Is Radeon 9600 XT compatible with G4 FW800?

Question

Is Radeon 9600 XT compatible with G4 FW800?

I was under the impression that an ATI Radeon 9600 XT pulled from a Power Mac G5 would work in a G4 MDD FW800 if pins 3 and 11 were taped. That turns out not to be the case, due to a physical collision between the AGP locking foot on the card and what appears to be a second ADC power socket located behind the AGP socket on the motherboard. Even if the position of the locking foot wasn't a problem, the 9600 XT's ADC power connector doesn't align with the motherboard ADC socket located in front of the AGP slot. Although I'm not interested in using the card's ADC connector at the moment, I might consider using an ADC to DVI adapter to connect a second DVI display to the machine eventually.

If I resolve the physical problem of installing the card by clipping off the card's locking foot, would a Radeon 9600 XT with pins 3 and 11 taped work in a G4 MDD FW800? And, if so, could the ADC connector be used to connect a second DVI display?

Power Mac G4 MDD FW800, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on May 15, 2010 7:27 AM

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Answer 1

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

May 15, 2010 8:21 PM in response to R. Lynn Rardin

Hi-

Welcome to Discussions!

Yes, no and maybe.

Some people won't take no for an answer, and there is a hack.
Here is some more information on the 9600 hack:
http://pistolerapost2.com/viewing/96002g4.html

If you read through the comments, you will find many that have tried, and failed, getting a stable 9600 of any kind to work, or work well.
Note the conversations on the ROM issue.

You ask about using the DVI out from the ADC, but it isn't a sure thing that the card will work even after mods are made to allow physical installation.

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Answer 2

BDAqua

Level 10

250,253 points

May 15, 2010 9:18 PM in response to japamac

Yes, no and maybe.

Thanks jmac... that's what I thought, or not, or maybe I did or did not! 😀

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Answer 3

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

May 15, 2010 9:41 PM in response to BDAqua

that's what I thought, or not, or maybe I did or did not!

+Well, shoot+ ..........
It's the best answer that I could give. 😟

The darn 9600 is just one of the most unique (I think over-rated and PITA) cards there is.

Even when the all mighty PC&Mac edition came out, it was for all 4x AGP G4's and G5's.
Then, only MDD's and G5's.
Then, maybe some MDD's and a select "hit and miss" group of G5's.
Even ATI, after exhaustive testing and even outsourced hardware Beta testing, threw their hands up in despair and discontinued the card.

The G5 version works in G5's, but the G4 hacks have very mixed results.
That is why I pointed towards the comments to reveal the various results and discussion of ROM versions, irregularities, etc.

Among the PC 9600 cards, only about 2 of all the models ever produced are flashable, and then these only put out fuzzy saturated analog from the VGA, and analog only from the DVI.

So, yes, no and maybe.
Are we clear? 😉

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Answer 4

BDAqua

Level 10

250,253 points

May 15, 2010 9:46 PM in response to japamac

It's the best answer that I could give. 😟

Oh certainly we're clear, and I did not doubt your reply nor I have any problem understanding the ramifications myself... please excuse my hijack & poor attempt at humor! 🙂

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Answer 5

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

May 15, 2010 10:05 PM in response to BDAqua

No problem with your hijack.
The only problem is the 9600.

BTW, be careful of the ACU (American Comedians Union), they may not appreciate your efforts, especially if you are a card holding member! 🙂

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Answer 6

BDAqua

Level 10

250,253 points

May 15, 2010 10:10 PM in response to japamac

Naw, they wouldn't give me a card, they thought I was a Clown! 😉

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Answer 7

May 16, 2010 6:23 AM in response to japamac

Thanks, jmac. Somehow my searches over the last couple days managed to miss the page you referenced, which is exactly the info for which I've been looking. I'm hopeful. I have a couple of these 9600 XTs pulled from G5s and have had no problems whatsoever with the one I taped up and installed in a PM G4 MDD. I realize that ROM issues could be a showstopper with the second card, but I'm feeling like I don't have much to lose. I think I'll clip the foot off of the second card, tape up pins 3 and 11 and see if it flies in a PM G4 FW800.

