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pmg4lktan · May 3, 2005, 08:34 PM

Hi guys ...

i have a quick and very serious question here ... as i don't want to mistakenly buy something that won't work with my Mac ... ok, my question is : Will theATI Radeon 9600 Pro Video Card 8xAGP (109-A13600) pulled out from a G5 works on my Power Mac G4/733 Quick Silver?

please, i need very certain answer and would be best if you can provide any article/proof of people who tried similar setup to show that it really did works ...

thanks in advance!

bighead · May 3, 2005, 09:21 PM

You have to perform a modification of the AGP connector in order to get it to work. Also, you do not get a powered ADC port. If you've got an ADC display, you'd have to get the ADC-DVI adapter from Apple ($99) and a DVI Extractor from Dr. Bott ($30) to get it to work.

You can buy a pre-modded card from OWC for about $120. If you're paying anywhere near this for your card, I'd suggest going to OWC.

pmg4lktan · May 3, 2005, 10:40 PM

thanks for your reply bighead ... wow, if so ... $120+$100+$30=$250 almost the price of Radeon 9800 Pro ...

... so, isn't 9800 Pro a better alternative then? as i'm planning on to get a USED 17" Apple Studio Display ...

by the way ... summing up the shipping fee, the price almost same as OWC ... but for OWC to send it over to Malaysia to me, still about mere $35 difference to the unmodified card ... sigh ... -_-"

Link · 10:51 PM

You'd better just get a plain LCD, an apple LCD requires a power-brick-adaptor

If you only need a VGA and DVI jack, the 9800 is a nice card

For the sake of editing, I realized this thread needs all the right info

The 9600Pro, XT, and I *THINK* the 9650 (this hasn't been proven yet, so CAUTION!), will work in a powermac g4 that has AGP 4x.. quicksilver, digital audio, etc.. Due to the relocated ADC header on the G5s, your ADC port will NOT be powered unless you take a soldering iron and a small piece of PCB header (like off an ISA card), and make an 'extension' -- there is documentation for this, so refer to that first!

Otherwise you need an ADC->DVI or ADC->VGA "adaptor" -- those simply use the proper pins to get whatever out of whatever.. no converters or power supplies, they run $30. You'll have 2 DVI ports this way.

If you plan to power an ADC display and do not want to do the mod (like I didn't), then you will need a DVI to ADC adaptor, they cost between $90 and $100 depending on who you buy from, what brand, etc.. they're basically all the same.

The 9800 Pro will also work, but it only has DVI and VGA -- not 2 DVI jacks, however if you buy a PC card, and aren't afraid to flash it (there are instructions around the internet, I might suggest a few later), you can achieve a "mac" radeon 9800pro for $150-170... You have to make sure the card is reference design based (either ATI retail or Sapphire, or something that looks very similar with the square BGA memory chips), and you'll be good to go. A retail 9800 "mac edition" costs $220 or so depending on your luck.

Having said that, both the 9600 and 9800 will require that you power the monitor some way that you can't out of the box, with the 9600 you can negate that if you have some soldering skills. Additionally, neither of these are truly "out of the box" as you have to put scotch magic tape on 2 of the pins on the 9600pro/xt/9650 (pins 3 and 11 from the backplane of the card)... a REALLY simple process..

Though I've said that, the price of the 9600s tends to vary.. At one point I managed to snag my 9600*XT* on ebay for $71 shipped and all, your luck might not be anywhere near that (I've seen the pro version of the card which has less ram sell for $120!). If you wait, or want a 9800 or something, you might come into a better deal. Both cards are very capable.

