[BrettOZ]

I have a Sawtooth G4 400MHz AGP Powermac and was wondering what is the best option for an upgrade to the video card ? Currently have the RAGE AGP 16MB card in it.

Need 32 MB + to take advantage of the quartz extreme. I mainly use it for Web Design and Video work - not heavy on the games too much. It seems from the information I have got from resellers, not sure if it is true or not, that some of the newer ATI cards do not work in this model ??

I do not need the Ultra latest in cards, but something that does no t have a crazy price tag and is available in Australia.

Any info is greatly appreciated.

[DrBoar]

I have a ATI 8500 and either that or the ATI would serve you well. However if you do not do gaming the 150 USD will give you half of G4/800 CPU upgrade and I think you are better served by a CPU upgrade than a new video card QE not withstanding

[BZ]

I bought an 8500 for my Sawtooth 350 Mhz and it works like a charm, QuartzExtreme and all. It is a great card, low price.

Remember, that your bus is going to be the limit in most of this stuff. You can through a 9700 in there, but will not get the full benefit of it.

BZ

[Corinthian]

Agree with all. I have got a Sawtooth 400 AGP and upgraded to ATi 8500 for Mac, and it's really great.

[D'Espice]

I have a G4/450 Sawtooth and got a flashed GeForce2 MX400. It's fast enough if you're not gaming at all and it's way cheaper than a flashed Radeon 8500.

There's a thread in the PowerMac forums about flashing a Radeon 8500 and here's the information you need on flashing a GeForce2 MX: http://www.cybercoment.com/macgeforce.htm

[SirCastor]

I have also got myself a Radeon 8500. The improvement isn't huge, mostly because of the Bus. However, I got it for cheap (flashed it)
so I'm happy.

You may be better off getting a faster chip.

[::maroma::]

I have a G4/500 Sawtooth, and I upgraded the GPU to a flashed GeForce3 just before Jag was released. The improvement in GUI was marked. I didn't measure it in any way, but I could notice an improvement. Of course, games were also improved.

I think it all depends on how long you expect to keep your current Mac. If you want it for another year or so, I'd say save up for a processor upgrade, you'll get more out of it. But if you're planning on getting rid of it within 6 months or so, I'd say go for the GPU. You'll get some small improvements with the GPU, and you'll save some money for your next machine.

my 2�

[BrettOZ]

Thank you all for the feedback - much appreciated. Seems like most people are happy with the 8500 card. I guess I only want to hang on to this machine for maybe another 12 months, then I will buy a new machine and this will become a server box.

Anyone else had good success with flashed PC cards ?

[ReggieX]

Originally posted by BrettOZ:
Anyone else had good success with flashed PC cards ?

Mine went perfectly, Sapphire 8500 purchased from the local PC shop.

I actually flashed 2 cards, but the first one had a problem with OpenGL causing the memory chips to overheat (hence useless with 10.2). Worked great in 9 and older RAVE games though!

[cgc]

I have a 400MHz G4 Sawtooth and bought a Radeon 8500. Saw some increase in speed but not too noticeable except with OpenGL games (Quake III, not Ghost Recon as I had hoped).

I'd either go with a CHEAP flashed PC card or a CPU upgrade (people seem to like the GigaSystems G4 cards).

[BrettOZ]

Or I could hold out, save my money and wait to see what is released mid-year, a new motherboard for the Powermacs ?

Thanks to all for your comments, I really am divided on either getting a new video card or going for the upgrade to the processor ??

[:haripu:]

what means to "flash" a card, and how can I do it with, say, a Radeon 8500?

*don't hit me, I really don't know!*