Graphics Card for Aperture

[skippy64]

I'm want to upgrade my card on my G5 1.8Dual because I'm going to get Aperture and also upgarde my screen to a 23", so I'm just asking for thoughts on is this card OK to go for.
http://www.videocardshop.co.uk/product.asp?productcode=PV-T43K-UDF

I don't really want to go mad on spending too much on the card only coz I think I'll be waiting to upgrade to an Apple Intel desktop if they come out this year.
TIA
Steve

 

[Chaszmyr]

PC video cards do not work in Macs. (I realize this is oversimplified, but it's really all the information you need)

 

[skippy64]

I had checked on Nvidia web page hoping that it was compatible, obviously not ?

 

[robbieduncan]

I had checked on Nvidia web page hoping that it was compatible, obviously not ?

Whilst the GPU chip is Mac compatible in theory you need a card with a Mac firmware on it as Macs use a different boot mechanism to PCs. In addition PPC Macs use the oposite endian convention to PCs.

The UK Online Apple Store offer a Mac NVidia 6600 card for £139.

 

[skippy64]

Whilst the GPU chip is Mac compatible in theory you need a card with a Mac firmware on it as Macs use a different boot mechanism to PCs. In addition PPC Macs use the oposite endian convention to PCs.

The UK Online Apple Store offer a Mac NVidia 6600 card for £139.

Cheers for that, having a bit of a 'blonde' day today, just looking for cheapest price on the net.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Cheers for that, having a bit of a 'blonde' day today, just looking for cheapest price on the net.

I belive you have an AGP Mac, so the 6600 is not an option for you (the 6600 Mac edition is only available as a PCI-Express card).

As for AGP cards, there are three - Radeon 9600 256MB, Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB, Radeon X800XT (389GBP!).

If you just need more video RAM the Radeon 9600 Pro is the cheapest.

 

[skippy64]

I belive you have an AGP Mac, so the 6600 is not an option for you (the 6600 Mac edition is only available as a PCI-Express card).

As for AGP cards, there are three - Radeon 9600 256MB, Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB, Radeon X800XT (389GBP!).

If you just need more video RAM the Radeon 9600 Pro is the cheapest.

Yes Lord Blackadder if think I'll have to spend the extra £100 and go for the 9800 Pro 256mb, been looking around found this so far (at bottom of page)
http://www.ghc.co.uk/acatalog/Index_Graphics_Cards_59.html
Going to keep hunting for best deal. Many thanks to those who have replied also

 

[kwajo.com]

get at least the 9800. I have the 9650 in my dual G5 and while Aperture runs fine, I'd say it would be more pleasant with the 9800 or X800, and if you['re buying a new card anyway, get something that will have more longevity

 

[Jon'sLightBulbs]

In general, around what % premium for a mac compatible graphics card are we talking, over a pc version?

 

[Lord Blackadder]

The Radeon 9800 Pro (PC version) is around $120-130 for the 128MB, the 256MB version is harder to find but I've seen them around $170-$199.

The Mac version was $250 for the 128MB, but the 128MB model was replaced with a 256MB model at the same price. There is also a "Mac Special Edition" that is G5-only and retails for $299. So there definitely is a markup. And it gets worse with some of the newer cards. For instance, Apple wants $399 for an X800XT Mac Edition; Newegg charges $450 for the same thing. But a similar PC version can be had for between $230-$299.

One reason for this is that Apple builds all nVidia cards for Mac and ATI builds all the Radeon products for Mac, whereas the PC Market is flush with vendors selling similar products (Rosewill, JetWay, Diamond Stelath, eVGA, BFG etc.). Competition drives down prices. Plus the Mac market is tiny by comaprison - they only sell a few thousand of the more expensive cards, keeping the price high long after the card is no longer "current".

 

[MRU]

The X800XT I upgraded my Dual G5 1.8 machine made a good deal of difference. Motion & Aperture work great and whilst it was costly, I consider it a good investment.

