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Ordering my G5: 6800 DLL?

S

SkAlex

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 21, 2004
47
0
OK...I want to keep this thing under $5k (w/ monitor) with the edu discount.

Dual 2.5
1 Gb ram
20" cinema

So...

the new 6800 ultra dll or the 9800xt and maybe try to splurge for the 23" HD display? I'm a film major, so most of my work is editting and computer graphics. I'm also concerned that the 23" might be a little too overwheliming, although I might end up mounting it on a wall. So do you think I need the new graphics card, or should I try to save up a little more for the 23"?
 
I decided to drop down to the 9600 XT with the 23" if that helps you. I figure I will upgrade to the Nvidia 6800 sometime this fall (thanks apple for making it a stand alone option, tho they had no choice hehehe). That makes the price point with a 2.5 (1gig, 250gig HD, .mac, bluetooth and airport extreme card) ~4900 with edu discount (before tax).
 
That's a pretty good point, and nice setup. Maybe I will stick with the 9600 and save up some cash for the 6800. I guess there's no use in upgrading to the 9800 if i'm probably going to end up updating it relavtively soon anyway. I might end up making the same order as you with the 120 Gb hardrive...I don't want anything more because I will be getting a large firewire external drive (required for film school) and might also opt out of the superdrive in place of the lacie dual layer burner. Thanks for the advice.
 
On a Similar Note...

I want to buy a PM 1.8, but am not sure what video card I should go with. As I understand it, the NVIDIA 5200 that is standard is pretty lousy. Is the 6800 a better choice, even if I am only going to have a 20" screen (one of the new ones)? Or should I look at upgrading in the future? Does it matter if my PM can't support PCI-X?

Thanks for any help!

--DT
 
pci-X is not pci express they are two different things the g5 has pci-X slots (turbo charged pci slots) pci express is like the next agp it's like agp 16x but it is also a replacement for pci and pci-X
 
the 5200 is garbage...i have it in my 12" powerbook...a G5 deserves better. i'd buy the 9600 (minimum) or wait for the 6800.
 
The 6800 IS WORTH THE MONEY.

It is the current generation of video card, we are extremely lucky apple decided to let us get this. It gets literally twice the framerate in games and is more tuned for the newer games which will come out shortly. It is totally necessary for Doom III, which should be available for mac as well as windows. We're talking a difference of 200+%.

Buying the kit afterwards costs $600 and you get a (worthless) ATI 9*00XT 8X AGP that you'll never use. Getting it BTO allows you to not buy the ATI, and put the money towards the 6800.

If it's worth $600 to get your computer 1-2 months early, then so be it, but regardless, THE 6800 IS WORTH THE MONEY.

See my other thread in this forum for more information.
 
6800 is worth the money, just not the $600 Mac version, which is 2x that of the PC version. For $600, you can get a pair of PC 6800 and run them in SLI mode.
 
like the guy above said...it's almost necessary for Doom 3, not to mention it's ID's preferred card (which makes one wonder why...i thought the x800 was better? less power draw, higher fps, smaller).

regardless, it's worth the money, you already dropped 2.5+k on the computer, is 1/2k that much more to ensure the best performance? not to mention it's damn sexy and will make you feel cool.
 
FuzzyBallz said:
6800 is worth the money, just not the $600 Mac version, which is 2x that of the PC version. For $600, you can get a pair of PC 6800 and run them in SLI mode.
Click to expand...

Show me where you can get a 6800 PC version for $300.
 
BrianKonarsMac said:
it's ID's preferred card (which makes one wonder why...i thought the x800 was better? less power draw, higher fps, smaller).
Click to expand...

The FPS are about the same, on most sites the 6800 was better all around.

However, id uses openGL (because they're not stupidly locking themselves into M$), and ATI is MS DX's bitch. In OGL games, the 6800 always wins. ATI wants to support something they'll get the most money for, and DX is the way to go for that. Yeah yeah, NVidia's a bigger company and all that junk but it doesn't mean I care.

NVidia also has the best driver support for alternative operating systems (*nix, mac) hands down, and has a better history for driver support on Windows (presently I still think they're better, but I have no evidence ;)).

After being a mac user for so long, I'll never buy another ATI product if I have a choice. We'll see if my mind changes in the future.
 
If you don't play games the 5200 is fine. Everyone calls it crap cause it's got weaker 3D... but you know if you don't play games...

slughead:

Yeah yeah, NVidia's a bigger company and all that junk but it doesn't mean I care.
Click to expand...
Actually ATI is bigger, and always has been. Strong in the OEM areas.
 
ddtlm said:
Actually ATI is bigger, and always has been. Strong in the OEM areas.
Click to expand...