As a bonus, if you happen to get lucky enough to grab a 9650, the card has a Dual Link DVI port as well as a regular DVI port, meaning it can drive a 30" cinema display!

pmg4lktan · May 3, 2005, 10:51 PM

Originally Posted by Link

You'd better just get a plain LCD, an apple LCD requires a power-brick-adaptor

If you only need a VGA and DVI jack, the 9800 is a nice card

arghhh ... that means 9800 Pro for G4 won't support ADC? only 9600 Pro for G4 supports ADC? so ... what's my best option for an ADC graphic card for my G4?

by the way, i don't mind the power-brick ... the LCD is gorgeous, it's just way over-priced 3 years ago ... too bad Apple don't sell the 9600 Pro

, and their 9800 Pro is $100 more expensive than OWC ...

Link · May 3, 2005, 10:55 PM

As said above (I edited the post after youy made yours, sorry!) -- the 9600 can't power the ADC jack unless you 'move' it over to where the ADC header is in a g4, so you're basically stuck with a non-adc card either way. The power brick is cool, and the apple one looks so neat I have it sitting on my table next to my display (despite the wires hanging down I LIKE it)

It's just much harder to justify a $99 power brick for a 15 or 17" that already cost say, twice as much as a better 'screen' -- sadly a 172x or modern NEC LCD don't come in a case nearly as beautiful as the ADC display casings, geez.. it's like the iMac g4 vs iMac g5 thing, apple set the standard so 'up there' with the ADC monitors that the DVI ones look boring in comparison.

pmg4lktan · May 3, 2005, 11:07 PM

wow ...

... thanks for the detailed info, Link ...

would be interested to know how the mods and flash things procedure if you don't mind "linking" us to it ... ermmm, by the way, is there any "good card" that can power the ADC on G4? my home is just "too wired" -_-" ... thanks ...

P/S : no $$$ for 30", can only DREAM bout that ...

Link · May 3, 2005, 11:13 PM

The best g4-fitting card that can power ADC is the Geforce 4ti, but that card doesn't have core image support (which may not be that big a deal for ya)

powertrippin · May 4, 2005, 10:51 AM

Originally Posted by Link

The best g4-fitting card that can power ADC is the Geforce 4ti, but that card doesn't have core image support (which may not be that big a deal for ya)

Exactly. And given that these card's still push $150 on ebay, the 9600XT was a better choice. That said, if you're looking for core image support and you're not a gamer, the Radeon 9600 Pro is a GREAT CHOICE.

It only has 64 megs of memory, but it supports core image, and if you're not an idiot with a soldering iron you can modify your card to have a powered ADC port, instructions are here, it's really not that hard:

http://www.techseekers.net/modules.p...wcontent&id=71

and tape off a couple pins. I've seen these cards go for as little as $20 on ebay. That's a pretty good deal. The only reason I nailed a 9600XT was because:

1. I needed DUAL digitial outs for both my LCDs
2. I wanted core image support
3. The 9600 is a SLIGHTLY faster card than the geforce4titanium
4. 9600= more future proof than the geforce 4 titanium
5. 9600's have passive cooling, ie, no fan, ie, QUIET.

-Rob

pmg4lktan · 03:32 PM

wow, that's very informative ... thanks! and if i ever get so lucky to get the Radeon 9600 Pro or XT card ... i might give it a shot! by the way, actually what's the 9600XT?

ermmm ... sorry, a bit off-topic here ... my GeForce 2 MX (stock card with QS) can power the ADC of the Apple Studio Display 17" right?

and Rob ... is it true that it can goes as little as ONLY US$20???

hmmm ... anyway, i'll try my luck in eBay, and even better if the "legendary" Radeon 9650 supports ADC as well ...

finally, from the spec of Power Mac G5s i read on Apple's website ... ADC is only mentioned in GeForce FX 5200 and ATI Radeon 9600 XT ... does that means the best card i can get to support ADC is 9600 XT? where you guys get it then??? Thanks!

powertrippin · May 4, 2005, 05:29 PM

Wow. Lots questions. Okay... the difference beteween a 9600 Pro and a 9600XT is that the XT has 128 megs, the Pro has 64 megs, and the XT is SLIGHTLY faster. And yes, your geforce2mx should power your 17" studio display just fine, as long as it has an ADC connector. And yes, 9600 Pro's can go CHEAP. Sometimes I see them listed as "stock G5 card" from a g5 owner who upgraded, sometimes they're listed as 9600s (and they don't mention pro) but there are only two kinds of 9600s: Pros and XTs. As for the best card you can get to support ADC, yes 9600XT would be it..... HOWEVER, if you purchase a DVI-ADC adaptor, you can use ANY card with DVI out.... but as for built in ADC support, yes, the 9600XT rocks the house.

