Cube Graphics Upgrade

I had a Cube 2 days ago with a Nvidia GeForce 2MX, it works well. You will need the extensions for that card. I had to use the machine at 640x480 resolution for a day because of that.

By the way, I sent the Cube back to his original owner, too many cables and too fragile, not a good computer for some one that uses a powermac.

 

www.macwarehouse.com
www.macmall.com
www.maczone.com

Those usually have what you're looking for. I got my Radeon 7000 PCI for my G4 400 PCI a few weeks ago through macwarehouse.com.

 

i really really really want a cube...

I just can't afford one, and it's not practical considering that I have all of my PCI slots filled up in my powermac.

1. AGP graphics
2. SCSI 2940UW
3. Extra scsi output from card.
4. Audiomedia III card.
5. USB 2.0 card.

-Pete

Pretty soon the Radeon is going to be ousted for an 8500.

 

Check on Ebay, I was thinking the same thing you were (Quartz Extreme),
since the drivers are already on OS X, I just popped it in and it worked like a charm!

P.S The Radeon have loud fans, so if you value the quietness of the cube you'd go with the Geforce2 MX , I did anyway...

 

Cube Card Options...

I've really been doing literally TONS of research on the web on this very subject - being the proud owner of a lovely little Cube, I'd like to eventually do the upgrade thing. And there's plenty of good news out there...

Luckily, the Cube can take a fair few graphics cards - such as the GeForce 2MX 32MB, the 2MX 64MB w/TwinView and even the GeForce 3. There are even some unconfirmed reports of GeForce 4's being squeezed into the little chassis! The OEM Radeon is also a very good bet, albeit a touch noisy because of the onboard fan. Therefore, a 2MX should be fine (no fan, and good heatsink!). It is advisable to actually put a fan in your Cube should you upgrade the graphics card, though, if only to give your little guy a longer life expectancy. Apple foresaw the update avenue for the Cube, and graciously supplied a location and a power socket for a fan deep inside the innards. If pulling apart the Cube makes you queazy, I know of a japanese company that has developed a rather good looking fan system that fits under the Cube, and blows air upwards through the vent in the base. They have also developed some snazzy looking USB hubs as well - based on a Heatsink-look. Check out the link via www.cube-zone.com - who also have good information on graphics cards upgrades, too.

Bench tests to the cards can all be found at www.xlr8yourmac.com - as well as tips for installations. An interesting piece of information regarding DVD playback on Nvidia cards can be found there, too - apparently, Radeons perform much better than the GeForce 2MX's, as they're too choppy (Can anyone else confirm this?).

eBay is usually a very good bet to get the card you require, as you can do a search for "nvidia adc", or "Radeon Cube", which will list all Cube-compatible cards. The majority of these are pulled from PowerMac Towers, as the owners are upgrading to the big graphics-crunching cards themselves; such as the Radeon 8500, or the GeForce 4Ti. Otherwise, hang around someone with a Quicksilver, and pressure him/her to upgrade their card - offering to take their old, outdated card off their hands. Go on - do 'em a favour...

Hope this helps.

 

Here's how.

If you go to this link...

http://w1.404.telia.com/~u40423130/geforce/

...you will see a series of pictures that somebody took, showing the steps needed to replace the existing graphics card with the new GeForce 2MX. All you need to do, really, is to exchange the faceplates!

Good luck!