Video Card to take advantage of Quatz Extreme

soulcrushersoulcrusher
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
I have a PowerMac G4 with an AGP 4x slot.



Currently I have a dual monitor set up with two video cards. An ADC display connected to a nVidia GeForce 2 MX in the AGP slot and a VGA display plugged to a PCI Radeon.



From what I've heard only the Apple Display will be able to take advantage of Quartz Extreme so I am planning on replacing both cards for a single AGP card with dual monitor (ADC and VGA) support.



I was thinking on getting a GeForce 4 Ti or a Radeon 8500 but I can't seem to find:

1) If they will support both displays.

2) Where to order them online.



Any ideas?



Thanx.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    sithsith Posts: 25member
    Why buy a card to run Quartz Extreme 3 months before Quartz Extreme is available? Wait until Jaguar is released, then see whats supported, what combinations folks think work well.... otherwise you're risking having your card obsoleted before QE even comes out...



    just my two cents..
  • Reply 2 of 8
    soulcrushersoulcrusher Posts: 587member
    Good idea
  • Reply 3 of 8
    majormattmajormatt Posts: 1,077member
    And besides, that same card will be cheaper by the time QE comes out.
  • Reply 4 of 8
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    It's not going to be supported outside of New-England.
  • Reply 5 of 8
    rogue27rogue27 Posts: 607member
    Well, it's the age old dilemma... Wait to buy a card and it will be cheaper, but there will also be newer, bigger, badder cards available that may tempt you with their pixel shaders and high fill-rates.



    On the other hand, if you buy a card now, you can start using it now and benefit from it now, and you have to consider whether or not the possible drop in price down the road is worth more than a few extra months of using the card.



    Faster and cheaper is always coming, so if you need something at some point in time, that point in time is always the time to buy it, IMO. However, if you're not doing 3d rendering and don't play much games, and only want a new card to run Jaguar, then you should wait until Jaguar is released.



    Anyway, the GeForce 4 Ti that Apple sells has 1 ADC and 1 DVI connector and also includes a DVI to VGA Adapter. That would work with your setup. You can also buy a DVI to ADC connector if you ever find yourself using two ADC monitors.



    I'm pretty sure the Radeon 8500 has 1 VGA and 1 DVI and you would have to buy a DVI to ADC adapter to use that card wth your setup, and I believe the Adapter is between $100 and $150. (not cheap)



    The Radeon 7500 and GeForce 4 MX that Apple sells both have 1 ADC and 1 VGA connector and would work with your setup using no adapters.
  • Reply 6 of 8
    kecksykecksy Posts: 1,002member
    I really want Apple to drop ADC. I know it's a cool technology (video, USB, and power all through one cable), but propitiatory interfaces are uncool when you have to pay $150 to hook a PowerBook or third-party video card to an Apple Display. Plus if you don't like Apple LCDs, you'll need that same converter to use a third party LCD on a PowerMac. Are the benifits of ADC work this. There really is no benifit to one cable when it takes another set of cables to get your monitor connected to your video card. If Apple does like ADC so much, maybe they should licence it to other companies for free. That's the only way you'll ever see lots of third party ADC hardware. Might not be such a bad idea?
  • Reply 7 of 8
    rogue27rogue27 Posts: 607member
    I actually thought the specifications of ADC were open and anybody was allowed to use it for free? I know at least one third party manufacturer has released an ADC monitor.



    At least the cards Apple ships in PowerMacs are all dual-head and have a way to do VGA out.
  • Reply 8 of 8
    razzfazzrazzfazz Posts: 728member
    [quote]Originally posted by rogue27:

    <strong>I actually thought the specifications of ADC were open and anybody was allowed to use it for free? I know at least one third party manufacturer has released an ADC monitor.

    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    Yes, upon introduction, they said something to the likes of "ADC is free for everyone to use, and we want it to become an industry standard" if I recall correctly. Still, it obviously lacks sufficient momentum to spread outside Apple in any significant way.



    Bye,

    RazzFazz
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