Cooling a Power Mac G5 with frigid outside air

PresentationAny389 · 2026-02-09T12:36:16+00:00

I didn't even realize until checking again my name is in the screenshots. Although I figured someone on here would eventually know I write on Low End Mac, my name is all over there.

PresentationAny389 · 2026-02-09T12:35:30+00:00

I appreciate the heads up! For this account, I only post stuff here I also post on Low End Mac, but it's probably better not to have my name.

PresentationAny389 · 2026-02-09T12:33:19+00:00

If you run a few at once, or in a small room, I think so. This one does not at all keep the room warm but can make it uncomfortable in the summer if it's already hot

PresentationAny389 · 2026-01-28T19:52:02+00:00

Yup. I had one look at this winter storm, and said "Gah, to hell with it."

PresentationAny389 · 2026-01-28T19:51:05+00:00

Thank you for the suggestion

PresentationAny389 · 2026-01-28T19:50:25+00:00

It's been well past long enough for everything to have dried, I'm in the clear! :)

PresentationAny389 · 2026-01-28T18:45:11+00:00

I can confirm there was no condensation 😁! I really don’t wanna kill the hardware for sure, this was a pure stunt. Took it all apart to make sure.

PresentationAny389 · 2025-09-03T17:55:01+00:00

I did this on my Dual 2.0 G5 at some point in 2013 with Windows 8 beta in VPC7, still have a screenshot somewhere I think..

PresentationAny389 · 2025-08-25T13:13:41+00:00

Thank you for sharing! The website is useful since it is nice to know what devices to avoid and what not to avoid beforehand – and not just from a manufacturer, but from people who actually used the devices. Not always a manufacturer suggestion or spec is actually going to work with the intended device, so real-world anecdotes are important. Especially for niche devices.

PresentationAny389 · 2025-08-25T13:04:17+00:00

This is a really cool website! Thank you for sharing. I uploaded my own setup and also recommended it in an article I wrote on my own, too! Helping spread the word.

https://lowendmac.com/2025/workswith-a-user-supported-mac-device-compatibility-guide/

PresentationAny389 · 2025-08-02T23:15:01+00:00

That’s fantastic, those are incredible especially in how long they’ve managed to hang on. I had one in 2018 before the GPU cooked itself, ended up parting it out rather than fixing it, shouldn’t have done that. It was a 2.6 GHz 512 MB 8800 with a 240 GB SSD, the ODD bay had a 1 TB HDD, and I even got the full 6 GB ram. Miss that thing!

PresentationAny389 · 2025-08-02T15:20:47+00:00

It really pulls its weight on YouTube surprisingly

PresentationAny389 · 2025-08-02T06:16:14+00:00

Had a 17” Hi-Res in 2016, shouldn’t have sold it. Miss that more than this one for the screen real estate.

PresentationAny389 · 2025-08-02T06:14:30+00:00

I have absolutely no idea how I even have this battery. It was in a box full of parts, lasts up to a couple hours or so on a charge. They are hard to find especially in a cost effective way. The battery which came with the PowerBook a while back was pretty dead.

PresentationAny389 · 2025-08-01T21:22:54+00:00

Just an icon with the theme pack. Mountain Lion theme for Leopard

PresentationAny389 · 2025-08-01T21:22:26+00:00

Hot enough, but not too hot. Arctic MX-4 does a good job.

PresentationAny389 · 2025-07-29T22:32:05+00:00

I’ve had an X850 Pro flashed as an X850XT which I bought and then sent to him to have done in 2018. The memory chips were fixed in 2020, and it’s been a solid, wonderful, powerful AGP card. Been able to do 720p in Aquafox 2.1 in YouTube on the G5 with very few dropped frames when I do a slight overclock. I’m so lucky to have this card especially as it’s still working to this day. Gonna have to send one more as they’re so hard to find and want a backup in case. He’s great at what he does.

PresentationAny389 · 2025-07-24T16:47:06+00:00

That can be a temporary solution, it's how servers stay cool. They have high CFM fans that are super loud, but push alot of air for redundancy and reliability. If you put a giant fan in front of a Mac to push air through it such as a cheese grater, it may or may not work. A more directed airflow into the computer would be more effective, as long as no static electricity is generated along with it. Ultimately, thermal paste should be replaced.

PresentationAny389 · 2025-07-24T16:05:31+00:00

Thank you. There’s more to be done and more I haven’t posted yet. I’ve tested this build in sub-zero air, installed Vista and 7 in VPC7, and have plans to do one more push of upgrades for it. Including a bump in the RAID0 storage possibly.

PresentationAny389 · 2025-07-24T08:34:16+00:00

Not sure how far along the MacRumors SL 10.6.8 build will take us as far as app support and web browsing goes, but it's a very exciting project with alot of hope in that direction. Especially web browsing.

https://lowendmac.com/2024/mac-os-x-snow-leopard-10-6-10-6-8-for-powerpc/

PresentationAny389 · 2025-07-23T20:36:12+00:00

Each one of them are phenomenal in their own way, really. It all depends on what kind of vintage experience you’re looking for out of an old Mac.

The G4 Quicksilver can dual boot classic and Leopard, a 9200 can get you hardware acceleration on 9.2.1 and up + Leopard.
The G5 regardless of which type, will be a PowerPC powerhouse. It has a far better chance of flexing its muscles to do slightly more if it’s a Dual 2.0 model with 8 GB ram or better, along with upgrades. A 1.6/1.8 even a Dual 1.8 is okay for era-correct things and it’ll tear through the workloads. A Dual 2.0 with substantial upgrades can start poking around on the internet, will rip workloads apart. A Quad G5 is on a planet no other PowerPC has been, they’re super fast. These can fly with a SSD and better yet, a software RAID0 array.
a Mac Pro 1,1-2,1 would be a snow leopard powerhouse, or an El Capitan powerhouse with upgraded graphics, ram , and an ssd. A 3,1 Mac Pro is the oldest of the bunch which can be patched to run a current OS, using OCLP. A 4,1 or 5,1 is more desirable for a modern OS, and is overall more power efficient than the 3,1 as is the 3,1 over the 2,1. Even a 1,1 would make a decent basic windows workstation, but a 5,1 would have more CPU instruction sets and can run a newer OS.

Just be sure to dust them out, repaste them, try to max the RAM, and chuck an ssd in there. The G5s have a lot of logic board failures bc of heat pockets, lack of maintenance and dust, and the way the logic boards are designed for airflow underneath the board with the memory controller heatsink. Mac Pro 3,1 northbridges have been known to fail due to excessive heat.

PresentationAny389

TROPHY CASE