Using an Nvidia G5 5200 FX into a G4

Question

Level 1

10 points

Using an Nvidia G5 5200 FX into a G4

I have a friend who has a new GeForceFX 5200 Ultra that was pulled from his Mac G5 before he used it, for a faster card, with this written on the tag:
Model# A146
VZ43809Z5PJAT and then 603 - 3254

What I need to know if this is compatible with my G4 MDD FW800. There are so many of these cards on the market that are Mac compatible and some that have been flashed to work somewhat on a Mac and I can't find the info I need on your site to set me right.

I have a GeForce4 MX card in my FW800 now but need to upgrade to a faster card to run Apple's Motion.

There use to be a link to email a question to an Apple tech specialist for a question like this but I can't find it anywhere.

Can anyone assit me in this matter?

Thanks;
Gene

Beige G3/G4, MDD 1Ghz FW800, & TiBook G4, Mac OS X (10.4.8), Since 1985 and all are still working!

Posted on May 3, 2007 3:20 PM

Reply

Answer 1

May 3, 2007 5:13 PM in response to GeneP

it is compatable if you tape pins 3 and 11 on the PCI connector ( limits to AGP 4X ) and can live without power on the ADC connector. Calling Gf 4MX -> FX 5200 an upgrade is shaky ( yeah more VRAM but card speed, if possible is slower )

Reply

Answer 2

GeneP Author

Level 1

10 points

May 5, 2007 9:16 PM in response to Forrest McElfresh1

Thanks Forrest;

That's what I thought but was not sure. Seems like the Radeon cards IE 9600 400MHz GPU / 64MB / 64BIT 620MHz DDR are a lot faster in the Open GL tests than the nVidia 5200 FX with the 280MHz GPU / 256MB / 128BIT 400MHz DDR chips. You would think the 128BIT would make up the difference over the 64BIT.

Thanks again for the info. Got to do more research.

Reply

Answer 3

GeneP Author

Level 1

10 points

May 8, 2007 10:44 AM in response to Forrest McElfresh1

Forrest;

I have one follow up question on the same line and I don't know if you can answer it as well.

Will the same MODIFICATIONS work on ATI's RADEON 9600 & 9800's for the G5 as well. Seems to be a lot of them on ebay lately at a lower price than the one's for the G4's and if pins 3 & 11 can be negated to run on the FW800. Money is tight and if I can cut some costs with used parts the more upgrades I can purchase.

Thanks.

Reply

Answer 4

May 8, 2007 4:27 PM in response to GeneP

Yes, the pin 3 and 11 tape mod will disable 8X AGP on any card. Again without major surgery no power for ADC monitors.

Reply

Answer 5

GeneP Author

Level 1

10 points

May 8, 2007 8:42 PM in response to Forrest McElfresh1

Forrest;

Once again I thank you for your knowledge in this matter.

There is one more follow up on this. I noticed that you said there will be no power for ADC monitors but, can you use this plug for a second VGA monitor or does this plug become useless and totally dead?

Thanks;
Gene

Reply

Answer 6

May 8, 2007 9:06 PM in response to GeneP

An VGA monitor can be connected to the ADC port with an adapter. No power for ADC monitors due to the slot's power tab being in a differant position but monitor signals will work for VGA ( or for DVI for that matter, with adapter ).

ADC = DVI-I + USB + 24 VDC on one connector.

DVI-I carries both a digital and an anlaog signal.

Reply

Answer 7

GeneP Author

Level 1

10 points

May 9, 2007 1:07 PM in response to Forrest McElfresh1

Thanks once again Forrest.

Reply