"Life span" of a G5

[68shelbymustang]

I'm in a position to buy another Mac for my office. One requirement is the machine must be able to run classic apps. I know it's not the best "investment," but I'm wondering how long Apple will continue to support the PPC platform.

Dual G5s can be had at decent prices right now.

Thoughts?

[N-OS X-tasy!]

If the requirement to support Classic apps is non-negotiable, then you have no choice but to go PPC, and if that's the case then the G5 is the way to go.

Good deals are indeed available on dual G5s now.

[hal]

They stopped supporting G4s long ago, but that doesn't stop them from working.

[GGD]

[quote hal]They stopped supporting G4s long ago, but that doesn't stop them from working.
What do you mean? Tiger even supports many G3s officially (if they have FireWire), software/security updates for PowerPC were still being issued this month

The G4 iBook was discontinued 13 months ago. Refurbished PowerBook G4s are still being sold today and are supported by a 1 year warranty and could be covered by AppleCare too.

[68shelbymustang]

I suppose that's more the question ... how long will the current Apple OS support the PPC processor? I'm guessing at least 3 years.

[mikebw]

You also want to consider how long parts / repair service will be available for the computer as well. G5's won't be a problem for a while yet, but most are out-of-warranty so any repairs may be expensive.

[MacArtist]

I can only hope my DP G5 will have a similar lifespan to my Sawtooth G4. I used the Sawtooth for 6 years before I passed it on to my wife.

It kind of depends how reliable it turns out to be. So far I have read issues regarding the power supply of certain models.

Doesn't look like there is going to be a processor upgrade path for the G5s. That is one area that the G4s excelled in.

[The Grim Ninja]

I haven't kept up on things, but there was a utility called SheepShaver (I believe) which allowed classic to run on Intel Macs. Perhaps research to see if that would be an option.

[Webster J. Duck]

You may purchase my Dual G5 2.0 GHz for $1.3K with porn left on...or just the porn for $1K

[The Grim Ninja]

I'll offer $300 for the G5. You can keep any/all hard drives.