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2005 Powermac G5 Quadro FX4500 SLI possible?

Hey all!

 

I just bought myself a 2005 Powermac G5 for a steal on ebay (Only $130 AUD when all other fully working G5 systems costed around $400 minimum here in Aus).  I realised that my system is coming with a Quadro FX4500 in it and it had me thinking.  Would it be possible to buy a second FX4500 and put the two in an SLI?  I am doing various upgrades to it all-around anyway:

  • RAM from 2GB to 16GB ($99 AUD)
  • Adding a 1TB Hard Drive ($99 AUD)
  • Adding an Airport Extreme card for wifi ($30 AUD)
  • Upping from OSX 10.4 to OSX 10.5 Leopard ($65 AUD)
  • Adding a second Nvidia Quadro FX4500? ($99 AUD)

Also are there any more beefy Graphics cards that could outperform the Quadro FX4500 that would still be compatible with the late 2005 Powermac G5 as I want to try and squeeze as much power from this rig as possible (more of a fun project thing rather than practicality)

 

Thanks all :D

My Specs

 

  • Current Machine 2021 - 20XX
    • CPU: Intel i9 11900KF 3.5 GHz 8 Core 16 Thread
    • Cooler: NZXT Kraken Z73 RGB AIO
    • Motherboard: Gigabyte Z590 VISION G
    • RAM: G.Skill Trident Z Neo (Black/White) 128GB (4x32GB) DDR4 @3600 MHz CL18
    • GPU: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3080 Ti 12 GB Vision OC
    • SSD: 2x 2TB Intel 660p NVMe SSDs & 1x Samsung 860 QVO 2.5 SSD
    • HDD: 2x WD Black 4TB HDDs & 2x Segate 2TB HDDs
    • PSU: SeaSonic PRIME 1300 W 80+ Platinum
    • OS: Windows 10 Pro

 

  • Retired Machine 2017 - 2021: Lenovo S20 Thinkstation 
    • CPU: Intel Xeon X5690 3.46Ghz
    • Motherboard: OEM Lenovo S20 Z79 MBO
    • RAM: 48GB (6x8GB) UDIMM DDR3
    • GPU: MSI Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti 11GB
    • SSD: Samsung 860 QVO 1TB
    • HDD: 2x Segate 7200rpm 2TB
    • OS: Windows 10 Pro
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Well, it is a complete waste of money but each to his own I suppose.

SLI isn't possible unfortunately, even if it was a thing in OS X, you can't even have two graphics cards in there to because there's only one AGP slot. Not sure whether those PCI (or PCIX) slots actually support graphics.

 

About the pricing: some people think their used stuff is worth loads and loads so they inflate the price. If you shop around enough you'll be able to get it for cheaper, I got an '03/04 G5 dual fully working for £30 not too long ago. It's all about finding the right seller.

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2 minutes ago, Mug said:

Well, it is a complete waste of money but each to his own I suppose.

SLI isn't possible unfortunately, even if it was a thing in OS X, you can't even have two graphics cards in there to because there's only one AGP slot. Not sure whether those PCI (or PCIX) slots actually support graphics).

 

About the pricing: some people think their used stuff is worth loads and loads so they inflate the price. If you shop around enough you'll be able to get it for cheaper, I got an '03/04 G5 dual fully working for £30 not too long ago. It's all about finding the right seller.

Yeah mac mobo unforunately do not support SLI

 

 

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I already bought this one as it was the cheapest.  Any technology is extremely inflated in cost in Australia, new or old, what I got was an absolute god of bargains.  Surprisingly, it was from the UK, so the original cost of the PC (around 64 GBP) and international shipping (around 17 GBP) so a total of $130 Australian Dollars, compared to local machines costing as high as $900

My Specs

 

  • Current Machine 2021 - 20XX
    • CPU: Intel i9 11900KF 3.5 GHz 8 Core 16 Thread
    • Cooler: NZXT Kraken Z73 RGB AIO
    • Motherboard: Gigabyte Z590 VISION G
    • RAM: G.Skill Trident Z Neo (Black/White) 128GB (4x32GB) DDR4 @3600 MHz CL18
    • GPU: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3080 Ti 12 GB Vision OC
    • SSD: 2x 2TB Intel 660p NVMe SSDs & 1x Samsung 860 QVO 2.5 SSD
    • HDD: 2x WD Black 4TB HDDs & 2x Segate 2TB HDDs
    • PSU: SeaSonic PRIME 1300 W 80+ Platinum
    • OS: Windows 10 Pro

 

  • Retired Machine 2017 - 2021: Lenovo S20 Thinkstation 
    • CPU: Intel Xeon X5690 3.46Ghz
    • Motherboard: OEM Lenovo S20 Z79 MBO
    • RAM: 48GB (6x8GB) UDIMM DDR3
    • GPU: MSI Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti 11GB
    • SSD: Samsung 860 QVO 1TB
    • HDD: 2x Segate 7200rpm 2TB
    • OS: Windows 10 Pro
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I also intend to get a stripped out G5 case for a full ATX build, so my desk will have 2 powermac G5s on it xD

My Specs

 

  • Current Machine 2021 - 20XX
    • CPU: Intel i9 11900KF 3.5 GHz 8 Core 16 Thread
    • Cooler: NZXT Kraken Z73 RGB AIO
    • Motherboard: Gigabyte Z590 VISION G
    • RAM: G.Skill Trident Z Neo (Black/White) 128GB (4x32GB) DDR4 @3600 MHz CL18
    • GPU: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3080 Ti 12 GB Vision OC
    • SSD: 2x 2TB Intel 660p NVMe SSDs & 1x Samsung 860 QVO 2.5 SSD
    • HDD: 2x WD Black 4TB HDDs & 2x Segate 2TB HDDs
    • PSU: SeaSonic PRIME 1300 W 80+ Platinum
    • OS: Windows 10 Pro

 

  • Retired Machine 2017 - 2021: Lenovo S20 Thinkstation 
    • CPU: Intel Xeon X5690 3.46Ghz
    • Motherboard: OEM Lenovo S20 Z79 MBO
    • RAM: 48GB (6x8GB) UDIMM DDR3
    • GPU: MSI Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti 11GB
    • SSD: Samsung 860 QVO 1TB
    • HDD: 2x Segate 7200rpm 2TB
    • OS: Windows 10 Pro
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