Where to buy X800XT and RAM..

[ouphe]

I know that the RAM issue has been brought up about three-bajillion times, but my question is a little different. I have a dual 2.0 G5 PM with 8 slots, and I'm looking to fill two of them with 1gb sticks of RAM. From reading the posts on here, I know I should invest in RAM that is guaranteed to work for Macs. In addition, I've seen a lot of DDR and DDR2 1gb sticks on sale lately, and I was wondering if anyone knows of a sale going on for Mac-compatible 1gb RAM sticks at the moment.

In addition, I'm also browsing the market for a x800xt 256mb video card for my precious PM. iGary gave me a great link to a store that had it for $330 a little while back, but checking it now (when I finally have the money to spend), it's up to $400ish. The lowest I've found (using pricegrabber and the like) is about $365. Anyone know of a place (or person) where I can get one for a better price?

Any advice, assistance, encouragement or aggrivated comments to check old posts (which I did!) are welcome, and thank you in advance!

-Colin

 

[Nermal]

In addition, I'm also browsing the market for a x800xt 256mb video card for my precious PM.

I believe OWC is generally considered to be the best place to buy video cards.

Edit: But the card is $440 there!

 

[grapes911]

For RAM check datamem.com. They are usually the cheapest RAM that is guarentteed to work in a Mac. I use them. The only other RAM I'd use is crucial.com, but they are usually more expensive.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

If you are motivated enough, you can get a (generally cheaper) PC version of the X800XT and flash it with a Mac ROM. Check the strangedogs forum for details.

 

[ouphe]

Looks like $186 for 2 gigs of RAM that work in a Mac at datamem.com...what a deal! I'll probably end up making my RAM purchase from them. Thanks for the tip, grapes911!

As for the x800xt, I'm still looking around.

Nermal: I had checked OWC in my searching as was just as suprised as you to find that they had one of the higher prices out there for a video card! Thanks for the effort, though =)

Lord Blackadder: I looked up the advice they had on the strangedog forums, and I think I'd just as soon spend more money to have something that I'm certain I won't have any trouble with down the line (with updates and such). I do appreciate the advice, though!

Anyone else want to add anything? I'll probably be making these purchases in the next couple of days, so if anyone can enlighten me further, I would greatly appreciate it!

-Colin

 

[cwright]

I bought my X850XT for about $350 at J&R (jr.com) a couple months ago, but its back up to $400 now. Maybe it will go on sale again...

 

[FocusAndEarnIt]

http://ramseeker.com

Gives you the cheapest prices out there, just make sure the vendor you pick is guarenteed compatibility with Macs - and have a lifetime warranty.

 

[Dreadnought]

If you are motivated enough, you can get a (generally cheaper) PC version of the X800XT and flash it with a Mac ROM. Check the strangedogs forum for details.

That is a bit hard, having no experience with flashing. I would give it a try, but I don't think I'll succeed. Does anyone have (a lot of) experience here where I could fall back on?

 

[Lord Blackadder]

That is a bit hard, having no experience with flashing. I would give it a try, but I don't think I'll succeed. Does anyone have (a lot of) experience here where I could fall back on?

To be honest, I would be hesitant to do it myself....the guys at strangedogs have apparently had success with the X800XT and 6800 in G4 towers, but they are brave enough to buy a $300-400 card and do trial-and error work, often destroying a couple cards.

As for your last question, I think there are only a handful of people who have bothered to take the risk of flashing these $$$ cards so you are almost on your own besides the strangedogs/cubeowner people. On the other hand some other cards like the Radeon 9800 Pro/XT have been flashed by a lot of people with great success rates, and very detailed instructions are available from strangedogs, even a buying guide to show you which brands are the best to flash.

Personally, I would recommend buying a cheap card like a Radeon 7000 and flashing that first to get the hang of things before attempting it on an expensive card. The extra cost is far less than the cost of destroying an X800XT. Flashing isn't for everyone, I just mentioned it in this thread as a possible option.

 

[topgunn]

http://froogle.google.com/

Looks like the X800XT can be had for under $400.

 

[Dreadnought]

I saw a 6600 with 256 Ram for about 200 Euro. That's a bargain if you ask me. Only question is, which edition is it? It was manufactured by Apple themself. Too bad for me that it was a PCI-E card instead of a AGP version. But I'm getting off from topic.

 

[SmurfBoxMasta]

Looks like $186 for 2 gigs of RAM that work in a Mac at datamem.com...what a deal! I'll probably end up making my RAM purchase from them. Thanks for the tip, grapes911!

As for the x800xt, I'm still looking around.

Nermal: I had checked OWC in my searching as was just as suprised as you to find that they had one of the higher prices out there for a video card! Thanks for the effort, though =)

Lord Blackadder: I looked up the advice they had on the strangedog forums, and I think I'd just as soon spend more money to have something that I'm certain I won't have any trouble with down the line (with updates and such). I do appreciate the advice, though!

Anyone else want to add anything? I'll probably be making these purchases in the next couple of days, so if anyone can enlighten me further, I would greatly appreciate it!

-Colin

2nd the vote for datamem.....i have bought over 30GB of ram from them in the past 4 years, all kinds & sizes for all kinds of computers. NEVER A PROBLEM ! Got a bad stick of PC66 once, called 'em up, they shipped me a new one OVERNIGHT at no charge, and sent me a pre-paid box to send the bad one back in........

As for the video card, have you checked Buy.com ? They don't carry alot of mac stuff, but what they do carry is usually at very good prices, fast shipping and excellent customer service. I have bought ALOT of stuff there, also NOTTA problemo

good luck!