FS: Mac G5 Dual 2.0 Ghz with issues for parts or fix

[wez]

hey... i've got this G5 that might be of interest to someone. it was working perfectly until one day it started giving me the 3 flashing lights on startup, which 'officially' means bad ram but sometimes suggests a motherboard issue.

my gut feeling however is that it could be PMU-related. sometimes it starts up no problems and runs perfectly, even let's me shut down and restart. then the next day it won't start at all.

anyway, i've upgraded so if anyone wants to make an offer, please do. it's a complete machine, but if you just want parts we can work something out. i have about 5 GB of suitable ram available, which i'm happy to sell separately at the appropriate price.

[wez]

on ebay now

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... 500wt_1182

[wez]

well don't buy this one, it's either a parts machine or a fixer upperer. it's 2004 vintage.

$1000 will get you something pretty flash... the dual 2.0 will get you a long way but if you're into your plugs and instruments then you'll want something a bit faster (and with lots of ram).

i'm still using a 2 GHz machine (dual core as opposed to the old dual CPU)... i'm giving it a hammering on the stuff i'm working on now, but i'm also using a bit of outboard. it will happily run a 48 track session, with 2 or 3 McDSP reverbs, EQ and comps on every other channel, that sort of thing... but much more and it will start to struggle. get a dual 2.7 or a quad if you can afford it.

as for the general PC v. mac debate... definitely not going there! i have both, but i've been a mac user from day one. i prefer to use a mac when i can and a PC when i have to.

[jkhuri44]

PC v. mac debate... definitely not going there! i have both, but i've been a mac user from day one. i prefer to use a mac when i can and a PC when i have to.

you just did. :P

[wez]

couple things...

you'll only get 48 tracks running PTLE with a 002/003 (and that's with the music production toolkit).

how grunty a machine you need really depends on how you use it - native with lots of RTAS, or HD, or with a UAD etc etc. the UAD card will obviously help.

make sure you get a later PCIe machine if you want to keep using your UAD2 card.

newer machines are dual CORE, older ones dual CPU. of course there are dual CPU dual core machines as well, just to confuse things.

the G5 is still the G5... there was just a marketing change, they used to be called Power Macs, now they are Mac Pros.

the machine you linked to looks pretty good. might be more than you need but for the sake of a couple extra hundred, might as well get whatever you can afford.

yes macs cost more. seriously, i really don't want to go there... what i was saying was that I have a personal preference for macs, so that's what i use whenever i can. but i also run PC specific software, so i NEED a PC too. if sequoia ran on a mac, then i'd have another mac. having said that.... running both side by side has certain advantages.

[Linear]

I do run some big projects - up to 200 tracks on Cubase 5.

that's about 160 too many IMHO.

[rachelp]

I just bought the Mac G5 2.3 Dual Core (late 2005) system.
It was a bargain for $1000 and the best part is that it is PCIe, which means it is compatible with the current MacPro series peripheral wise.

I thought a lot about getting this over an Intel Imac, but I wanted the Firewire support, the Imac only has one port now and that is really
dumbing down an otherwise great computer. That and the fact I can have 2 disks inside without burning said FW port.

So having a large format desktop like the G5 2.3 is great because I've got all the best features of the G5. reliability wise and the compatibility
with a Mac Pro, when I finally decide to upgrade in another 8 years. I bought my last G4 500/DP back in 2001 second hand and it lasted until
November last year, so I reckon I will do OK here.

We are going to buy an Imac anyway on Monday, for my partner, whose little 4 yo Mac Mini is struggling and can't run FireFox 3 at all....

I also run a couple of old Sun boxes and retired a 10yo box last year - you can do a lot with "obsolete" computers.....


rachel

[13thbeach]

I do run some big projects - up to 200 tracks on Cubase 5.

that's about 160 too many IMHO.

Haha! love it!

[wez]

angus... never tried the windows on a mac thing (always figured that for $700 it was worth actually having a PC to do windows ;-)

so you'll need to wait for the bootcamp/parallels/VMware-crowd to chime in. but seriously, i run sequoia on an off-the-shelf hp/compaq that i bought new for 700 clams 7 years ago... and i've never upgraded!

i've had 14 macs in the meantime... make of that what you will ;-)

w

[smash]

So...

Before I begin let me disclose that I have a Mac Pro for sale - so will state that up front as to not be accused of hidden unfair bias.

Firstly - I would be hesitant to buy a G5 - I consult a few days a month for a company that sells / repairs Macs ;-) and we have started seeing a lot of the Powermac G5's fail.
Wes - you may belucky - your machine does sound like it could just be a PRAM or PMU issue.

Reset PRAM by holding command (the apple symbol),option, P & R when the machine boots and wait for it to restart 4 times.

Reset PMU by unplugging machine from Power, and holding in power button OR, press the PMU reset button on the logic board.

If a G5 does have a faulty logic board - it is dead - we have literally racks of G5's with busted boards.

