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ATI Radeon 9800 pro problem
- Thread starter macboy13
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Not to put too finer point on it but, you're being very pessimistic about this whole thing, it may have even escaped your attention that the original poster macboy13 re-flashed his card and stated it was doing fine. Seeing as he's not replied since I'd say that's a good indicator that he's not having problems.
Your original reply was apparently catered to someone with a brain the size of a grape. I mean, if you're not competent enough to do even a bit of research on the matter before hand, be able to flash a card with the right ROM or do very minor pin modification work (which is hardly rocket science) then you more than likely will "always have problems" with the card.
Fair enough on your part, you were just giving a warning that doing this process can lead to problems if not done right. But, it's very hard not to do it right, again, unless the person undergoing the process is a complete and total tit.
I knew that site, but I did not know, if it lists the makes, that are eligible. (The compatibility list shows how they are compatible to the Mac models instead.)
They do under the buying guide section:
http://themacelite.wikidot.com/ati-radeon
then go to "9800 - different kinds", if you scroll down you will find a section "9800 - known not to work".
Well one thing I'd always suggest is to use stock ATi models since when you start going into the vendor modified market you're going to come up against larger and more significant hardware and firmware differences which will inevitably cause incompatibilities or outright non-functioning hardware. This is something I won't deny to be a possibility, however before addictedtomac chimes in saying I just agreed with him, note how above I state I'd only suggest using stock ATi cards. To clarify all my posts in this thread have been based on the belief anyone with half a brain would come to the same conclusion.
Why? Well as far as I'm concerned anyone wanting to undertake this task shouldn't want for anything more than a stock 9800 Pro anyway, let's face it you're not really going to need anything more are you? It's already known to be around twice as fast a 9000 Pro, and I would have thought if the game supports the processor speeds your G4 runs at (not counting upgrades) then a stock ATi 9800 Pro is going to be just fine for almost anything you can throw at it.
Radeon 9800 were a daunting task. Originally we moved tiny little resistors to flash them. As time went on we figured out easier ways and used reduced ROMs that fit on the 64K chips that most came with.
The big "Plus" to these in comparison to a Radeon 9000 is that they support "Core Image" which frees up your PPC CPU from some of the on screen work. Graphics are smoother, windows redrawn faster and more CPU cycles are available to run other software. It is truly win/win.
There are 20 different ways to screw it up, but if you have a brain LARGER than a grape you do your research. Stick to a REFERENCE board. This means it looks identical to the retail Mac 9800.
These cards use a simple 2 wire fan that runs at 100% all day and night. They burn up their little bearings and fry. The card goes shortly after that. This will happen even if it is a Mac version from ATI with a seal of Apple Approval signed by Steve Jobs himself. THey will typically start making more noise before they lock up. You can order replacement fans either with or without the heatsink. To order without, you need to measure the spacing of 2 things in mm:
1. Distance from screw hole to screw hole. It is absolutely CRUCIAL that this match exactly.
2. Width of fan blades. (overall diameter)
The nice thing about the X800 flashed cards is that they have a 3 wire fan that ramps up and down to match temp. Fan is quieter and lasts a lot longer since it isn't racing at top speed all of the time.
For most G4s you will need to tape pins 3 & 11. A guide I created 7 or so years ago is still available to show you how. If you have a "Sawtooth" G4, this isn't needed.
The big "Plus" to these in comparison to a Radeon 9000 is that they support "Core Image" which frees up your PPC CPU from some of the on screen work. Graphics are smoother, windows redrawn faster and more CPU cycles are available to run other software. It is truly win/win.
There are 20 different ways to screw it up, but if you have a brain LARGER than a grape you do your research. Stick to a REFERENCE board. This means it looks identical to the retail Mac 9800.
These cards use a simple 2 wire fan that runs at 100% all day and night. They burn up their little bearings and fry. The card goes shortly after that. This will happen even if it is a Mac version from ATI with a seal of Apple Approval signed by Steve Jobs himself. THey will typically start making more noise before they lock up. You can order replacement fans either with or without the heatsink. To order without, you need to measure the spacing of 2 things in mm:
1. Distance from screw hole to screw hole. It is absolutely CRUCIAL that this match exactly.
2. Width of fan blades. (overall diameter)
The nice thing about the X800 flashed cards is that they have a 3 wire fan that ramps up and down to match temp. Fan is quieter and lasts a lot longer since it isn't racing at top speed all of the time.
For most G4s you will need to tape pins 3 & 11. A guide I created 7 or so years ago is still available to show you how. If you have a "Sawtooth" G4, this isn't needed.
Some cards are only good for Mac OS X, EVEN Mac cards! (i.e. The Radeon 9200 Pro PCI if you boot up on Mac OS 9 it crashes).
Is Radeon 9800 Pro working on Mac OS 9.2.2 ???