HarrisonMG

Q: Power Mac G5 Has Slow Internet

I have a Power Mac G5 single core 1.8 GHz with 1GB of RAM. It is not AirPort enabled, is running Leopard, and was made at the beginning of 2004. After a long conversation with a friend of mine, I found out that the ethernet card is too outdated to process all of the information that is coming in. I can't bring it into the Apple Store because it is obsolete, and it's from 2004 so I can't chat or have a phone call. Any ideas? (The ethernet is the bottom port right above the telephone jack.)

PowerMac, Mac OS X (10.5.8), Single Core, 1.8 GHz

Posted on May 29, 2015 6:19 PM

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Q: Power Mac G5 Has Slow Internet

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  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua May 31, 2015 10:19 AM in response to HarrisonMG
    Level 10 (123,501 points)
    May 31, 2015 10:19 AM in response to HarrisonMG

    Ah,right you are! One Ethernet port on that one.

     

    So, in Network Utility the interface you're using shows all zeros?

     

    Likely en0 on yours...

    NetworkUtilityPorts.gif

  • by HarrisonMG,

    HarrisonMG HarrisonMG May 31, 2015 1:38 PM in response to BDAqua
    Level 1 (38 points)
    Desktops
    May 31, 2015 1:38 PM in response to BDAqua

    You're right. No errors/collisions. 100 mbit/s.

  • by HarrisonMG,

    HarrisonMG HarrisonMG May 31, 2015 1:41 PM in response to BDAqua
    Level 1 (38 points)
    Desktops
    May 31, 2015 1:41 PM in response to BDAqua

    Also, I found a great deal for 4GB of ram for the Power Mac G5 on eBay. Would that help?

  • by rccharles,

    rccharles rccharles May 31, 2015 5:27 PM in response to HarrisonMG
    Level 6 (8,464 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    May 31, 2015 5:27 PM in response to HarrisonMG

    HarrisonMG wrote:

     

    Also, I found a great deal for 4GB of ram for the Power Mac G5 on eBay. Would that help?

     

    More memory is always better.  We do not know enough about the problem to say whether or not memory is the stumbling block.  But about a gig of memory is about the minimum amount of memory to run a web browser like TenFourFox these days.  You should be running TenFourFox on a g5.  Anyway, memory is so inexpensive on these older machines that you should max out the memory.


    I found out that the ethernet card is too outdated to process all of the information that is coming in.

    In short, this is a bunch of rubbish.  The ethernet hardware isn't slowing things down.  Doesn't slowdown or change with age. An eithernet port is still faster than almost any broadband you will get in the home.  There is always a small chance you have a hardware fault with the card, but ethernet ports rarely fail.

     

    You should try the memory download speed on both machines.  For the test, I recommend a cable connection on both machines. Since you are complaining about speed a cable connection will give you the fastest speed without question.  You should run the test again with wifi to compare to the cable connection.  You should be able to approach 30 to 50 percent of the rated speed without question.

     

    You should run activity monitor to see what is going on.

     

     

    Some semi-random thoughts on addressing performance problems.

     

    Activity Monitor
    Look at what is happening with your Mac when you run Activity Monitor.

     

    Macintosh-HD -> Applications -> Utilities -> Activity Monitor

    Look at my activity monitor image below.

     

    allprocesses2.png

    Make sure you are looking at all processes.

     

    cpu2.png

     

    Make sure that you have clicked on the cpu tab.  make sure the triangle is down.

     

     

    You can gain some understanding of Activity Monitor by  looking at it every once in a while.  Look at the small graph below to see the total cpu time used.  See what processes are listed on top.

     

    Here is how I have my cpu display set up:

     

    activity monitor.jpg

     

    AppleJack
    "AppleJack is a user friendly troubleshooting assistant for Mac OS X. With AppleJack you can troubleshoot a computer even if you can't load the GUI, or don't have a startup CD handy. AppleJack runs in Single User Mode and is menu-based for ease of use."
    http://applejack.sourceforge.net/

     

    Console
    You can use the console application to examine Mac OS log files.  The logs will contain information on various system processes.

