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RIP to my Powermac G5/ FCS on an iMac?
After having some ongoing problems with my workhorse the Powermac G5, I took it in to the Apple store today to get looked at because it wasn’t even booting up. The issue had something to do with the memory and even after they found the problem my machine was still failing so they pretty much said my Logic board was shot and would be about $800 or more to replace and since my machine is so old it would be hard to find the right parts I would need. I needed to upgrade that machine anyway. So with that said, I was wondering can FCStudio run on one of those new iMacs or should I just focus on upgrading to a Mac Pro instead? I am thinking the latter but I figured I ask about the iMacs. I just didn’t know if it could handle the demand that FCStudio needs.
Thanks
Cre8tive Minds Entertainment, LLC
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8 Replies
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A new iMac will run circles around your G5 and happily run Final Cut Studio.
However, an iMac has no PCI slots, so if you need to add a card, you are stuck. Not sure if you need one in your workflow.
A Mac Pro is great, but if budget is a concern, an iMac is certainly a viable machine in many environments.
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But the new iMac is equipped with Thunderbolt…and that is the connection of the future. Capture card makers will support it, drive makers will support it. It’ll be a better option than OLDER iMacs.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
That wouldn’t happen to be a liquid cooled G5 would it? My dual G5 2.7 died in 2010 and the Apple said the same thing; new cpu/motherboard etc.
I let it sit for 5 months and one day came across a website that said Apple will replace G5’s that develop a coolant leak. So I cracked the G5 open and sure enough, dried coolant was found crusted between the cpu and motherboard.
Apple put a new dual 2.7 cpu in the 5 year old machine at no cost. I never even purchased the extended warranty on it in the beginning. Amazing.
Apple didn’t lose out though, I bought a quad Intel G5 the day I was told the old G5 was toast.
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Oh wow thats good to know! Well I took my machine to them and then they took it in the back and looked it over and tried to get it to work so I would think that if they saw that coolant they would have said something but I will look for it myself and see! LOL! Thanks for the heads up on that one!
Cre8tive Minds Entertainment, LLC
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Oh wow good to hear. Yea I just thought about the fact that I wouldn’t have an option for an expansion card. Actually the only one I have in my current G5 is I upgraded the graphics card some time ago. I will have to think about what I want to do. Thanks for the feedback!
Cre8tive Minds Entertainment, LLC
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It sounds like the memory controller has failed. This is what happened to my G5 last year, and it’s a common fault on 4-5 year old G5s I’ve heard. Anyway, I still had my AJA Kona LH plus a few other cards which are PCI-X so didn’t really want to ditch the G5 entirely. Anyway, picked up an identical G5 on Ebay for an absolute bargain, in perfect condition. Swapped all the cards over and re-installed everything and it’s all working well. Of course FCP6 is the latest version you can use on a G5, but as a second system in my case, which I use for downconverting / digitising / dogsbody work it’s terrific.
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Initially, the tech at the Apple store didn’t even check for a coolant leak; they just said the cpu and/or motherboard was bad.
I had to take the cpu cover off (I found instructions online) and look between the cpu and motherboard. That’s where I saw a build-up of green crust. It’s not very obvious if the coolant leak is small like mine was.
Here is the initial website I found that me started down the path to a new cpu:
https://rknochenmuss.ch/G5leak/G5.html -
A few more helpful sites:
https://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/G5_coolant_leaks.html
https://nysoyan.free.fr/Eaglefour/PowermacG5.html
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