Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

Log in
  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Any Use for G5?

Terry VerHaar

Terry VerHaar

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 5, 2009
Messages
7,013
Reaction score
2
Points
38
Location
Marin County, CA
OK - so I have this great looking brushed aluminum Mac Pro sitting in the corner of my office. Trouble is, it's a G5 circa 2005, so it's non-Intel. :-( Big question - is there ANYTHING I can do with it to make it useful? (Please, no boat anchor jokes. And an aquarium is out if the question. :smiley:
 
How about as a dedicated computer for signing in to online financial accounts? I understand that Apple has confirmed that as many as 20 per cent of current Apples may have been compromised by hackers of some ilk, and something as old as the G5 may not be targeted by the new onslaught.

Could be a safe option against having your accounts compromised?
 
I used mine as a media server - playing iTunes in my music room etc.

Graeme
 
We have a G4 PowerMac running 24/7 over here (400 Mhz, like one of the first ones) and it still does its job as a Proxy/Firewall/Router for about 9 Workstations (mixed environment, Mac & PC)... This machine is running 10+ years now and it's quite amazing actually; it only needs a reboot via vnc like 2 or 3 times a year and that's it!

With the right Codec-Choice (means ProRes/QT/Uncompressed - no newer codecs like MPEG-4 or MXF stuff) a G5 would still make a useable machine for SD projects or HD projects with not too many video layers or as a dedicated audio-workstation. You just need to get it to perform a fixed stable and dedicated task that doesn't change over time. You could outfit it with hard drives and use it as additional backup-machine (hard drives are cheap now and for a 2nd backup solution a Software-RAID should totally work as cheap solution). Many of the lower profile graphics work where you don't need the newest Photoshop version can still be done on a G5 (heck, I earned my first Photoshop experience on a 350 Mhz G3 - and it did work totally fine)...

Conclusio: for _dedicated_ and fixed tasks it should be still fine. I'd just take power consumption into consideration so I woudn't use it for high workload/time-consuming jobs now - but for dedicated tasks that can be done in in a reasonable time; why not...

Other then that; if no dedicated graphics power is needed -> get yourself a used Intel MacMini for a few bucks.
 
Great thread, good ideas! All is not lost! :) I too have an older dual G4 tower and I use it almost exclusively for audio recording, mixing and editing. When I feed it line inputs from my Rode 3 and Neumann TLM 103, it still does an excellent job of recording!
 
Wow - some very good thoughts here. Thanks so much. And I was hesitating to ask. LOL

Keep 'em coming if there are more ideas!!!
 
Just two days ago I replaced my 2GHz dual G5 with a quad core Mac Pro. I did so not for performance as much as software. If Apple were still using PPC I'd probably still be using the G5. But this upgrade is long, long overdue.

The first application I installed was Redcine-X. :-) Finally I can play with raw files! So now I'm trawling the web for r3d files to download. It is odd that there isn't a swathe of them. Are people too protective of their footage?

I would not use the G5 as a media server. It uses too much power. A Raspberry Pi can run from a little battery if necessary and is quite tiny. I think I'm just going to give the G5 to a Salvation Army store. Unlike the time I gave away my Quadra 700 (given to me by an employer), I'm not going to regret parting with the G5.
 
my family uses one cuz there internet needs to be plugged into an ethernet port, of which their macbook air and netbook dont have any...so the clunker sits off all the time simply as a hard wired box...its a g3 "upgraded to g4" according to my uncle. he used a power pc 7100 for over a decade before the drive went in it...technically it still works i threw in a new drive lol!

computers get dated and our expectations increase with the new versions. thats the problem, the thing still works fine for probably a lot of stuff. my friend makes tens of thousands a year on his G5. he uses it to run an ebay business. for his purposes its fine. he even scored a bunch of them (like 15) used from a production place and he ebayed all of them for a couple hundred a pop.

so you could always sell it...but you should insure it for shipping if you do...one of the ones he sent arrived with the handle busted off it...
 
Elsie N said:
How about as a dedicated computer for signing in to online financial accounts? I understand that Apple has confirmed that as many as 20 per cent of current Apples may have been compromised by hackers of some ilk, and something as old as the G5 may not be targeted by the new onslaught.

Could be a safe option against having your accounts compromised?
Click to expand...
That's what I use my OS/2 box for.
 
Been wondering what to do with my quad core 2.5ghz G5.... it's sitting under my desk, pretty much unused for the last few years but it's in beautiful shape.

If anyone wants it, let me know. Make me an offer I can't refuse ;)
 
Best thing to do would be to buy some old Protools systems for extremly low price and put its cards in there.
I still use my G5 as a Protools Effects rack. Rock steady. Lots of amazing plugins for almost free.

Of course, sometimes I am thinking of simplifying my studio.... and most of the Plugins went native.

But I#ve been to studios that still run a Lexicon reverb on a Nubus machine...

Jochen
 
apple-powermac-g5-dual-coffee-or-reception-table-16-p.jpg
 
Michael - I love that! When I get my new MacPro "funnel" and can use my G5 and my current MP to make a coffee table. LOL
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top