     


    Macintosh-HD -> Applications -> Utilities -> Console

     

    File > open console log
    this will display the startup messages

     

    and
    file > open system log
    once the system is started, messages will go into the system log

     

    Other folks
    bdaqua advises running disk utility from install disk ( or recover partition ) and performing a safe boot:
    https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2256611
    Using the Recovery partition

     

    Hold down command+r at boot.
    http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT4718
    http://osxdaily.com/2012/02/03/how-to-boot-into-os-x-lions-recovery-hd-partition /

     

    K Shaffer    advises checking for available RAM

  • by HarrisonMG,

    HarrisonMG HarrisonMG Jun 1, 2015 3:15 PM in response to rccharles
    Level 1 (38 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 1, 2015 3:15 PM in response to rccharles

    I actually already use TenFourFox. S, what exactly do you want me to do with all the information you've given me? What do I want to look for in activity monitor and console (what kinds of errors/warnings?) My CPU usage is pretty low right now. However, when I start a video on YouTube, the CPU spikes to pretty much the top.

  • by HarrisonMG,

    HarrisonMG HarrisonMG Jun 1, 2015 3:18 PM in response to HarrisonMG
    Level 1 (38 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 1, 2015 3:18 PM in response to HarrisonMG

    The internet seems a bit better on safari, now, actually. Just early speculation, because after using TFF for a while the video loaded much faster and it's more fluent, even though it said that my browser is no longer supported.

  • by rccharles,

    rccharles rccharles Jun 1, 2015 5:50 PM in response to HarrisonMG
    Level 6 (8,464 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Jun 1, 2015 5:50 PM in response to HarrisonMG

    Is this your complaint?  "Has Slow Internet"

     

    What is slow about the internet.  Please describe a scenario that is slow.  Provide a link to the slow page.

     

    However, when I start a video on YouTube, the CPU spikes to pretty much the top.

    This isn't a problem.  It's how it is. This is an eleven your old machine. The internet has advanced a lot in this time.   You may be asking too much of your machine.

     

    You need to use Activity Monitor and see how your machine is running.  Run it when the internet is slow.  Check:

    -- cpu usage

    -- memory usage

    -- i/o

    -- network usage.

     

    You are trying to find out what the problem is.  Once the problem is identified, perhaps you can devise a fix.

     

    Robert

     

  • by HarrisonMG,

    HarrisonMG HarrisonMG Jun 2, 2015 3:56 AM in response to rccharles
    Level 1 (38 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 2, 2015 3:56 AM in response to rccharles

    WWhat is slow about the internet is that everything just loads much slower than all of my other computers and sometimes I'd rather go on the Internet  on a much bigger screen than my laptops. I Only came here because I couldn't think of anything else; I already looked at activity monitor many times and the CPU goes near the top when loading websites and there are usually about 300 MB of RAM left no matter what. We have already replaced out Internet system yesterday (because there would be spikes of terrible Internet all around the house) and the PowerMac is still the same. At this point I am only wondering if the CPU or the motherboard can't handle processing these websites. That is the only idea I have at this point.

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Jun 2, 2015 10:15 AM in response to HarrisonMG
    Level 10 (123,501 points)
    Jun 2, 2015 10:15 AM in response to HarrisonMG

    The CPU & especially the GPU are going to have problems with today's bloated Internet, a single page may be loading thousands of things,but 300 MB of free RAM isn't enough.

     

    As a test, since my site loads in a second or 2 even on Dial-up,try that & report the perceived speed...

     

    My Site...

     

    http://x704.net/bbs/

  • by rccharles,

    rccharles rccharles Jun 2, 2015 10:27 AM in response to HarrisonMG
    Level 6 (8,464 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Jun 2, 2015 10:27 AM in response to HarrisonMG

    Could try this speed test...

     

     

    Here is a web site that will rate your connection.  It will work on your ios device and your Mac.  It uses HTML5.
    speedof.me

    Use speedof.me  it's easier.  You will need a modern web browser.

     

    Picture 1.png

     

    click on Start Test. I wouldn't worry much about other apps. Just make sure other apps are not making heavy use of the internet, like mail, downloads, etc.

     

    Picture 4.png

     

    You will see something like. I'm on a 750kbs dsl line.

     

    Picture 2.png

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