[bstone]

Does anyone know if the ATI 9700 video card will work in the Sawtooth 400 AGP? I am planning on making this Sawtooth into a mother of a machine. Got the dual 1.2 ghz Powerlogix upgrade coming.

I am kinda sketchy on the whole AGP thing. Anyone care to fill me in?

[Phil Quinney]

Hey,

If you have the original AGP machine it does not have a power connector for the ADC port on your 9700 so i *think* it won't work.

If, however, you are fortunate enough to have the digital audio version (the one with the Apple Speaker Minijack) then you have that power connector.

Have a look on Apple's Support Site - they have a good page on identifying your exact model if you're not sure.

Phil.

[Phil Quinney]

Also have a look at this thread:

http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...hreadid=154111

[zac4mac]

The AGP slot has been powered for ADC since the Gigabit Ethernet model, not the DA.
I have a dual 500 that came with a Radeon with ADC.
Look for a small connector behind the AGP slot, that's the power for the ADC connector. I think it's about 6 pins, going from memory.

Beyond that, the Mac is a 2X AGP, I've heard that the AGP Bus is too slow to get the full use of the 9700, I'm considering a 9000 Pro for mine. Wish ATi made 'em in 128MB.

Currently running a retail Radeon 32MB to a 22" ACD thru an Apple adapter(OEM Radeon went to a friend for his CRT 17" ASD and DP450)and a Rage128 Orion 16MB to an Apple 20"CRT.

[Phil Quinney]

Arrrgghh!

Sorry - i messed up. You're right, I had completely forgotten about the Gigabit ethernet version which was the one released after my Sawtooth.

zac4mac is also right about the AGP constraints - as mentioned in other posts your machine wouldn't take full advantage of the power of the 9700. What were you going to use the machine for once you had finished upgrading it?

Phil.

[bstone]

Originally posted by Phil Quinney:
Arrrgghh!

Sorry - i messed up. You're right, I had completely forgotten about the Gigabit ethernet version which was the one released after my Sawtooth.

zac4mac is also right about the AGP constraints - as mentioned in other posts your machine wouldn't take full advantage of the power of the 9700. What were you going to use the machine for once you had finished upgrading it?

Phil.

So it seems that the 9700 will work in the Sawtooth, albeit not as well. Big question: which will work better. The 8500 or 9700?

[Phil Quinney]

bstone,

Remember, there are many versions of the sawtooth. The original version doesn't have this small power connector that we were talking about that is necessary to power the ADC port on your 9700.

I don't know how this would affect its operation - whether it would just not supply power to your ADC port, or if it would restrict the power to the actual card itself. I know I have seen some high end cards that require an additional power source other than the power that can be drawn from the pci/agp bus.

If it were my decision, and for the work I do (mainly using emulation, and other non-graphic taxing tasks) I would go for something like the 8500 and spend the extra on more memory for the machine. However, make sure that you buy good Crucial/Micron memory. Its well worth the extra cost.

Please note I am not a great person at advising on graphics cards.

Phil.

[gizzard]

The OEM Radeon 9700 Pro will only work in Mirror Drive Door Powers Macs (and presumably later models as well). ATI's next retail product will be compatible with all AGP-equipped Macs.