[ajprice]

I've got a G4 867, spec below - is there any graphics card I can upgrade to fairly cheaply that would make a big difference from its current Geforce 2 MX Twinview 64mb (The standard card with the model), and will any of these cards be compatible with the OS X TIger CoreView stuff. I realise that 10.4 will still work without a CoreView compatible card, but I'm just wondering if its worth getting a new card for it or leaving it as it is until I get a new mac.

The G4 is just over 3 years old, still works with no troubles and does what I want, I'm just pondering whether to give it an upgrade, or leave it until new mac time comes around, which realistically is at least another year away for me. My previous mac (Performa 6400) got me through Uni and lasted 5 years in my hands, and is still used my my neighbour who I sold it to, I'd like the G4 to do the same and go at least 4 or 5 years with me.

[Boochie]

I have the same computer. I upgraded the stock gfx card to a GeForce 4Ti, which made a substantial difference in gaming. To a lesser extent it also accelerated general GUI responsiveness. I don't know whether it's CoreView-compatible, though.

[TimmyDee51]

I upgraded my Radeon 9000 in my dual 867 to a Radeon 9700 Pro. I bought the Apple OEM model from Preowned Electronics. It was a little pricey, but I saved money over the Radon 9800 retail by not having to get a DVI to ADC adapter and a VGA to DVI adapter (I have one ADC display and one DVI display).

Overall, I'm really happy with the performance. Games do not show a huge increase in FPS, but the real bump is in quality. I could play Halo at 640 x 480 on low detail with the 9000 and barely push 30 fps (if that), but with the 9700 I can play it at 1280 x 1024 with vertex shaders and high quality textures on and get over 30 fps. Plus, once the info about Tiger came out, I realized I had a CoreImage ready GPU.

A side note: Preowned doesn't stock the card, but will gladly order it if you set up an account (free) and call them.

[Weezer]

note, the 9700 will only work in MDD machines

[brucejy]

I ordered a cheap (~ $100) ATI 8500 from OWC for the same machine, and have been very happy.

[MORT A POTTY]

I have a GeForce 4 MX 64MB GPU... it's not core Image compatible and will be buying a Radeon 9800 Pro VERY shortly to replace it (as well as a dual processor upgrade to replace my single 867Mhz.

Core Image will be mainly what I'm looking for (outside of higher framerates and quality in games such as UT2K4, HALO, iTunes Visualizer, and so on.,

[Luca Rescigno]

A Radeon 9600 Pro would be an excellent choice. You can get them from OWC for $120. They've been modified to work in Quicksilver PowerMacs like yours. Plus it's CoreImage compatible.

Available here.

[Skip Breakfast]

I'm using the Radeon 9000 Pro 128MB AGP card. The only problems I've encountered is having to tweak certain settings for games or it b0rks the scan range. I'm not sure if it's core-compliant though.

[Weezer]

The choice of a 9600 over the 9000 is a no brainer. The only reason to go with the 9000 is if you are running dual monitors and really need the 128 vram or have an ADC display. And if that's the case, you should get a geforce4Ti.

[MORT A POTTY]

Originally posted by Weezer:
The choice of a 9600 over the 9000 is a no brainer. The only reason to go with the 9000 is if you are running dual monitors and really need the 128 vram or have an ADC display. And if that's the case, you should get a geforce4Ti.

I agree with this. if I was deciding between then two, I'd definitely go for the modded 9600. HOWEVER, I will be getting a 9800 so my Quicksilver will Be All It Can Be without having to resort to flashing a 9800XT.

[ajprice]

Thanks for the replies guys, Luca, the cards on that site look great, the only thing is I'm in the UK, not USA. One other question, would an AGP 8x card work in my G's AGP 4x slot? I just looked at everymac to check whether mine was 2x or 4x, and I remembered that the 64mb Geforce 2 MX Twinview card was an option I added when I bought the G4, the real standard card is the 32mb Geforce 2 MX. It was that or an internal zip, and I already had a zip drive, so I had the card instead .

And I found the bit on the Tiger sneak peek page that gives the compatible cards for Core Image (not CoreView, D'oh!)

The performance gains and features supported by Core Image ultimately depend on the graphics card. Graphics cards capable of pixel-level programming deliver the best performance. But Core Image automatically scales as appropriate for systems with older graphics cards, for compatibility with any Tiger-compatible Mac.