PC card's are always going to be cheaper. It'll be interesting in the new powermac's (when they switch to intel) to see if they can use standard PC graphics cards...

 

[Lord Blackadder]

The X800XT I upgraded my Dual G5 1.8 machine made a good deal of difference. Motion & Aperture work great and whilst it was costly, I consider it a good investment.

PC card's are always going to be cheaper. It'll be interesting in the new powermac's (when they switch to intel) to see if they can use standard PC graphics cards...

As far as I know, Mac video cards will still have a different rom, so nothing will change drastically. Still, it may make them easier to flash.

 

[MRU]

As far as I know, Mac video cards will still have a different rom, so nothing will change drastically. Still, it may make them easier to flash.

Oh? I wonder how that will effect people who dual boot (Vista).. That's assuming they've worked out a way to dual boot by then.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Oh? I wonder how that will effect people who dual boot (Vista).. That's assuming they've worked out a way to dual boot by then.

That could be a problem...it is possible that standard PC roms will be compatible, but I've heard lots of rumors saying one thing or the other. I'm not at all sure.

Right now Macs can use many PC video cards after flashing them. Some require some minor hardware modification to work. But on the whole the differences lie in firmware.

One interesting point is ATI's Radeon 9600 PC/Mac dual platform card - its rom is compatibe with both PCs and Macs. If they can make that card dual platform, maybe the hackers and flashers can figure out how to make a hybrid rom for any card. But that's just speculation.

 

[skippy64]

The X800XT I upgraded my Dual G5 1.8 machine made a good deal of difference. Motion & Aperture work great and whilst it was costly, I consider it a good investment.

Its great to get postive feedback from someone using Aperture already in a similar configuration to what my G5 could end up being. I'm still leaning towards the 9600 or 9800 though, purely from a cost consideration.
Thanks again,
Steve

 

[MRU]

Its great to get postive feedback from someone using Aperture already in a similar configuration to what my G5 could end up being. I'm still leaning towards the 9600 or 9800 though, purely from a cost consideration.
Thanks again,
Steve

No bother I actually originally bought an Radeon 9800 XT off ebay, but when it arrived it was faulty, so the seller sold me the X800XT for the price difference. So I ended up with it by error of events rather than intention. good luck on your purchase. I love my Dual 1.8, it's a great machine and very little differnce in performance benchmarks with the Dual 2 at the time. Now with the Dual Core 2ghz still on sale, it's nice knowing 2 years down the line I still have a fairly up-to-date powermac that's comparable to what I could buy currently

 

[skippy64]

Found a card reasonably priced

Would this be suitable for using in my G5, its a ATI 9600 dual DVI 128 meg graphics card, which came out of a Mac dual 2ghz G5 that I have just come across. Like I have mentioned earlier I'm just looking for the most cost effective solution at this point in time. I intend to spend serious money later this year but I'm of the opinion I need to get into Aperture now as I had a demo last week and I have no qualms with its shortcomings at the moment. It has many features I can exploit into my photo workflow right now without worrying about the Raw conversion quality at present.

 

[mlrproducts]

I'm want to upgrade my card on my G5 1.8Dual because I'm going to get Aperture and also upgarde my screen to a 23", so I'm just asking for thoughts on is this card OK to go for.
http://www.videocardshop.co.uk/product.asp?productcode=PV-T43K-UDF

I don't really want to go mad on spending too much on the card only coz I think I'll be waiting to upgrade to an Apple Intel desktop if they come out this year.
TIA
Steve

I just upgraded the card in my Dual 1.8 to a 9800 Pro 128MB. Bought the PC version (DVI, VGA, SVIDEO) off of eBay for $90 shipped. Flashed the firmware on my Powermac. Paid $35 for a nice Zalman heatsink to keep it silent. Guess what? I LOVE IT! You can't beat it for the price!

PM if you need details for flashing!