The Power Mac G5 computer only works with 3.3 V PCI cards. Some older PCI cards require 5 V and cannot be used with the Power Mac G5.
The Power Mac G5 computer is designed to the PCI-X 2.1 specification, which requires 3.3 V signaling.
The older 5 V cards are keyed differently from 3.3 V cards and will not fit into the computer's PCI slot. Figures 1 and 2 show the differences between these cards. Figure 1 shows compatible and incompatible cards: cards that look like those illustrated on the left side of Figure 1 are 3.3 V and are electrically compatible. Cards that look like those illustrated on the right side of Figure 1 are 5 V and are not compatible with a Power Mac G5 computer.
Figure 2 shows the four key variations that are accepted in Power Mac G5 PCI slots.
Figure 1 PCI cards and slots: left - 3.3 V; right - 5 V
Figure 2 PCI cards supported by the Power Mac G5
(Image courtesy of TMC Technology: http://www.tmc-uk.com/)
The Power Mac G5 computer is designed to the PCI-X 2.1 specification, which requires 3.3 V signaling.
The older 5 V cards are keyed differently from 3.3 V cards and will not fit into the computer's PCI slot. Figures 1 and 2 show the differences between these cards. Figure 1 shows compatible and incompatible cards: cards that look like those illustrated on the left side of Figure 1 are 3.3 V and are electrically compatible. Cards that look like those illustrated on the right side of Figure 1 are 5 V and are not compatible with a Power Mac G5 computer.
Figure 2 shows the four key variations that are accepted in Power Mac G5 PCI slots.
Figure 1 PCI cards and slots: left - 3.3 V; right - 5 V
Figure 2 PCI cards supported by the Power Mac G5
(Image courtesy of TMC Technology: http://www.tmc-uk.com/)