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Johnny365

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 30, 2015
1,023
606
What video card is this from the pic alone? I don't think it's an ATI Rage 128 Pro only because there is an icon in the middle and the ones on Ebay are on the outside edges of each plug.

It's definitely an ATI Radeon card, sort of looks like the 9000 series, but this one appears to be DVI/VGA.

51748197382626.JPG
 

redheeler

macrumors G3
Oct 17, 2014
8,583
9,180
Colorado, USA
It could be a Rage 128, all the Cube cards use the same faceplate and all are ADC+VGA. It's not possible to tell from that alone.

The Cube won't take a Mac Radeon 9000, or GeForce 4MX. Those cards are too big to fit.
 

Johnny365

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 30, 2015
1,023
606
Ah makes sense! Recently bought one but won't know specs until it arrives.
 

redheeler

macrumors G3
Oct 17, 2014
8,583
9,180
Colorado, USA
The mystery is part of the fun! :)

But chances are it's only a Rage 128 Pro, that's what most Cubes shipped with. You can always upgrade it later, I put in a GeForce 2MX which is an easy upgrade. If you're adventurous, you upgrade it up to a GeForce 6200, but you need to flash it or find one that is already flashed.
 

bunnspecial

macrumors G3
May 3, 2014
8,352
6,495
Kentucky
As Redheeler said, there basically was only one common Cube faceplate, and it most often had a Rage 128 faceplate. A few Cubes came BTO with either a 2MX or a Radeon(retroactively named the Radeon 7500).

The Rage 128 faceplate will fit a 2XM(regular, not twin view) as well as a Geforce 3. The Radeon/Radeon 7500 I believe had their own face plate, but as the Cube specific card was uncommon, the Cube-specific faceplate for this is as well. A beat-to-heck Cube with the remnants of a Radeon sold on Ebay a few weeks ago for a stupidly cheap price(I think $20 or $25), and I'm still mad at myself for not trying harder to win it. The 2MX is a HOT card, and in fact the stock Cube version had a massive heatsink that covered about 3/4 of the card area. I suggest using a base fan with it at a minimum if you want to use this card. The 7500 runs a bit cooler in my experience, although the one that came BTO in the Cube had a fan. The Geforce 3 has a fan also.

The Geforce 3 was never a BTO option, but is the best "drop in" official Apple card that will fit a Cube. I have one in my most used Cube(it also has an 800mhz/2mbL3 Sonnet) and it's fantastic. I'm not a big gamer, but have been trying to "tax" it lately with some GPU intensive games and this afternoon was playing Return to Wolfenstein. I was running OS 9(where this card really shines anyway) and cranked all the graphics settings all the way up without it missing a beat. Admittedly I was only driving the 1024x768 15" ADC display, but still. One of these days, I'll try it out either on the ADC CRT(which can do a stunning 1600x1200, and at a respectable refresh rate using a good GPU) or a 23" ADC Cinema.

When it rains, it pours, and I was actually able to find two Geforce 3s(with the help of @LightBulbFun) within a week of each other after looking for one for nearly a year. One had a cheap purchase price but ended up costing me a fair bit more since I had it shipped to him in the UK and he sent it on to me(after playing with it :) ). The second cost me a 256gb SSD.
 
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Johnny365

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 30, 2015
1,023
606
Luckily I got a 15in Studio Display from Goodwill several weeks ago for $4 and bought the ADC to DVI adapter for $25 on EBay (to test the screen out), so I can use the display with the Cube now.
 

redheeler

macrumors G3
Oct 17, 2014
8,583
9,180
Colorado, USA
Luckily I got a 15in Studio Display from Goodwill several weeks ago for $4 and bought the ADC to DVI adapter for $25 on EBay (to test the screen out), so I can use the display with the Cube now.
The card in the Cube already has an ADC port, you won't need the adapter unless you upgrade it to a flashed card like a GeForce 6200.
 

Johnny365

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 30, 2015
1,023
606
Only reason why I bought the ADC to DVI adapter was to test the monitor because of the ADC port being exclusive to older Mac hardware which I didn't have before. I got it cheap enough and the monitor works, so with that said, I can hopefully use it in this new setup.

I got 2 G4 Cubes with Power Supply for $112 shipped (untested) so hopefully everything works!
 

