[The OSX Guy]

Hi Folks,

I do not post here often, but always peruse the boards a lot. In my former life back in New York, I use to be a Network Administrator for an advertising agency. Doing stuff from web design, video editing, fixing machines and all other assorted duties. I purchased my G5 (Dual 2.0 Ghz, 2.5GB of Ram, ATI X800 Video Card and other assorted goodies) It has Final Cut Studio, Adobe CS2 Suite, MS Office 2004, iLife 2006, and other production programs.

Now I find myself out in the San Francisco Bay Area working as a school teacher. I only work 10 months a year for my district. I find myself doing some video editing, some light web page design and other things, but I am not doing the heacy stuff al that often. My mac b4 this one was a G4 500 that I had maxed out.

What I would like to know is how much longer can my mac last? I would like to upgrade to the latest OSX (10.5) when it comes out, Adobe CS3, and maybe Final Cut Studio 2 when it is released. I iam still amazed at how fast my machine is. Is it worth to sell it and upgrade to the latest Mac Pro or get another 2 years out of it?

Opinions Please

Many Thanks, Anthony

[Big Mac]

Realize that my opinion is strongly biased; with that said, you have one of the greatest Macs that will ever be made and an investment in Mac software. An MP will obviously have greater longevity. Thus, if you really desire to make the Mactel switch, it may make sense to do so now, depending on what you can realistically get for your G5. However, if you're happy with what you have now and don't envision wanting a bunch of new third party software to run on it 5 years from now, keep your G5.

[mac128k-1984]

I sold my g5 for a Mac Pro for the same reasons your asking yourself. I had an added requirement - I needed to be running windows

While I disagree with BigMac as the G5 being the greatest Mac, its no slouch and from what you're looking to do it will be up to the task for many years.

The MacPro is faster has the ability to run windows, is more expandable,i.e., 4 drive bays but the downside is $$$$

[peeb]

There is no compelling reason to upgrade while your machine is doing what you need. It will comfortably run 10.5, and the new CS and FC, all of which will be UB, so when you finally get an Intel machine, they will work. If you are still amazed at how fast your machine is, I would advise not getting rid of it. It will last many more years, and, when it starts to age, you will still be able to sell it for a reasonable amount, and by that time you will get a faster, cheaper and all round better replacement.

[gudrummer]

I still use a PowerBook G4 to edit after all these years and it still does what i need.Takes forever to render depending on what you're doing,but works.I will only buy a new laptop when i really need it.If your machine still does what you need,i see no reason to buy a new one.

[Sub]

I plan to keep mine truckin' for as long as possible, same with my PowerBook. I personally don't see a good enough reason to get a mactel, I don't use windows, and probably never will again. I consider my G5 to be a pretty big deal, the last revision with PowerPC processors in it. I would consider it the last generation of Macintosh before all the noobs from windows really started switching in large numbers.

[cgc]

I just upgraded (in August) from my original Sawtooth G4 (the first G4 that came with AGP slot). I think I bought it in 2000. Worked great, did I what I needed to do, and never broke. My wife still uses it but I needed an upgrade to satisfy my need for speed when dealing with large college projects and a dozen apps/windows open.

[Kenneth]

I think you'll be fine. Actually, I have the exact same hardware spec as you do. I acquired it couple weeks ago from my friend. Being working at an art school, we teach video, audio, graphic design, etc. In the classrooms, most of them are PowerMac G5s (from SP 1.8 to DP 2.5), one Mac Pro lab and one G4 lab.

[Todd Madson]

The only possibly negative to keeping the G5 is that it is likely out of warranty now.

If you run into a need for hardware repairs they will be very expensive.

I don't know if you can't get Applecare for the machine but it's worth it. When my
G5 had a major meltdown if I had not had Applecare it would have been over $3000
for parts + repairs (motherboard, both processors, liquid cooling unit, fascia for the
liquid cooling unit).

Just a thought. I like the speed of mine too but I worry about its long term viability.

[SirCastor]

I've been running with my G4 for going on 7 years now. It's upgraded quite a bit, but I'm thoroughly impressed that I'm seeing it still alive and well today. If you need an upgrade (IE: you can't do what you need to do without it.) upgrade. Otherwise wait it out, by the time you need to upgrade, you'll be going that much further.

[voo]

Originally Posted by Todd Madson 

The only possibly negative to keeping the G5 is that it is likely out of warranty now.

If you run into a need for hardware repairs they will be very expensive.

I don't know if you can't get Applecare for the machine but it's worth it. When my
G5 had a major meltdown if I had not had Applecare it would have been over $3000
for parts + repairs (motherboard, both processors, liquid cooling unit, fascia for the
liquid cooling unit).

Just a thought. I like the speed of mine too but I worry about its long term viability.

Were you the one that had moss growing inside your tower?