Uhm ATI may have sold more cards, but I'm pretty sure Nvidia's a bigger company (they make chipsets, sound cards, and all sorts of things).

Someone with half a mind for this stuff take a look (isn't it volume x stock price??):

ATI's finances

NVidia's Finances
 
Well, regardless of who is doing better...it has to be huge for Nvidia to get some of this limelight, co-"hosting', if you will, the New Display announcement.

I mean, there is no mentioning of the X800 at all...from this picture of a X800 box in Akiba Japan, it would seem that the ATi's X800 XT also has dual DVI (look for the 2 * DVI in the picture)

What with last year's 5800 debacle, using the 30" Apple display combo as a launchpad for mid-2004 to 2005 is certainly a nice change of pace for nVidia.
 

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lol i think he just looked it up on pricewatch.com

in which, yes, quite a few 6800's (128MB Standard) versions show up...
 
Mav451:

Dual DVI ports are not a big deal. I've got a GF-5700 in my Linux box with dual DVI, some places are even selling a dual-DVI GF-5200 for $105:

http://www.directron.com/v9520vs128.html

Can't tell if you are confused or not, but dual-link DVI is not the same thing as dual DVI ports. Apple's 6800 has two dual-link DVI ports, I'm not sure what other cards do.
 
ddtlm said:
If you don't play games the 5200 is fine. Everyone calls it crap cause it's got weaker 3D... but you know if you don't play games...

slughead:


Actually ATI is bigger, and always has been. Strong in the OEM areas.
Click to expand...
Thanks everyone for the very informative posts.

I don't play games. Not yet, at least. I have an Xbox for games, and I want to use my G5 for standard household stuff, plus video editing (hence the G5) and DVD creation. I was considering waiting for the iMac G5, but I would want a 20" screen, and in three years, the iMac G5 would be pretty much spent, while it's got a nice screen that I can't do anything with.
If I went for the PM Dual 1.8, I would have far more expandability (RAM, HD, expansion slots, plus I heard Sonnet is working on G5 upgrades), plus a screen that I can use on another computer when the time comes. Sure, it's a bit more expensive, but I reckon I can get quite a few more years out of it.

Now, since I don't play games at this time, is it possible to upgrade the video card in a year or 18 months from now if I don't have PCI-X? What type of graphics bus does the PM have, and will it support the hottest cards? Should I go for the 6800 now and not think about the graphics card for years, or just take the 5200 and upgrade to whatever is new when I need it? And, finally, are new, boxed cards alway compatible with Macs, or do Mac gamers just have to be content with old tech?

I know some of these may be stupid questions, but I am so far behind on graphics cards it isn't funny.
Thanks for all the help!

--DT
 
ddtlm said:
Mav451:

Dual DVI ports are not a big deal. I've got a GF-5700 in my Linux box with dual DVI, some places are even selling a dual-DVI GF-5200 for $105:

http://www.directron.com/v9520vs128.html

Can't tell if you are confused or not, but dual-link DVI is not the same thing as dual DVI ports. Apple's 6800 has two dual-link DVI ports, I'm not sure what other cards do.
Click to expand...

Oh oops. I stand corrected.
 
DTphonehome said:
Thanks everyone for the very informative posts.

I don't play games. Not yet, at least. I have an Xbox for games, and I want to use my G5 for standard household stuff, plus video editing (hence the G5) and DVD creation. I was considering waiting for the iMac G5, but I would want a 20" screen, and in three years, the iMac G5 would be pretty much spent, while it's got a nice screen that I can't do anything with.
If I went for the PM Dual 1.8, I would have far more expandability (RAM, HD, expansion slots, plus I heard Sonnet is working on G5 upgrades), plus a screen that I can use on another computer when the time comes. Sure, it's a bit more expensive, but I reckon I can get quite a few more years out of it.

Now, since I don't play games at this time, is it possible to upgrade the video card in a year or 18 months from now if I don't have PCI-X? What type of graphics bus does the PM have, and will it support the hottest cards? Should I go for the 6800 now and not think about the graphics card for years, or just take the 5200 and upgrade to whatever is new when I need it? And, finally, are new, boxed cards alway compatible with Macs, or do Mac gamers just have to be content with old tech?

I know some of these may be stupid questions, but I am so far behind on graphics cards it isn't funny.
Thanks for all the help!

--DT
Click to expand...

get the 9600xt and get the 6800 retail kit when it acctually ships in august because if you get one now your g5 will be delayed until around september
 
hector is right, pc ultra are going for about 5 so the card isnt that much more expensive right now. problem is tht nvidia will come out with a new card sometime eventually but apple will still sell the ultra for 600. i bet we could still find the geforece 4ti for 400 on apple's site.

iJon
 
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