Apple Archive

Moving Up from a 350 MHz Power Mac G3 to a Dual 1.8 GHz Power Mac G5

, 2005.08.10

Continuing on from my mother's iMac story (Moving Up from a 15" 500 MHz G3 iMac to a 17" 1.6 GHz G5 iMac), we get to my new computer.

I had been considering everything from a refurbished Power Mac G4 to a refurbished 1.6 GHz Power Mac G5. Since the single CPU 1.8's had been discontinued recently, I added that to my list - until I found that Apple had a refurbished dual 1.8 GHz model for $1,499.

That was about $200 more than I wanted to spend, but I figured the second processor might be useful for two reasons. Firstly, Photoshop tasks really speed up on a dual processor machine, and I find myself using Photoshop a fair bit (it's open as I write this, in fact). Secondly, there may be some feature in future versions of the Mac OS that requires dual processors (the fact that Apple just dropped the last single processor model from the G5 line is a pretty good clue), and I want to be ready for it.

I'd been debating that for a while, but when we stopped into CompUSA that day, I saw that they had the same machine for $100 less than Apple. It seemed like the perfect opportunity, so I decided to go for it. The machine features dual 1.8 GHz G5's, 256 MB RAM, an 80 GB SATA hard disk, and an 8x SuperDrive.

A few days later I decided to upgrade the RAM from the 256 MB that came with the machine. It was just about enough to run Tiger and one or two applications, but as soon as you started running anything larger than a Web browser or Microsoft Word, it'd slow down drastically. I ordered a 1 GB upgrade through Other World Computing, and their service was excellent - they sent the RAM right on time, and it worked perfectly. With 1.25 GB of RAM, Tiger snaps along at a very respectable pace.

This is my first time dealing with a Serial ATA hard drive, and I was a bit disappointed to find out that Apple doesn't seem to want you to use older ATA hard drives with the machine (judging by the absence of standard ATA connectors near the extra hard drive bay). Serial ATA is faster - and I almost surely will be adding a larger hard drive in the future - but there was no easy way to take the hard drive out of my blue & white G3 and put it inside the G5.

FireWire Transfer mode didn't work well enough, and since I only had the one monitor, I couldn't easily network the two Power Macs. I ended up copying my files to the G5 by first copying them from the G3 onto my 40 GB iPod. Interestingly enough, what took several hours to copy from the G3 to the iPod took a matter of minutes to copy from the iPod to the G5.

The only thing that remained to be updated was my monitor. My 19" CTX CRT monitor wasn't bad, but the technology these days is flat panel LCD. Since I was buying a new computer, I might as well invest in a new monitor. Plus our Sony VAIO PC downstairs could use something a bit larger, and the 19" CTX would be great for that.

At CompUSA, they had a 19" KDS LCD on sale for $399 (with additional rebates), so I ended up buying that. It's silver, so it matches the G5 perfectly. I also really like the space it saves on my desk. The old monitor stuck out in the back and in the front (my keyboard barely fit). This LCD not only has space behind it to store things, but it's got plenty of space in front for the keyboard, mouse, and even a wrist rest.

The only problem I had was Apple's keyboard. The white keyboard that comes with the G5 is angled, making it difficult for me to type. I'm used to a flat keyboard, so the current Apple keyboards don't work well for me. I decided to keep my existing keyboard, as well as the Logitech mouse that I had purchased to share on my Mac and PC. Not only do the black keys go better with the silver (in my opinion), but it's more comfortable to type on.

The new system is a huge step up from the old one. While the blue & white G3 is a great machine, it no longer fit my needs. (My dad's is still running well, however, and I'm sure mine will probably be used by someone else for another year - if not longer.)

I hope it will be at least four years before I replace my new G5.

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