[rondocap]

I am planning to get a G5 2.7ghz, with 1gig of ram. I would like some thoughts as to how gaming performance will be with the 6800 as opposed to the 9650. I am not a hardcore gamer, I will use this system mostly for composition and such tasks, but I do like to play games once in a while, and I'd want the newest games to work with good graphics.

I know there is an obvious difference in benchmarks, but real world difference considered, will the 9650 be able to play games like WoW, Call of Duty, Battlefied, and Doom III with good graphics and smooth performance compared to the 6800? What is the normal time frame between PC releases and Mac ports? 6 Months? For example, if a new game like Age of Empires III or Battlefield 2 comes out on the PC, when will it come out for the mac?

Now with the 6800 and with Mac games in general, should I get excellent performance in those games mentioned above, especially when compared to PC versions? I know that PC versions are usually optimized better, but with the hardware setup on the G5, I should still see very high performance and graphics, correct?

Lastly, how much does the video card affect the the Tiger OS? I know some of the graphic effects and core image use the GPU, so will the 9650 inhibit performance of these OS graphics in any way, or is it enough to handle them? Thanks!

[joe]

Here are some benchmarks comparing the 2 cards you mentioned along with a retail Radeon X800 in a dual 2.7Ghz G5 Tower:
http://www.barefeats.com/rad9650.html

However, those are all run at very high resolutions on a 30" Apple wide screen display. That really pushes the GPU to the limits. If you're getting a smaller display or playing at lower resolutions the results won't be so far apart. In any case, I'd avoid the Radeon 9650. It's slower than the previous Radeon 9600 and not really a good match for such a fast machine. It will hold you're dual 2.7Ghz back. Also, I agree with Rob's conclusion that a Radeon 9800 may be an affordable alternative to the expensive X800 and GF6800 cards. But still faster than the 96xx cards and better able to handle games at medium res.

[powertrippin]

I have a 9600XT, which is similar to a 9650, and it runs most games quite well. I have a 20" cinema display, and if I try to run full res, yes, it does get choppy if all the options are maxxed out, but if I run a reasonable yet still quite high res, it does the job very well. I guess it would depend on your monitor. If you have a 23+" LCD, I'd suggest the X800. The 6800 sounds like it's way too noisy for my tastes.

But, if you're casual gamer like me, the 9650 is still pretty decent.

[sokukodo]

I have the nVidia 6800 GT, G5 2 Ghz Dualie, 4 Gb Ram, 20" Cinema display; I've been playing CoD maxed out w/ no problems.