If you walked into an Apple Store in late 2004, you probably did a double-take. Sitting on the wooden tables was a machine that looked less like a computer and more like a floating movie screen. It was the apple computer imac g5, and honestly, it changed everything about how we think a desktop should look.
Before this, the "sunflower" iMac G4 had a screen on a chrome neck coming out of a dome. It was cool, but weird. Then came the G5. It was basically a two-inch-thick white slab of "double-shot" plastic suspended on an aluminum L-shaped foot. Phil Schiller, filling in for a recovering Steve Jobs at the Paris Expo, famously asked the crowd, "Where did the computer go?"
The answer was: right behind the screen. It was a radical idea that defined the "all-in-one" design Apple still uses today. But man, it wasn't all sunshine and minimalist aesthetics. Under that clean white shell, things were getting incredibly hot.
The Engineering Nightmare Behind the Beauty
The PowerPC G5 chip was a beast. It was the world's first 64-bit desktop processor, and Apple was banking their entire future on it. They wanted it in everything.
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But there was a problem. A big one.
The G5 ran hot. Really hot.
IBM, who manufactured the chips, was struggling to keep the power consumption down. This is actually why we never got a "PowerBook G5"—the chip would have melted your lap. To shove this processor into a thin, 2-inch desktop case, Apple engineers had to get creative. They divided the inside of the apple computer imac g5 into separate cooling zones. It had three internal fans that would ramp up like a jet engine the moment you tried to do anything more intense than checking your email.
It wasn't just the heat
You've probably heard of the "Capacitor Plague." If you owned an early G5, you definitely lived through it. A huge batch of faulty electrolytic capacitors made their way into the supply chain. These little components would bulge, leak a crusty brown fluid, and eventually cause the computer to hiss, pop, or just refuse to turn on.
Apple eventually had to launch a massive repair program because so many logic boards were failing. It was a mess. People were opening their beautiful $1,800 machines only to find the "insides" literally bursting at the seams.
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Three Generations of the apple computer imac g5
The G5 didn't stay the same for long. It actually went through three distinct phases before the Intel transition killed it off.
- The Original (August 2004): This was the thickest one (2 inches). It came in 17-inch and 20-inch flavors. It was the easiest to work on—the back panel just popped off after loosening three screws.
- Ambient Light Sensor (May 2005): Mostly a speed bump. It got better graphics (ATI Radeon 9600) and a sensor that dimmed the sleep light based on the room's brightness. Kinda neat, but not a revolution.
- The iSight Model (October 2005): This was the "pinnacle" G5. It was slimmer (1.5 inches) and had a webcam built into the bezel. This model introduced "Front Row," which let you control your music and movies with a tiny white remote. It felt like the future of home entertainment.
Why Do People Still Collect Them?
You might think a 20-year-old computer is literal junk. To most people, it is. But in the "retro-computing" community, the apple computer imac g5 is a bit of a cult classic.
It was the last iMac that could natively run Mac OS 9 apps through the "Classic Environment." If you have old software from the 90s that you can't let go of, this is often the best machine to run it on. Plus, there's the design. Even now, in 2026, a clean G5 looks remarkably modern. It doesn't scream "old tech" the way a beige box does.
Some hobbyists are even gutting the internals and shoving modern M-series Mac Minis inside the shell. They use the original G5 display with a custom controller board. It’s a way to keep the legendary aesthetic without the 2004-era headaches.
The Practical Reality: If You Find One Today
Let’s say you find one at a garage sale for $20. Should you buy it?
Only if you like projects. Honestly, most of these machines are ticking time bombs because of those capacitors we talked about. If you plug it in and hear a loud whirrr but see no picture, the logic board is probably toast.
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But if it works? It’s a fun trip down memory lane. You can still browse a "lite" version of the web using specialized browsers like InterWebPPC. You can play Halo: Combat Evolved or Quake III exactly how they were meant to be played.
Actionable Tips for G5 Owners:
- Check the caps: Open the back and look for bulging cylinders near the CPU. If they’re flat, you’re in luck.
- Max the RAM: Most G5s only had 256MB or 512MB standard. Bumping it to 2GB makes a world of difference for Mac OS X Tiger or Leopard.
- SSD Upgrade: Replacing the old spinning SATA drive with a cheap SATA SSD won't give you modern speeds (it’s limited by the bus), but it makes the OS feel way snappier.
- Clean the fans: Dust is the enemy. Use compressed air to blow out the heatsinks, or that G5 chip will throttle itself into oblivion.
The apple computer imac g5 was a bridge. It took us from the experimental, "funky" Apple of the late 90s to the sleek, industrial powerhouse company we know today. It was flawed, hot, and sometimes unreliable, but it set the blueprint for every desktop Apple has made since.
If you're looking to preserve one, start by checking the serial number. Machines produced in mid-2005 are generally more stable than the early 2004 runs. Also, keep an eye on the power supply—those are notorious for failing after two decades of heat soak. Replacing the thermal paste on the G5 processor is a difficult "rite of passage" for Mac nerds, but it’s often the only way to keep the machine from sounding like a vacuum cleaner.