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Answer 8

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

May 16, 2010 7:03 AM in response to R. Lynn Rardin

Hi-

Thanks for that!
I'd be interested in hearing how you get along with the second card.

BTW, do you happen to know the ROM version of the card that's running?

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Answer 9

May 16, 2010 2:39 PM in response to japamac

I'll post results after I try the second card. I'm not sure what the ROM version of either card is off the top of my head. Will have to check that.

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Answer 10

May 17, 2010 3:41 AM in response to japamac

I located 3 additional 9600s for testing purposes this morning. A single processor 1.25 GHz G4 MDD (NOT FW800) booted fine with all 5 cards installed after pins 3 and 11 were taped. Three of the cards are tagged with the same part numbers (603-5720; 102A1360512; 630-6630) and System Profiler reports that these are all Radeon 9600 XT cards with ROM version 113-A13602-121. The fourth card is tagged with different parts numbers (603-4625; 102A1360510; 630-6448), but is also identified as a Radeon 9600 XT with ROM 113-A13602-121. The fifth card is tagged with another set of part numbers (603-4415; 102A1360103; 630-4925) and is identified as a Radeon 9600 Pro with ROM 113-A13601-126. I gather that the 9600 Pro is slightly inferior to the XT version of the card. I'm off to locate a hack saw... 🙂

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Answer 11

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

May 17, 2010 4:32 AM in response to R. Lynn Rardin

Hi-

All great information!
Appreciate the update, and look forward to further results! 🙂

No doubt there are others interested in your endeavor.........

I'm off to locate a hack saw...

Watch the fingers! 😉

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Answer 12

May 17, 2010 4:45 AM in response to japamac

Success! I removed the AGP locking foot or retention tab from one of the Radeon 9600 XT cards with part numbers 603-5720/102A1360512/630-6630 and ROM version 113-A13602-121, then installed the card in a DP 1.42 GHz Power Mac G4 FW800. The machine booted without a hiccup. I've rebooted, shutdown/booted and shutdown/removed power for a few minutes/restored power/booted a number of times and haven't had any issues, so I think I'm good to go.

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Answer 13

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

May 17, 2010 5:20 AM in response to R. Lynn Rardin

Great!
What monitor and connection are you using?

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Answer 14

May 17, 2010 6:31 AM in response to japamac

I used a Dell 1708FP connected via DVI for all testing conducted this morning. I'll need to order an ADC to DVI adapter before I can test to see if the ADC port can be used to connect a second DVI display to the cards. It will probably be next week before I have a chance to try this out.

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Answer 15

May 25, 2010 6:18 AM in response to R. Lynn Rardin

I received a Belkin F2E9142-WHT ADC to DVI adapter yesterday and did some more testing this morning. I installed one of the Radeon 9600 XT cards in either a Power Mac G4 MDD SP 1.0 GHz (non-FW800) or a Power Mac G4 FW800 DP 1.42 GHz running a fully-updated copy of OS X 10.5.8. I connected a Dell 1901FP display via DVI to the graphics card's ADC port using the Belkin adapter and a Dell 2007FP display via DVI to the card's DVI port (ie., no VGA to DVI adapter). Both the non-FW800 and FW800 machines booted with the displays behaving independently, with each display set to its maximum native resolution mode (1280x1024 60 Hz in the case of the 1901FP and 1600x1200 60 Hz in the case of the 2007FP) and 32-bit color depth. When I switched to mirrored mode, the 2007FP was switched to 1280x1024 60 Hz mode automatically to match the 1901FP's maximum resolution.

I also tested the Radeon 9600 Pro I mentioned previously in the Power Mac G4 MDD SP 1.0 GHz (non-FW800). Because I haven't clipped the AGP locking foot off of this card, I couldn't test it in the FW800 machine. The Pro card behaved exactly the same as the XT card when installed in the non-FW800 G4.

My conclusion is that the Radeon 9600 cards I have on hand seem to work fine and even support multiple displays when installed in my Power Mac G4 MDD and Power Mac G4 FW800 machines. Of course, YMMV, depending on the version of the firmware installed on the Radeon card and possibly other factors.

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