Graphics Card

What Mac are you planning on upgrading? That info is critical in determining what card you can get.

The 5200 only works in G5s (might work in MDD G4s with some modification). The 9200 is worthless, IMO - slower than the Radeon 9000. If you have any kind of G4 tower (I'm assuming), your only good option is the Radeon 9800 Pro Mac Edition, for $350. But it supports core video. None of the older nVidia cards are worth the hassle, you might consider a Radeon 9000 if you aren't worried about gaming but if you must have core video the 9800 is your only option.

Don't live in th UK, so I can't help you on the last question.

deadfrog said:

Just tried to order a graphics card through owc, but they were complaining about verification as im in the uk. So have decided to get it elsewhere...

I was gonna get the 9200 128mb card, but have just seen it wont support core image, is it worth getting something like a 5200 or one of the cheaper graphics cards supported by core image.

Also if someone could suggest a good place in the uk to get graphics cards for macs from that would be really helpful.

cheers.

rich

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Didn't you have a 500mhz G4? If thats the case, don't care about core image because your machine isn't going to take full advamtage of it anyway.

The only non G5 card that supports Core Image is Radeon 9800 and it would probably cost £350. You can also try to get a hacked 9600 for it, I think it would be difficult in UK..

deadfrog said:

nope, always had a 533dp... possible i wrote it wrong before, dont know...

Im finding it difficult to get any kind of card. I always thought the 12"powerbook had a geforce 5200...

ok, so how dangerous is it to convert a pc graphics card and flash it...

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If you check my sig you'll see that I've got a Dual 533....and I looked into video card upgrades.

9600 Pro in a G4. this is not tested in the digital audio and the chart on the site seems to indicate that it won't work.

There is also a site somewhere with instructions for flashing a PC 9800 Pro for use on a G4, can't find the link right now. It takes some work but can save money if you are more tech-friendly and handy with a soldering iron. I have not yet seen anything dealing with the modding the 5200; most people opt for the better performance of the 9800 anyway.

you cant use a 5200, it's a crap card dont even bother an 8500 is faster.

for flashing check out http://www.cubeowner.com, you just have to do a rom flash with a reduced rom, it works great as long as you buy the right card (connect3d or sapphire).

the 9600 trick will work in your mac

Hector said:

you cant use a 5200, it's a crap card dont even bother an 8500 is faster.

for flashing check out http://www.cubeowner.com, you just have to do a rom flash with a reduced rom, it works great as long as you buy the right card (connect3d or sapphire).

the 9600 trick will work in your mac

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Do you have any evidence that it will work in a Digital Audio? I'm asking since I can get a 9600 cheap off a friend who upgraded, but the voltage differences made me think it wouldn't work, so I never tried it.

EDIT: Ok, just answered my own question. OWC is selling a 9600 Pro for G4 (apparently a modded OEM card), so the mod must work in a Digital Audio. I think I'm gonna order one if my buddy got rid of his.

Low End Mac's website shows that only Digital Audios came with Dual 533s.

The modded 9600 is the best bang for the buck G4 video card and will support core video.

Lord Blackadder said:

Do you have any evidence that it will work in a Digital Audio? I'm asking since I can get a 9600 cheap off a friend who upgraded, but the voltage differences made me think it wouldn't work, so I never tried it.

EDIT: Ok, just answered my own question. OWC is selling a 9600 Pro for G4 (A flashed PC card?), so the mod must work in a Digital Audio. I think I'm gonna order one if my buddy got rid of his.

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The Radeon 9600 Pros that OWC are selling are Apple OEM cards, but they have been altered so that they run in an AGP 4x slot (they are originally AGP 8x cards...you only need to block off one of the contacts on the AGP connector to convert it to AGP 4x). I sold my 64MB Radeon 9600 Pro card that originally shipped with my 1.6GHz G5 to a G4 PowerMac owner via eBay, and he reported that it worked without a problem in his 1GHz Quicksilver (using the sticky-tape-on-the-AGP-connector-trick).

A Radeon 9600 Pro is a much better card than either a Radeon 9200 or an nVidia FX5200. The 9600 Pro will support all CoreImage/CoreVideo hardware acceleration, and runs games and 3D apps quickly to boot.

Regarding OWC's international verification rules, it is a small pain in the arse, but all they require you to do is fill in their form, and fax it back to them along with a photocopy of your passport and an image of your credit card. I guess they've been stung with some international fraud before. I've had quite a few things delivered to Australia from OWC over the past few years, and their international service has always been very fast and efficient.

deadfrog said:

Ok, so i was right...

So can i be cheeky now and ask if you could give me some help with finding out which particular card to mod or flash... im not particularly techie, but happy to learn. eg 9600 saphire etc...

Cheers

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Check out the graphics card forums over at http://www.xlr8yourmac.com. That seems to be where all the graphics card flashers hang out. I don't remember seeing anyone successfully flash a PC Radeon 9600, but people have certainly flashed 9800 cards (although they require hardware modification). There are also a number of people on eBay US who sell Mac-flashed Radeon cards at a substantial discount to the full ATI priced Mac Edition cards, and who will ship internationally (I was considering buying a flashed PC card before I managed to get a good deal on a genuine ATI 256MB Radeon 9800 Pro Special Edition Mac card).

no they dont, you can flash a 9800 with justa rom flash if you use the reduced rom, you would need to replace the rom chip with a 128kb version if it did not exist (which it did not when people started flashing 9800's) just get the reduced rom at http://www.cubeowner.com in the faq and flash it with ati flash.

they have vga ports, i'd just a get a sapphire 9800 pro 128MB, dont get a 256MB version it will only see 128MB of it. i have only ever flashed on a pc so i'm not too sure, look into some threads on the forum.

Some cards are AGP 4x/8x, but the ones that are 8x only will have to taped. Like Hector said, avoid, the 256MB cards. I'm also not sure whether the PC 9800XT or 9800SE work for flashing, you may want to stick to the 9800 Pro (anybody want to confirm/debunk that?).

From what I've read, the flashing could be done soley on the Mac, but if it doesn't work the first time you'll have no video (unless you have a second video card in the PCI slot), which will leave you SOL.

deadfrog said:

This has been really helpful, i now have to pluck up the courage and risk flashing a new card and hoping it all goes well, if not im screwed. I am presuming i can keep my ati rage 128 pro in and use that while i flash the 9800?

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No. Your machine only one apg slot. You can't have the rage 128 pro inside while flashing.

If you want a second graphics card for when you are flashing, you need a PCI card (like cluthz said, your Rage is AGP). That means getting an original Radeon Mac Edition, a Radeon 7000, or 9200. Or something real old like a 3Dfx Voodoo. You could probably pick one up on ebay pretty darn cheap, but on the downside it's one more thing to buy.

Good luck, let us know how it turns out (I'll probably buy myself the same thing for christmas).