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Problem with vram

M

moondog

macrumors newbie
Original poster
I have just been given a G4 Powerbook by my son - I used to use a Windows laptop but it died.

The problem is that I'm an amateur astronomer, and I used my Windows machine with a planetarium program to control a telescope. Having tried to download a couple of planetarium programs, I find they won't run on the Mac because it has only 8mb of vram. Is there anything I can do to increase the machine's video capability, or is that it?

Not having had a Mac before, I'm amazed that it's reputation as a superb graphics machine is compromised by a measly 8mb! I don't think I've ever had a machine with such a low graphics capability - even my first desktop, a 286, had 32mb!
 
It sounds like one of the first PowerBook G4s from 2001. There's no way you can add more video RAM.

Additionally, I highly doubt your 286 statement.
 
moondog said:
I have just been given a G4 Powerbook by my son - I used to use a Windows laptop but it died.

The problem is that I'm an amateur astronomer, and I used my Windows machine with a planetarium program to control a telescope. Having tried to download a couple of planetarium programs, I find they won't run on the Mac because it has only 8mb of vram. Is there anything I can do to increase the machine's video capability, or is that it?

Not having had a Mac before, I'm amazed that it's reputation as a superb graphics machine is compromised by a measly 8mb! I don't think I've ever had a machine with such a low graphics capability - even my first desktop, a 286, had 32mb!
Click to expand...
Your 286 had 32MB graphics memory? Yeah right... To show it's 320x200 4 colors in or what?
I'm very confident it didn't even had 32MB of RAM.
32MB of HDD more likely.

My Amiga 1200 had 2MB of total ram, shared with the graphics chips.
My moms Pentium II 350MHz, 64MB ram machine had 8MB graphics memory on its Ati Rage 3D.
My Athlon XP 2100+ had a GeForce 2 Ultra with 64MB of graphics memory.

My current Athlon64 3000+ with a GeForce 6800LE has 128MB of graphics memory.
My future MBP will only have 128MB of graphics memory because Apple is retarded. I don't know if I shall try to send it back and get a 256MB one instead. Satan (not God) I hate Apple.
 
to the OP

I am not sure if this is a rant or if you are asking for advice.

There are a number of mac apps that can be used with telescopes and run on less than 8 mb vram. I had them on my original bondi blue imac.
 
Leareth said:
to the OP

I am not sure if this is a rant or if you are asking for advice.

There are a number of mac apps that can be used with telescopes and run on less than 8 mb vram. I had them on my original bondi blue imac.
Click to expand...

If it sounds like a rant, it was certainly not meant to! More an expression of my mystification. This is my first Mac, I'm still finding out how it works, and I'm just very surprised that my perception of the Mac as an excellent graphics machine (I always understood that this was its big advantage over Windows machines) turns out to be false.

If you know of a planetarium program which will run on 8mb and can be used to drive a Meade scope I'd be grateful for your advice. I've tried Starry Night Pro (which I used to use) and Cartes du Ciel. Even without telescope control, I have tried Celestia and that won't run either.
 
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