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nForce on the Mac?

GF 2/3 on AGP 2x

I have an old G4 dual 500 with agp 2x and have a REALLY crap graphics card (16mb ATI Rage!) and was wondering if the newish GeForce 2 and 3 cards would work on my AGP 2x machine, and if so what would their performance be like!? Doesn't REALLY matter, as i'm gonna get a PC with an excellent GPU soon, VERY soon! Anyway, if you do know, please respond, cheers!
 
PC! noooooooooo!

Originally posted by xipirho
I have an old G4 dual 500 with agp 2x and have a REALLY crap graphics card (16mb ATI Rage!) and was wondering if the newish GeForce 2 and 3 cards would work on my AGP 2x machine, and if so what would their performance be like!? Doesn't REALLY matter, as i'm gonna get a PC with an excellent GPU soon, VERY soon! Anyway, if you do know, please respond, cheers!
Click to expand...

By "new PC" I really hope you're talking about a mac! :)

BTW, I think (but I'm not sure) the new cards you rever to require the 4x AGP (I am not positive about this, however). My friend recently updated his graphics card and it seems that he was not able to get the new GeForce 3 because of the AGP issue.

[Edited by OSUbuckeyefan on 01-01-2002 at 01:08 PM]
 
Thanks for the help. Is there any way to upgrade to AGP 4x (eg: change the motherboard!?) that would cost less than a new Mac or IBM comp!? Oh, and about the new PC, sorry, I mean an IBM compatible ! (unless Mac do something REALLY revolutionary ASAP!) - don't get me wrong, i know macs are better on hardware (and i love OSX), but i'm fed up with the lack of software, lack of games, lack of hardware support and the way you can't upgrade half the stuff in macs!
 
I'm honestly not sure about upgrading the graphics port - maybe one of the hardware gurus will chime in here...

As for your frustration with macs - I would give it 6 more days. See what they come up with at MWSF. It seems as though some really great stuff is going to be released :)

Interestingly - I don't own a mac but will be getting one soon (hopefully it will be a G5). I plan on getting it mainly for gaming. It seems to me that all the "worthwile" games are available for the mac platform :)

 
I don't think...

Apple sells motherboards and I also think the AGP connector is soldered onto the motherboard. So replacing the connector isn't gonna be possible!

It wouldn't work... but even if it did you wouldn't be getting the full performance of the card. These cards were designed with AGP4x in mind, so I guess your better off buying a new mac!
 
New mac and GeForce

Where are the command and conquer series for mac, not to mention force feedback!? G5 sounds great, maybe, just maybe i'll stick with mac. I'm waiting for the new pcs (of all kinds) to be released before buying, so dont worry about macworld! Also, if apple sells motherboards, cant i buy one from them!?
 
I don't think Apple sells motherboards...

If they did wouldn't there be clones, right???

Maybe go to un unauthorized Apple dealer. Maybe they will sell you a motherboard!
 
if you don't know.. don't reply.

You are confusing the poor man. nVidia does NOT make a retail version of thier Geforce 2/3 cards for the Mac. Apple does not support the Geforce 2/3 cards in anything but computers that came with AGP4x (Quicksilver and Digital Audios). So that is a moot point. You might be able to get one off Ebay, but I would not bet on it working in your unit, and if it doesn't you have a nice centerpiece :) I would go for the Radeon Mac Edition. ATI has been making drivers for the Mac for 5 years. Thier drivers are much much much more mature than nVidia's drivers for the Mac. If you want to wait, I'd wholeheartedly suggest the Radeon 8500. There have been several benchmarks done on several sites comparing the 2 MX vs the Radeon and the radeon wins hands down. Not as good as a GF3, but if you can't use it anyway, why bother? As far as upgrading the AGP slot on your computer, you can't. You can't buy a new logic board that has AGP 4x, unless you buy one of the newer series G4 board, and then your G4 processor won't work in it. Then you'll have to upgrade that. It's easier to buy a new machine then that, even IF you could find the parts. I would suggest the Radeon as the easiest way to get great graphics. As far as the nForce goes, they would have to completely rewrite the board in order for it to work on a mac. It's very unlikely. The development costs for the nForce were paid for by Microsoft when they made the "Xbox". When nVidia brought it to the PC, they dumbed down the graphics card, and made it work with the Athlons. It does NOT work with the Pentium 4... yet.. And the only way to get a pentium III to work in it, is to buy an Xbox....
 
nForce is a budget platform

read the reviews on the PC hardware sites, this platform is a good first try but falls far short of the performance crown. Also, it is a very expensive chipset from an OEM perspective.

What would you do with all the PC legacy stuff on that board?

Hypertransport is cool, but you can license that easily enough.
 
Apple..

... already has a license to Hyper Transport, they were one of the founding members of the consortium.. and thats why I said the entire board / chipset would have to be reworked. We might see Hyper Transport without the Nforce :D
 
Good for you.

It is your choice after all. :) Though I'm sure we'll see you back heh heh heh....
 
you will return!!!

I did!

I have a 1.1ghz Athlon rig built from the ground up for video editing (and playing Max Payne). I would rather have a Quicksilver (even an old G4 dual 500) and an XBOX.

I need to find a MacOS deserter/sucker and do a trade.

I installed OSX on my sons 7600 (w/288 meg or ram mind you) and it works. XP will not work on a Pentium 120 let me tell you!!!

PCs are fine if you build them yourself (as complicated as lego, really quite simple). But if you buy a brand name PC, you are - like so many people these days - an idiot!

AGP speed (2x vs 4x) really is not that much of a bottleneck. Your modern 32-64meg card won't need any system memory for the frame buffer (the original benefit of AGP). What hurts the Mac is:

1. poor driver support - PC user get updated detonator drivers for their nVidia card every couple of days!
2. CPU clock speed. mhz-myth or not, a 1.3ghz p4 gets spanked by a 2.2 ghz p4 with everything else being equal. Quake 3 is not Photoshop!
 
Trade!!!

Hey, i have an old G4 dual 500!!! Interested? It might take quite a lot of arrangement though, as i'm in the uk! (unless you are too!)
 
Hey, soz, i just realised you said TRADE!!! No thanks - i'll stick with my G4 over yur athlon, soz!
 
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