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Upgrade on a G4 power mac
- Thread starter mannyrm
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The 9800 Pro is a AGP 8x card but 2 pins on the connector have to be covered up so it will run at 4x 
.
But the best AGP card that you can get for the G4's is a 6600 GT I believe, anyone know of a better card? Maybe the 7800? But expect to pay 4x the price though.
.But the best AGP card that you can get for the G4's is a 6600 GT I believe, anyone know of a better card? Maybe the 7800? But expect to pay 4x the price though.
*************Update***************
Stupid lady backed out of the deal leaving me with $100 and no Mac.
I guess someone told her she was selling cheap, when I though the price was ok.
Thx for all the help guy, I'll keep searching
Stupid lady backed out of the deal leaving me with $100 and no Mac.
I guess someone told her she was selling cheap, when I though the price was ok.
Thx for all the help guy, I'll keep searching
Well that sucks.
Here's a good list of places to search:
Local schools usually have a good assortment that aren't being used.
Garage sales.
Friends and neighbors.
Anywhere that does anything with pictures or video.
Beware of scams though. Especially GainSaver. eBay is usually good if the seller's feedback is high and has sold similar items before.
Here's a good list of places to search:
Local schools usually have a good assortment that aren't being used.
Garage sales.
Friends and neighbors.
Anywhere that does anything with pictures or video.
Beware of scams though. Especially GainSaver. eBay is usually good if the seller's feedback is high and has sold similar items before.
Well I have also an offer for a Mystic on 400 mhz is that one reliable if so, what would be a good price?
I wouldn't pay more than $75, and that is really stretching it.
If you're a computer person, I'm sure you know that this thing is ancient.
I've posted the stock specs from Mac Tracker below. This just squeaks by as a useable machine; it has gigabit ethernet and AGP graphics.
Attachments
Pretty much all the good cards will cost you more than the G4 itself.
The top of the line native card I recommend for all G4s is the nVidia GeForce4 Ti 4600 128MB with Apple Display Connector (ADC) and DVI connectors. It also works perfectly with OS9 as well if you want to dual boot your machine.
The ATI Radeon 9600 Pro Mac & PC Edition 256MB with DVI and Dual-DVi connectors may or may not work in a Digital Audio G4.
You could also stick a flashed GeForce 7800GS in there, but I've never tried that myself. I think the 7800 needs OSX 10.4.3 minimum for the drivers.
PS. The maximum OSX for a 733MHz G4 is 10.4.11.
Pretty much all the good cards will cost you more than the G4 itself.
The top of the line native card I recommend for all G4s is the nVidia GeForce4 Ti 4600 128MB with Apple Display Connector (ADC) and DVI connectors. It also works perfectly with OS9 as well if you want to dual boot your machine.
The ATI Radeon 9600 Pro Mac & PC Edition 256MB with DVI and Dual-DVi connectors may or may not work in a Digital Audio G4.
You could also stick a flashed GeForce 7800GS in there, but I've never tried that myself. I think the 7800 needs OSX 10.4.3 minimum for the drivers.
PS. The maximum OSX for a 733MHz G4 is 10.4.11.
If you've got enough RAM and a good GPU, you can run Leopard on it pretty much problem free.
Buy either a new ATA controller or SATA controller to overcome this.
Pretty much all the good cards will cost you more than the G4 itself.
The top of the line native card I recommend for all G4s is the nVidia GeForce4 Ti 4600 128MB with Apple Display Connector (ADC) and DVI connectors. It also works perfectly with OS9 as well if you want to dual boot your machine.
The ATI Radeon 9600 Pro Mac & PC Edition 256MB with DVI and Dual-DVi connectors may or may not work in a Digital Audio G4.
You could also stick a flashed GeForce 7800GS in there, but I've never tried that myself. I think the 7800 needs OSX 10.4.3 minimum for the drivers.
PS. The maximum OSX for a 733MHz G4 is 10.4.11.
