PC user getting G5

[KevCo]

Hi, I'm a long time PC user and after loving my iBook for the past year and a half I've finally ordered myself a new dual 1.8 G5. I'm trying to prepare for it's arrival and I have a few questions. I've already gotten myself a Dr. Bott ADC to VGA adapter so I can run both my LCD VGA displays.

I also have an altec lansing 4.1 speaker system that has a coax S/PDIF input. Can anyone recommend a good way to convert the optical S/PDIF output from the powermac to the coax input on my speakers?

I'm also wondering about PC video cards. I seem to remember reading about flashing PC Video card BIOSes to make them work in Macs but can't find the article. Is there anything special needed if I were to decide to replace the GeForce 5200 that comes with the powermac with the GeForce 5600 in one of my PCs?

[Mav451]

let me just say it'll probably be easier to just sell your 5600, and buy the Mac version of it with the money you get from the sale.

If, of course, you figure a way to do it, then by all means, go with your existing card.

[pinto32]

I've never tried flashing a video card, but from what I hear it is extremely risky.....far more than flashing the BIOS on a motherboard.....

[sethypoo]

Originally posted by pinto32
I've never tried flashing a video card, but from what I hear it is extremely risky.....far more than flashing the BIOS on a motherboard.....

It is very risky, don't flash it!

It friend my friend's card, it's not a good idea.

[KevCo]

Boy you guys aren't the adventurous types huh? I'd be more than willing to risk flashing it with a Mac BIOS. I'll post back if I find out any details. As far as selling it... well I'm pretty lazy. I'd just leave it in the PC most likely (which will now basically be a dedicated Everquest box) and buy a new one. It's not a real pressing concern, the 5200 will be fine for now I'm sure.

My bigger concern was converting the optical s/pdif to coax s/pdif. I'll do some digging on the net, but I was hoping someone might have a recommendation.

[Grimace]

do not replace the card - that will kill any warranty.

There is no EASY way to convert Digital Coax to Toslink easily. They are very different kinds of signals - one is light based, the other wire based. There are converter boxes out there -

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/audio_toslink_adapters.html#pof-830

[raytube]

Hi,
Just thought I'd give a little warning about screen resolution when using adapters on a G5.

[edit] Sorry, my first sentence was wrong, I meant using adapters on any G5, not just one with the 9600 video card, I have that card and I've had resolution problems. Hope that's clearer. ;)

I am running two CRT monitors (one is a Sun 19" connected using the Dr Bott ADC - VGA adaptor, the other is a cheap 15" lcd connected using the adaptor that comes with the G5) but I can only get a decent refresh rate on the Sun 19" at a resolution of 1024 x 768. This is annoying as it can run up to 1600 x 1200 but even jumping up to 1220 x 1024 resolution the refresh rate drops to something that would give me a migraine (and I don't get migraines!). The LCD res is fine as it's only 1024 x 768 anyway.

Anyway, I hope you don't have any problems, just thought I'd give a warning just so you're prepared in case this happens.

Enjoy your new machine!

Rick

[Dr. Distortion]

as an audio solution, you might want to consider an M-Audio Revolution 7.1: http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.main&ID=0ed0405324041d8025a955aa6ae2db1c

-Dr. D.

[KevCo]

Thanks carleton that's basically what I was looking for (although I wonder what you would consider to be easier than plugging in a $30 converter, lol). Have you actually used the product?

As far as warranty, well I'd be shocked if Apple didn't allow you to replace a user-replaceable component. Especially since they make a fuss about how easy it is to open the case. My PC (which is still under warranty) barely resembles the PC I bought. I gave the modem to a friend, pulled the DVD+-RW drive out and put it in a firewire case for my iBook, installed a new video card, and upgraded the power supply. Lol. But if I were to need warranty service I'd just reassemble it back to the way it came and bring it in.

[Sun Baked]

The quality and construction of the nVidia video cards varies, flashing them produces a wide variety of results.

Yes, there is a website that tracks this stuff, but it is also tracking the problems with flashing PC cards -- especially if cards chipset isn't supported on the mac.

The $50 for the ATI card was a decent upgrade, and probably would have created far fewer problems than using a flashed card.