Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

emark · Dec 10, 2003, 10:54 PM

Hi. I almost listed this under the games category, but ended up in hardware....here it goes:

I have a QuickSilver dual G4 800, 640 MB RAM, plenty of drive space (original ATA/66). The card that shipped with this model was the 64 MB version of the NVIDIA GForce2MX.

I am happy in nearly every respect with this machine (still)....for every app BUT one game, UT 03,

Quake 3 flys, as it recognizes the dual processors and runs great. But UT03 slows on too many characters or too high a resolution

((...whine, whine, whine, where art thou o' cheese....))

How much difference would a new video card yield in playability or frame rates make? I've looked at Bare Feats, and XLR8yourmac, etc... and don't have a good feel for it....If it won't really punch things up, I will deal with it, as I don't have the money to upgradde the processors for what it would cost to get something substantially better than dual 800 G4.

When it comes to the video end, it would seem to be between the Radeon 9000 (only 64 MB, itself, but, possibly faster/more advanced 3d processor???))at about $160, and the blazing 9800, at about $380....which is way more than I want to spend....

Hate to whine more, but the mac 3rd party vid card market kills me, apart from a too high premium, there just aren't the options/price points....I don't want ten or twenty cards, but sheesh...

well If you've managed to get through this ramble, ANY suggestions????

I know, spend less and get a game machine...thinking of that too, but dammit....

hadocon · Dec 10, 2003, 11:36 PM

UT2K3 is CPU bound in bot matches. Sorry, but a new CPU is your only bet. BTW, I used to have the same machine - Best Mac I have ever had...

Lateralus · 12:20 AM

I have to completely and totally disagree. The game runs just fine on my Single processor 933 with a GeForce 4MX. The game may be CPU intensive, but two G4 800's is sufficent.

The main problem is, as you suspected, the video card. Not only is it listed as the minimum required video card, but the GeForce 2 design itself is 4 years old.

The GeForce 2MX simply is not capable of keeping up with many of the game engines in todays games. Keep in mind that on the PC side, the GeForce 2MX is a $20-25 card. There is a reason for that.

That said, that GeForce 4MX is not much better in that it is essentially a GeForce 2 core on steroids and also does not support many new features.

My personal suggestion would be the Radeon 8500. It is faster than the 9000 (ATIs naming scheme is odd), and often times can be had on eBay for as little as $120.

Good luck.

(Also: More RAM would not hurt.)

reader50 · 01:33 AM

Switching to the Radeon 8500 / 9000 / 9800 will not affect bot slowdowns, but will allow you to set higher resolutions with no penalty. Also, all those Radeons have shader support, the nVidia MX cards don't. Shader support translates into the same thing for recent games that support them - better video quality without a penalty.

The 9800 is overkill for your system in current games - not sure about Halo or Doom3. The 8500 is slightly more powerful than the 9000 (also slightly more expensive and harder to get now). You're more likely to choose between the 8500/9000 based on output ports. All three cards are dual-monitor cards:

8500
VGA port
DVI port
S-video out port

9000
DVI port
ADC port

9800
VGA port
DVI port
S-video out port

Luca Rescigno · Dec 11, 2003, 12:22 AM

I agree with PowerMacMan. I have a dual 450 with a Radeon, neither of which are very powerful for a game like UT 2k3. It runs acceptably in botmatches, although I'd of course appreciate something faster.

Dual 800 MHz G4s is more than enough for most games. You really, really need a better video card. Radeon 8500 or Radeon 9000 is what you should get, either one a bit over $100. Or you could just go all-out and get a Radeon 9800 for about $400. That'll last longer, and it's extremely powerful. nVidia doesn't have Mac versions of any of their fast cards out. The GeForce FX5200 is horrible, as is the GeForce 4MX.

hadocon · Dec 11, 2003, 09:32 AM

Too bad a 2nd processor in UT2K3 has no effect. The game is not designed to use more than one CPU. I wish more games took advantage of the 2nd CPU like Quake does.

hadocon · Dec 11, 2003, 09:34 AM

Originally posted by Luca Rescigno:
Or you could just go all-out and get a Radeon 9800 for about $400. That'll last longer, and it's extremely powerful. nVidia doesn't have Mac versions of any of their fast cards out. The GeForce FX5200 is horrible, as is the GeForce 4MX.

Buying a 9800 for a dual 800 is a waste of money. The DP800 will not be able to keep up with the 9800. If you can, try to get a GForce4Ti - this card is best suited to the DP800

Buck_Naked · Dec 11, 2003, 10:27 AM

Originally posted by hadocon:
........ If you can, try to get a GForce4Ti - this card is best suited to the DP800

I have the GF4 in my Dual800 and for the most part I'm very happy with its performance.

emark · Dec 11, 2003, 11:44 AM

WOW.

I am amazed at the feedback....THANK YOU ALL FOR TAKING THE TIME.

For the money, I will probably go for the 8500/9000, or if I could find a NV 4TI on the cheap side....

THANKS & Happy Holidays to all.

rhogue islander · Dec 11, 2003, 12:50 PM

I have a Geforce4 Titanium (4600) Graphics Card Upgrade from Apple for sale. Please email me if you are interested.

CIA · Dec 11, 2003, 03:12 PM

I have nearly the same setup as you (QS DP800) the only difference is I have 1.5GB of ram & my system drive is a ATA/133 7200RPM hooked to a ATA/133 PCI card. My video card is a Geforce3 Card. (running 10.3.1) U2K3 runs well on my machine, and you can find GF3 cards pretty cheap now as well on eBay.

And yes, short of the new G5's, I think the Quicksilvers were the best designed G4's Apple made. I will be sad to sell it when the G6's come out in late '04/early '05.

chatam · Dec 12, 2003, 11:32 AM

Hi everybody.

Maybe somebody can help me. I have read under this thread about the ATI 8500 and 9800 cards delivering S.video output.

Could I use it to repeat on a 32" PAL TV set the screen of my G4 QS 733 with adequate quality and resolution?
Practical experiences anyone?

Thanks a lot.

-----------

G4 QS 733 - RAM 768 Mb - HD 3 x 80Gb - Cinema 20"

GoGoReggieXPowars · Dec 12, 2003, 12:59 PM

The 8500 rocks, I use the S-Video out to my TV to watch movies all the time.

Link · Dec 14, 2003, 07:59 AM

I'd love to get a 4ti -- don't want to loose the dual monitor capability and MUST have the ADC port

There are a few stores selling refurbs online -- but as I've found now, they're just that.. refurbs, they've been 'looked at', but that means you may or may not have problems...

:shrug: gf4ti :drool: I so want one muwahhaa.. and 1.5gb of ram..