The Power Of Four

jimfjimf Registered Users Posts: 338 Major grins
edited January 8, 2006 in Digital Darkroom
Interested in hands-on information about the Quad Powermac? Read my review:

http://www.frostbytes.com/twiki/bin/view/Main/QuadPowermac

Enjoy.
jim frost
jimf@frostbytes.com

Comments

  • wholenewlightwholenewlight Registered Users Posts: 1,529 Major grins
    edited November 27, 2005
    Thanks for the link - interesting.
    john w
    http://cspics.smugmug.com/

    I knew, of course, that trees and plants had roots, stems, bark, branches and foliage that reached up toward the light. But I was coming to realize that the real magician was light itself.
    Edward Steichen

  • cabbeycabbey Registered Users Posts: 1,053 Major grins
    edited November 30, 2005
    jimf wrote:
    Interested in hands-on information about the Quad Powermac? Read my review:

    http://www.frostbytes.com/twiki/bin/view/Main/QuadPowermac

    Enjoy.
    You mention the liquid cooling in there, but according to apple the quads are all air cooled...headscratch.gif. got any pics of the inside of the case?
    SmugMug Sorcerer - Engineering Team Champion for Commerce, Finance, Security, and Data Support
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  • jimfjimf Registered Users Posts: 338 Major grins
    edited November 30, 2005
    cabbey wrote:
    You mention the liquid cooling in there, but according to apple the quads are all air cooled...headscratch.gif. got any pics of the inside of the case?

    I don't know where you got your information, but I thought the fact that it is liquid cooled was widely known. In any case on page 84 of the Power Mac G5 User's Guide:

    -- cut here --
    Liquid Cooling System

    Some Power Mac G5 models use a liquid cooling system to manage the temperature in the computer. The liquid cooling system is sealed and is designed to be opened only by an Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP).
    -- cut here --

    I don't have any pictures and it's too hard to pull the thing out right now but if you remove the grey fan module that is behind the CPU module you'll see a radiator. You will also see the warning that says "if you see liquid consult your owner's manual."

    jim
    jim frost
    jimf@frostbytes.com
  • cabbeycabbey Registered Users Posts: 1,053 Major grins
    edited November 30, 2005
    Yeah, that is a generic manual that coversa all G5s. None of the 970MPs should be liquid cooled so far as I know, and I've had that confirmed in the past by an apple store "genius". They do use a heat pipe on the processors to more efficiently transfer waste heat out to the heatsink, but that's not a liquid cooled system. Sadly my quad isn't here yet (it's not even ordered yet bncry.gif) But I've asked my office mate who has his to confirm what's under the ducting when he goes into the case to do his memory upgrade.
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  • jimfjimf Registered Users Posts: 338 Major grins
    edited January 8, 2006
    cabbey wrote:
    Yeah, that is a generic manual that coversa all G5s. None of the 970MPs should be liquid cooled so far as I know, and I've had that confirmed in the past by an apple store "genius".

    The manual is specific to the Quad and your confirmation from the Genius Bar was incorrect. I can only hope that the poor level of knowledge about the product by that Apple representative is unusual. There is a radiator in there and explicit warnings about what to do if you see leakage. If you like I'll pull the thing out and take pictures.

    None of the new Duals have radiators.

    The liquid cooling system is nice; it allows the thing to run pretty quiet. If you're in a quiet room the cycling on and off can be irritating but if you have another PC running in there you'll barely even hear the thing.
    jim frost
    jimf@frostbytes.com
  • cabbeycabbey Registered Users Posts: 1,053 Major grins
    edited January 8, 2006
    jimf wrote:
    The manual is specific to the Quad and your confirmation from the Genius Bar was incorrect. I can only hope that the poor level of knowledge about the product by that Apple representative is unusual. There is a radiator in there and explicit warnings about what to do if you see leakage. If you like I'll pull the thing out and take pictures.

    None of the new Duals have radiators.

    The liquid cooling system is nice; it allows the thing to run pretty quiet. If you're in a quiet room the cycling on and off can be irritating but if you have another PC running in there you'll barely even hear the thing.

    I've already opened mine up now that it's here and confirmed the same. From the looks of things the single 970mp (new dual processors) are air cooled, but the dual 970mp (quad processors) are liquid cooled. This is not something I like, as the MTBF on most liquid cooling systems is around 3 years, and I'd really like to keep this system longer than that. At a guess, AC/Delco are better at liquid cooling than most computer people, so it will hopefully last longer. And yeah, the box is quiet, as long as firmware doesn't detect a lockup, or you don't use the cdrom. (I just heard the super drive the other day at work, it's a lot quieter than the combo drive I got, which has scared the wife and cat a few times when it's spun up.)
    SmugMug Sorcerer - Engineering Team Champion for Commerce, Finance, Security, and Data Support
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  • jimfjimf Registered Users Posts: 338 Major grins
    edited January 8, 2006
    cabbey wrote:
    And yeah, the box is quiet, as long as firmware doesn't detect a lockup, or you don't use the cdrom. (I just heard the super drive the other day at work, it's a lot quieter than the combo drive I got, which has scared the wife and cat a few times when it's spun up.)

    What kind of lockup would the firmware detect? I haven't run into such a situation yet.

    But the superdrive I have ... that sounds like a jet plane. It's unbelievably loud, although I suspect that some of the problem is that the perforated faceplate of the box lets the sound right out while it is trapped inside the case on most PCs.
    jim frost
    jimf@frostbytes.com
  • cabbeycabbey Registered Users Posts: 1,053 Major grins
    edited January 8, 2006
    jimf wrote:
    What kind of lockup would the firmware detect? I haven't run into such a situation yet.

    A kernel crash basically, any time firmware detects that the OS is no longer managing the cooling, it throws all fans and the pumps into full speed. I've hit it twice so far, not a fun thing to wake up to in the morning... I can hear it clear upstair on the opposite side of the house, that's how loud it is.
    But the superdrive I have ... that sounds like a jet plane. It's unbelievably loud, although I suspect that some of the problem is that the perforated faceplate of the box lets the sound right out while it is trapped inside the case on most PCs.

    hmm... you have the super drive and find it's loud? I had noticed that the super drive in the quad we just got at work is quieter than the combo drive I got. And yeah, I think it's the same reason... there's nothing really to contain the noise, it's free to just echo around in there and come right out the front. In the last couple days I've had a few instances where it fails to properly mount a disc and makes lots and lots of noise, I hate to even think about it, but I'm tempted to haul this up to one of the mac stores in the twin cities and ask them to take a listen to it. (and while there, ask them to explain why the brand new radiator arrived all banged up.)
    SmugMug Sorcerer - Engineering Team Champion for Commerce, Finance, Security, and Data Support
    http://wall-art.smugmug.com/
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