Upgrading G5 Panther iMac
Thanks to everyone who has helped me so far. Promise this will be my last questioning thread before I upgrade my Mac. I thought it better to start a new one as my old ones had a load of info in it which is now irrelevant and makes it too long to read.
So, I have my G5 1.6GHz iMac with Panther. As some of you may know I've decided to extend its life whilst waiting for Lion and it's been suggested to me that the best way would be to upgrade to 10.5 Leopard, as the latest OSX my machine can handle, and upgrade the memory.
Just a few questions if I may, help as ever is much appreciated.
1. I haven't found as many OSX Leopards as I thought on eBay and they seem to sell surprisingly well. There's plenty of legit sellers with good feedback and I've been on eBay long enough to know who to trust, but I am still a bit concerned about buying OSX this way. There seem to be very few new/sealed versions out there. The reason I am focused on buying new/sealed is because I feel that if I buy a "used" disc it might well be okay, but is it technically legal and will it work? Aren't I buying a disc which has already been installed on another Mac and so isn't supposed to be used to install again on another? Do Apple have software, like Windows Genuine Advantage, which could detect that and cause me problems?
I just want to do the right thing, morally and legally. Maybe someone might know of a reputable Mac supplier in the UK who could help out with some old stock or something? I did see one auction for a 5-licence "family" edition of Leopard - the seller said he's bought it with 3 licences remaining, used one and was now selling it with two left which seemed fair and legal as it was supposed to be used on 5 different Macs, does that sound a decent compromise? Anything I haven't considered here?
2. Would Leopard be the best version or as an older Mac would it be happier with, say 10.4?
3. I'm on a homeplug network with two elderly Windows XP machines at the moment. I hope eventually not to be, but do I need antivirus software to protect the Windows machines on the network? I don't intend to share files with them and would turn file-sharing off, I just need to share the internet connection with them for now, but I don't know if viruses could overcome the lack of file-sharing and of course I don't want to infect the other machines in the network if I download a virus which my Mac is immune to but they aren't.
4. I ran the Crucial memory check software - it was fantastic, told me I had 512Mb memory (correct I ordered it upgraded direct from Apple) but also answered my question about if Apple had installed 2 x 256Mb modules or one 512Mb - it's one 512Mb so I have one slot free.
The cheapest upgrade would be a 2nd 512Mb module, would that be enough or should I go for more? An extra 1Gb module giving me 1.5Gb was not much more, but the advisor said something about my machine having "dual channel" memory which worked better if you had two matching modules and so a 1Gb and 512Mb module wouldn't use that and so some of the benefit would be lost - does that make much difference? If I go for anoher 512Mb module will that work as dual-channel?
I guess the best solution is two new 1Gb modules as the site says 2Gb is the most my Mac can support, but that's getting a little pricey - I can afford it, but don't want to spend too much on upgrading an older machine when I am considering a new one within a year or so, especially as a new copy of OSX 10.5 or even 10.4 is going to be more than I expected.
OK, I think that's it! So many thanks to you all for your help so far!
So, I have my G5 1.6GHz iMac with Panther. As some of you may know I've decided to extend its life whilst waiting for Lion and it's been suggested to me that the best way would be to upgrade to 10.5 Leopard, as the latest OSX my machine can handle, and upgrade the memory.
Just a few questions if I may, help as ever is much appreciated.
1. I haven't found as many OSX Leopards as I thought on eBay and they seem to sell surprisingly well. There's plenty of legit sellers with good feedback and I've been on eBay long enough to know who to trust, but I am still a bit concerned about buying OSX this way. There seem to be very few new/sealed versions out there. The reason I am focused on buying new/sealed is because I feel that if I buy a "used" disc it might well be okay, but is it technically legal and will it work? Aren't I buying a disc which has already been installed on another Mac and so isn't supposed to be used to install again on another? Do Apple have software, like Windows Genuine Advantage, which could detect that and cause me problems?
I just want to do the right thing, morally and legally. Maybe someone might know of a reputable Mac supplier in the UK who could help out with some old stock or something? I did see one auction for a 5-licence "family" edition of Leopard - the seller said he's bought it with 3 licences remaining, used one and was now selling it with two left which seemed fair and legal as it was supposed to be used on 5 different Macs, does that sound a decent compromise? Anything I haven't considered here?
