iMac graphics card

You are in luck !

Yes you can change the video card in your iMac model, but only to the Nvidia GT 130 512Mb or the ATI 4850 512Mb either will be very costly for you to buy even if Apple will sell you the part - it's not like a PC's PCIe video slot its based on the version used in laptop's so its a custom part hence you can only buy from Apple !

Custom mini

Try 'Google' !!


and the fact I have pulled one apart MAYBE is how I came across the info !

Yes take it to an Apple repair shop but you Will pay over the odds and it Will void your G/tee up to you?

The only time you can "upgrade" the card is at the time of purchase.
Whatever card is in the iMac at the time of purchase is what you have.
The graphics card is integrated-meaning it is soldered to the motherboard.

+"The only time you can "upgrade" the card is at the time of purchase.+
+Whatever card is in the iMac at the time of purchase is what you have.+
+The graphics card is integrated-meaning it is soldered to the motherboard."+

Jonothan hit this right on the head, iMacs _DO NOT_ have user (or shop) upgradable graphics cards. Apple is very clear about this. I would think any all-in-one computer such as the Dell Studio One, HP's Touchsmart and others are all the same. If you want to get a computer with a user upgradable graphics card you need to purchase a tower computer such as a Mac Pro or Dell, HP, etc...

It might be physically possible however that doesn't mean it will work and it will certainly void any warranty on the machine.

My suggestion is if you don't like the graphics card sell the machine and buy a Mac Pro or if you decide to get another iMac purchase one with the specifications you want.

Regards,

Roger

Your welcome and thank you for the star.

Yes if upgradeability is what you are looking for then the Mac Pro is the solution. They're much more expensive than a PC but when you see how they are built you will see why. Internally they really are works of art so when you take that into account and the power you are getting the price difference is easier to swallow.

Regards,

Roger

Brad87 wrote:
ok awesome, thanks for all the info. anyone know why this other guy said I could? haha...oh well not important.

so the mac pro is upgradeable?!? sweet! I've always liked the idea of having no tower and having everything built in. Then again, if the mac pro is as upgradeable as a PC, that would be awesome...would anyone consider it just as upgradeable as a PC? ex. HD, graphics card, processor, etc.

If you wanted a higher-performing graphics, why didn't you buy the iMac with the upgraded graphics option? Have you tried any specific games that don't perform well on the iMac? Or are you just listening to your PC friends that claim you need a 1GB graphics card just so you can sound cool? Most are overkill and not needed. If you are happy with how the game performs, then you don't need a new graphics card.

The Mac Pro is a standard tower computer. One that is quite large and quite heavy. Yes, you can replace or add graphics cards because they have expansion slots. You can replace the HD in both the iMac and Mac Pro. The Mac Pro has room for additional hard drives, the iMac does not. The CPU is socketed in the Mac Pro, but there aren't any processors available that exceed what is already installed. Some people have upgraded the CPU in their 2006 Mac Pros, only because the 2008 Mac Pro offers a newer CPU. Be ready to drop $2,500 for the Mac Pro, without a monitor.

I prefer the iMac since it is very fast with the Intel Core 2 Duo CPU. I don't want a large tower taking up space and adding additional noise to the room.

I have an original iMac G5 that I gave my parents and it has started to have a lot of problems. The thing makes a loud beeping noise (error at startup) and then gets all colorful and messes up at the top of the screen. It took a couple of startups to get it to work at first and eventually around 10 to 20 to 30.
I'm pretty positive that the graphics card is blown because it has gotten to the point where it won't even start.
I had another problem with this machine soon after the warranty expired where the Harddrive blew. I had to pay an apple representative $100 just for the services and another $150 for the Harddrive replacement that I could've probably just done it myself if I had known what the problem was. I ended up losing all of my itunes music and tv shows (hundreds of dollars I spent on the itunes store) that apple refused to let me re-download.
The question I have is if Apple would sell me the same graphics card so I can install it myself seeing how anytime below an hour is a $100 repair charge.
The thing is barely worth $500 as it is and I don't want to pay $200 dollars to repair something that is getting old and will most likely break again.

Jack

This is an Intel iMac forum, you might want to re-post in a G5 forum.

Sorry. Will repost in a different forum. Just saw this and thought the question pertaining to if apple sells gcard parts would be answerable.

Scyxassassin wrote:
I have an original iMac G5 that I gave my parents and it has started to have a lot of problems. The thing makes a loud beeping noise (error at startup) and then gets all colorful and messes up at the top of the screen. It took a couple of startups to get it to work at first and eventually around 10 to 20 to 30.
I'm pretty positive that the graphics card is blown because it has gotten to the point where it won't even start.
I had another problem with this machine soon after the warranty expired where the Harddrive blew. I had to pay an apple representative $100 just for the services and another $150 for the Harddrive replacement that I could've probably just done it myself if I had known what the problem was. I ended up losing all of my itunes music and tv shows (hundreds of dollars I spent on the itunes store) that apple refused to let me re-download.
The question I have is if Apple would sell me the same graphics card so I can install it myself seeing how anytime below an hour is a $100 repair charge.
The thing is barely worth $500 as it is and I don't want to pay $200 dollars to repair something that is getting old and will most likely break again.

Jack

You might want to replace the battery on the motherboard. That could be causing your startup issues.