Good G5 setup for 3D applications - ZBRUSH

Hi guys!

I'm planning to purchase a used MAC G5, and I'm completely new to the MAC Desktops, been a PC guy all my life, but slowly making the switch. I am looking for a used G5 that can handle 3D design and rendering, particularly using Zbrush 4. I have no idea which G5 specs will be good / which hardware features are most important for Zbrush. I realize that I must get something with the minimum hardware requirement below, but I don't want just minimum performance. I want the G5 to work smoothly even if I am working on full body high poly models of human characters.

OS: Mac OSX 10.5 or newer
CPU: Intel Macintosh
RAM: 1024MB (2048MB recommended for working with multi-million-polys)
Monitor: 1024x768 monitor resolution set to Millions of Colors
(recommended: 1280 x 1024 or higher)

Planning to also upgrade to a 2gb graphics card, so I need a G5 that would allow me to do so.

Thank in advance.

G'day and welcome to the forums.

As a suggestion put your money towards an Intel computer such as a Mac Pro. G5's are older PowerPC machines that will not run the latest operating systems and some applications. The last model G5, the Dual Core were released in late 2005 which is getting on now. Leopard OS X.5 is the final operating system they will be able to use. Actually I think you mean a Mac Pro when you mentioned Intel CPU and a 2GB graphics card.

A later model Mac Pro, say a 2009/2010 model 4.1 or 5.1 is a dual processor Quad Core, total 8 cores and will handle up to 32GB memory, although 8GB will handle what you want, are 64bit architecture and will run OS X.7 Lion and future operating systems.

Thanks for the fast response. Like a said, I'm new to the MAC and I appreciate you pointing me to the right direction. Thank goodness I did not rush into getting a G5 on ebay a short while ago. So a MAC PRO would be my target unit.
Any recommendation for a good 2GB graphics card for the spec you provided. Thanks again.

The ATI Radeon 6870 is available is a 2GB version for 2008/2010 Mac Pros. Do not know if it would function in the earlier models. The 5870 does and it is a 1GB card.


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