ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Compatibility - 1.6 GHz G5

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Level 3

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ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Compatibility - 1.6 GHz G5

I put in a 9800 Pro card in my G5 and every so often, she'll freeze and have serious trouble rebooting. When I put in the original OEM NVidia card, the issues stopped. Is the 9800 supported? Is there another high performance card this is perhaps a better fit?

Mac Pro @ 2.66 GHz, Power Mac G5 @ 1.6 GHz, Power Mac G4 @ Dual 1.8 GHz,, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Aug 30, 2009 10:27 PM

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Answer 1

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japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

Aug 31, 2009 5:05 AM in response to KGD

Hi-

The 9800 Pro is fully supported in OS X and the G5.
Could be the card is getting too hot.
This is the most common ailment of the 9800 Pro.
is the fan working properly?

A much better card is the Geforce 6800 Ultra DDL.
Very fast.
The Geforce is an OEM card, but flashed 6800 Ultra and GT cards are as good, and a bit cheaper.

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Answer 2

KGD Author

Level 3

509 points

Aug 31, 2009 6:47 AM in response to japamac

Fan is working fine... I'm suspecting heat as well. Funny thing is the card works fine in my DA G4. May try the NVidia OEM Solution. Have a 64 MB OEM NVidia now, but would like some add'l horsepower, but @ least with this card the issue has dissapeared.

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Answer 3

Sep 7, 2009 5:09 AM in response to KGD

I put a Radeon X800XT in my g5, arguably as goog as the 6800 and does not take up the adjacent PCI slot, that was an issue ofr me. Check them both at BareFeats.

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Answer 4

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

Sep 7, 2009 6:48 AM in response to workshyfop

Hi-

The X800XT is a very good card, but not as easy to find as the Geforce..
There was a bad batch of X800's from ATI that gave many people a lot of trouble for a while, so they did fall out of favor a bit.

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Answer 5

KGD Author

Level 3

509 points

Sep 22, 2009 7:26 PM in response to japamac

Well I obtained a PCI Slot Fan and put on near the 9800 card that was problematic before. Moves heat out quite well and keeps the OEM fans from running their fullest... and so far, no creashes and no issues. Best $5 I have spent in a while. So it seems that heat was causing the problem. Hopefully this machine will continue running smoothly.

Message was edited by: KGD

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Answer 6

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

Sep 22, 2009 7:27 PM in response to KGD

Best $5 I have spent in a while. So it seems that heat was causing the problem.

Excellent! 🙂

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Answer 7

Nov 5, 2009 2:25 PM in response to KGD

My G5 Radeon 9800 card had a fan making high pitched noises...probably a bearing problem. I was able to replace the stock fan with an EverCool unit PN EC5010M 12S. I think this unit pushes a bit more air than the stock piece and fits in the original heat sink. The original mounting holes don't line up but I used a dab of silicon seal (rated up to 400 deg. F) at each of the mounting points and it seems to be holding fine and provides a flexible cushion. Save your old mounting screws just in case. You can get this through directron.com for about $15 w/shipping. Waiting for the silicon adhesive to dry took the longest time.

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