Link · May 4, 2005, 06:51 PM

The 9650 has "Dual Link" DVI and DVI. Both can be used for DVI since "dual link" is the exact thing except the 6 pins in the middle are actually used. There is no ADC on the 9650, sorry if I made it sound like that...

What I meant was that you don't have a "usless" ADC port on the 9650 that has to be converted to DVI, since whether or not you buy the DVI to ADC adaptor to power an ADC monitor, you still have a nonpowered ADC port on the card and have to buy a $30 adaptor to convert that to DVI, VGA, or whatever else you want to use it for.

Aranamac · 08:31 PM

A further question: will a 9600 XT work in my Gigabit Ethernet G4? I don't have any concerns about ADC as I use a DVI monitor. My initial guess is "no" because the GE-G4 is a 2x AGP and the 9600 XT is a 4x AGP (am I right on that? I'm not that experienced with video card tech�). Anyone have a suggestion on the best AGP card for a GE G4? I'm thinking that the 9800 Pro is� but is it Tiger-proof?

This looks like it would be a great deal if flashed:MacMall 9600 XT. Oddly enough, it's selling at MacMall but it is a PC card. ('course, if I went this route I'd have to learn how to flash�)

powertrippin · May 4, 2005, 08:32 PM

I don't think that would work in a mac, sorry.

Aranamac · May 4, 2005, 08:38 PM

And yet it's being sold at MacMall.

What's this world coming to�?

pmg4lktan · May 4, 2005, 10:34 PM

Rob, thanks for the link on the ADC mod ... but from the article's comments, many didn't work it out ... hmmm, so is it worth trying as that might be a permanent mod ...

by the way ... is there any store selling the ADC power-modded card? if not, there's no much luck around eBay for now ... i'll keep on "hunting"! thanks!

powertrippin · May 4, 2005, 11:12 PM

No, nobody sells a premodified ADC card... but the people who couldn't get it to work probably didn't do it right. It's not really all that hard, I just need to find a suitable donor card to plug into the mobo, then I'll solder it right up. Should take 10-15 minutes.

pmg4lktan · May 5, 2005, 09:47 PM

Originally Posted by powertrippin

No, nobody sells a premodified ADC card... but the people who couldn't get it to work probably didn't do it right. It's not really all that hard, I just need to find a suitable donor card to plug into the mobo, then I'll solder it right up. Should take 10-15 minutes.

sorry for bringing up this thread ... thanks rob for the infos ... but i just don't see anyone who did it successfully (either Mac or monitor not working properly) ... even the author don't have an ADC monitor to test out ... hmmm ...

oh, by the way, will 9700 Pro be a better choice over 9600 Pro? it still need the ADC mod? i also found two cards which has an ADC connector ... they are Radeon 9800 Mac Special Edition and Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition ... but both require G5, is there any "mod" to work them out on G4 along with the ADC mod? thanks ...

Link · May 5, 2005, 10:03 PM

nope, unfortunately the 9800SE and X800XT are g5-only.. you *CAN* flash a firegl x3 to a mac x800 pro, but those cards are very expensive but for good reason, a FireGL X3 has 2 dual-link DVI ports. They're also the fastest card you can stick in a g4, period. At $500+ though, I dunno.

The few 9700s that exist don't really work in anything but the machines they were sold for, there's a long explanation for this and it has to do with the extra power connector the FW800 has.