Supported graphics cards:

ATI Radeon 9800 XT
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro
ATI Radeon 9600 XT
ATI Radeon 9600 Pro
ATI Mobility Radeon 9700
ATI Mobility Radeon 9600
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra
NVIDIA GeForceFX Go 5200
NVIDIA GeForceFX 5200 Ultra

These cards are available in today’s PowerBooks, Power Mac G5s and both the 17-inch and 20-inch iMac.

The ATI 96/97/9800 card are all pretty expensive (or very expensive), is there an AGP card mac version of the FX 5200 card listed?

[MORT A POTTY]

Originally posted by ajprice:
Thanks for the replies guys, Luca, the cards on that site look great, the only thing is I'm in the UK, not USA. One other question, would an AGP 8x card work in my G's AGP 4x slot? I just looked at everymac to check whether mine was 2x or 4x, and I remembered that the 64mb Geforce 2 MX Twinview card was an option I added when I bought the G4, the real standard card is the 32mb Geforce 2 MX. It was that or an internal zip, and I already had a zip drive, so I had the card instead .

And I found the bit on the Tiger sneak peek page that gives the compatible cards for Core Image (not CoreView, D'oh!)

The performance gains and features supported by Core Image ultimately depend on the graphics card. Graphics cards capable of pixel-level programming deliver the best performance. But Core Image automatically scales as appropriate for systems with older graphics cards, for compatibility with any Tiger-compatible Mac.

Supported graphics cards:

ATI Radeon 9800 XT
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro
ATI Radeon 9600 XT
ATI Radeon 9600 Pro
ATI Mobility Radeon 9700
ATI Mobility Radeon 9600
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra
NVIDIA GeForceFX Go 5200
NVIDIA GeForceFX 5200 Ultra

These cards are available in today’s PowerBooks, Power Mac G5s and both the 17-inch and 20-inch iMac.

The ATI 96/97/9800 card are all pretty expensive (or very expensive), is there an AGP card mac version of the FX 5200 card listed?

you do NOT want a GeForce FX 5200.

[Weezer]

Originally posted by ajprice:

The ATI 96/97/9800 card are all pretty expensive (or very expensive), is there an AGP card mac version of the FX 5200 card listed?

The 9600 is a much better card, and for $110 its a damn good value. That's by far the best bang for your buck you can get.

[jcadam]

Originally posted by MORT A POTTY:
you do NOT want a GeForce FX 5200.

Get a modded Radeon 9600 from OWC. Best bang for your buck. And you'll get more attention from the ladies.

edit: I swear weezer, I did not even read your comment before posting. My eyes passed over it without really 'seeing it'. Kind of like when my boss sends me an email at 5:30 p.m. telling me he needs something done *today*

[MORT A POTTY]

anyone know if an ATI Silencer 1 will work on a Mac radeon 9800 Pro?

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...factory=BROWSE

I will be buying one for the Radeon 9800 Pro if indeed it does.

EDIT: as I suspected, it does.

now that I think about it, it was a pretty silly question, but it's better to be safe than spend 26 bucks and be wrong.

[italiano]

Check out this sucker I bought off Ebay and flashed
Radeon 9800 Pro w/cooler

Flashed it and runs steady o'clocked 432/384 - My Macs lovin' it - takes 2 PCI slots - one due to the size and 1 used with the grill for exhaust - not noisy either

[loh]

I am really disappointed in my video card upgrade options. I really wanted to order one of the 9600's but they arent compatible with my 17" ASD (ADC). What are my options now? I dont play games so would a faster video card even help performance in 2D?

[MORT A POTTY]

it would improve things. a Radeon 9000 Pro wouldn't be bad, but it PROBABLY won't work with Core Image. I say probably because apparently the spec hasn't been finalized yet and that might expliain why the list of supported cards is missing from Apple's website. if you can find a Radeon 9700 card though... that would be your best ADC option IMO.

[chatam]

I'm considering as well a video card upgrade from a GeForce2 twinview [64 Mb on AGP] in a G4 Quicksilver [733/2001] with an ADC equipped 20" Cinema, but the point is about overall improvement in performance I may expect in day to day use, apart from games.

The Radeon 9000 Pro or any equivalent 128Mb approach appear to be a nice bargain, but would it be actually worth the money in dealing with Photoshop, InDesign and the like?

