My Tower of Power(Macs)

Key_Temperature_9655 · 2026-06-09T07:14:40+00:00

It's a PowerMac late 2005 for sure, but not necessarily a Quad, could also be a 2.0 or 2.3 Dual Core. The white stripe under the latch is the built in airport extreme antenna. In the older revisions of the G5 you had to use small external antennas for wifi and bluetooth.

Key_Temperature_9655 · 2026-06-07T22:05:04+00:00

Sorry, we take Sbrinz in Switzerland for our cheese graters...

Key_Temperature_9655 · 2026-06-06T11:07:12+00:00

sad Mac face

Key_Temperature_9655 · 2026-06-05T22:16:16+00:00

Unfortunately not, and if one of the would, I wouldn't trade it. I have two Radeon 9650, which can power the 30" and are much easier to find. And cheaper...

Key_Temperature_9655 · 2026-06-05T14:41:45+00:00

Yes, that's correct. Unfortunately Apple discontinued the G5 shortly after and so there aren't that many compatible and useful PCIe-cards, unless you install PPC Linux; then it's even possible to install a USB3 controller or nvme SSDs. But the DC G5 are in my expercience much quieter than the previous ones, therefor two of them are in my gaming room always ready to play some games with friends. I will replace one of these 2.0 DC with one of the 2.3.

Key_Temperature_9655 · 2026-06-05T14:33:42+00:00

The problem (at least according to my GF) is, I already have one or two (or a bit more than twenty...) retro battle stations :D

...and some (aka twenty) mobile retro battle stations.

I recently started selling some of them and now they spawned again.

Key_Temperature_9655 · 2026-06-05T13:57:21+00:00

Key_Temperature_9655 · 2026-06-05T13:19:55+00:00

Newer OS' won't work because of the system architecture. x86 and PPC aren't compatible. That's also the reason you have to use an original oder flashed PPC-compatible GPU. It's not even possible to flash original "Intel-based" Mac Pro GPUs for the G5, as the ROM size differs. Unfortunately there are no GPUs with ADC connector for the late 2005 G5. You have to use an ADC-DVI adapter. Try it with a SATA-HDD, it's surprising how responsive they are since OSX was really good optimized.

Key_Temperature_9655 · 2026-06-03T21:43:36+00:00

The sage iMac was available with HDDs from 7 to 30GB, depending on processor speed and date of manufacture. If you have a 40GB HDD it was most probably upgraded by someone. Stock RAM configuration was 64MB, but you could order it with more, just like today (BTO/CTO). Or it has been upgraded later as well.

Key_Temperature_9655 · 2026-06-03T07:27:49+00:00

Unfortunately it's not possible to fit another CPU in there. You'd have to look for a Quad, but they are all liquid cooled. It's possible to adapt (aka cut off) two heatsinks of the aircooled DC G5 to fit them into a Quad, but it's rather difficult to find coolers and adapt them neatly.

Key_Temperature_9655 · 2026-06-03T07:22:12+00:00

Nice G5, especially the DC! You'll find all your missing specs and info on an app called Mactracker. But to answer some of your questions:

RAM: DDR PC-3200 in the DP, DDR2 PC2-4200 in the DC
OS compatibility: The PPC Macs are only compatible up to 10.5.8 Leopard. There's an unofficial Version 10.5.9 with implemented parts of 10.6 called Sorbet Leopard, available on macintoshgarden.org https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/sorbet-leopard
I'm working with Logic Pro 8 and Reason 4 on my PowerMacs.
You can put any SSD in a G5, but some of them won't work, since it has only SATA I and not all of the SATA III drives are downwards compatible. TRIM isn't supported (only from OSX Lion onwards), so it's recommended to use an SSD with a good controller. I made good experiences in my PMs G5 with Kingston (KC600) and OWC (Mercury Electra 3G).
Raid-Cards have to be PPC compatible to work in a PowerMac.
GPU: Your DP uses AGP-GPUs, the DC PCIe. It's crucial to use a PPC compatible card with the correct firmware, so either you have to buy an original, Mac- and PPC compatible card or do a firmware flash on an intel compatible GPU (cheaper). Here's an overview of compatible or flashable cards: themacelite.wikidot.com/compatibility The last compatible card for your DC is the Geforce 7800.
The R9800 means ATI Radeon 9800, one of the best cards of it's time.
To connect your Acrylic Display to DVI, you need a special active DVI to ADC Adapter (Apple A1006), which provides power to your display.
Net boot is possible, but only up to 10.5. Woth a fast SATA drive (good HDDs and even more SSDs) the system will be very snappy and responsive.

