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Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb or 256mb?

M

macgeek2005

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 31, 2006
1,098
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I'm buying a Radeon 9800 Pro for my G4 tower so i'll be able to play Call of Duty 2.

I can get a 128mb card on ebay for $135, and a 256mb card at OWC for $259.

I'm tempted to get the much more expensive one, simply because on a machine like mine, every little bit makes a difference.

I also need to buy the ADC - DVI adapter, which is another $89, so i'm looking at around $300 or around $400 for the whole bundle, including the game.

Is $100 more worth the extra vram?

Thanks
 
Check the compatibility. In 2004, there was a 128 MB model for G4 systems, and a 256 MB model for G5s. They may have subsequently released a 256 MB G4 model, but check and make sure that it'll work.
 
Just a question about the adapter for the monitor. Which one are you getting exactly?

The DVI -> ADC adpater is the expensive on at ~US$99.
An ADC -> DVI adapter is much less as all it does is remove the power and USB signals from the ADC connection.
 
You might be disappointed on performance. I had an ATI 9800pro 128 running on my 1 Ghz G4 and Unreal 2004 wasn't very playable, and Doom 3 was just a joke. I can't imagine how poor COD2 will run.

Just a warning that's all.
 
Foxglove9 said:
You might be disappointed on performance. I had an ATI 9800pro 128 running on my 1 Ghz G4 and Unreal 2004 wasn't very playable, and Doom 3 was just a joke. I can't imagine how poor COD2 will run.

Just a warning that's all.
Click to expand...

Well my 9000 Pro that's currently in my computer runs games better than that. So you must have had something messed up.
 
macgeek2005 said:
Well my 9000 Pro that's currently in my computer runs games better than that. So you must have had something messed up.
Click to expand...

Don't worry, either of the Radeon 9800 Pros will provide a big boost in performance macgeek2005. :)
 
When you make upgrades like that, you also have to ask yourself how much the investment into that computer is worth...how good is the computer itself and how long it will last. If you were putting it in a Quad G5, I'd definitely say you should go for the 256, as it'll be up-to-date for a longer period of time, but with your G4 tower, the investment might not be worth it.
 
I'm celebrating my $100 saving by buying Quake 4 as well. I've been playing Doom 3 with my 9000 Pro at Low quality/800x600 resolution. So i'm sure whatever quality quake 4 will play at, will be good enough for me. :D

Thanks again.
 
macgeek2005 said:
I'm celebrating my $100 saving by buying Quake 4 as well. I've been playing Doom 3 with my 9000 Pro at Low quality/800x600 resolution. So i'm sure whatever quality quake 4 will play at, will be good enough for me. :D

Thanks again.
Click to expand...


Good choice, Quake 4 is a fun game to play. :)
 
I think the one listed by OWC has a slightly faster processor, but I'm not up on that area, and regardless you'd probably be talking about differences of a couple of percent at most. I seriously doubt you'd notice the difference for your $100.
 
FF_productions said:
Macgeek, you got one hell of a setup...I'm slowly getting there.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I love my computer. The next thing I need is a better moniter. I only have a 15" ADC Moniter. :(
 
I just asked the seller more about the card, and this is what he said:

"This is not a retail ATI boxed or Apple OEM Radeon 9800 video
card so a box is not included. It is, however, a fully Mac-compatible
card that is fully ATI-updateable, meaning future ATI updates will
continue to be supported by this video card in the future. Most
other 9800s being sold on ebay cannot make this claim."

What's this mean?
 
It means it was a PC card that was flashed with a mac rom. You should ask if it is 8x or 4x. I've read about sleep and DVI output issues with some brands of flashed cards.

macgeek2005 said:
I just asked the seller more about the card, and this is what he said:

"This is not a retail ATI boxed or Apple OEM Radeon 9800 video
card so a box is not included. It is, however, a fully Mac-compatible
card that is fully ATI-updateable, meaning future ATI updates will
continue to be supported by this video card in the future. Most
other 9800s being sold on ebay cannot make this claim."

What's this mean?
Click to expand...
 
Foxglove9 said:
It means it was a PC card that was flashed with a mac rom. You should ask if it is 8x or 4x. I've read about sleep and DVI output issues with some brands of flashed cards.
Click to expand...

Oh... it says on the listing "PowerMac G4/G5, so it must be 4x or 4x/2x.

Now i'm thinking I should've gone with the $259 card from OWC or the Mac 9700 Pro for $230....
 
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