[MORT A POTTY]

Originally posted by chatam:
I'm considering as well a video card upgrade from a GeForce2 twinview [64 Mb on AGP] in a G4 Quicksilver [733/2001] with an ADC equipped 20" Cinema, but the point is about overall improvement in performance I may expect in day to day use, apart from games.

The Radeon 9000 Pro or any equivalent 128Mb approach appear to be a nice bargain, but would it be actually worth the money in dealing with Photoshop, InDesign and the like?

no. they are for 3D. and Quartz Extreme 2D... but you wnot get QE 2D unless you have a core image capable card.

[deboerjo]

Originally posted by MORT A POTTY:
no. they are for 3D. and Quartz Extreme 2D... but you wnot get QE 2D unless you have a core image capable card.

No, Quartz Extreme is and will remain compatible with any Radeon or GeForce card, and for OS X use I highly recommend getting a Radeon or GeForce for running 2d apps.

[MORT A POTTY]

Originally posted by deboerjo:
No, Quartz Extreme is and will remain compatible with any Radeon or GeForce card, and for OS X use I highly recommend getting a Radeon or GeForce for running 2d apps.

no, Quartz Extreme 2D is different.

[deboerjo]

Originally posted by MORT A POTTY:
no, Quartz Extreme 2D is different.

Apple says otherwise: http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/quartzextreme/

Requires a Radoen or GeForce, and fully accelerates InDesign, Photoshop, etc, etc.

Care to post a link or otherwise explain how Quartz Extreme 2d is "different" or in any other way related to Core Image? Core Image is a set of APIs for taking advantage of GPU power for color manipulation and effects. Applications must be written specifically for Core Image, whereas Quartz Extreme accelerates all user interface graphics and windowed activity.

[chatam]

In fact I am almost certain that the GeForce MX is Quartz Extreme compliant, although this may not be an indication as to its Core Image capabilities.

But again, let's look under another angle: is Core Image of any relevance in normal operation, games apart, or would the same result in a boost in 2D performance?

Thanks for the help.

[MORT A POTTY]

yeah, a GeForce is Quartz Extreme compliant... but NOT Quartz Extreme 2D. it IS different and it is listed that way in System Profiler in Tiger. my GeForce 4 MX didn't qualify so I upgraded to a Radeon 9800 Pro which does. currently my processor is a bottleneck though so I really can't get the full potential out of the GPU. it will increase performance though because the more the CPU can offload to the GPU, the more clock cycles will be freed up for other things (Folding@Home )

[deboerjo]

Originally posted by MORT A POTTY:
yeah, a GeForce is Quartz Extreme compliant... but NOT Quartz Extreme 2D. it IS different and it is listed that way in System Profiler in Tiger. my GeForce 4 MX didn't qualify so I upgraded to a Radeon 9800 Pro which does. currently my processor is a bottleneck though so I really can't get the full potential out of the GPU. it will increase performance though because the more the CPU can offload to the GPU, the more clock cycles will be freed up for other things (Folding@Home )

Guess I'll have to get my hands on the Tiger beta and take it for a spin to figure out what you're talking about, there is absolutly nothing I've read in anything Apple's published about a "Quartz Extreme 2d" that's different from Jaguar/Panther's "Quartz Extreme". Google yields nothing either. Do you have any further light you can shed on this?

[MORT A POTTY]

Originally posted by deboerjo:
Guess I'll have to get my hands on the Tiger beta and take it for a spin to figure out what you're talking about, there is absolutly nothing I've read in anything Apple's published about a "Quartz Extreme 2d" that's different from Jaguar/Panther's "Quartz Extreme". Google yields nothing either. Do you have any further light you can shed on this?

it should improve window redraw. this is one of the MAJOR complaints about OS X vs. OS 9... window redraw is MUCH worse is OS X. Other than that, I shall not shed any further light on said subject.

[MORT A POTTY]

Originally posted by deboerjo:
Guess I'll have to get my hands on the Tiger beta and take it for a spin to figure out what you're talking about, there is absolutly nothing I've read in anything Apple's published about a "Quartz Extreme 2d" that's different from Jaguar/Panther's "Quartz Extreme". Google yields nothing either. Do you have any further light you can shed on this?

it should improve window redraw. this is one of the MAJOR complaints about OS X vs. OS 9... window redraw is MUCH worse is OS X. Other than that, I shall not shed any further light on said subject.