Powermac users Need some advise

[toolbox]

Gday all

I have a powermac g5 here, that i have just been given. Specs are

-Dual 2ghz
-1gb ddr
-DVD-RW
-Geforce Fx 5200 with 64 mb of video ram
-I have added 2x 500gb drives

What i want to do to the unit is upgrade the graphics card, and the ram but i have questions

1. Can a standard AGP card work in here? I have foudn a xfx 6200 with 256 mb that i want to put in there will that work? Are the slots the same as the pcs?

2. With the memory does the ram have to be specific? I no it needs to be in banks like the mac pros. I read that these units will take up to 8 gb of 400 mhz ddr? Does the ram have to be ECC or Fully buffered?

Cheers

 

[Sun Baked]

Has to be a Mac capable card, or a flashed card with the Mac ROM.

The card is Big Endian, so running in Reverse Polish Notation compared to the PC cards.

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The memory is standard memory, that must have the EEPROM programmed, with none of the silly extras -- registers or buffers, PLLs, parity, or EDO RAM, etc.

http://developer.apple.com/document.../apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40003899-SW33_1200331177

 

[toolbox]

So i have to find a mac edition of the card in order for it to work? The agp slots are the same as the pcs?

So the ram i can just put any ddr 400 in there in pairs?

 

[Sun Baked]

1. Yes so the slot is the same, but the computer needs to understand the card. And it needs a Mac ROM and a Mac Driver.

Basically, books are the same basic format (size, shape, and construction) in English and Chinese -- but getting the Chinese book really doesn't help if you don't understand it.

2. http://www.apple.com/support/powermac/ -- follow Apples advice or buy from a Apple savvy memory provider.

 

[toolbox]

I found this on the apple site

Installing a PCI Expansion Card or Replacing the AGP Card
You can expand the capabilities of your Power Mac G5 by installing cards in its expansion slots. Your Power Mac G5 has four expansion card slots, three of which accommodate Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) cards and one that accepts an advanced graphics port (AGP) card.

AGP cards and PCI cards have different connectors, so you cannot insert a PCI card into the AGP slot.

About AGP Cards
Your AGP card, installed in slot 1, contains the graphics processor unit (GPU) and provides the computer's display ports. Slot 1 is designed specifically to accept AGP cards. This 533-megahertz (MHz) slot accommodates 1.5-volt (V) AGP cards.

You can replace the card that came with the computer with an AGP 8X or AGP 8X Pro card. A replacement AGP card must have driver software compatible with Mac OS X.

So i can get my hands on a card it will work only if i have drivers?

 

[Sun Baked]

So i can get my hands on a card it will work only if i have drivers?

And the ROM on the card, needs to be a Mac ROM.

So the card must operate as a Mac edition card.

 

[toolbox]

Ok cheers for that has answered the question about the graphics cards The ram just needs to be ddr pc3200 and that will be ok as long it is in pairs?