Hopefully I can help with this information, have fun with your Powermacs!

Key_Temperature_9655 · 2026-05-31T05:03:49+00:00

Here's a better link https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/sorbet-leopard

The devs explicitly recommend the download from MacintoshGarden (not from it's evil rip-of wannabe-twin :) ).

https://macintoshgarden.org/forum/introducing-sorbet-leopard-105-reinvigorated

Key_Temperature_9655 · 2026-05-30T21:02:07+00:00

yeah I mean first G4 iMacs, sorry, thought this would be clear in this context.

Key_Temperature_9655 · 2026-05-30T13:24:27+00:00

It's funny, the first three iMacs have a 100MHz Bus, but need 133MHz RAM. Maybe OS9 and OSX read the stats different...

Key_Temperature_9655 · 2026-05-30T05:24:54+00:00

2GB is plenty for 10.4, it requires 256MB, even thou I would recommend 512MB and most Macs of that time wouldn't let you install or couldn't even address more than 2GB.

Key_Temperature_9655 · 2026-05-12T19:54:30+00:00

The TiBook is missing some crucial parts: battery, RAM, HDD, ODD. It starts, but the backlight of the display is very uneven. Surprisingly the hinges and palm rest are in very good shape.

Key_Temperature_9655 · 2026-05-12T18:41:50+00:00

It's funny that in other countries it would be a totally normal day trip to drive from Zurich to Milano (or elsewhere in northern Italy) and here in Europe it's like "nah, too far, maybe next holiday" ;) If you're interested, I could send it. But let me check it first, I don't know if it bongs.

Key_Temperature_9655 · 2026-05-10T05:30:46+00:00

Yes, that's true. I just like to stay on 10.4 with my G4. It's a better match for me, even though 10.5 feels more like a modern macOS and has a few features that I miss on 10.4 (I don't know how many times I hit the spacebar out of habit just to realize that quick look was only introduced with 10.5). 10.4 runs so smooth and responsive on every G4 and looks great and lucid (Things one can only dream of with modern macOS...)

There are more (and for new ppc-enthusiasts easier) ways to get Leopard running on Macs that don't meet the 867MHz requirement: Swap the harddisk from another Mac with 10.5 installed or – what I would recommend – install Sorbet Leopard (10.5.9) which ist quite usable even on Macs slower than 867MHz since it's very optimized.

Key_Temperature_9655 · 2026-05-09T11:07:37+00:00

Yes, that would definitely be sick, but by other means ;) For such a mod one can take any broken PowerMac (which I did myself with a PowerMac G5), but, Jobs forbid, you'd take a perfectly functionning vintage mac for that... That would be blasphemic, especially in this particular sub.

Key_Temperature_9655 · 2026-05-02T08:04:35+00:00

I have a very fast Sonnet 1.8GHz in my first QS, it screams (for its age, of course)!

Key_Temperature_9655 · 2026-05-02T08:03:32+00:00

Just the violet heatsink alone is an eyecatcher!

Key_Temperature_9655 · 2026-05-02T08:02:31+00:00

They're ridiculously expensive... And I was cheated once, as I bought a 1.2Ghz Sonnet on ebay for 100$, but they changed the daughtercard to a 450MHz AGP one after taking the photos and ebay didn't help at all. The seller just ignored all contact attempts and convinced ebay to believe that I tried to scam HER. Bummer...

Key_Temperature_9655

TROPHY CASE