2. Would Leopard be the best version or as an older Mac would it be happier with, say 10.4?
3. I'm on a homeplug network with two elderly Windows XP machines at the moment. I hope eventually not to be, but do I need antivirus software to protect the Windows machines on the network? I don't intend to share files with them and would turn file-sharing off, I just need to share the internet connection with them for now, but I don't know if viruses could overcome the lack of file-sharing and of course I don't want to infect the other machines in the network if I download a virus which my Mac is immune to but they aren't.
4. I ran the Crucial memory check software - it was fantastic, told me I had 512Mb memory (correct I ordered it upgraded direct from Apple) but also answered my question about if Apple had installed 2 x 256Mb modules or one 512Mb - it's one 512Mb so I have one slot free.
The cheapest upgrade would be a 2nd 512Mb module, would that be enough or should I go for more? An extra 1Gb module giving me 1.5Gb was not much more, but the advisor said something about my machine having "dual channel" memory which worked better if you had two matching modules and so a 1Gb and 512Mb module wouldn't use that and so some of the benefit would be lost - does that make much difference? If I go for anoher 512Mb module will that work as dual-channel?
I guess the best solution is two new 1Gb modules as the site says 2Gb is the most my Mac can support, but that's getting a little pricey - I can afford it, but don't want to spend too much on upgrading an older machine when I am considering a new one within a year or so, especially as a new copy of OSX 10.5 or even 10.4 is going to be more than I expected.
OK, I think that's it! So many thanks to you all for your help so far!
Comments
1b. Disc... You want to make sure you're buying a retail Leopard disc... It doesn't need to be sealed/new though. Do NOT buy a set of "system discs" that came with a Mac... They will only install on the exact model of machine that they shipped with.
2. Leopard would be best.
3. I would not bother with the antivirus on the Mac... If you're worried about it, I'm gonna assume you've already got it on the sp machines, so why be redundant?
4. I have to recommend 1.5 GB over the 1GB idea. You'll get better performance with the extra memory than you would by having dual-channel memory at a smaller size. A single 1GB module shouldn't be much more than a 512MB module. 2GB would be even better (marginally), but you'll find 1.5GB to be adequate.
Enjoy your new "old" Mac for two more years and save your pennies, then you'll be able to buy an 8 core iMac on a 22nm die that will blow today's i7 quads out of the water!
1a. Licensing... You're fine in that regard. Whoever is selling the disc is selling their license to use the software... It is THEIR responsibility to insure that they are no longer using any installation of the software they are selling.
1b. Disc... You want to make sure you're buying a retail Leopard disc... It doesn't need to be sealed/new though. Do NOT buy a set of "system discs" that came with a Mac... They will only install on the exact model of make that they shipped with.
2. Leopard would be best.
3. I would not bother with the antivirus on the Mac... If you're worried about it, I'm gonna assume you've already got it on the sp machines, so why be redundant?
4. I have to recommend 1.5 GB over the 1GB idea. You'll get better performance with the extra memory than you would by having dual-channel memory at a smaller size. A single 1GB module shouldn't be much more than a 512MB module. 2GB would be even better (marginally), but you'll find 1.5GB to be adequate.
Enjoy your new "old" Mac for two more years and save your pennies, then you'll be able to buy an 8 core iMac on a 22nm die that will blow today's i7 quads out of the water!
Aww thanks King, I had a feeling it would be you who came through for me! I'll be sure to look out for a retail version - I did see lots of "system discs" which I was a bit wary of because they seemed to mention specific models of machine which I didn't get as I thought they should work on any Mac with the right spec - I see why they're written like that now!
I am getting more comfortable about using my Mac even before I upgraded - the browsers seem to be working better for some reason, it almost seems like my Mac is "learning" as I use it more as I get far fewer crashes and I can access way more websites than before, so with Leopard I think I'll be set with all the latest browswers.
I think a 1Gb module will be the way to go, since you're right it's only a little more expensive.
And yeah I'll keep this one as long as I can and then upgrade to whatever mega-Mac is around in a couple of years time!
Thanks so much for all your help, it is much appreciated. I am glad I decided to persevere with Mac now - for a while I was so confused I felt like just buying a cheap Windows 7 box and being done it with it but I couldn't quite bring myself too - just as well!