hi all new mac user graphics question

[adjay84]

hi everyone ive just bought myself a 1.5ghz 15 inch powerbook g4 it has 2gb of ram installed and has the ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 with 64MB of DDR SDRAM graphics card.

my question is this graphics card any good? im not reaally up on my graphics cards but in terms of reviews, make, speed etc? i do play games occasionally, and do appreciate good graphics.

i have had a quick look on the net and found some cards at 256mb? will these be a big improvement over my my 64mb one?

and also ive only got a max of £50, now ive seen you can get a 256mb one for that price but the question is will it be any good or would it just be better keeping my exsisting card?

and sorry one more question if i do buy a new card can i slot it into the One PC Card/CardBus slot supporting one Type I or Type II card

cheers guys!

 

[killmoms]

You cannot replace the graphics chip in a notebook. The PC Card bus is not AGP, the bus used for graphics. Your graphics chip is soldered to the main logic board in the PowerBook—there are no upgrades.

The PowerBook itself is pretty well outdated, especially since the dramatically faster MacBook Pros have been our for a year now. Those machines seriously outclass the PowerBook, a machine that was only ever "okay" for gaming.

 

[clevin]

if game is important to you, and u still want a mac,
then return the PB and buy refurbished MBP pro CD, it is the best way to go, its like about $1400, with at least $128MB independent graphic card. and you can even install windows on it to play some games that OSX doesn't support.

 

[adjay84]

oh right i had no idea the graphics card couldnt be upgraded. No big worries though my main use for it is music.

and obviously the whole powerbook/macbook thing is down to personal opinion

thanks

oh actually is there any thing i can do to get more performance out of it? or is just the case of keeping drivers updated etc?

 

[jsw]

It all depends on what you play.

WarCraft III, for example, plays just fine, as do most or all older games. The newer ones, though, don't usually fare well.

 

[adjay84]

im from the uk so macbook pros are still roughly over a grand here roughly $2300.so too much for me to spend

 

[adjay84]

only playing old games really like medal of honor, so nothing really taxing. would a game such as this be ok to run on?

 

[clevin]

only playing old games really like medal of honor, so nothing really taxing. would a game such as this be ok to run on?

sure, if it has mac version.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I'm typing this on my 15" PowerBook G4 with 64MB Radeon 9700...as far as the video card goes, it uses a similar core to the Radeon 9600XT, and is clocked a little slower.

It runs well enough for Call of Duty (1), Knights of the Old Republic and other games of similar vintage.