It seems the OP is now looking at a Mystic (GE).
Sadly, neither a 9600 nor a 7800 is even gonna fit in the AGP slot.
Best upgrade for GE is a Radeon 9800...but it has to be the kind with 2 slots on AGP connector, not just one.
If you insist on a G4, stick with DA or above. More video card choices and faster bus.
If it starts with DDR it is a form of SDRAM. And it fits in the slot and it hasn't killed my PowerMac (yet).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDR2_SDRAM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDR_SDRAM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ddr3
Oop, I missed that. I agree on a later model G4 with better options.
About $30.
Makes you wonder if today's Mac Pro will sell for $100 on eBay 8 years from now.
Well
I got the mystic with a 17 inch CRT monitor (holy crap it's HUGE!)
120 hdd, 1 gb of ram dvd superdrive. GPU is 64 megs
Missing the mouse and well the keyboard, let's just say it has seen better days.
I'll need to do some upgrades.
cpu, more ram and better GPU
I'll need a "cleaner" keyboard and a new mouse.
maybe some of those funky round speakers.
Well, thx for all the help guys.
I got the mystic with a 17 inch CRT monitor (holy crap it's HUGE!)
120 hdd, 1 gb of ram dvd superdrive. GPU is 64 megs
Missing the mouse and well the keyboard, let's just say it has seen better days.
I'll need to do some upgrades.
cpu, more ram and better GPU
I'll need a "cleaner" keyboard and a new mouse.
maybe some of those funky round speakers.
Well, thx for all the help guys.
According to my depreciation guide, a first gen Mac Pro goes down in value at an average of 13.46% per year.
Can you tell us what OS it has? That's Apple menu -> About this Mac, if you didn't know already.
I have a 9800 Pro that is sitting in my closet. Id love to get rid of it. Name your price and Im sure we can work something out.
Billy
Cool.
How useable is it and did it come with any software? I've never used such a low-spec machine with that modern an OS.
How useable is it and did it come with any software? I've never used such a low-spec machine with that modern an OS.
I had a dual 500mhz GE model. I maxed out with 2gb of memory, a 9800 Pro PC flashed card(both the 256mb and 128mb card are pretty much the same ). My machine ran Tiger like a champ, I'm sure it would have ran Leopard just fine but I think I sold it right around when Leopard came out.
I got pics of it here, I swapped the case pieces from a G3 Powermac and added some fans for better cooling. Was a really fun project to work on and probably the best Mac I ever had.
). My machine ran Tiger like a champ, I'm sure it would have ran Leopard just fine but I think I sold it right around when Leopard came out.I got pics of it here, I swapped the case pieces from a G3 Powermac and added some fans for better cooling. Was a really fun project to work on and probably the best Mac I ever had.
I had a dual 500mhz GE model. I maxed out with 2gb of memory, a 9800 Pro PC flashed card(both the 256mb and 128mb card are pretty much the same
I got pics of it here, I swapped the case pieces from a G3 Powermac and added some fans for better cooling. Was a really fun project to work on and probably the best Mac I ever had.
I cannot describe how much I want to do that. I'll have to keep my eyes open for a G3 case and QS handles.
I especially like the idea of an LED behind the Apple logo.
Wow....that's the formerly RARE Black Saphire 9800. That was the one that could fit in a Cube. Saome even RAN in Cubes...most quit on boot.
IN any other Mac they typically ran 100% like any other Radeon 9800. The fan upgrade is a good thing as the Saphire fan was especially pathetic.
It's the codename for the single processor 400MHz G4 Gigabit Ethernet model. The dual 450MHz and 500MHz were Medusa2 and Snakebite respectively.
All Macs from the B&W G3s onwards have Firewire 400. Only the older beige models lack it.
Gotta love the Mactracker app by Ian Page, all this info is just one click away. Too many details to remember correctly just from memory!
Thanks I shoulda googled.
But I am still stumped by the SDRAM to DDR2 RAM equivalence?
How can that be.