can I connect Mac Mini to Power PC G5?

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I have a non-intel based Power Mac G5, which is the last model before intel based units were available. Currently, I have Tiger installed on it. I can only upgrade up to leopard with this machine, as snow leopard and Lion require intel based Macs. I cannot upgrade Itunes from version 9.1, which means that I cannot upgrade to the current OS system for my current Iphone (3GS) and won't be able to upgrade any future Apple products, like ipads or Iphone 4S or 5, which I would like to buy in the future. If I buy a Mac Mini, is there a way to connect it to the Power PC G5 so that I can use Lion from the Mini but keep all of my current files in the Power PC? I shelled out $3800 for the Power PC, just so that it would become practically obsolete in a couple of years. I do not want to ever do that again! Will I be able to use the disk drive from the Power Mac when using Lion? I don't want to also have to buy an external disk drive for the mini. Will Zenon processors make intels obsolete soon? I know that this might be a simple question but I don't own a copy of "Macs for dummies".
 
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chas_m

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You are way way WAY overthinking this. The transition from PPC to Intel is not a big deal at all, all you have to do is keep your software up-to-date (and the vast majority of that has a cost of exactly $0).

Let's also remember that the Power Mac G5 you bought was purchased over five years ago, okay? That's about the normal life cycle of computers (actually on the high side, about four years is closer to average for Macs).

The situation is really much simpler than you appear to think:

a. Buy a Mac Mini (or whatever newer machine you're interested in)
b. Use Migration Assistant to transfer over your data and whatever programs will work with Intel machines (the vast majority of your programs unless you've never upgraded them at any point in the last five years)
c. Keep the PPC around for those few functions that you can't upgrade to the Intel version right now.

That's it. The transition is going to be a lot smoother than you seem to think. Also, there's no such thing as "Zenon" processors -- you're probably thinking of Xeon processors which are Intel processors. The answer to your question about Intels is simply "no, there are no plans to change from Intel processors in Apple's foreseeable future."
 
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G'day and welcome to the forums.

Couple of years?

The 'newest' G5, the late 2005 Dual Core range, is six years old. Lion will not work with PowerPC programs that are not written for Intel machines. No the hard drive in the G5 is SATA and a new Mini will probably be SATA III, so that may well present new problems. If you mean mount the G5 drive in an external case, then yes you could use it that way.

Computers will continue to develop and upgrade so keep that in mind. The advantage of a mini is the cheap purchase price and you already have a display. We have all faced the same problems and will continue to do so.

Alas chas beat me by a minute or two!
 

dtravis7


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You can network between the two macs. All my Macs from my old G3's to my Intel Macs with Lion are networked together and I can grab files from any of them on my main iMac. I do it every day.

That is only going to work with files and not applications. The Power PC Apps are not going to run on Lion. Some will run on Snow Leopard though. If you are just using the Power PC for file storage, fine. Otherwise, get a new Mini and migrate everything over to it. It's light years better than the Power PC.

Xenon processors are Intel. I see Chas beat me to this which is great! He gave you some very good advice.
 
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Thanks for all the input and help! I bought my G5 in 2006, only to find out later that intel models were being released in a couple of months later. That is what I mean by my computer being practically obsolete in a few years. It was actually 3 years, when snow leopard came out. My roommate bought this model directly from the apple store and was told by the salesperson that it was the top of the line model at that time. He should've been told to wait for the intel based units but I guess that Apple needed to get rid of it's current stock first. This was our first Mac and we didn't know how to ask the right questions. Live and learn, I guess. Anyway, will I be able to use the disk drive on the Power PC with the Mac Mini? I understand the software being able to be transfered but what about the disk drive, since there aren't any on the Mac Mini?
 

dtravis7


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You can purchase an External DVD R/W and plug it into the Mini.
 
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Thanks DTravis7, HarryB2448, and Chas M! Believe it or not I contacted Apple Help regarding this and nobody knew the answer, and the person that I was talking with transfered me to another person, who then "lost" our connection.
 
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More Mac Mini to G5 questions

Ok, so I have a PowerPC G5 that I would like to upgrade. I thought about getting the Mini and using the G5 as a display, but cannot determine whether this is feasible. The online Apple support guy said it wouldn't work, but, I thought I would ask those who aren't trying to sell me a whole new system.

I am assuming I would need some kind of display converter? If so, which one?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
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Do not follow using the PowerMac G5 as a display? The display you are using with the 2006 G5 will be DVI which will plug into the Mini, maybe with the help of a DVI/VGA adapter.
 

dtravis7


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Is your G5 a Power Mac Tower or an iMac all in one?
 
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My query also Dennis but it is listed as a PowerMac G5 and not an iMac G5. The last iMac G5 was released way back in October 2005.
 

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