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my big adc/dvi mistake

zimv20

zimv20

macrumors 601
Original poster
Jul 18, 2002
4,402
11
toronto
thinking i was being clever, i bought myself an ATI radeon 8500 to stick in my g4. when i tried to plug in my 15" apple flat panel, it didn't take.

apparently, the connector on that monitor is adc, whereas the card has a (similarly-shaped but differently-sized) dvi connecter.

strange, 'cuz the ati card i yanked out has that adc connector.

does ati make that card w/ the connector i need? the microcenter guy can sell me an adapter for $160, nearly the price of the card (no thanks). my only other option is to return the 8500 and stick w/ my rage pro (ugh).

has anyone else run into this b.s.?
 
The problem is that ADC...

... is DVI plus USB and power. That's why the adapter costs $160, because it includes a power supply. The ADC monitors have no power supply.

DVI connections are more common on PCs, where nobody seems to have any concern about how many cables there are laying around.

Don't panic. See if you can get a Radeon with an ADC connector. They should have them. Don't bother with the adapter. You could consider a different monitor such as a Formac which has a DVI connector. (Note that the ADC-to-DVI adapter is much cheaper, like $30.) However, I love my ADC monitor and appreciate the simplified cabling.

On my Cube I replaced my rage 128 with a Geforce 2mx. It has the ADC connector and it was plug-and-play.

Return the Radeon and ask them if they have one with an ADC connector. If not, shop around. ATI definitely makes the cards.
 
Re: The problem is that ADC...

Originally posted by cubist
... is DVI plus USB and power. That's why the adapter costs $160, because it includes a power supply. The ADC monitors have no power supply.

DVI connections are more common on PCs, where nobody seems to have any concern about how many cables there are laying around.

Don't panic. See if you can get a Radeon with an ADC connector. They should have them. Don't bother with the adapter. You could consider a different monitor such as a Formac which has a DVI connector. (Note that the ADC-to-DVI adapter is much cheaper, like $30.) However, I love my ADC monitor and appreciate the simplified cabling.

On my Cube I replaced my rage 128 with a Geforce 2mx. It has the ADC connector and it was plug-and-play.

Return the Radeon and ask them if they have one with an ADC connector. If not, shop around. ATI definitely makes the cards.
Click to expand...

ATI makes a Retail 9000 with ADC (also around $150), there is no 8500 with ADC. MOSR made this mistake and was highly made fun of on this site. The only real difference is the 8500 has S-Video Out (and some minor pixel, shader, RAMDAC thingies and lots of other big words that are real complicated to explain). But they both have 64 MB Video Ram (both DDR, I believe). You'll be happy with the 9000, if you can find it.

Take the 8500 back for credit for the 9000 if they have (or will have) the Mac edition. Don't let them sell you the ADC-DVI cable. You can buy a new video card for that much.

If you need TV-Out, buy a PCI Radeon 7000 for $120.

Good luck.
 
Re: Re: The problem is that ADC...

Originally posted by solvs

there is no 8500 with ADC. MOSR made this mistake and was highly made fun of on this site.
Click to expand...

then i'm in good company. lol

i'll return it and get the 9000. thanks!
 
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