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MDR · Mar 12, 2007, 06:47 PM

Hi Folks

I have recently bought a Radeon 9800 SE Edition graphics card. Unfortunaly it was faulty and is now being returned

.

I am now wanting to buy a new graphics card (obviously not the 9800). I really need some advice. The following is provided:

1. I have a Power Mac G5 (2004) Dual 2GHz WITH 2GB Ram - Power Mac G5 (June 2004) - Technical Specifications

2. I have just purchaed two 24" Dell Displays that come with DVI and VGA leads - SMALL BUSINESS: Dell Ultrasharp 2407WFP 24" widescreen LCD Flat Panel Monitor.450 cd/m² brightness, 1000:1 contrast, 16ms (black-to-white) response time. Black TCO99

3. I use my system mostly for business purposes (legal consultant) and very rarely some video editing.

4. I need a graphics card that will give me rotation capability so I can use one of my screeens in portrait and the other in landscape.

If anyone can help I would be so endebted. I have just spent 1.5 days learning that I needed a ADC to DVI adapter to get two screens working on the Radeon 9800 and then the card fails......

Any advice is appreciated and the budget is not a problem - just want the right card.

Last thing.... I have to say its a really nice forum your running!

mduell · Mar 12, 2007, 08:33 PM

9600Pro should be fine for you... grossly overpriced, but the cheapest you can get away with.

MDR · Mar 13, 2007, 07:49 AM

Thanks for the help.

What do you think about the Radeon X1900 Mac edition?

Thanks once again for your help.

davidflas · Mar 13, 2007, 09:32 AM

Originally Posted by MDR

Thanks for the help.

What do you think about the Radeon X1900 Mac edition?

Thanks once again for your help.

I'll answer this one. The Radeon X1900 is a great card, but it only works in dual-core G5 Powermacs with PCI-E graphics slots. Your G5 has an AGP slot.

zac4mac · Mar 13, 2007, 09:59 AM

I have a Radeon X800XT 256MB in my G5. Replaced the original 9800.
Come to think of it, I still have the 9800, think it works. If you are interested I can check it,and if it's working I'll sell it cheap. I believe it's a 128MB.

G5 rev A 2GHz DP w/ AGP

Cadaver · Mar 13, 2007, 10:29 PM

Originally Posted by MDR

Thanks for the help.

What do you think about the Radeon X1900 Mac edition?

Thanks once again for your help.

Wont work. The best your machine can do (with its AGP slot) in terms of cards readily available at retail is the Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition.

Other options which you'll have to hunt for (OEM build-to-order options) are the Radeon X850 XT, GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL or GeForce 6800 DDL.

And if you go the eBay route, make sure you buy a genuine Mac edition card, not a flashed PC card. While the Radeon 9800's worked well, there was poor success with the X800 XT, X850 XT and the GeForce 6800's.

The Mac versions of the 6800 cards (both) had two DVI connectors, and each was a dual-link connector which means that the card will support two 30" displays.

The Radeon X800 XT available at retail has one dual-link DVI connector and one ADC connector.

Not sure what the X850 XT had, but this too was only available from Apple as a build-to-order option.

Also, just FYI - The Radeon cards occupy only one slot (the AGP slot). The two 6800 cards had a fan that stuck out in to the neighboring PCI slot, effectively blocking it from use.