LightBulbFun

macrumors 68030
Nov 17, 2013
2,898
3,194
London UK
As Redheeler said, there basically was only one common Cube faceplate, and it most often had a Rage 128 faceplate. A few Cubes came BTO with either a 2MX or a Radeon(retroactively named the Radeon 7500).
the First Radeon was retroactively named the Radeon 7200 not the 7500 :) (The Radeon/7200 is a bit faster then the 7500 IIRC)
 

havokalien

macrumors 6502a
Apr 27, 2006
649
52
Kelso, Wa
a turtle beach audio dongle is the best cube remedy for sound at boot and normal sound. I used one for a while until I got the powered usb set.

and the turtle beach needs no drivers.
 

Johnny365

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 30, 2015
1,023
606
I thought about the Griffin iMic but it's around $35-40 on Amazon. I'm cheap so I think i'll try the Sabrent one and see if it works. lol
 

128keaton

macrumors 68020
Jan 13, 2013
2,029
419
Luckily I got a 15in Studio Display from Goodwill several weeks ago for $4 and bought the ADC to DVI adapter for $25 on EBay (to test the screen out), so I can use the display with the Cube now.
lucky your Goodwill has anything computer-related. Ours is terrible, and very pricy.
 

Johnny365

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 30, 2015
1,023
606
Depends on how they handle computer/game hardware. Some are part of the Shopgoodwill program where their region lists them on their auction website and then they keep the items displayed in a locked showcase with a bidding number and then you bid online.
 

128keaton

macrumors 68020
Jan 13, 2013
2,029
419
Depends on how they handle computer/game hardware. Some are part of the Shopgoodwill program where their region lists them on their auction website and then they keep the items displayed in a locked showcase with a bidding number and then you bid online.
Ours doesn't accept anything not a monitor, so it usually goes to SGW.
 

Johnny365

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 30, 2015
1,023
606
So I got both G4 Cubes in today!

Cube 1: 450Mhz, 20GB HDD, ~704MB Ram, ATI Rage 128. Came with OSX 10.1, and OS 9.1

Cube 2: 450Mhz, 120GB HDD, ~1GB Ram, ATI Rage 128. No OS, so I am putting 10.4.11

Both appear to be working! Not bad for ~$115 shipped!
[doublepost=1463870285][/doublepost]I also got the iBook G3 Clamshell in (Blueberry), but didn't realize the power adapter I had for an iBook G4 was the wrong size, so I ordered that and it should be here early next week. Don't know if it works, but inside is clean. Outside is the usual scuffing and rubbing marks.
 

Johnny365

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 30, 2015
1,023
606
Okay, a few problems. I am trying to delete/reset the admin account since it has a password. This is on OSX 10.1 (can't install to 10.4 without admin password). How is this done on 10.1 ?
[doublepost=1463888954][/doublepost]Nevermind! Figured it out here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202860
 

Johnny365

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 30, 2015
1,023
606
New question!

The PRAM battery is dead. Can I use the computer without having it installed?
 

Johnny365

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 30, 2015
1,023
606
Maxed out the ram on one of the Cubes. The 20GB HDD is incredibly loud compared to the 120GB HDD in the other one. I'll definitely be replacing those with SSD (eventually). The Airport B doesn't connect to any of my networks, but not a huge deal.

Other than that...

Cube 1: has 9.2 and 10.1 (discs sometimes get stuck)
Cube 2: now has 10.4.11 (installation kept failing until I restored the CD images to a USB flash drive).

They complement my 15" Apple Studio Display nicely. Only came with one power supply for both, but also not a huge deal.

What's ironic is that one of the Cubes has photoshop files (advertising company) for a region where I live, even though they were both bought from the Goodwill in Tennessee. One was used for around 2001/2002 and then used again in 2008 and that's it, based on the information on the files.

The G4 range of Apple computers sure were a marvel in aesthetics/design!
 

Johnny365

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 30, 2015
1,023
606
Went to Goodwill today and found another set of Apple Pro Speakers. Ironically, I bought a set off of Amazon for $20 shipped a week prior.

These were $3. The cord length is different, but otherwise work perfectly.
 

128keaton

macrumors 68020
Jan 13, 2013
2,029
419
Went to Goodwill today and found another set of Apple Pro Speakers. Ironically, I bought a set off of Amazon for $20 shipped a week prior.

These were $3. The cord length is different, but otherwise work perfectly.
Nice!! I need some of those, never saw a set
 
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