

Lots of things you can do with that machine, as long as you stay away from Flash, HD video and use mostly older software with it. The HD is easily replaceable with a larger drive, ditto the RAM.

pigoo3 #2 (permalink)
Member Since: May 20, 2008 Location: U.S. Posts: 20,285 Mac Specs: 13" MB 2.4ghz, 2gig ram, OS 10.7.4	02-26-2012, 10:06 PM The older Powermac G5's are great for running older software (software that was vintage to the computer)...and they are certainly perfect for e-mail and most internet surfing. One the "down-side"...the Powermac G5 1.6ghz single processor is probably the worst (the dog) of all of the Powermac G5 lineup for various reasons. - Nick - Computer slow, too many "beachballs", read this: Beachballs - Computer seems slower than it used to? Read this for some speedup tips: Speedup - Almost full hard drive? Some solutions. Out of Space - Apple Battery Info. Battery
	QUOTE Thanks

harryb2448 #5 (permalink)
Member Since: Nov 28, 2007 Location: Nambucca Heads Australia Posts: 14,055 Mac Specs: iMac i5 2.7GHz OS X.8.3	02-27-2012, 04:28 PM Contact your local church groups, boy scouts and schools. They will be able to help you pass the G5 on to a disadvantaged student which is a long way better than junking it. *Hang on to those original install discs like grim death! Using OS X.7 or later make a bootable USB thumb drive before running Installer!*
	QUOTE Thanks

chas_m #7 (permalink)
Member Since: Jan 22, 2010 Location: Victoria, BC Posts: 13,696 Mac Specs: 2009 MacBook Pro, Black speakers, Black Benq second monitor, black iPhone 4, Black 2012 iPad, etc.	03-04-2012, 05:33 AM Lots of things you can do with that machine, as long as you stay away from Flash, HD video and use mostly older software with it. The HD is easily replaceable with a larger drive, ditto the RAM. Cheers, chas_m -- My essay for switchers and newbies
	QUOTE Thanks

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Turbo1 #1 (permalink)
Member Since: Feb 26, 2012 Posts: 5 Mac Specs: 21.5" iMac 3.06 Ghz, iPhone 4s, 13" MacBook Air 1.8 Ghz	02-26-2012, 09:52 PM Hey Guys, I have recently come into possession of an old Power Mac G5, and am trying to think of some kind of use for it. The specs are pretty unimpressive at just SP 1.6 Ghz, 2 gigs of ram and an 80 gig hard drive. Its a gorgeous machine it would be a shame to just junk it. Any unique ideas? or has this dinosaur seen its last days of use.
	QUOTE Thanks

ragu #6 (permalink)
Member Since: Aug 17, 2009 Location: Ajax, Ontario Posts: 41 Mac Specs: DeskTop is a MacPro 2.8 Quad/22gig/240g SSD/3x3Tb HD plus MBP 15" 2.66 Core I7 /8gig/480SSD	03-03-2012, 08:16 AM With a hard drive upgrade it could be used as file server or backup machine..
	QUOTE Thanks

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