ATI X800 XT 512MB on MDD dual boot dual 1.25Ghz.... possible?

Tiberius Meszaros wrote:
Hi,

Just looking to see if I can install a Mac version of the ATI X800 XT 512MB on G4 MDD dual boot dual 1.25Ghz machine?

Not the retail version of that card which is AGP Pro 8x.

http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonx800/radeonX800xtme/specs.html

The only retail cards currently on the market that will work are the ATI 9600 and 9800.

That said, people flash and modify PC cards to work in the AGP 4x slot in the MDD. Some do it themselves, some do it for profit selling them on eBay.

Hi-

The only 512mb NVRAM cards are all PCIe, and you need 4x AGP, so No, you can't.

A flashed PC version of the X800XT 256mb may be possible, but I won't commit.
One that will work in your machine is the Geforce 7800 GS. Fastest AGP card around, faster than the X800 in most performance tests.

If you want power, that's the card....

Hi-

The only 4x AGP true Mac performance card on the market is the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Mac version.
But, the card has DVI and VGA.
For Dual DVi ports, only the ATI Radeon 9600 Pro PC and Mac version is available.
OEM cards with ADC may be found at We Love Macs.

Just following up on japamac's excellent response.

ADC presents a seriously limitation on cards since the only two retail cards (no flashing, no fuss) on the market are the ATI 9600 and 9800, both without ADC.

I use a modified 9600 Pro from a G5, which has an unpowered ADC. Unpowered because the the ADC tab doesn't align, although some people have modified the card further to get power to the ADC port. For info on both of those mods, see:

http://www.pistolerapost2.com/viewing/96002g4.html

There is one last card -- extremely -- I can think of with ADC and more oomph than the retail 9600: the Apple OEM 9700. That was a BTO option for the MDD. Here's some info on that card:

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/Graphics/Radeon9700PROOEM/index.html

Again it's really rare because it wasn't available even as a BTO option for very long. They fetch a premium on the used market when you find them.

What ADC monitor do you have? I hope an LCD. In which case, something to consider is the Apple ADC-DVI adapter which will set you back $100. It's basically a kind of splitter, with a brink supplying power to ADC monitor while passing the signal from the DVI port. Yeah this adds to your costs, but gives you more options in terms of cards.

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Oh more thing about 9.x acceleration which you mentioned. With ATI cards, you might need to pull an extension or library from the Extensions folder to keep 9.x from stalling at boot. I had to do that with my 9600. Sorry, I'm on my MBP now, so I can't tell you which ones. Let me know if you need/want to know which ones I pulled.

wrong! The fastest nvdia that I have seen is the following:

Nvidia Geforce 7800 GT - 256MB GPU:440MHZ, MEM CLOCK=1400 GDDR3

And although it does say it recommends a 400w power supply, most of us MDDers have the quieter 360w. So, there you have it.. the most powerful nvidia geforce and I have it!

Nvidia Geforce 7800 GT - 256MB GPU:440MHZ, MEM CLOCK=1400 GDDR3

Geforce 7800 GT and GTX are only available in PCI express.

The only Geforce 7800 AGP card made by Nvidia is the GS.

A Geforce 7800 AGP card advertised as GT, GTX, or XT is a card that has the ROM edited, and most likely has used the ROM from a PCIe card to report as such.

As for speed ratings, Geforce cards can be overclocked, some better than others. There is overclocking and superclocking. The card starts as 375mhz w/1200mhz memory clock. Some third party producers of the 7800 GS (BFG for one), using the Nvidia GPU, often sell a 400mhz/1300mhz OC, or over clocked version. Some flashers of Geforce cards superclock these to bring a better sale price. Any rated at higher than 400mhz/1300mhz are considered to be superclocked.

Of course, any overclocked or superclocked card will require more power, produce more heat, and have more stringent cooling requirements.

One thing that over clocking or superclocking *doesn't do*, is unlock pixel pipes to allow the GS (16 pixel pipes) to "become" a GT (20 pixel pipes), GTX (24 pixel pipes), or XT (probably a GTX edited ROM).

Whatever the report of a flashed Geforce 7800 AGP card, it is a GS.