G4 or G5?

Jeff Donald · January 13th, 2004, 08:26 AM

Mike, how much ram is on your G5 and what is the source of it?

Mike Avery · January 13th, 2004, 08:30 AM

I was hoping to hear from you on this one Jeff.

I've got 2.5 Gigs of ram. As far as the source, I'm not sure what you mean.

The machine was put together by Brian at Zotz though, so I'm sure he used the good stuff.

I'd be willing to try any suggestions you have. This is driving me crazy.

Thanks,
Mike Avery

John Vee · January 18th, 2004, 05:08 AM

sounds like you have a hardware issue.. (the freezing aspect of your crashes)

take any 3rd party RAM out and see how things run..

Jeff Donald · January 18th, 2004, 05:26 AM

Mike, I'm sorry I missed your reply. I agree with John. It may be a ram issue. Remove all the ram except the pair of sticks in the first two slots. If no problems appear add pairs of sticks back in until problems start. The last pair added is your problem.

Apple used to have a hardware ram test for G4's. Do you have a disk that came with your G5 that says ram test? If so, run the test overnight and see if the machine crashes. The test needs to be run overnight to be effective. This would be a final test after removing the suspected bad ram. Most ram sold today has a lifetime guarantee, so don't worry. I'm sure Brian used the good stuff and you'll be OK. Post back how this worked.

Ozzie Leon · February 1st, 2004, 04:44 PM

Does any one have an idea when the new generation G5 are coming out. I started to purchase my system and read an article were the 2.26 G5 was suspose to come out at the end of march? Can any one verify ths rumor?. I am still using my premerier system and I am itching to get a G5 with FCP. Any info in this matter would be appericated.

Michael Westphal · February 1st, 2004, 09:20 PM

As always, those who know are under an NDA and can't say. The rest of us can only guess. If you need a G5 RIGHT now, you might check out a refurbished G5 from the Apple Store.
Power Mac G5 DUAL 2GHz 512MB/160GB/SuperDrive/GigE/56K $2,399.00

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore/
"Special Deals"

I bought a refurbished 1.8GHz G5 at the end of last year, with extra memory direct from Crucial, and have had no troubles running FCP 4.

Glenn Chan · February 1st, 2004, 11:34 PM

New G5s are always coming out. It only makes sense to wait if you don't need a computer soon, or if something major (i.e. new G5 announcement) is going to happen *really soon*. I would check Mac rumour sites to see if something major is coming up in the very near future, otherwise I'd just get a computer now. If you wait for the next big thing you'll be waiting forever.

Mike Avery · February 9th, 2004, 05:24 PM

Jeff,

Sorry for the delay in responding.

Since my last post the machine has been completely tested by an Apple tech. He found no hardware problems.

I've installed all the software upgrades (at least the ones I know of), but I'm still getting periodic audio/video freezes on playback.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Mike Avery

John Vee · February 9th, 2004, 05:53 PM

did you remove 3rd party ram?

Dan Uneken · February 10th, 2004, 01:51 AM

What is a good Mac rumour site? Taa.

Glenn Chan · February 10th, 2004, 06:27 AM

www.macrumors.com
www.macbidouille.com is excellent, but french and my high school french just gives me headaches.
http://www.thinksecret.com/

Mike Avery · February 10th, 2004, 07:09 AM

No the RAM tested fine.

Jeff Donald · February 10th, 2004, 04:42 PM

Ram tests aren't 100% fool proof and are useless unless tested overnight, like I indicated. I would remove all ram, except for the original two sticks and see if it freezes. If it does, you've eliminated ram as a probable cause. I would then suspect the HD as a possible cause.

Kevin Burnfield · February 11th, 2004, 10:38 AM

Mike,

A couple of performance things I might look at would be to look over on www.macosxhints.com to see how to make a program the top priority in CPU usage. This is something you need to do when you fire up FCP and if you restart you have to do it again.

I've used this and have noticed a little more pep in the program PLUS this might overcome something else sucking down processor power.

Also what you can do is launch either the Terminal and give it the "Top" command or the Activity Monitor and if the freeze happens look quickly to see if any other process is running harder then FCP.

You can also go into the program Directory Access in your utilities folder and switch off Rendezvous and Appletalk if you don't use them. If you don't have Bluetooth check to see that that stuff is disabled as well. I realized I had stuff running under this that I didn't have installed and it was wasting processing power.

Does FCP ever crash out? If so look in your user folder > Library > Logs at the crash log for FCP and see what kind of crash it gave you. It might help but it might not.

Have you (and I'm sure you have) re-installed FCP and the assorted upgrades?

Have you tried the system without upgrading all the way to 4.11 and just using 4.1 ? I heard a couple of people say something about 4.11 giving them problems but since all it pretty much does is add Chinese language sets to the program you could live without it.

Have you (and I'm sure you have) run the system diagnostic disk that came with the G5?

When the tech looked at the machine, do you know if he did a full surface scan of the HD?

Do you have more then one HD?

When you first got the machine, did you partition the HD?

Any external devices? Using the Apple USB keyboard?

I'm pretty sure Apple probably asked you all this stuff already but this is the train of thought I have to start in---

On a side-note, I know a number of people using FCP 4.11 on G5s with no problem.

Ozzie Leon · February 13th, 2004, 05:44 PM

Any word on the new G5 and when they will be coming out? I read here were they might be G5 2.26. If so when will they be coming out?.

