Mac G5 safe investment

[Kjv1993]

Im looking at buying a cheaper desktop for my studio in progress cause my laptop isn't all the great. While looking on ebay, I came to realize that a decently refurbished mac G5 for around 200$ has similar/better specs then a PC in that price range. I know that it is pretty much a dead end system with leopard being its last update, but would it be a safe bet anyway? I could run an older Pro Tools or Logic and keep it that version since Im not a big update guy anyway. I feel it would be more stable then a PC in my price range and even in 3 years if Im still running old software who cares cause it'll still work. What are your thoughts, is it a safe investment?

 

[dgatwood]

As long as it isn't a liquid-cooled model, yeah, it'll probably be solid. I'd be hesitant to buy one of the liquid-cooled towers refurbished these days simply because of the age of the hardware and the risk of corrosion causing leaks.

You'd obviously have to find an old version of Logic, though, since current version won't run on non-Intel systems. IIRC, the current Digital Performer runs all the way back to G4 hardware, so you might consider that as an alternative if you don't want to be stuck running unsupported software.

 

[Kjv1993]

what is the last version of logic supported on the G5? I heard its 8

 

[TimOBrien]

You'd be better off with a Intel-chipped Mini or imac.

Dont waste money on dead architectures.

 

[Kjv1993]

but for around 200 bucks, theres no way I could get an intel mini or imac. Its basically a 200-250$ pc, or a G5 for the same price range. For what I need, recording and some video editing, wont the G5 be more of a powerhouse? I love macs Ilife video program. But maybe Im completely wrong....

 

[dgatwood]

The G5 is a *very* good CPU for recording. The floating point performance on the last of the two- and four-core G5 machines was comparable to last year's four and eight core Mac Pro hardware, give or take. That said, UI responsiveness is sluggish as heck on the G5, so it's a tradeoff.

BTW, current iLife versions are Intel-exclusive, IIRC, so you'd have to get an old version of that, too.

 

[Kjv1993]

That said, UI responsiveness is sluggish as heck on the G5, so it's a tradeoff.

Sorry, but what exactly do you mean by this?

 

[dgatwood]

Sorry, but what exactly do you mean by this?

I mean that the Intel machines spank the G5 machines when it comes to the responsiveness of the user interface. For example, when you pull down a menu, you'd get a perceptible lag when compared with the Intel systems.