Quartz Extreme/Graphics Card Recommendation

Question

Level 1

0 points

Quartz Extreme/Graphics Card Recommendation

Hi,

In trying to install Logic Studio I have come up against a problem of not having a quartz extreme enabled graphics card. To fix this I bought a ATI Radeon 9600 Pro AGP card, which claims to support Quartz Extreme. However, after installing it yesterday evening my system profiler is telling me that the card does not support Quartz Extreme. I've done numerous software updates and downloaded all the drivers Apple and AMD supply but still no luck. I thought I could possibly swap this card with the one in my Mac Pro (which does support Quartz Extreme) but discovered that my Mac Pro card is PCI. I've done some research into this and it seems like it is a common problem with this card (the Radeon 9600) and that most people have become stuck in a loop of sending the card back to AMD/ATI and getting a replacement, and when the replacement doesn't work having to send that back and get another one etc. etc.

I don't really have the time to go through this process of trying replacements until one works but I am having real trouble finding an alternative card that will do the job. I need an AGP card which will support Quartz Extreme and has either 2 DVI outputs, or 1 DVI and 1 ADC. Does anyone have any recommendations, or even something I can do with my current setup to enable Quartz Extreme? I am running a G5 PPC with 10.4.11.

Thanks

Jack

Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Apr 10, 2008 4:08 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

Apr 10, 2008 5:03 AM in response to humuk

Hi-

Just to be sure, check the System Preferences/Displays, and make sure the color setting is to "millions of colors", as Quartz Extreme is disabled if you use a color setting of Thousands or 256 colors.

The requirements for Quartz Extreme are simple:
ATI: Any AGP-based ATI RADEON GPU, with 16 MB VRAM or better.
NVIDIA: NVIDIA GeForce2 MX or later, with 16 MB VRAM or better.

Related, but more demanding, Core Image is supported by:
ATI Radeon 9550, 9650, 9600, 9600 XT, 9800 XT, X800 XT
nVidia GeForce FX 5200 Ultra
nVidia GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL, 6800 GT DDL

The difficulty that you face, is that 8x AGP Mac cards are all out of production, with the exception of the 9600 PC and Mac edition.

Searching eBay may find you a 9800 series, or a 5200 used.
Check with these retailers for options:
Mac-Pro
We Love Macs

There are very hard to find OEM (dual DVI or DVI/ADC) 9600 Pro/ XT, 9650, 9800 Pro, Geforce 5200, 6800 GT and Ultra, and ATI X850XT cards available at Mac-Resource.

Reply

Answer 2

humuk Author

Level 1

0 points

Apr 10, 2008 5:55 AM in response to japamac

Hi,

Thanks for the help - I will look into the options you've suggested, does seem like it's going to be tricky though. I'm very disappointed that the 9600 Pc and Mac edition doesn't work, despite the manufacturer's claiming it would. Unfortunately due to the hurry we are in to get this all set up right we didn't come across the threads on here which describe all the problems with this particular card.

By the way, you gave me a lot of help about a year ago when I was trying to install a SCSI PCI card into an old G3 - in the end I managed to get it all working and get the job I needed to do done. Seems like whenever it comes to installing cards in a Mac I always come across problems!

Thanks

Jack

Reply

Answer 3

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

Apr 10, 2008 6:15 AM in response to humuk

Hi Jack-

Yes, I remember the SCSI quandry (glad the project was able to be finished). I am also glad that this time the hardware is a bit more up to date, though hexxed by the lack of aftermarket graphics options.

BTW, found a X800XT Mac Edition on eBay.uk

Reply

Answer 4

humuk Author

Level 1

0 points

Apr 16, 2008 7:49 AM in response to japamac

Hi,

We've managed to find a way around the quartz extreme problem for the moment, but we're keeping our eyes on ebay as we'll need to get a full working card at some point in the future.

Came across this, any good?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NVIDIA-GeForce-FX-5200-Ultra-Apple-G5-DVI-ADC_W0QQitemZ250 235254288QQihZ015QQcategoryZ3762QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Jack

Reply

Answer 5

Samsara

Level 4

1,321 points

Apr 16, 2008 9:38 AM in response to humuk

Hi,
Have you called or written to ATI (AMD). If you write you'll get a generic stupid response of various links and stuff. But if you respond to that demanding real answers you'll get them.

Quartz Extreme is weird. I can't use iMovie because my mac tells me one or more of my cards doesn't support QE. I just get the message and it quits. However if I use iMovie HD I get the same message but it gives me the option to continue or quit. I continue and it all works just fine.

It makes me think that maybe the problems with QE may not always be due to the card but to the Mac.
Just some thoughts, I haven't been able to figure it out. Good luck.

Reply

Answer 6

humuk Author

Level 1

0 points

Apr 17, 2008 2:08 AM in response to Samsara

Hi Samsara,

Yeah, I did get through to a real person at ATI (eventually) who asked me to take some screenshots and give them some system details. By then, however, I'd sent the card back for a refund as I've managed to find a work around for now. Interesting what you say about the problems you experienced - I think it may well be a problem with the Mac. For now though I can stick with the card I've got and leave the whole process of installing a new one until another time.

Jack

Reply

Answer 7

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

Apr 17, 2008 2:39 AM in response to humuk

Hi Jack-

Little slow in finding that you came back.....
The 5200 is the bottom of the graphics cards in terms of performance for the G5.
It is simply a graphics card, though it does support Quartz Extreme and is cheap.
If you don't need graphics acceleration for, say video rendering or gaming, the card will work.
For an idea of relative performance compared to other G5 8x AGP cards, see this article. The article also provides a list of cards to watch out for while searching eBay.

Good Luck! 🙂

Reply

Answer 8

solon

Level 1

0 points

May 28, 2008 12:37 AM in response to humuk

well I my self is in a bit of a pickle because of this issue. The thing is that i am working on a older G5 2.5 ghz dual machine, osx 10.5 and with a ATI radeon 9800 XT graphic card (AGP). Everything used to work nicely with imovie 8, up until i bought a wacom cintiq 12" board. The machine only has a PCI additional extension port to run the wacom (i have 2 monitors running on the main one). So i had to settle for a Radeon 9200 PCI 128mb card for the wacom. After that, imovie refuses to run unless i pull it out of the socket. I wish it would just ignore the one card that does not support Quartz and go with the AGP card and bypass the PCI card all together.... unplugging the devise is not enough, the imovie just hangs in startup.

B.R.
Runi.

Reply