A brief initial performance overview...
The iMac G5 has been running for about 8 hours now in it's completed form, so far so good. The machine sits at idle (no apps running) around 45 degrees as shown below. Playing fullscreen 1080p YouTube video puts the temps up to around 60 degrees. GeekBench 2 64-bit produces a typical i3 NUC score, nearly identical to my other NUC's. The system is updated to 10.9.2 now. It KP'd on the AICPUPM kext when I did the update, so had to put the patched one in.
Speedstepping works best with the MacMini 5,1 system definition in smbios.plist, not sure why, but that's where I'll leave it. I get 8,12,15 and 17x I think, several steps anyway. It'll sit idling at the lower end, usually 792 Mhz.
Sound is perfect. The internal 3W PAM8403 amplifier pushes the iMac speakers just hard enough to be distortion-free at the top end of the volume slider. I leave the slider around 40% in normal use, so the audio is not obtrusively loud. Microphone is perfect, I can talk normally to the machine into the voice search feature of Google Chrome and it picks up my commands without error.
Bluetooth Connectivity is solid, no jerks or skips whatsoever with the Magic Trackpad. Infrared works great, even from 10 or 15 feet away at an off angle, the machine responds to clicks of the IR remote. WiFi is fast, over 11.0 MBps (100 mbps) consistently in network transfers; the small piece of EMI shielding placed shiny-side-out underneath the antennas improved the performance dramatically.
The iMac fans (2 of them) are fixed at a 3.3V reference voltage (grey and black striped wire) for minimal noise. Set to 3.3V direct from the PicoPSU, the larger one at the bottom 'chugs' just a little when it starts, but has never failed to ramp up speed. Any voltage less than 3.3 at startup probably wouldn't work. The iMac G5 isn't as dead quiet as my iMac G4's are, because of the smaller fans at higher rpms. That said, the noise level isn't bothersome, but it is audible. I tested this machine with both fans plugged into a 5V reference supply, and they were noticably louder. The 3.3V setting for a fixed unvariable setup like this is as good as it's going to get, so it appears.
The LCD brightness control slider works absolutely terrific. It's simple, functional and accessible. I have no regret about deciding to implement it this way. The slide adjustment feels smooth and solid to the fingertip touch. I've used this iMac in a bright sun-lit room and at night with all the lights off; at both extremes the LCD can be adjusted to be perfectly viewable and easy on the eyes. The iMac LED in the bottom right of the front face is controlled by PWM to be very dim in normal use, it's barely noticable when looking directly at the LCD, and doesn't detract from the viewing experience at all. I like the 'crispness' of the white circle, Apple did a great job of designing the LED on this model. During sleep, it 'breathes' like it did in the G5, thanks to Picaxe control.
USB port functionality is solid. Devices are picked up by OSX immediately upon being plugged in. Transfer rates are typical of USB 2.0 ports, with reads being faster than the writes to USB sticks. The iSight camera works great, and combined with the internal mic functionality, Skyping is a pleasure on this computer.
The iMac is considerably lighter than before, it's very easy to grab and pick up to move around. I like the portability of it, which was perhaps the main reason I decided to build it in the first place.
Overall, the system feels snappy, its quiet, aesthetically pleasing to look at and it's pretty much fully functional. It's as good or better than it was as a G5, especially because of its ability to run current software. The G5 would barely play 360p YouTube vids, but this one chews up 1080p like it owns it.
I'm very satisfied. If it continues to perform like this without issue (which I think it will) then I'll call it a success. I'll give it a few days of operation for that, though, just to be sure.
Ersterhernd
on more than one occasion. Fortunately, for purposes of modding, they both share a lot of similarities that create more options, such as the G4 video cable connectivity that I implemented into this G5. It worked perfectly as I had hoped.
