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Graphics Card Upgrade for Dual 450 G4 ??

S

SpaceMusic_Guy

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 18, 2003
68
0
Mpls., MN
Hey Everyone,

I just picked up a used "Dual 450" G4 (Gigabit Ethernet)........my first G4 (major improvement over my Beige G3 !!)

It came with the original "ATI Rage 128 Pro" AGP card with 16 Mb of VRAM. What's a good card to get that's not too expensive that would be a major step up from that !! I currently have a Radeon 7000 PCI card (that I'm running in my "beefed up" 9600) that I know is a much better card than the Rage 128 Pro.

I actually installed that in one of my PCI slots in the Dual 450 just to see if it would be faster than the AGP "128 Rage Pro." It definitely seemed sharper and a little brighter than the stock Rage Pro. It might have been just a shade faster but was hard to tell. Should the Radeon be faster even though it's PCI - vs - AGP ??

How about an "N-Vidia 32 MB GForce 4 MX" AGP card........would that be enough of an upgrade for about $66.00 ?? Or..... what about any of the other AGP Radeon cards that aren't over $120......what's the best bang for the buck ??

I'm running OS X 10.2.6 and OS 9.2.1 with 1 GB of ram.
 
just a lil comment, the video card has to be fed by the cpu, a better video card may yeild a lil more performance but mostly you gain from higher resolutions. a geforce 4mx is a step up for you,its cheap. but if you are looking to crank up your machine you need more cpu & better video card. ask your self what is to be done with this machine and go from there.
 
The best "bang-for-the-buck" grfx card, is the Radeon 9000, IMHO.
Anything higher/faster/more expensive than that would be "overkill" for your Mac.
The GeForce 4 MX could be sufficient, so it all comes down to budget.

I would choose between these two: Radeon 9000, and GeForce 4 MX.

Radeon 9000 is better, but more expensive. But as you have a Dual G4 450, it could be the prerfect deal.
Do you play games? Yes; get Radeon 9000. No: get cheapest Quartz Extreme capable grfx card.. ie. GeForce 4MX, or Radeon Mac-edition (the original Radeon AGP)
 
For your system I recommend the Geforce 4 MX card if you don't mind playing at 1024x768 or lower, if you want 1280 or 1600 then get the radeon 9000
 
Your CPU is going to limit you from playing games. I have a dual 800 with a RADEON 8500, and anything more intensive than Quake III or Warcraft 3 is unplayable. UT2k3 and the games coming to Mac in the next few months are out of the question unless you can live with playing in a window at low res.

I would get an AGP card for Quartz Extreme acceleration. The PCI cards and Rage do not support QE. For a 450MHz mac, the best thing you can do is take some of the load off of your CPU.

The cheapest QE compatible card is your best bet. If you are going to spend $150 on a card, get an XBox, PS2 or GC. Honestly.
 
Re: Graphics Card Upgrade for Dual 450 G4 ??

Originally posted by SpaceMusic_Guy
Hey Everyone,

I just picked up a used "Dual 450" G4 (Gigabit Ethernet)........my first G4 (major improvement over my Beige G3 !!)

It came with the original "ATI Rage 128 Pro" AGP card with 16 Mb of VRAM. What's a good card to get that's not too expensive that would be a major step up from that !! I currently have a Radeon 7000 PCI card (that I'm running in my "beefed up" 9600) that I know is a much better card than the Rage 128 Pro.

I actually installed that in one of my PCI slots in the Dual 450 just to see if it would be faster than the AGP "128 Rage Pro." It definitely seemed sharper and a little brighter than the stock Rage Pro. It might have been just a shade faster but was hard to tell. Should the Radeon be faster even though it's PCI - vs - AGP ??

How about an "N-Vidia 32 MB GForce 4 MX" AGP card........would that be enough of an upgrade for about $66.00 ?? Or..... what about any of the other AGP Radeon cards that aren't over $120......what's the best bang for the buck ??

I'm running OS X 10.2.6 and OS 9.2.1 with 1 GB of ram.
Click to expand...
I have the same set up as you,but with an ATI 8500 ad I love it. I can play alot of older games but don't expect to play UT2k3 or Allied assult with it. I wrote Aspyr and they said SIm City 4 would play on it but was not in their definition of "acceptable play" other than that it is a great machine andthe dual benchmarks very well in OSX
 
I suppose I should have mentioned that I really don't do games. However, I do alot of Photoshop, Illustrator, Bryce 5, Dreamweaver MX (website updating), Web Browsing (multiple browsers) and will be getting more into Video.

So, does that change anybody's suggestions ??
 
Originally posted by SpaceMusic_Guy
I suppose I should have mentioned that I really don't do games. However, I do alot of Photoshop, Illustrator, Bryce 5, Dreamweaver MX (website updating), Web Browsing (multiple browsers) and will be getting more into Video.

So, does that change anybody's suggestions ??
Click to expand...
Then just max out the ram and stick with a low end nvidia card. I would try to go with something that has 64 Mb on it
 
Originally posted by mattmack
Then just max out the ram and stick with a low end nvidia card. I would try to go with something that has 64 Mb on it
Click to expand...

That probably sounds like a good plan. I'll be on the prowl for the G-Force 4 MX w/ 64 MB of ram.
 
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