Even if one is covered by Applecare does apple still stock spare parts for G5's? many I've heard that ran into problems with G5's they got theirs replaced with equivalent speed Mac Pro to what their G5's was.

[ninahagen]

Hi Anthony,

Good question. From the sound of what you are doing, I would keep the G5 and add at least 2GB RAM, ideally 6GB if you multi-task a lot... total 4.5 or 8.5 GB. Right now, you have a pretty significant RAM bottleneck which will be exacerbated by CS3. Check out the speed test thread in this forum:

http://forums.macnn.com/65/power-mac...configuration/

After reading it, you might try running the speed test yourself (please post your results). You will see and confirm this bottleneck for yourself. If you do decide to upgrade, please post those test results as well. You will be glad you did.

[The OSX Guy]

Dear all,

Thanks for the great responses so far. I have really enjoyed reading them. I would like to run windows at some point, but I have no need to. I have virtual pc to do that. Yes it is slow, but I am running Windows 2000 on it, so it is pretty decent. I think I am going to just upgrade the ram to bring it up to 4GB's for the time being. It still does what I need it to do.

Thanks again, Anthony

[Don Pickett]

I'm late to this thread, but:

Your machine should be good for a while. The only real pressing issue is that it's PPC and not Intel, but as Apple is committed to supporting PPC for something like the next five years, you're not looking at obselence any time soon.

[Big Mac]

Originally Posted by voo 

Even if one is covered by Applecare does apple still stock spare parts for G5's? many I've heard that ran into problems with G5's they got theirs replaced with equivalent speed Mac Pro to what their G5's was.

Who had that experience? Sounds very unlike Apple. When there's an AppleCare replacement, it's almost always an equivalent part. Only when people repeatedly have their machines serviced for the same problem(s) will Apple consider upgrading them to something new. Besides, Apple didn't discontinue the G5 line until August 2006, which means AppleCare on G5s will extend through 2009. My DP 2.0 is still under AppleCare.

[EndlessMac]

Your computer will last as long as you are satisfied with the performance. You can use your computer until the day it dies if all the programs you use runs fast enough for you. The problem is that many new programs try to use the power of new computers so you'll have to upgrade eventually. Many programs will also tell you the minimum requirements to run it so when your computer specs are starting to get close to the minimum for me it usually means it's time for an upgrade.

Although I usually upgrade before then because the photo editing I do requires a lot from my computer. If all I used my computer for was to surf the internet and check my emails then I would never upgrade my computer, but is sounds like it you use your computer more intensely like many of us. It just comes down to how quickly you want your programs to run. If you are satisfied then you probably won't have to upgrade for awhile but if not then it's time to upgrade.

[Kenneth]

Originally Posted by Big Mac 

Who had that experience? Sounds very unlike Apple. When there's an AppleCare replacement, it's almost always an equivalent part. Only when people repeatedly have their machines serviced for the same problem(s) will Apple consider upgrading them to something new. Besides, Apple didn't discontinue the G5 line until August 2006, which means AppleCare on G5s will extend through 2009. My DP 2.0 is still under AppleCare.

Right, chances are the parts may be in 'backorder' status. Meanwhile, the vintage and obsolete products page should give you an idea on that.

[Todd Madson]

As an update: no, my G5 did not have moss growing inside it! How strange.

Mine was the situation where the liquid cooling unit leaked and the liquid pooled
inside the case which caused the CPUs to overheat and fail, then the power supply
also failed somehow but apparently their guide is "if liquid cooling unit leaks =
replace just about everything except the hard drive and dvd writer".

So, power supply, motherboard, both cpus and cooling unit + cooling unit fascia
was replaced.

I'm hoping my machine continues to work as when it does work it's quite fast.

I also want to hear about someone who ran into repeated issues with a G5 and
were upgraded to a MacPro. Interesting.

[peeb]

The whole liquid cooling thing seems like it's asking for trouble.

[Todd Madson]

If it's done correctly it works quite well. The problem is, that part was apparently made by
the AC-Delco subsidiary that puts air conditioning and heating units in cars south of the
border. Not to besmirch their work quality but I've seen this issue on more than just my
computer.

[peeb]

I can see that it could work, it just doesn't fail gracefully. If a fan dies, the worst that happens is your computer overheats. A failure in the liquid cooled system, well, it's a mess... It's like the reason you should put water heaters in the basement, not the attic... It's fine to put them in the attic, if it's done correctly, but, get a leak, and, well, you know the rest.

[Big Mac]

Originally Posted by Kenneth 

Right, chances are the parts may be in 'backorder' status. Meanwhile, the vintage and obsolete products page should give you an idea on that.

Interesting, I didn't know of those official designations until now. Thank you, Kenneth.

