Gaming on a 1.8GHz Power Mac

[Jethryn Freyman]

Hey guys.

Ive got a dual 1.8GHz G5 Power Mac (June 2004) with the Radeon 9600 XT. I like to play a few games here and there (Halo, UT2004, Doom 3, Quake 4, Cal Of Duty 2) and was wondering if it was worth it to upgrade to a NVIDIA Geforce 6800 Ultra.

I wouldn't have considered this normally, but I found a card going for ~$135. My concern is that my CPU speed is going to be more of a bottleneck here - UT2004 and the Doom 3 engined games I hear are quite CPU bound, and my own observations seem to confirm this (they all max out a single CPU.)

All the benchmarks I can find with the Mac 6800 Ultra have the card stuffed into a 2.5GHz or faster computer, so not too relevant for me.

Anybody got experience here?

Thanks!

 

[PowerGamerX]

Why would you pay $135 for an older card on an unsupported machine? I understand wanting to game on whatever you've got access too but thats quite expensive considering what you're getting. That said it may be worth it to you if you can't see yourself upgrading your computer anytime soon. However, to me it would seem foolish to spend that $135 on an old graphics card when it could go to a newer, better gaming machine.

 

[chaosbunny]

That $ 135,- could almost buy you a 2+ ghz dual G5 WITH a better card.

I'd save it for an Intel Mac sometime in the future.

 

[iThinkergoiMac]

I don't know what the going rate is for consoles in Australia, but here in the US I can pick up a used PS3 or XBox 360 for about $200, a much better deal that getting that GPU to play some old games.

 

[RayK]

I'd save for something better. Someone just GAVE me the same machine with a hard drive that's about to die. I find it hard to justify even spending the $40 on a new hdd for the thing. Save your money.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

All the benchmarks I can find with the Mac 6800 Ultra have the card stuffed into a 2.5GHz or faster computer, so not too relevant for me.

Anybody got experience here?

Thanks!

I recommend one of two options:

1)Use the machine as-is. A 9600XT should get you by on very low settings, as long as you don't demand 100% smooth performance.

2)Buy a PC version of a GeForce 6800 Ultra, GT or GS and flash it to the Mac. This is not terribly difficult (google around a bit), and the card will cost a tiny fraction of what Mac-compatible video cards cost. This can also be done with a large variety of other video cards such as the Radeon X800 series, Radeon X1800/X1900 series, and the AGP version of the GeForce 7800GS.

Here is one website with some how-tos. I also explain how to flash a 6800GT in the link in my sig.

 

[Jethryn Freyman]

I don't think it'll end up being worth it, I'm possibly going to be getting my hands on a Mac Pro in the coming few months so I'll sit tight. Most games seems limited by the CPU anyways, and the Mac Pro can boot windows.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I don't think it'll end up being worth it, I'm possibly going to be getting my hands on a Mac Pro in the coming few months so I'll sit tight. Most games seems limited by the CPU anyways, and the Mac Pro can boot windows.

If you can afford the Mac Pro, do it. Your G5 can still be used for many things, and gaming on contemporary hardware/software is still possible. I got playable Doom 3 performance on my 1.4GHz G4 with a GeForce 6800GT, but the CPU was definitely the limiting factor.