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LightWaver-67 · May 1, 2004, 07:18 AM

Can the stock video card in a dual 2.0Ghz G5 support 2 (two) analog (VGA) displays simultaneously...? I was assured NUMEROUS times by the sales rep at CDW that MY specific configuration would be supported.

I told her that I wished to run TWO 19" CRT (VGA) monitors off of my new G5 and she kept ASSURING me that after her research, that I TRULY WOULD be able to run BOTH 19" displays at 1600 x 1200 at a high refresh rate without any slow-downs or need for additional video card(s).

I get the machine at work and I see the two DIGITAL ports on the back... Apple ships a converter dongle for THEIR port to convert to a VGA signal... but what about the OTHER one...? What do I need to get to make THAT one work... and once I buy it... am I truly going to get decent performance on a grfx card running TWO 1600 x 1200 displays simultaneously...? Like I said... I mentioned my concern NUMEROUS times to my sales rep and she CONTINUOUSLY assured me that the card was MORE than capable of handling both displays at that resolution and at a high refresh rate.

Are any of you running two hi-rez analog (VGA) displays off of the stock vid-card in a dual 2Ghz G5 PowerMac...? If so... is it performing to your satisfaction...? If not, what is available for additional video cards in the newer G5 series...? Don't they use new PCX slots or something like that...?

Thanks, in advance...

bartman00 · May 1, 2004, 09:26 PM

Relax.. you need a simple DVI to VGA adapter. Ask around, a friend may one, if not they're not that cheep.

Bart

willab · May 1, 2004, 09:41 PM

He needs an ADC-VGA adapter, not DVI - VGA. http://www.drbott.com/prod/db.lasso?code=0117-ADCV

Catfish_Man · May 1, 2004, 10:39 PM

Originally posted by LightWaver-67:
Don't they use new PCX slots or something like that...?

Thanks, in advance...

No, PCI-X is not suitable for graphics cards. G5s use AGP.

LightWaver-67 · May 2, 2004, 07:39 AM

Originally posted by willab:
He needs an ADC-VGA adapter, not DVI - VGA. http://www.drbott.com/prod/db.lasso?code=0117-ADCV

Incorrect. The G5 SHIPS with the ADC > VGA adapter. In order to use the second display, I need the DVI > VGA (Which I bought yesterday, but have not gone to work yet).

Mostly, my question is about the PERFORMANCE of the card w/ two VGA 19" displays at 1600 x 1200. I'd hate to get this far, only to find-out: "Sure, it's POSSIBLE... but it looks like crap and the frame rates SUCK when editing video"

I guess I'll find-out today. Going into work to test it out.

cmoney · May 2, 2004, 11:49 AM

Originally posted by LightWaver-67:
Incorrect. The G5 SHIPS with the ADC > VGA adapter. In order to use the second display, I need the DVI > VGA (Which I bought yesterday, but have not gone to work yet).

Mostly, my question is about the PERFORMANCE of the card w/ two VGA 19" displays at 1600 x 1200. I'd hate to get this far, only to find-out: "Sure, it's POSSIBLE... but it looks like crap and the frame rates SUCK when editing video"

I guess I'll find-out today. Going into work to test it out.

Let us know how it goes, I'm planning on doing the same.

Also found out since the G5 has PCI-X slots, most PCI video cards do not work in the G5. But there are a few on Apple's support discussion boards who've gotten the ATI 7000 to work...

DaedalusDX · May 2, 2004, 01:55 PM

Originally posted by LightWaver-67:
Incorrect. The G5 SHIPS with the ADC > VGA adapter. In order to use the second display, I need the DVI > VGA (Which I bought yesterday, but have not gone to work yet).

Mostly, my question is about the PERFORMANCE of the card w/ two VGA 19" displays at 1600 x 1200. I'd hate to get this far, only to find-out: "Sure, it's POSSIBLE... but it looks like crap and the frame rates SUCK when editing video"

I guess I'll find-out today. Going into work to test it out.

Just out of curiosity, which model of G5 is this, and which video card is it configured with?

I'm guessing Radeon 9600?

bartman00 · May 2, 2004, 03:39 PM

sigh

Cadaver · May 2, 2004, 09:37 PM

Relax. The stock video cards in any G5 model will run dual displays at ample speed to do any type of 2D work (video editing, graphics/photography, etc). It'll look just fine. Unless you're running large-texture OpenGL graphics on each display, frame rates will not be an issue. Refresh rates will be more than adequate on each display.
Apple supplies an adapter for one of the two digital ports (can't recall which one - mine is tucked away in a drawer somewhere), so all you need is a $25ish adapter for the other port to run two VGA displays.
Your sales person was correct. The G5 will do it just fine out of the box, even at resolutions of 1600x1200.
I run two digital displays on my G5 just perfectly (22" Cinema Display at 1600x1024 and a 17" Studio Display at 1280x1024).

Cadaver · May 2, 2004, 09:38 PM

oops. Double post (only #2 in 1200+ posts)

LightWaver-67 · May 2, 2004, 11:26 PM

Originally posted by willab:
He needs an ADC-VGA adapter, not DVI - VGA. http://www.drbott.com/prod/db.lasso?code=0117-ADCV

( Eating crow )

Looks like you were correct. I was so sure that it was the opposite... but I wasn't alone. Even the sales associate(s) at the Apple Store agreed that it was the DVI > VGA adapter, which is why I bought it.

Wrong.

