what video card for dell 24" wide screen?

Question

Level 1

75 points

what video card for dell 24" wide screen?

i have an AGP G4, with a Rage128 Pro 16MB card installed. it drives the dell monitor but not well. i want to replace it but am confused as to what would be an appropriate (i.e., i'm a graphic designer and never use my comp for gaming or other intense video applications) card. i am looking at the Radeon 9550 128MB AGP, the Radeon 9600PRP AGP 256MB, and the Radeon 9550 256MB AGP cards--what is the difference between them, and am i looking at the right cards (they all price between $52 and $84, which seems cheap compared to other cards)?

thank you.

G4/350 w/1.4 ghz gigadesign upgrade, Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Posted on May 20, 2006 4:33 PM

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Answer 1

FangSuede

Level 4

2,195 points

May 21, 2006 2:54 PM in response to Jeff Stone1

Hi,
Your AGP requires a 2X AGP card, those you mention are 4X. Make sure you are looking at Mac Edition Video cards. The only NEW Retail card available for you Mac is the ATI 9800 Mac Edition.

There are many used, cheap Nvidia or ATI Mac Edition video cards for sale on Fleabay. You need to find one with 32MB or more, that has a VGA and DVI output connector. Do NOT get one that has ADC and VGA connectors! The Dell needs DVI.

ATI has several cards that have 32MB to 128MB VRAM, -> 7500, 8500, 9000.
Nvidia has some cards with the same VRAM choices, but many times has the ADC connector, just be careful which it has.

Make sure any card you buy is a Mac Edition card, normal PC video cards don't work.

Regards,
Dave

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Answer 2

Jeff Stone1 Author

Level 1

75 points

May 21, 2006 7:43 PM in response to FangSuede

thank you, that's a big help. i was somewhat skeptical of the low cost of the cards i mentioned (even though they were listed on the macconnection site as "mac platform").

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Answer 3

Jeff Stone1 Author

Level 1

75 points

May 22, 2006 4:08 AM in response to FangSuede

sorry, but i have one more question: can i use a PCI slot instead of the AGP slot and purchase a PCI video card instead? the AGP cards are all much more expensive and i can get a ATI 9200 128MB mac edition card from macconnection for $120. i wasn't able to find an AGP on ebay for less.

thank you again.

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Answer 4

May 22, 2006 4:27 AM in response to Jeff Stone1

A PCI card will work but will be a lot slower than one that uses the GP slot. A card with a ADC port is usable if you get an adapter from ADC to DVI to connect to your display. That adapter should cost about $30.00

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