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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Consumer Hardware & Components > video card upgrade options for an MDD dual 867?

video card upgrade options for an MDD dual 867?
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hotani
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Mar 23, 2004, 07:21 PM
 
I would like to upgrade my geforce 4 MX (32MB) card to something that can handle the games a little better.

Unfortunately, information on this topic is extremely scarce, and most retailers don't have much in the way of mac-ready video cards it seems. Threads regarding this are often a year or so old, and probably not relevant any more.

Here is what I have found out so far about radeon cards:
1- radeon 8500 and 9000 are about the same performance-wise
2- 8500 has no ADC connector, 9000 does. (currently I don't need this, but it would be nice to have in case I upgrade later to an apple display)
3- 9000 is no longer available to buy without going to e-bay or something
4- 8500 is running about $180... availability is questionable.
5- the 9800 is about $350, supposedly the top dog (for now), and will probably be overkill for a dual 867 machine. And I don't want to spend that much.

So what's the deal? what are my options here? It would be nice to have a good 128MB card, but if the CPUs can't take advantage of it, then I could just go with a 64MB card.

What am I missing? The only option for me it seems, is the 8500. That is all online retailers seem to have that would be an upgrade to what I'm running currently.
// hōtani
MDD G4 dual 867
     
motti
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Mar 24, 2004, 11:14 AM
 
I upgraded my G4 some weeks ago with a Radeon 9000, which is still available here. At first I was disappointed, simply because nothing happened! But the X-Plane demo showed a considerable difference in fluidity.
The most positive aspect for me is that the new graphics card stays a lot cooler than the GF2mx!

Personally I think the 9800 is overkil
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cSurfr
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Mar 24, 2004, 11:41 AM
 
Originally posted by motti:
I upgraded my G4 some weeks ago with a Radeon 9000, which is still available here. At first I was disappointed, simply because nothing happened! But the X-Plane demo showed a considerable difference in fluidity.
The most positive aspect for me is that the new graphics card stays a lot cooler than the GF2mx!

Personally I think the 9800 is overkil

Tell me...with the X-Plane Demo...what res are you running at with the 9000? For some reason on my machine, I cannot get it to run @ 1280x1024.

thanks,
cs.
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TimmyDee51
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Mar 24, 2004, 12:35 PM
 
I recently upgraded my Radeon 9000 in my Dual 867 to a Radeon 9700. Some may call it overkill, but I knew from the start that my processor wouldn't be able to push the GPU to it's limit. What I was hoping for was better game performance and quality, which I got.

The biggest notable difference is in how the games look. On the 9000, I had to play Halo dialed waaay down (640 x 480, low textures, etc.) to get a reasonable 30 fps. Once I popped in the 9700, I pushed it to 1280 x 1024, higher texture details, and pixel shaders while maintaining 30 fps. The game remained playable but looked so much better.

An interesting thing happened with Quake 3. Previously, I was getting around 69 fps on average with reasonably high quality. When I replaced the GPU, the fps dropped to around 60 for the same settings. Then I bumped everything to the max (and I mean everything) and all of a sudden I was back around 70 fps or higher.

I haven't had time to write out all of my "benchmarks" for this setup, so that's why my report seems a little vague as to texture details and options. I might do this in the future. In any case, there was a visible difference in quality without sacrificing performance in all of the games I tested (Quake 3, JKII, Halo, Kabuto). Mission accomplished.

Another option if you don't want to drop that kind of money is the GeForce4 Ti. Back when I was looking for a new card, I saw them new for about $280.

Edit: In fact, check out the Marketplace forum right now. There's a used OEM GeForce4 Ti going for $200.
( Last edited by TimmyDee51; Mar 24, 2004 at 12:43 PM. )
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hotani  (op)
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Mar 24, 2004, 12:57 PM
 
thanks Timmy - that's what I needed to hear.

I think i will skip the 9000/8500 and go for a 9700 (where did you find that??)/9800 or Ti.

Oh, if anyone is interested there is a really good video card benchmark database over at xlr8.
// hōtani
MDD G4 dual 867
     
TimmyDee51
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Mar 24, 2004, 02:27 PM
 
I got the 9700 as a "repair" part from Preowned electronics (www.preowned.com). You need to set up an account with them, but once you do you have access to just about every part imaginable, many cheaper than Apple's parts. The 9700 wasn't cheaper than what Apple has it listed for as a repair, but if you call them they can place a special order and get it from Apple and just resell it to you as Apple won't sell parts direct. Just ask for part number 661-2798.

I liked this solution better than a retail 9800. The 9800 would have been a little faster, but with the 9700 I was able to keep my ADC and DVI ports functional (which I needed for my dual head setup). Having to run adapters would have made the 9800 more cost prohibitive than it already is. Plus, I certainly can't complain about the performance.
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hotani  (op)
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Mar 26, 2004, 11:21 AM
 
I ordered the Ti card from the guy in marketplace, so looking forward to installing and trying it out.

I did some benchmarks using the UT 2003 demo. My minimum fps was 12 (average: 56), which is pretty sad. Especially since many others listed in the barefeats database with my same configuration were getting much better results (why would that be?).

When I get the new card in I'll run the test again and post my results.
( Last edited by hotani; Mar 26, 2004 at 11:26 AM. )
// hōtani
MDD G4 dual 867
     
Luca Rescigno
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Mar 26, 2004, 01:11 PM
 
FYI: The Radeon 9700 only works in MDD PowerMacs.

EDIT: Rest of the post removed... he already bought the card.

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hotani  (op)
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Mar 31, 2004, 02:17 AM
 
well, i installed the Ti, and it was pretty anticlimactic. No noticeable change in game performance. According to a test with UT 2003, the minimum fps went from 11 to 35, but I can't tell the difference... still seems slow. so much for that $200.

If anyone else is considering this upgrade, please don't bother. I guess the 867MHz is just sloooooow. Even though there are two of them.
// hōtani
MDD G4 dual 867
     
   
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