New Video Card

[Lord Blackadder]

Barefeats (http://www.barefeats.com/quick.html) mentions that a new version of the Radeon 9600 Pro, with 256MB of VRAM will be available soon. The card is apparently both PC and Mac (which Macs?) compatible, but details are scarce beyond that.

The same article also mentions that both retail versions of the Radeon 9800 for Mac have been discontinued.

With the 9800s gone, this will be the best retail AGP card available to Mac users. Seems like a poor trade.

Any comments?

[yoda13]

that sux. I guess I won't be upgrading the old quicksilver then. Meh, guess when I need more computer I will finally have to buy a new PM. Oh well, four years is a long time for a computer. :p

[eXan]

that sux. I guess I won't be upgrading the old quicksilver then. Meh, guess when I need more computer I will finally have to buy a new PM. Oh well, four years is a long time for a computer. :p

At least you can upgrade you computer... I have mine for 3 years and its so s l o w in intesive apps!!!

But the rest runs OK on it...

[Eric5h5]

With the 9800s gone, this will be the best retail AGP card available to Mac users. Seems like a poor trade.

Uh...except for the X800. Still, it seems a little odd to have just the low end and the high end, with no mid-range.

--Eric

[eXan]

Uh...except for the X800. Still, it seems a little odd to have just the low end and the high end, with no mid-range.

--Eric

Yea same with iPods... Only 20 and 60 gig model? wtf??? :confused:

[Nermal]

The card is apparently both PC and Mac (which Macs?) compatible

"That's our brand new mainstream product. PC & Mac compatible. With support for Apple's 30" display on both PC and Mac. Ships with Mac and Windows software in the box and should support Linux with driver download. It has a special ROM structure and the ability to dual-boot designed into it." - One of the guys at ATI

[eXan]

"That's our brand new mainstream product. PC & Mac compatible. With support for Apple's 30" display on both PC and Mac. Ships with Mac and Windows software in the box and should support Linux with driver download. It has a special ROM structure and the ability to dual-boot designed into it." - One of the guys at ATI

I wonder if this is true. I belive that 256 MB Radeon 9600 that supports 30 inch display is called Radeon 9650?

[Platform]

I wonder if this is true. I belive that 256 MB Radeon 9600 that supports 30 inch display is called Radeon 9650?

9650 is proberly just an Apple name.......that they added since the gave it 30" ability and 1/4gig RAM ;)

[eXan]

9650 is proberly just an Apple name.......that they added since the gave it 30" ability and 1/4gig RAM ;)

Yep, maybe u're right. 9650 is not on the list of Mac cards on ATI's site! (X850XT is not there too :eek: )

[Lord Blackadder]

Uh...except for the X800.

True, but it is G5-only. One of the Radeon 9800s that got dropped was a G4-compatible card, so it reduces the options of us G4 users.

Interesting info, Nermal. Where did you see that? I like the idea of cross platform video cards - I hope ATI does this more in the future, since it should drive the cost down for Mac users. After all, it doesn't take a heck of a lot of modification to make a card cross-platform, and Mac video card prices are too high compared to their PC counterparts.

[jared_kipe]

Just flash a PC card, thats what I did.

[Lord Blackadder]

Just flash a PC card, thats what I did.

It may never happen, but I secretly hope that a large video card manufacturer like ASUS will someday make a bunch of their cards cross-platform. Who knows? maybe if Apple's star rises enough they will.

[Mord]

/me hopes it's 2x compatible and low profile for g4 cube owners.

[Nermal]

Interesting info, Nermal. Where did you see that?

It was on xlr8yourmac.com but was taken down at ATI's request.

Just flash a PC card, thats what I did.

Why? What's the advantage of flashing a "PC" card?

[Whyren]

If the 256 version works for G4 users (unlike the 9800), I'm happy to hear it. Elseways...well, something better still work with my computer.

[crachoar]

Well, flashing a PC card is cheaper than buying a 'mac edition' card. Simple as that.

I've always hated the fact that I can't just throw a PC video card into my mac...

I hope the switch to Intel allows me to do so.

[Nermal]

Well, flashing a PC card is cheaper than buying a 'mac edition' card. Simple as that.

When I bought my 9800 Mac edition in December 04, it was USD285 (NZD408). A third-party PC 9800 was NZD410. Are PC cards cheaper in the US?

[Eric5h5]

When I bought my 9800 Mac edition in December 04, it was USD285 (NZD408). A third-party PC 9800 was NZD410. Are PC cards cheaper in the US?

Yes. It's a pretty basic supply-and-demand thing, there being a much greater number of PCs. It's not just the U.S.; if you check eBay, you'll see it's the same everywhere. I suspect your case was unusual, and the result of a sale or mixup or something....