I really did (do) need the ADC > VGA adapter. Going to return and get the right thing tomorrow. I wish I paid more attention to these things the FIRST time.

tooki · May 3, 2004, 01:57 AM

These are the included accessories, cut and pasted from www.apple.com/powermac :

Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse, USB keyboard extension cable, DVI to VGA adapter, modem cable, AirPort antenna

Doesn't ANYONE look at the manufacturer's own website before posting questions on a forum?!?

tooki

Thinine · May 3, 2004, 02:05 AM

Originally posted by cmoney:
Let us know how it goes, I'm planning on doing the same.

Also found out since the G5 has PCI-X slots, most PCI video cards do not work in the G5. But there are a few on Apple's support discussion boards who've gotten the ATI 7000 to work...

Any PCI card should work in the PCI-X slots, unless the card requires the 5v power than the G5 doesn't have.

LightWaver-67 · May 3, 2004, 08:30 AM

Originally posted by tooki:
These are the included accessories, cut and pasted from www.apple.com/powermac :

Doesn't ANYONE look at the manufacturer's own website before posting questions on a forum?!?

tooki

Well aren't we superior...?

If you remember, the adapter was NOT the primary reason for my post... it was a secondary topic of discussion. My primary reason for posting was the PERFORMANCE question. I didn't feel a need to "check out the website" for the adapter because it wasn't in-question with me. I was already sure (even though I was wrong) about what I needed.

Either way... I'll find out by today how it performs.

Glad to hear that it should perfom okay under the usage I intend. Thanks all.

Leonard · May 3, 2004, 11:03 AM

Originally posted by tooki:
Doesn't ANYONE look at the manufacturer's own website before posting questions on a forum?!?

tooki

Nah, nobody does that anymore. That's passe. Nowadays people buy stuff and then figure out what they bought when they get it.

cmoney · May 3, 2004, 03:51 PM

Originally posted by Leonard:
Nah, nobody does that anymore. That's passe. Nowadays people buy stuff and then figure out what they bought when they get it.

a lot of manufacturers also misrepresent what their product can do, or their website isn't up to date, or for us mac users, we're not officially supported anyway. it's hard to get 'official' support for a video card that doesn't work in a mac without first flashing it in a friend's pc.

LightWaver-67 · May 3, 2004, 06:46 PM

( HiJacking my own topic )

Is it APPLE'S decision... or do they have influence on how 3rd-Party manufacturers incorporate technology into their products...?

Why do I ask...?

Our new G5 PMs come with a spiffy display card with an ADC connector. Our new, spiffy 23" Displays come with a spiffy ADC connector too. It is hinged (in ONE direction) so that it can hang straight down... or so you'd think. My guess is that the connecters on the display cards used to be rotated 180� from their current orientation, because now... the connectors will only hinge UP or stick straight out.

Even my 3rd-Party "Dr.Bott" adapter has an angle to it that is defeated by the rotated port on the card. Slight oversight, eh...?

Cadaver · May 5, 2004, 01:13 PM

Originally posted by LightWaver-67:
( HiJacking my own topic )

Is it APPLE'S decision... or do they have influence on how 3rd-Party manufacturers incorporate technology into their products...?

Why do I ask...?

Our new G5 PMs come with a spiffy display card with an ADC connector. Our new, spiffy 23" Displays come with a spiffy ADC connector too. It is hinged (in ONE direction) so that it can hang straight down... or so you'd think. My guess is that the connecters on the display cards used to be rotated 180� from their current orientation, because now... the connectors will only hinge UP or stick straight out.

Even my 3rd-Party "Dr.Bott" adapter has an angle to it that is defeated by the rotated port on the card. Slight oversight, eh...?

Actually, the cards are the same. But inside the case they are now rotated 180� from their orientation in the El Capitain cases used by the blue & white G3 and all G4s (up to the MDDs).

I'd imagine Apple will redesign the ADC connector or perhaps drop it all together when the next display refresh is released.

tooki · May 5, 2004, 01:22 PM

The ADC connector has the hinge because of the Power Mac G4 Cube, which was introduced at the same time as ADC. The Cube has its ports at the bottom, so without a hinged connector, the plug would not have fit under the computer. (The Cube also shipped with a short VGA adapter cable that had a hinged plug, for the same reason. USB and FireWire plugs are small enough to fit under the Cube without any special consideration.)

I suppose that eventually, the hinge will be changed or dropped, since AFAIK the 20" and 23" Cinema Displays won't even work on a Cube, at least with the default graphics card.

tooki

i_m_a_l_e_x · May 6, 2004, 02:09 PM

I'm using 2 19" NEC CRT's with my Dual 2.0 G5 and I haven't noticed any slowdowns. I have had one problem lately though. Sometimes when I startup the machine the monitors get no signal. I end up shutting down and restarting several times until they finally work. Has anyone else had this problem? Any ideas for a fix? Thanks

Cadaver · May 7, 2004, 12:42 PM

Originally posted by i_m_a_l_e_x:
I'm using 2 19" NEC CRT's with my Dual 2.0 G5 and I haven't noticed any slowdowns. I have had one problem lately though. Sometimes when I startup the machine the monitors get no signal. I end up shutting down and restarting several times until they finally work. Has anyone else had this problem? Any ideas for a fix? Thanks

Some people have had this problem with faulty Radeon 9600 cards (do a search here on MacNN).
Make sure the video card is well seated in its slot. Otherwise, call Apple and they will quite likely send out a replacement.
Knock on wood my machine hasn't had this issue.

LightWaver-67 · May 8, 2004, 08:29 AM

funny...

I had a different (yet similar?) issue just yesterday... upon waking from sleep, one monitor was normal (1600 x 1200) but the other woke-up at 640 x 480 and I needed to go reset it's size. I wonder if it's in any way related... or if it's an unrelated coincidence.