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Graphics card upgrade for G5

W

webthing

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 13, 2004
5
0
I have a 2GHz Dual G5 with the standard Radeon 9600 card in it (ADC & DVI). If I want to upgrade to a better graphics card do I need to make sure I get one from a mac specialist? Or could I - for example - buy one cheap off the internet (say the 9800) and install it in the machine? Given that the new screens are now running off DVI is there anything different between a card like this for a mac and the same one for a PC??

As long as OSX drivers exist for the card it should be ok shouldn't it??

:confused:
 
jsw

jsw

Moderator emeritus
Mar 16, 2004
22,910
44
Andover, MA
Nope, there are some hardware differences. Unfortunately, a non-Mac-specific card will not run in your G5. God knows I wish it would... I'm in the same boat.
 
W

webthing

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 13, 2004
5
0
In reply to that then.... anyone recommend a store that has decent prices on G5 compatible cards? Preferably in the UK.
 
invaLPsion

invaLPsion

macrumors 65816
Jan 2, 2004
1,385
0
The Northlands
Newegg offers the Radeon 9800 for mac at $299 with free shipping. That's the cheapest I've seen, plus, Newegg is one of the most trusted online stores on the internet.
 
W

webthing

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 13, 2004
5
0
it's still stupidly overpriced compared to the PC version. Damn mac-tax! :mad:
 
jsw

jsw

Moderator emeritus
Mar 16, 2004
22,910
44
Andover, MA
Have you had major problems with the 9600? Seems to work fine for me. I'd like something faster, but I can't at all say I need it or, 99% of the time, would even see any improvement.
 
W

webthing

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 13, 2004
5
0
No, i haven't had any problems with it. It's just that I'm looking at Motion and Apple recommend a better graphics card (even though the 9600 will still work). I'm just wondering how much difference it would make. Guess I won't know until I try out Motion for real.
 
jsw

jsw

Moderator emeritus
Mar 16, 2004
22,910
44
Andover, MA
Might I recommend you put off buying anything for a few weeks? The reason: the 6800 Ultras are coming. You don't need one - but a number of people are going to upgrade to it - freeing up their current cards. Hopefully, they'll post them for sale in this forum. You could probably get a 9800 Pro at a reasonable price.
 
SilentPanda

SilentPanda

Moderator emeritus
Oct 8, 2002
9,992
31
The Bamboo Forest
I might be getting a Rev A. 1.8 G5 here in the near future (my father is thinking of selling me his for $1,000 flat, who am I to stop him?) but I'm going to upping the graphics card. I looked at ATI's web site for vid cards and they show the Raedon 9800 Pro w/ 128 MB of RAM for $150. They're out of stock but when I go to pricewatch the card selles for over $300?! What gives?
 
keysersoze

keysersoze

macrumors 68000
Jan 6, 2004
1,596
11
NH
SilentPanda said:
I might be getting a Rev A. 1.8 G5 here in the near future (my father is thinking of selling me his for $1,000 flat, who am I to stop him?) but I'm going to upping the graphics card. I looked at ATI's web site for vid cards and they show the Raedon 9800 Pro w/ 128 MB of RAM for $150. They're out of stock but when I go to pricewatch the card selles for over $300?! What gives?
Click to expand...

I'd say make sure it's the mac version. Also there are 2 mac versions:

9800 w/128MB memory ~$350
9800 SE w/256MB memory ~$400

You could find them for a bit cheaper, but not as low as $150. Even a flashed PC 9800 would run you over $200 on eBay.
 
SilentPanda

SilentPanda

Moderator emeritus
Oct 8, 2002
9,992
31
The Bamboo Forest
keysersoze said:
I'd say make sure it's the mac version. Also there are 2 mac versions:

9800 w/128MB memory ~$350
9800 SE w/256MB memory ~$400

You could find them for a bit cheaper, but not as low as $150. Even a flashed PC 9800 would run you over $200 on eBay.
Click to expand...

I totally believe you but... on ATI's site...

http://shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=2513464

Say's $150... which blew my mind when I found it being sold for $300+

Edit: Ahhhhh nevermind... that's the Radeon 9000 Pro... not the 9800... I'm an idiot.

Edit 2: Well not a total idiot... the "buy" link on the left hand side from this page: http://www.ati.com/products/radeon9800/radeon9800prome/index.html
takes you to the purchase of the Radeon 9000... weird.
 
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