January 13th, 2004, 08:26 AM	#16
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Mike, how much ram is on your G5 and what is the source of it? __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

January 18th, 2004, 05:26 AM	#19
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Mike, I'm sorry I missed your reply. I agree with John. It may be a ram issue. Remove all the ram except the pair of sticks in the first two slots. If no problems appear add pairs of sticks back in until problems start. The last pair added is your problem. Apple used to have a hardware ram test for G4's. Do you have a disk that came with your G5 that says ram test? If so, run the test overnight and see if the machine crashes. The test needs to be run overnight to be effective. This would be a final test after removing the suspected bad ram. Most ram sold today has a lifetime guarantee, so don't worry. I'm sure Brian used the good stuff and you'll be OK. Post back how this worked. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

February 1st, 2004, 04:44 PM	#20
Ozzie Leon Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: columbus ohio Posts: 68	G5 Does any one have an idea when the new generation G5 are coming out. I started to purchase my system and read an article were the 2.26 G5 was suspose to come out at the end of march? Can any one verify ths rumor?. I am still using my premerier system and I am itching to get a G5 with FCP. Any info in this matter would be appericated. __________________ Ozzie Leon

February 1st, 2004, 09:20 PM	#21
Michael Westphal Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Baton Rouge, LA Posts: 166	As always, those who know are under an NDA and can't say. The rest of us can only guess. If you need a G5 RIGHT now, you might check out a refurbished G5 from the Apple Store. Power Mac G5 DUAL 2GHz 512MB/160GB/SuperDrive/GigE/56K $2,399.00 http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore/ "Special Deals" I bought a refurbished 1.8GHz G5 at the end of last year, with extra memory direct from Crucial, and have had no troubles running FCP 4. __________________ Michael A Westphal

February 9th, 2004, 05:24 PM	#23
Mike Avery Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Michigan Posts: 87	Follow up to earlier post Jeff, Sorry for the delay in responding. Since my last post the machine has been completely tested by an Apple tech. He found no hardware problems. I've installed all the software upgrades (at least the ones I know of), but I'm still getting periodic audio/video freezes on playback. Any ideas? Thanks, Mike Avery

January 13th, 2004, 08:30 AM	#17
Mike Avery Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Michigan Posts: 87	I was hoping to hear from you on this one Jeff. I've got 2.5 Gigs of ram. As far as the source, I'm not sure what you mean. The machine was put together by Brian at Zotz though, so I'm sure he used the good stuff. I'd be willing to try any suggestions you have. This is driving me crazy. Thanks, Mike Avery

January 18th, 2004, 05:08 AM	#18
John Vee Tourist Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Santa Fe, NM Posts: 4	sounds like you have a hardware issue.. (the freezing aspect of your crashes) take any 3rd party RAM out and see how things run..

February 1st, 2004, 11:34 PM	#22
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	New G5s are always coming out. It only makes sense to wait if you don't need a computer soon, or if something major (i.e. new G5 announcement) is going to happen really soon. I would check Mac rumour sites to see if something major is coming up in the very near future, otherwise I'd just get a computer now. If you wait for the next big thing you'll be waiting forever.

February 9th, 2004, 05:53 PM	#24
John Vee Tourist Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Santa Fe, NM Posts: 4	did you remove 3rd party ram?

February 10th, 2004, 01:51 AM	#25
Dan Uneken Major Player Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Andalucia, Spain Posts: 301	What is a good Mac rumour site? Taa. __________________ Film & TV locations & production Spain http://www.fotofilmvideo.com/

February 10th, 2004, 06:27 AM	#26
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	www.macrumors.com www.macbidouille.com is excellent, but french and my high school french just gives me headaches. http://www.thinksecret.com/

February 10th, 2004, 07:09 AM	#27
Mike Avery Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Michigan Posts: 87	No the RAM tested fine.

February 10th, 2004, 04:42 PM	#28
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Ram tests aren't 100% fool proof and are useless unless tested overnight, like I indicated. I would remove all ram, except for the original two sticks and see if it freezes. If it does, you've eliminated ram as a probable cause. I would then suspect the HD as a possible cause. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

February 11th, 2004, 10:38 AM	#29
Kevin Burnfield Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Princeton, NJ Posts: 363	Mike, A couple of performance things I might look at would be to look over on www.macosxhints.com to see how to make a program the top priority in CPU usage. This is something you need to do when you fire up FCP and if you restart you have to do it again. I've used this and have noticed a little more pep in the program PLUS this might overcome something else sucking down processor power. Also what you can do is launch either the Terminal and give it the "Top" command or the Activity Monitor and if the freeze happens look quickly to see if any other process is running harder then FCP. You can also go into the program Directory Access in your utilities folder and switch off Rendezvous and Appletalk if you don't use them. If you don't have Bluetooth check to see that that stuff is disabled as well. I realized I had stuff running under this that I didn't have installed and it was wasting processing power. Does FCP ever crash out? If so look in your user folder > Library > Logs at the crash log for FCP and see what kind of crash it gave you. It might help but it might not. Have you (and I'm sure you have) re-installed FCP and the assorted upgrades? Have you tried the system without upgrading all the way to 4.11 and just using 4.1 ? I heard a couple of people say something about 4.11 giving them problems but since all it pretty much does is add Chinese language sets to the program you could live without it. Have you (and I'm sure you have) run the system diagnostic disk that came with the G5? When the tech looked at the machine, do you know if he did a full surface scan of the HD? Do you have more then one HD? When you first got the machine, did you partition the HD? Any external devices? Using the Apple USB keyboard? I'm pretty sure Apple probably asked you all this stuff already but this is the train of thought I have to start in--- On a side-note, I know a number of people using FCP 4.11 on G5s with no problem.

February 13th, 2004, 05:44 PM	#30
Ozzie Leon Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: columbus ohio Posts: 68	G5 Any word on the new G5 and when they will be coming out? I read here were they might be G5 2.26. If so when will they be coming out?. __________________ Ozzie Leon