Video Card Question

dr.bimanedr.bimane
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
Hi guys.



I want to upgrade the video card on my 400 Mhz "Sawtooth" G4.



I have a CRT monitor and was wondering if I may still use it after upgrading to a RADEON 9000 PRO.



I am not even sure if my Macintosh is compatible with this card. The documentation on the website for the card makes a special note about using the card with my Mac model.



But...I do not understand the note. Can someone please interpret this:



ADC connector port (OWC NOTE - AGP capable Macintosh required to use this card. To use the ADC connector, you must have a Power Macintosh Gigabit Ethernet or later system. AGP based "Sawtooth" machines do not have the physical logic board connection for the 28v output required. The DVI port will still function normally.)





So, can I use this video card or not? Do I need a DVI monitor or not?



Anyone?



Thanks,



-Dr.Bimane

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 4
    baranovichbaranovich Posts: 184member
    Sounds like it will work but you need a DVI to VGA adapter to use it with a regular CRT monitor.
  • Reply 2 of 4
    xoolxool Posts: 2,460member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by baranovich

    Sounds like it will work but you need a DVI to VGA adapter to use it with a regular CRT monitor.



    I concur. The card's DVI port should work normally (and you will need a cheap DVI to VGA adapter) but the ADC port will be useless. It might produce a valid DVI signal, but it won't drive an ADC equipped Apple monitor.
  • Reply 3 of 4
    smalmsmalm Posts: 677member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Dr.Bimane

    I want to upgrade the video card on my 400 Mhz "Sawtooth" G4.

    -Dr.Bimane



    At ebay someone sells this.
  • Reply 4 of 4
    drboardrboar Posts: 477member
    I replaced the ATI 128pro with a ATI 8500 (more or less equal to a 9000) in my G4/400.Outside games it did nothing at all. In UT and FAKK2 it gave a bit of improved speed.



    A DVI to VGA adaptor is included with the ATI 9000 so it will run your CRT just fine



    However, you can not use the ADC function, that is to have the powersupply to the monitor through the ADC port. You can still use ADC port if you want to run two monitors bu adding a ADC to DVI adapter (for a TFT DVI screen) or a ADC to DVI and DVI to VGA for a analog monitor.











    Spending 170-190 dollar on a 1 GHz G4 uppgrade is far more important if you want speed faster screen redraws, faster scrolling in Word. The G4/400 is very CPU limited in OS X and even in OS 9 the CPU is a weak spot.
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