NVIDIA GeForce on PowerMac G4?

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Level 1

20 points

NVIDIA GeForce on PowerMac G4?

My 450 Mhz Power Mac G4 "sawtooth" has the ATI Rage 128 AGP w/16 MB of video memory but as a result because of it's age and little video memory it truncates every 3D effect in Tiger. My G4 has a PCI-E Bus for graphics cards right?

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/nVidia-by-EVGA-e-GeForce-8400GS-512MB-DDR2-Graphi cs-Card-512-P2-N738-DX/sem/rpsm/oid/206972/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

The link above is what I'm thinking about buying but will it work with my Power Mac G4 Mac OS X and Mac OS 9? And will the VGA port on the graphics card work?

2.4 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo MacBook (Black) & 450 Mhz Power Mac G4 "Sawtooth", Mac OS X (10.5.4), G4 runs 10.4 Tiger dual boots Mac OS 9.2.2

Posted on Aug 17, 2008 5:09 PM

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Answer 1

Jeff

Level 6

12,328 points

Aug 17, 2008 6:04 PM in response to Jrtechn

Your G4 has a 2x AGP bus for graphics cards, so a card designed for the PCIe bus found in modern computers isn't an option for you. Additionally, you need to find a graphics card that's programmed with a Mac ROM. The card can either be factory-programmed/marketed for Macs or you can install a "PC" card that has been flashed with a Mac ROM for compatibility. The GeForce card carried by Circuit City is a PC product, but you can check Other World Computing's selection of Mac graphics cards.

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Answer 2

Jrtechn Author

Level 1

20 points

Aug 17, 2008 8:11 PM in response to Jeff

Yeah I went on OWC but I'm pretty sure the only one on there was the ATI Radeon 9600 Pro and that's way over how much money I really wanted to spend. By chance do you know about any cards for the G4 under $100 besides the ATI Rage series?

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Answer 3

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

Aug 18, 2008 3:44 AM in response to Jrtechn

Hi-

The fastest card for 2x AGP systems is the Radeon 9800 Pro. Second fastest, would be the Geforce 6200. All other 2x AGP options are slower.
Get a flashed Radeon 9800 Pro or a flashed Geforce 6200 for less than $100 on eBay.
The 9800 is guaranteed satisfaction through Leopard.

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Answer 4

Jrtechn Author

Level 1

20 points

Aug 18, 2008 11:05 AM in response to japamac

I tried typing in "mac ROM flashed ATI Radeon 9800 Pro" on eBay and I ended up with no results. Should I try typing in something else? Is there another place I can try?

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Answer 5

Jrtechn Author

Level 1

20 points

Aug 18, 2008 1:04 PM in response to Jrtechn

How do I flash a mac ROM onto a graphics card for Windows PCs? Just that way I don't have to worry about shipping from eBay.

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Answer 6

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

Aug 18, 2008 3:35 PM in response to Jrtechn

Hi-

In searching eBay, use a cards class name, such as 9800 Pro, 6200, 6800 GT, and add Mac. That's all. You'll get results that way.

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Answer 7

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

Aug 18, 2008 3:44 PM in response to Jrtechn

Hi-

Here are some resources:

The Mac Elite
Step By Step Flashing A 9800pro Using Vnc
Flashing the GeforceFX 5200 for Mac
Create an account (free) at Strangedogs.com for many other resources.

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Answer 8

Jrtechn Author

Level 1

20 points

Aug 19, 2008 8:19 PM in response to japamac

Ok but is a NVIDIA GeForce 6200 flashed with a mac ROM compatible with Mac OS 9? My G4 dual boots OS 9 and OS X. I heard the 6200 doesn't support accelerated graphics in OS 9 but does that mean it can't run the Apple IX3D Graphics Accelerator extension? I want a card that will be able to render quartz extreme in OS X but still be able to run accelerated graphics in OS 9.

Message was edited by: Jrtechn

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Answer 9

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

Aug 20, 2008 4:46 AM in response to Jrtechn

Hi-

For hardware accelerated graphics in OS 9, you are limited to the following (all Mac edition cards):

ATI Radeon 9000 Pro- OS 9.2.1+
ATI Radeon 8500- OS 9.2.1+
ATI Radeon 7500- OS 9.2.2
ATI Radeon 7000- OS 9.0+ (Open GL 1.2.2 required)
Nvidia Geforce3- OS 9.1+
Nvidia Geforce2 MX- OS 9.1+

All the above support Quartz Extreme in OS X, but none support Core Image (more important for Tiger).

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Answer 10

Jrtechn Author

Level 1

20 points

Aug 20, 2008 10:55 AM in response to japamac

So I take it flashed graphics cards would be a better choice because I want non-truncated graphics in Tiger (i.e. ripple effect in dashboard, cube effect in fast user switching) But I guess I'll have to switch out the GeForce 6200 with my ATI Rage 128 in order to get accelerated graphics in OS 9. But I guess I can use the Classic environment. Does the mac ROM flashed GeForce 6200 support Classic?

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Answer 11

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

Aug 21, 2008 5:57 AM in response to Jrtechn

A card with Core Image support is definitely of benefit with Tiger.

Classic runs using drivers from within OS X, so the graphics acceleration should be supported. Searches reveal Classic operates fine with a system that has a Geforce 6200 installed.

nVidia GeForce 6200 AGP: Physical Specs and Compatibility

There is no information to the contrary.

This article may be of interest to you.

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