7 Year old G5

Hi. First post here.

I'm about to get another computer. Probably a powerbook or an iMac. But before I pull the trigger, can I update my G5 to a modern powermac? It's still running on 10.3.9. (It's a dinosaur)

Heres my problem. It's the old processor, before they switched to Intel.

Can I just keep adding RAM and Hard Drive space as well?

Basically, I just want to know if I can update to the latest version of OS X with an old G5 even though I'm using old hardware.

New motherboard?

G'day and welcome to the Forums.

You can upgrade to Leaopard OS X.5.8 but you will still have the same slow processor and system bus speed and graphics. You can upgrade the HDD and the memory but that will not make the machine that much faster.

The only answer is an Intel machine which can run Snow Leopard sadly. Suggest not spending too much on G5 and save it towards a newer model.

Thanks for advice!

What should I do with my old machine? It's a 70 gig HD. A music box?

Apple has a buy back program for old machines. They will give me $47 for it! HA!

$47? I'll give you $75!

No really I would... PM me if you want to get rid of it!

Just Brett said:

But before I pull the trigger, can I update my G5 to a modern powermac? It's still running on 10.3.9. (It's a dinosaur)

Click to expand...

You actually haven't made it very clear what "G5" you have. There were G5 iMacs & G5 Powermacs...withe the Powermac being much more expandable.

You did mention the word "Powermac"...but I didn't want to assume that's what you have. And if you do have a G5 Powermac...there were many different models...so it would help to know which model you have.

Finally...you really haven't said what you do on your G5...which can be a BIG factor into whether you NEED to upgrade to a newer computer or not.

- Nick

I got the G5 PowerMac when they first came out. It's 1.6 GHZ with a 70 gig HDD. It came with only 256 MB of memory!! It was the base model. (very base)

Since then I've added memory... and hard drive space, but need more now. I'm just kind of frugal.

I'm a full time graphic designer, so my work computer at my office is where the bulk of my time is spent anyway. But when I get home I do a little freelancing on the side, and I edit video from comedy shows. It streams video kind of slow too.

I remember when I bought the thing 7 years ago that I was told it was hugely expandable. I just wanna get the most out of the thing that I can.

I had a look at buying one of these a few years ago.
I recall the base model can take a max of 4GB of RAM, so there is always that possibility.
It will take SATA HDDs so to reduce sluggishness install a faster HDD or even an SSD as the boot drive.
You can always add a greater capacity drive if you want to the second bay.

Of course, as mentioned by others here, you need to count the costs against a new Intel machine.

Personally, spending money on an SSD or HDD is ok as they are easily transferable. RAM is a cost which can only be recouped when selling the machine, and is even then often only a fraction of the original value.

Hope that helps a little. Good luck with your G5!

Seven years in computer speak is dinosaur language alas. The 1.6GHz was a pretty slow machine, with reports at the time of its release the MDD 1.42GHz model was much faster! As a result Apple quickly released to 2GHz and 2GHz Dual Processor models. Honestly think you have got the best out of it after seven years. The 1.6GHZ are now almost eight years old!


http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac_g5/stats/powermac_g5_1.6.html

Thanks for the input everyone. New Macook Pro it is.

Very sound decision Just Brett ~ you will be amazed at the speed of your new MBP!