GeForce 7300 GT on 1.8 Ghz Power Mac?

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Level 2

310 points

GeForce 7300 GT on 1.8 Ghz Power Mac?

I've got a spare GeForce 7300 GT coming off a Mac Pro tower. I cannot seem to find in depth information whether this card will work on a Power Mac 1.8 Ghz Dual tower.

If not, does anybody know of a decent trade to which I can trade the GeForce card for a substitute that would work on the 1.8 Ghz Power Mac?

I'm just trying to upgrade the video card on the 1.8 Ghz as well as getting a second monitor hooked up to it.

Any help and or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. TIA

iMac 20" Intel 2.24 Ghz, PowerMac G5 1.8 Ghz, B&W G3, iMac DV Special Edition, Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on Feb 16, 2009 6:32 PM

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Answer 1

Feb 16, 2009 6:45 PM in response to Cal Bouton

The 7300GT won't work on the G5 for two reasons - first, the 7300GT is a PCI Express card and the 1.8 GHz G5 uses AGP for its graphics card (and regular PCI or PCI-X cards for expansion). Secondly, the ROM on the Mac Pro card is different from the ROM on a G5 card, so even if the card would physically fit, the ROM difference would prevent it from working.

The best cards for your G5 are nVidia's 6800GT/Ultra or ATi's X800/X850. If you can get someone to trade you for one of those, go for it. For any card you might trade for or purchase, make sure it's a Mac card. A standard PC card won't work (similar ROM issues as above).

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Answer 2

Cal Bouton Author

Level 2

310 points

Feb 16, 2009 7:01 PM in response to Steve Boultbee

Steve,

First off, thanks for the quick response. I just did a search for the 3 products: nVidia 6800GT, ATi X850, and GeForce 7300GT. Seems like the nVidia 6800GT and ATi X850 cards are far more expensive than the GeForce.

With that in mind, I guess I'd like to know if you could tell me what cards would be compatible to the 1.8 Ghz that would also be about the same cost comparison to the GeForce card. Even trade would be better suitable for me. Currently I have a GeForce 5600FX (64 mb) card in the 1.8 Ghz system right now.

Again, thanks for any help and or suggestions.

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Answer 3

DPArt

Level 3

604 points

Feb 17, 2009 10:51 PM in response to Cal Bouton

Actually, I think you will find that you have a FX5200 Ultra right now.

The best card you can put on your machine is a 7800GS from Nvidia.

They are around $250 on Ebay.

A Radeon 9800 is a more economical choice around $100, or "flash" your own for around $20-30.

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Answer 4

Cal Bouton Author

Level 2

310 points

Feb 18, 2009 7:07 AM in response to DPArt

DPArt,

Not to sound crass or anything but my original post states that I have a spare GeForce 7300GT off a Mac Pro. I know I have a FX5200 on the PM 1.8 Ghz. What I am trying to achieve here is to trade the spare 7300GT for a second card that works on the PM 1.8 Ghz. Most likely will have to find one that is PCI. I'm not exactly looking to spend much. Just simply trying to trade the extra card off the Mac Pro (7300GT). Then again, perhaps if I can get a good enough trade... then I would simply remove the FX5200 from the PM 1.8 and insert whatever (hopefully much better) card I can trade for in the AGP slot.

On another note... much thanks for the tip that you can "flash" your own for around $20-30. I'm off to do a search on this one.

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Answer 5

Feb 18, 2009 9:27 AM in response to Cal Bouton

Perhaps you could sell the 7300GT and put the proceeds from that into something nice for your G5? The 7800GS that DPArt references would be faster than either of the cards I referenced earlier - it's just that it was originally a PC card that's been flashed and some users aren't comfortable with that fact.

Whatever you end up getting, either through purchase or trade, make sure you get an AGP card. While you could stick in a PCI graphics card, it will be significantly slower than your existing FX5200.

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Answer 6

Cal Bouton Author

Level 2

310 points

Feb 18, 2009 9:44 AM in response to Steve Boultbee

Steve Boultbee wrote:
Whatever you end up getting, either through purchase or trade, make sure you get an AGP card. While you could stick in a PCI graphics card, it will be significantly slower than your existing FX5200.

I was thinking the same thing. I thought about posting an ad in eBay for the 7300GT but I'm having a hard time deciding on what to start the bidding cost at and what to use for a "Buy It Now" option. I'm hoping to generate enough change so as to at least get a 128 mb video card replacement. Or maybe have to cough up $20 more for a 256 mb video card replacement which would be nicer. You know, my 256 mb for another 256 mb. I get the feeling that isn't going to happen without having to fork over a bit more cash.

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Answer 7

The hatter

Level 9

61,031 points

Feb 18, 2009 9:52 AM in response to Cal Bouton

People running a Mac Pro with 10.4.11 (and not 10.5.2+) might be target audience as Apple no longer seems to stock the OEM 7300GT for sale. And when they did it was probably in $79 range or value. Hard to say today what ebay logic being what it is.

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Answer 8

Cal Bouton Author

Level 2

310 points

Mar 10, 2009 6:27 AM in response to Steve Boultbee

Did some searching... Seems like I can get an almost even trade. Does anybody here have any opinion of trading my GeForce 7300 GT for a GeForce 6200?

I found several Mac nVidia GeForce 6200 256MB AGP Video Card with DVI-I, VGA, and S-Video running at an average of around $80-$90. As of this moment, I've got my card on eBay going at $79.99 with 5 more days to go.

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Answer 9

DPArt

Level 3

604 points

Mar 14, 2009 12:18 AM in response to Cal Bouton

Hey, I only pointed out that you had a FX5200 because you had misidentified it as an FX5600.

The 6200 is an IDEAL card for a G4 Cube....a Radeon 9800 is a better choice for a G5.

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Answer 10

Cal Bouton Author

Level 2

310 points

Mar 14, 2009 5:13 AM in response to DPArt

Does anybody have any links to buying a "flashed" Radeon 9800 XT from a reputable source for cheap? I tried to search for these on ebay and it seems to me they are up to the range of $150 for the 256mb cards.

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