AGP vs PCI G4 Video Card

O

oggVorbis

Registered
I recently bought a Radeon 9200 PCI 128mb Video card to replace the original card in my Sawtooth G4 400 (now upgraded with a gigadesigns G4 1.4 ghz).

I bought the card in a hurry and basically forgot that I had the AGP slot as well as PCI.

My question is; Do you think I made a mistake going with the PCI instead of AGP? Before installing my processor upgrade, I didn't notice much improvement in 2D. I was hoping that it would speed up OS X windows, expose, etc.. but it didn't seem to do much.

Games are another story though, the 9200 is a big step up for sure.

Can anyone recommend an AGP card under $150 that will beat the 9200 PCI, or is this as good as I can expect without paying much more?
Thanks!
 
Yes. The AGP bus is much, much faster than the PCI slot. For graphics, return it and get an AGP card... or sell it to me! I'm AGP-less!

Even a 64MB AGP card would probably be faster than a 128MB PCI card...

Look at this one: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/item/6700/ATI100433022/

It fits the budget and will generally perform better than the PCI card you have. If you've got the cash, though, I would recommend http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/item/6048/ATI100435050/ for a really good performance boost.
 
Yeah, I figured as much. Thanks for the advice.

I realize now that there's an AGP version of the 9200 also. Would you still prefer the 9000 for 2D performance, and the 9200 for games?
From ATIs website it seems like the 9200 has everything the 9000 has, plus a few more extras like S-Video. But it's hard to tell and they do make a point of saying how 9000 is tailored for OSX (quartz extreme I imagine).

I might have to sell the PCI card as I think I only had a 14 day return window which I think I just passed.

Any offers? Less than 3 weeks old, works perfectly, has all the cables, book, cd, box. I paid $125 plus $10 shipping.
 
The 9200 series is their budget card. You might want to look at some of the newer cards out there like the X-series if cash isn't a concern. However, a 9600 or 9800 series card would probably be a good buy also.
 
I might be wrong, but the 9600 seems to only come with an 8x agp connection, therefore not compatible with my sawtooth g4.

If I can find a non-"pro"(4x-8x AGP) 9800 in my price range, I agree that would probably be best.

I'm trying to keep this at $150 or less.

Would a NVIDIA card in that price range be better than the 9000 or 9200 AGP Radeon?
 
AFAIK, NVidia doesn't sell aftermarket Macintosh cards, so you might be hard pressed to find one. Stay away from PC cards that have been "flashed" for Mac-compatibility -- there's no telling if they'll work or not, and even if they do, you may experience graphic anomalies.

I'd stick with an ATi card -- just get the best one you can afford... if it's more expensive, chances are it'll have better performance.
 
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