Something I check every now and again mostly since 2020: does YouTube still stream in 720p on a Power Mac G5 today? More specifically, can an original Power Mac G5 Dual 2.0 get it done? The answer, remarkably, is still a yes.
This day and age with our media-centric forms of content consumption, YouTube is called out frequently as a desired benchmark among consumers and enthusiasts alike. I generally prefer to use WebKit (Gold Safari Icon) since I managed to log into my YouTube Premium account despite being limited to 360p since Mid-2023.
- See the specs: Maximizing an AGP Power Mac G5 into space and beyond: 2025 Edition
. - Last known date 720p worked in TenFiveTube: September 5, 2023
There was a point in time when a very fast PowerPC app streamed in 720p called TenFiveTube, which can be seen in some of my old posts. That also unfortunately is docked to 360p these days, although it’s still the fastest choice of any method on this G5. Lightning fast with the site’s new UI, too.
(Above: Last time I remember streaming 720p in TenFiveTube, 9/5/23)
Surely it takes some muscle to get YouTube going on a Power Mac G5 (let alone in HD), but it doesn’t take a Quad G5 if you have the right upgrades – such as a strong GPU, SSD, and maxed out RAM. FaceBook has been giving me trouble accessing the site, and not every site wants to load correctly or even load. But when websites load, they can load rather quickly!
