? to buy - ATI RADEON X800 Mac Edition

Steve
I had purchased the X800 XT MAC and unfortunately recieved a defective unit (it happens) anyway got the rma and returned it to ATI/AMD they provided me with another card (1 week turnaround) it too was defective and wouldnt allow my G5 to boot even!! Yikes!! So I returned the unit to Microcenter (where I purchased the unit) and I am in the process of getting my money back (home office is issuing a check so I must wait 10 business days to get the check). So I like you must now wait to get my 30 inch to where it is really useable.

Unfortunately there are no other options really as the X800 XT MAC is available for AGP and supports the 30 inch (dual link DVI) and has a max resolution of 2048 x 1536 verses the 30 inch at 2560 x 1600 resolution as I have researched this quite exhaustively. Its apparent AGP isnt the future (obviously) and Nvidia Quadro FX at 1600 bucks is clearly outside my budget.

Perhaps someone else knows something different. Do shop around as I paid around 300 bucks for mine, however understand the wait limitations you face once you get that price and note some retailers are discontinuing availability of the unit itself for whatever reason (support may be an issue). Some places are even asking 389 bucks!!

Thanks for letting me know about the 9800 as well. Kinda regretting getting the 30 incher now!!!!

I suspect whether its the card's problem or our G5's problem. This is my story:

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I just purchased a X800 XT AGP video card for my G5 Dual 2G, which is currently using a ATI 9600 Pro.

The problem is, when I plug this card in, the system won't boot. I can hear the startup chim but the screen just remains dark and I don't even get to the gray screen.

I tried zapping the PRAM, and the problem is still the same. Won't even boot in safe mode when I keep the shift key pressed down.

The machine works well when I put back in the 9600 Pro.

The card probably isn't a lemon as the seller brought 5 of those to my place and all of them have the same problem (he claimed that all of the cards work at his office and he tested them all).

I have already installed the latest drivers etc downloaded from the ATI website.

Anyone has any idea as to how to fix it?

Alex that is a very interesting statement indeed as I was able to get the replacement X800 xt up ok for 1 night after that it would not allow the mac to boot the following morning after shutting off the puter the night before.

Of course the original graphic card works well. Yes I had the drivers and all in the machine to no avail when trying to get the ATI back up. Cant experiment any further as I dont have the card any longer and the 30 inch is sold (boo hoo).

I would suspect the power supply being the culprit as in the ATI manual they harp quite a bit about the power demands of certain graphic cards. By the way my manual talked about the 9800 and not the x800 xt which I thought was very unusual and really idiotic. Going to the web site didnt help at all as I thought perhaps there really is a install manual for the x800 but I certainly couldnt find one oh and by the way the troubleshooting section is laughable.

Anyway I have seen the card in operation and it looks nice but I wasnt lucky with it at all and calling tech support uh was a waiste of time. The best of luck to you!!