[voo]

Originally Posted by Big Mac 

Who had that experience? Sounds very unlike Apple. When there's an AppleCare replacement, it's almost always an equivalent part. Only when people repeatedly have their machines serviced for the same problem(s) will Apple consider upgrading them to something new. Besides, Apple didn't discontinue the G5 line until August 2006, which means AppleCare on G5s will extend through 2009. My DP 2.0 is still under AppleCare.

Somebody on Macrumors. He had Apple do many repairs on it, I think it was a Dual 2.5. I can't remember exactly, but it got to the stage it leaked twice or something and Apple decided to replace the whole thing.

There some pics from one that had the moss, but its not the guy that got his replaced with a Mac Pro. I thought it was.

http://homepage.mac.com/djdawson/G5-1.jpg
http://homepage.mac.com/djdawson/G5-2.jpg

Originally Posted by Todd Madson 

I also want to hear about someone who ran into repeated issues with a G5 and
were upgraded to a MacPro. Interesting.

I think this is it, who got his Dual 2.7 G5 replaced with a Mac Pro.
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=293848

[dbwie]

Macs are built to last. Bought my Titanium Powerbook G4 in 2002. I have upgraded to Jaguar, Panther, Tiger, and plan on going to Leopard (hopefully). I recently considered upgrading to a MacBook, but realized that everything I needed ran just fine on this machine. Some upgrades here and there can keep on old Mac running with the new stuff. For this laptop, over the years I have bought a USB 2.0 PC card, upgraded to a 7200 rpm 80 Gig hard drive (the original drive was filling up), bought a replacement battery, an external USB bluetooth adaptor to use iSync with my cell phone, and an external iSight camera. I could have bought a replacement laptop rather than upgrading the above mentioned things, but couldn't justify putting out to pasture a computer that has been so reliable. My other computer is a gray/white G4 400 MHz tower, which I use in the office. Another department was going to send it for recycling, so I claimed it and juiced it up: Added a USB 2.0 PCI card which I found online for $8 shipped, a Mac edition Radeon 9200 128MB VRAM video card (borrowed from the IT guy who had it lying around because the gray/white G4s weren't being used), a second hard drive (taken from a blue and white G3), some RAM (taken from another computer they were tossing) and a flat panel display. It feels like a new machine. Find me a 5-10 year old PC that runs as well as these, and can run the latest and greatest operating system.

[Kenneth]

Originally Posted by Big Mac 

Interesting, I didn't know of those official designations until now. Thank you, Kenneth.

No problem..

voo... ouch.. those are nasty!

Since we're talking about the G5, Power Mac G5 Repair Extension Program for Power Supply Issue.

[alexc]

Originally Posted by The OSX Guy 

What I would like to know is how much longer can my mac last? I would like to upgrade to the latest OSX (10.5) when it comes out, Adobe CS3, and maybe Final Cut Studio 2 when it is released. I iam still amazed at how fast my machine is. Is it worth to sell it and upgrade to the latest Mac Pro or get another 2 years out of it?

I'm going against the grain here: I say sell it whilst it still has some value.

If you are going to be doing more video, then get rid of the G5 and get a MacPro.
If you've got the money and can afford it, then upgrade now whilst you can get a good price for the G5.
Keep the SW and get the Adobe upgrades.

[Dave Barnes]

I agree with AlexC.
If you have the money for a new Mac Pro, then sell your Power Mac while it still has some value.
I have a Power Mac 1.8 GHz SP which does everything I need. But, I plan to sell it in late summer for three reasons:
1. It will still have 10 months of AppleCare left. That will get me more money and it will sell more quickly.
2. It will have only cost me $54/mo during the 2+ years that I have used it for my business. (($2000 (purchase + add-ons) - $600 (expected resale)) / 26 months.)
3. I want an Intel-based Mac to run WebTrends under Windows XP under Parallels.

[EndlessMac]

Originally Posted by alexc 

I'm going against the grain here: I say sell it whilst it still has some value.

That is an interesting point. I guess if a person needs to finance their new computer by selling their old one then it would make sense to sell their old one before it losses any more of its value.

[peeb]

Originally Posted by EndlessMac 

That is an interesting point. I guess if a person needs to finance their new computer by selling their old one then it would make sense to sell their old one before it losses any more of its value.

You would have to weigh a few different factors here if you were going to come up with the ultimate equation for this... Let's see...
1. The G5 does not depreciate at a linear rate - let's suppose we can plot the curve of it's depreciation over time.
2. Some curve that shows the increasing value of new computers over time (that is, every month you wait, what you get for your money gets better)
3. An adjustment for bigger 'bumps' like not having to buy Leopard if you buy in the fall.
4. An adjustment for the difference in the value of money now vs in the future (there is a value in having the cash on hand now, rather than buying the computer)
5. An adjustment for any productivity increase that the new machine will give you.
What else - I must be missing some things - any idea how to put this into a format that will give us a date we should buy?!