Video Cards ??

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I have a Quicksilver dual 1G running OSX 10.3.2 The AGP video card is a GeForce 4 MX (supplied with computer).

What would be the best (or one of the best) choices I could make to improve the video performance for games such as Allied Assualt, Halo, Unreal Tournament, RTCW etc .... ????
 
Well, that is like saying the best BMW is a good car... but the real issue is the fact that ATi is your only option for an after-market card. The 8500 and the 9800 are probably the two best options based on your budget. The 9600 might also do well, but I am not sure if it is still available in retail locations.
 
For a top of the line card, yes go with the 9800 pro, there are a few places on the net that have them for under 350.00.

Is it the only option available? Technically no, as you can still get Apple's nvidia geforce 4ti card from them, but the price if 399.00 and it doesn't perform as well as the 9800. Out of the cards you can buy I'd have to say that is the second best performer.

Another thing that you may want to keep in mind, is wether or not you are looking for a card with a built-in adc connector. The retail 9800 has vga, dvi, and s-video connectors, while the geforce 4ti has adc and dvi.

I myself have been tempted by the 9800, but I currently have a geforce 4ti in my dual 1 Ghz machine (mdd) and it runs all the games I play rather nicely.

The one thing that has held me back from getting a 9800 card, is a couple of reviews done on the card. The reviewers got a little better performance with the card, but the processors on the machine became the bottleneck, not allowing the machine to take full advantage of the video card.

In your case where you are looking for something better than the 4mx, and you don't need adc, then yes go for the 9800 card, it will play any game that you want on your machine nicely.
 
Thanks to everybody for responding.

Looks like the ATI 9800 is my ticket. How does it work under OSX? Is there a need to install additional drivers or is it plug and play?

Why would one need ADC? Not sure what you mean by this? (I'm thinking this is specific for the Apple flat panels?) I am running a 19" VGA monitor right now but may get a flat panel in the future (probably not from Apple however). A DVI connector will power a generic flat panel ... correct?

What's the difference between the GF 4MX and the GF 4TI you mentoned?

I have access to a G5-D2G (with I believe a 9600 card) and it runs all these games seriously well. I'm hoping this Quicksilver G4-D2G with the 9800 will also be serious (although I realize it isn't a G5). What differences are there between the 9600 & 9800 cards?

Gaming isn't a huge thing for me but when I sit down to play, I need performance.

Thanks again.
 
The 9800 card is made to work with OS X, (in fact there is no support for 3d acceleration in OS 9 with this card), they do however have some updated drivers and additional software to install.

Yes, ADC is apple's own display connector, and used for their displays. It is basically a dvi connector plus it also supplies the power to the monitor as well, forgoing the need for an extra power cable for your monitor.

If you do end up getting a flat panel monitor later, just make sure you know what type of connector it has. They can come with vga, but you will suffer some loss in quality vs dvi. And there are some companies out there that make LCD's that are compatible with Apple's ADC, so just verify what your looking at before buying.

The GF 4Ti was (still is for now) the top of the line video card based on nvidia's GPU, that you can still buy for a G4. Here is a link that shows some tests run between the GF 4MX and the 4TI.

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/Graphics/geforce4_ti/geforce4_titanium_Mac.html

The 4TI really pulls away at the higher resolutions, vs the 4MX. Here is another link to all of the video card tests that have been run at this website. He has compiled some amazing results/data.

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/video.html

This test is just what your looking for when as far as the difference between the 9600 and 9800.

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/G5/Dual_g5_9600_9800_tests.html

Like I said before, if you aren't concerned with needing a card with an ADC connector, then the 9800 is the way to go, you can't go wrong with this card. In fact you will (like myself) run out of processor power to feed the card before you will ever max out the card.

Enjoy.
 
How much does the slower AGP slot on the G4 hinder the card's performance? Will you be able to use the 9800 to its full potential?
 
if you are talking about diff between 8x agp and 4x agp currently 8x does not really have any major gains over 4x, you shouold be fine.

That card freaking rules, Saphire is now sellling their 9800 pro's for 230 bucks (PC) which is an amazing deal seeing as how it destroys nVidias card in that pricerange.
 
There's no commercially available Radeon 9600 for Macs. However, with a little bit of tape, you can get the 9600s working in AGP equipped G4s. AYM mentioned it near the end of December.

I've been using a Radeon 9800 in my dual 1.2 GHz Quicksilver since around the time they were first available. The main advantage is that you can improve image quality with virtually no loss in performance (depending on the game of course).
 
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