Poor design G5 liquid cooling

[tortoise]

I remember when these first came out and I commented that I would not touch one with a ten foot pole and thought it was a half ass solution to a poor overheating chip design. I was severely criticized by many of the “expert apple loyalists” who believe Cupertino can do no wrong. Well read it and draw your own conclusions, I knew the design sucked then. I am looking forward to finally getting a G5 next year when they release the second generation of what is already a much better design than those earlier liquid cooling abortions. Article is from MacFixIt:

Power Mac G5 (liquid-cooled): Fluid leaks
A number of users are reporting leaking of liquid coolant from some thusly cooled Power Mac G5s, in some cases causing severe damage to internal components including the logic board, power supply and more. The lack of cooling liquid can also lead to processor overheating, resultant in sudden shutdowns and other erratic behavior.

MacFixIt reader Thorsten Kohlhage writes: "I found out last week that a leak in the liquid cooling system in my 20 month old Power Mac G5 DP destroyed my processor, power supply and Logic Board. Apple is denying service because the unit is out of warranty -- I think this is a design flaw."

In some cases, the issue is first indicated by a distinct clicking noise -- or loud crackle -- emanated from the G5 housing.

Unfortunately, many G5s are failing outside of standard warranty range, necessitating costly repairs. Some repair prices for afflicted units are running upwards of US$1800 -- nearly the price of a new Mac Pro.

If you discover a coolant leak or apparent coolant leak, you should immediately discontinue use of your Power Mac G5 and seek assistance. As noted in this data safety sheet for the G5's liquid cooling system, there are some potentially adverse health effects that can be caused by the cooling substance if handled

[mikebw]

Maybe if there was a coolant temperature gauge in your 'dashboard' people would notice the problem sooner.

I have never been a big fan of the liquid cooling solutions, although many of the DIY jobs look very cool, it seems like just asking for trouble. Computers should be built to run darn near forever without any maintenance, except for the occasional bad hard drive.

[onthedownlow]

Well...there are no actual numbers or percentages stated...just "a number of" and "many"...

...I wonder how many liquid-cooled G5s are running just fine and have zero issues?

I can confidently say that I have "many" liquid-cooled 2.7Ghz G5s, since their release, running pretty much 24/7 with maxxed-out processors (...folding...), as well as pulling other duties.

I bet those might skew some of those negative statistics...if actuals were released. ; )

[bryanus]

Loud crackle? Uh-oh. I hear that from my g5 every once in a while. I thought it might be one of my hard drives failing. I hear it once or twice a day on my liquid cooled dualie 2.5.

It sounds like someone took a pen and whipped it against the side of the case; definitely internal and very loud. Hmm...

[iaJim]

Glad I bought Applecare!

[Mr645]

Here the water cooled dual 2.5's are the quietest, most stable Macs we have.

[DharmaDog]

Without numbers this is pretty meaningless. How many units are we talking about here? What percentage of the overall population?

An indeterminate number of people experiencing this problem does not validate your opinion about liquid cooling.

Ideally, the problem should not exist at all, but that's not reality. Where is the same indignation about bad memory, failing hard drives, dead power supplies, busted fans, etc?

If anything this just shows that you have an opinion and you are grasping at any evidence that might prove it.

I'm not saying this isn't a real problem, but without hard numbers it's very hard to say that it is a real problem. I also have a 2.7 G5 and it seems fine. My one data point does not indicate that there is no problem, however, and I freely admit that. Hopefully you can appreciate that a relatively small sample of anecdotal evidence similarly does not indicate a problem.

[iaJim]

Mr645 makes me feel better. That's what I'm running.

[tortoise]

Well trying to get numbers from Apple would be like pulling teeth, they seldom own up to their screwups without public pressure. While the positive reports of quiet and stable liquid cooling in service are reassuring to some, frankly the new G5 models with a cooler running chip that has eliminated the need for four of the seven fans on earlier models is far more assuring to my original evaluation of the product and I am looking forward to a very fast and quiet G5 without the abortion that liquid cooling has become for some unfortunate owners. The other bonus is the space formally wasted on fans is now available for four internal drives and dual optical drives on the first generation shipping now, the next generation should be a sweet spot in my estimation, only time will tell.

[onthedownlow]

There are no new G5 models.