Reliability aside, I honestly think the G5's time is done. Apple is moving towards full 64 bit O/S environment, and the latest version of Logic Pro is already 64 bit.

What this means is that with the 32 bit version of Logic, there was a 2GB RAM limit per program. The machine could have lots of RAM, but individual programs could only address 2 GB of RAM each. It was relatively simple to run out of RAM - particularly for people working in the film / tv / game scoring arenas.

Also, even the biggest third party plug ins had to be written to use a maximum of 2GB of RAM. This means plug-ins were written to meet this limit, not necessarily to sound their absolute best.

Please note - this is not just a Logic issue, it effects every single DAW - PT HD included.
This "64 bits" is in no way related to the 16, 24, or 32 bits that you computer renders audio in :-)

[wez]

so does this mean that there is a G6 just around the corner?

edit.... i was just sniffing around for yet another new machine, and i've only just realised that the Mac Pro is essentially the 'G6', if there was such a thing. now i get it.

on a side note.... i already need another, faster machine for the project i'm finishing, but i really don't want to buy right now. who (in melbourne preferably) has a 2.5 or faster that they would like to rent to me for a couple weeks?

these computers are killing me.

[no-fi]

i've had 14 macs in the meantime...

these computers are killing me.

wow... what on earth do you do with these computers that you need to upgrade so often? I can't comprehend the kind of audio project that would choke a modern 64bit multicore multiprocessor computer.
:-)

Have you considered doing anything to take the FX load off your main computer processor? either the hardware card or firewire boxes, or just networking multiple older computers together to use slower ones as dedicated networked FX processors?

[no-fi]

And Windows (on Mac) for Samplitude?
Is that what they call a Hackintosh?

nope - other way. hackintosh is a PC that's modified to boot OSX and run as a mac. But even if you do it with a legal copy of OSX, it's illegal, as it's against the terms of the OSX license agreement, where they specifically forbid running of their software on non apple hardware. (come to think of it, I'm not sure how that would stand up in court here, if the ACCC decided to bite them)

[wez]

i've had 14 macs in the meantime...

these computers are killing me.

wow... what on earth do you do with these computers that you need to upgrade so often? I can't comprehend the kind of audio project that would choke a modern 64bit multicore multiprocessor computer.
:-)

Have you considered doing anything to take the FX load off your main computer processor? either the hardware card or firewire boxes, or just networking multiple older computers together to use slower ones as dedicated networked FX processors?

i've actually had 14 macs in the last 10 years, but only 7 for music use, so i exaggerated there ;-)

so that's an upgrade every year on average... and only because i never seem to have enough cash to buy the machine i REALLY need, so i get one that will just do the job, then get frustrated!

when you consider that 7 years ago i was running PT 5.0 with an Audiomedia III, 18 tracks and NO plugins, to what i'm expected to deliver now... well it makes sense. meanwhile the demands on my 'mastering' machine (PC) have not changed at all in that time.

i'm currently running a bunch of outboard buss compression, but what i really need is a dedicated high-end reverb or two! or a faster machine. neither of which is on the cards right now unfortunately. i am quite interested in something like angus' UAD2 card, although i'm not sure if it makes any more sense than spending the money on a better machine.

[Barney Loveland]

I've always prescribed to buy the fastest possible mac at the time and use it till you can use it no longer and i'm on my third machine in just under ten years.

[rick]

i have had more computers then i have had either girlfriends cars or both put together
over the last 25 years ( longer ..?)
i prescribe to the notion that i hate em
and that if one computer stops for some reason it is essential
that my business doesnt stop ever again

and of coarse when you finally end up having redundent spares nothing ever seems to break anymore
as much as if i only had one
go figure ...

in front of me as i type in my mastering suite ( just this room ) there are six working computers 3 are macs
3 pc and one mac and one pc turned off waiting for a disaster

ie the master cdr drive blew up last week at 8 pm with the client on a intenational flight at 11 pm
- 10 mins later i was up and running again - so that computer spare paid for itself in 10 mins

[rachelp]

My real job unfortunately involves computers, but I at least get to work on the good stuff (Sun/Solaris).
What it has taught me is preventative maintenance is the best measure and to be aware what your systems actually
do and what their general performance "temperament" is like.

Rick is wise to a have DR (Disaster Recover) strategy ready. If you rely on computers for your business in any way
at all, you'll have a backup strategy of some sort and some sort of near line storage, I like the Drobo, for example.

But if you can't afford all that, you can cook up some decent IT on the older systems. My music is only a hobby
these days, so I don't need the latest and greatest. I saved enough by going for the PCIe G5 to cover all
my needs for the next 4 years. We just got my partner Rob his new Imac yesterday though, so he has the
boss machine now. This was a great buy for the purpose too, which is programming and sysadmin stuff netbeans etc.

We use the Time Machine software to backup both our Macs to the Sun server I have with a tiny storage array (200G) attached to it
for the important stuff. This is working OK at home, but if you have the money to spare as a business, I suggest some sort of backup
suite - something you could rebuild your whole network from if you had to!