--Eric

[Lord Blackadder]

When I bought my 9800 Mac edition in December 04, it was USD285 (NZD408). A third-party PC 9800 was NZD410. Are PC cards cheaper in the US?

Last time I checked a week ago the Radeon 9800 Mac Edition (128MB) was running $260 at OWC and other vendors, and New Egg is selling PC Radeon 9800s for as low as $120-$130 at the bottom end. They have several 9800XTs for under $200.

Most PC cards sold in the US don't have anywhere near the markup on them as Mac cards.

[Nermal]

Just looking at local prices, PC cards are now at about NZD350, so they're cheaper than the Mac version. But my Mac card was a good deal at the time :)

[FilmWolf]

I ran across this thread and thought I might ask if any know's where I can buy an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB for a G4. I have looked everywhere and they have vanished off the face of the internet. Not even 3 months ago ATI had them for sale on their website for $250.00. I would really like to run Motion, but with my computer I can't run it without the 9800 128 AGP.
(I have a Quicksilver 867 MHz G4 with 896 mb of RAM)

Here comes my rant.

I am bewildered at the fact that I cannot find these components that are necessary to run certain apps and software suites. I DO NOT have $$$$$$ to buy a new computer each time a new version of software comes out. I have enough to buy what I need. The second thing is, I am appalled at how few Mac websites there are that sell anything Apple or Mac related. It's like pulling teeth to be able to get anything for my G4 anymore.

That's it, I'm done ranting. If anyone has any good advice please let me know.

Oh, and if it came down to it, could I "flash" the PC version and how would I do that? Someone will have to explain this to me, the "how" and "why".

Thanks and this forum is pretty cool.

FW

[GFLPraxis]

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php?masterid=2832011&search=radeon+9800+mac+edition


Google is your friend.


As for flashing a PC card, I don't know about the "how" but for "why"; graphics cards have a firmware on them as I understand it. The firmware on the Mac cards are different to work with OS X and the Mac hardware. If you buy a PC Radeon 9800 Pro, and 'flash' it (writing over the built in firmware and replacing it with the Mac firmware), it becomes a Mac card. Just don't mess it up ;)

[FilmWolf]

Yeah,

I looked at all of those, pricegrabber, etc... They all gave me the G5 256 MB cards, just as your link did. (Thanks for trying to help, though. I appreciate it) I have googled the heck out of it too. To no avail, nada. I just can't believe there are none of these cards out there for sale.

Will the 9600 Mac Edition work for Motion in my G4? If so, I'll go that route.

Thanks,

FW

[GFLPraxis]

How is that a G5 one? It uses AGP...

[GFLPraxis]

I am a professional googler... :)



http://www.computerhq.com/ATI_RADEON_9800_PRO_Mac_Edition/100-435050/hardware/partinfo-id-53088.html

http://dealmac.com/deals/Apple-ATI-RADEON-9800-Pro-128-MB-DDR-8-x-AGP-video-card-for-179-shipped/91015.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000AQNX8/qid=1125040170/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-5085258-1595803?v=glance&s=pc&n=507846

Here's a 9600 Pro 128 MB if you want it.
http://www.a2zcomp.com/buy.asp?REF=2&SKU=0247381

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/ATI%20Technologies/100435060/
$199, 128 MB Radeon 9600 Pro, G4 compatible.

The trick is to google for this:

Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB Mac Edition -256


The "-256" bit tells Google to exclude all results with 256 in it.

[FilmWolf]

Dude, Thanks a bunch! I'll let you know what I decide.

FW

That's awesome man!

[GFLPraxis]

No problem, any time :)

Warning: I made a mistake with my post and editted, I accidentally put a link to a Radeon 9600 Pro G4 compatible instead of a 9800 for the first one. I also put the link to the PC card for the Amazon, I just replaced it with the Mac one. No mention whether it is G4 compatible or not but its 128 MB and AGP...


This one looks like your best bet.


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000AQNX8/qid=1125040170/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-5085258-1595803?v=glance&s=pc&n=507846


System requirements: Any Power Macintosh computer with an AGP 4x/2x expansion slot. Mac OS X version 10.2.5 or higher


G4 compatible. They've only got one in stock. You're right, it is very hard to find. A lot of the ones I found were G5 only or sold out, but I only took the first page of Google and already found a good one so if you look through it hopefully you'll get one if you miss this one :)

[Mord]

pc 9800's cost about a hundred bucks, and to do it you either need two macs a pc or a pci graphics card.

[eXan]

How is that a G5 one? It uses AGP...

G5s use AGP 8x... :D