OSX and Radeon 9000 Pro vs 9800 Pro

It really depends on what monitor you are using and what you're going to be using the computer for. The 9000 will work directly with an ADC monitor, where the 9800 would require an adapter. The 9000 will not work with a VGA monitor unless you have an adapter (available for very cheap). It looks as if both will support Core Image. Core Image enhances graphics and is required with some high end apps. For basic needs I doubt there will be a large difference between the 9000 and 9800.

Minimum GPU for Core Image is Radeon 9550/9600, Core Image does not support Radeon 9000. R9800 is a much improved card over R9000 in all aspects.

Oh, well in that case I would definately go for the 9800.

Hi,I've been using the flashed version of the agp 9200 and it worked fine with my 24" samsung LCD.
But it is not core image ready.So i broke down and bought the 9800 pro and it has made for a better visual experience.I've only had it a couple of days but i notice better overall color and crispness.
When i play a DVD the in full screen mode the colors (especially the blacks) are better.With the 9200 I had to stand back a little for the DVD to look normal at full screen mode, with the 9800 i can sit and watch from arms length.In my opinion the 9800 is worth purchasing.
JJA

Hi Laurence Cable-

I have both cards. The 9000 is long retired. Moved the 9000 to my daughters dual 500 GE, and then replaced it with another 9800.
Hands down, the 9800 is the better performance choice, and worth the extra $60-$80 (currently a $55 difference at OWC).
The 9000 was, actually, a waste of money, compared to the performace boost of the 9800......The 9000 is a nice card, and good for those who simply want to drive a widescreen LCD monitor. It's just not a +performance card+ like the 9800 is.

Hi japamac:
When you upgraded to the 9800 did you upgrade your G4 power supply to the 300W recommended by OWC?

Hi WegoMac-

No, I used the 9800 for quite some time before I upgraded the PSU. What prompted the PSU upgrade, was the addition of several other devices, and the degradation of power under load, due to heat.
With only the 9800, the AGP 237W PSU will still provide enough power. With a single processor upgrade, up to 2 harddrives, and the 9800, the stock PSU will still keep up. Anything beyond this, and you will be taxing the PSU.
As I mentioned before, it is the heat that really gets the PSU. As temperature increases inside the tower, the hot air is removed through the PSU. This, in turn, reduces the ability of the PSU to cool itself- using +hot air+ for cooling. As temperature increases, a PSUs ability to produce reliable power decreases. Eventually, components will be power starved, and the system freezes.
If reducing heat is something that you care to address (recommended) installing a PCI slot fan can greatly aid the cooling of the tower/components, and help maintain a stable system. A fan such as this Thermaltake, exhausts to the exterior, is quiet, and will aid in cooling. Placed next to the 9800, will also help to remove the added heat produced by the 9800. Other system coolers are here.
One note- if you use another exaust fan over 30CFM, I recommend getting a higher CFM case fan (the 120mm) >82CFM.

I was planning on getting a 9800 Pro for my G4, but considering that I'm not currently using GPU intensive programs, I'm thinking about the 9600 Pro instead, considering that it has dual-link DVI required for the 30" Cinema Display.

Hi japamac:
Thanks for your message of February 8 discussing PSU and cooling. This was very helpful information. I did install the 9800 and it works perfectly. It fixed my iPhoto '08 editing problem and really enhanced the graphics features of Leopard.

I installed a Radeon 9800 Pro ME on my Mac from OWC ... the ATI software Demos don't work.

Did anyone experience this on their QSs, MDDs or other Macs, under Leopard 10.5.2?

If so ... work around? They work OK under Panther on my QS.

This may be totally irrelevant but your last post came the closest to addressing my question. What kind of file is a .qss extension for. I have a lot of them and I need to make some space on my hard drive. I can't figure out how to open one to see what they are in order to determine wether I can delete them and lear up some space.
Thanks,
Doug

Check out this link:
http://www.space-plasma.qmw.ac.uk/QSAS/bugs/F039.txt