Can I run 2 monitors on a Power Mac G4?

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I have a G4/400 (AGP Graphics) with a stock ATI Rage 128 Pro graphics card with DVI port. I want to add a second 22" widesreen display set up as spanned display so that I can run Photoshop/Freehand on the 22" and put the "tools" on the other monitor. The stock graphics card has 1920x1200 support, so it should be able to deal with the 1680 x 1050 22" display.

I found an older thread indicating that this is possible by simply using a DVI->VGA adapter to connect the 22":
(http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11080)

I don't find any info that indicates that the stock G4 can support this setup. Somehow I don't think that it is that easy. Any suggestions?
 
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Yep that easy. Just add another PCI video card with 128MB minimum and you are good to go. In Preferences>Displays pane you can detect the monitors and tell it which monitor is the primary. Make sure the card being added is DVI out to hold onto the resolution. If you can find a card that has two DVI out of the same AGP main card that works too. AGP cards are getting hard to find.

Also it helps if the system recognizes the actual monitor so you may have to get the right driver if an exact match does not come up. This will help to keep accurate colour and resolution.
 
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What Chilbear said. That easy. The only issue is that you may not be able to color calibrate two different video cards, but if you use one for projects and the second for tool palettes then it won't matter.
 
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Yes you can but you will get a video performance hit

Any PCI card you add will not be Quartz Extreme suported as Quartz extreme is only enabled on AGP video cards.

There was a hack to turn Quartz Extreme on, on PCI video cards - but it no longer works with 10.4.3 or later.

foe background info see this http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/OSX/quartz_extreme_PCI_mod.html
 
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For decent performance and dual displays, you could get a 2X/4X AGP Radeon 9800 Pro (Mac edition), which is pricey, very pricey. OWC (www.otherworldcomputing.com) sells them for around $210.

--Chris
 
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I want to thank you all for the great info! I shouldn't have to ask - I've run my shop on Macs since I traded my Commodore in on a Mac 128 in 1985. It's just that they are so functional right off of the shelf that I never really needed to screw with them.

As per your posts, color calibration is not an issue - I use a Pantone ink system for my printing presses. Resolution is some what of a concern, but so is price. Can anyone suggest a cost effective card that will get me in the game and still leave a couple of bucks left over for beer?
Thanks - Bob
 
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Bob I use a flashed nVidia GeForce 6200 256MB SDRAM video card on my Gigabit Ethernet. It comes with DVI and VGA connections and is capable of running two displays, is Quartz Extreme or Core Image capable.

Purchased from HK via eBay through local388 for US$74. Has a fan installed on the card and purchased from the same seller a PCI slot fan for about $8.99 no postage. They work great and heat is not an issue.

Here is a link to Cubeowners forums on running two displays on this card.

http://www.cubeowner.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13121
 
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Magoosmc:

I am in the print industry and you I think are cutting the corner. Trying to run Photoshop on a G4/400 is a foolish move unless you enjoy waiting for the screen to re draw and like to waste time. If this is a personal for "fun" machine then maybe you are making the correct move.

If this machine is being used in production then abandon the savings mantra and buy a machine that can do it properly. It is kind of like you buying a 2c Adast to run process. No way to make a smart business decision IMO. To put this in perspective - I had one of these machines and GAVE it away for a child to surf on. I just repurposed my slowest machine - a G4/867 to another child and bought the Intel. The new CS3 will be arriving very soon at a customer near you and you cannot load/run this on this machine.
 
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I am in the print industry and you I think are cutting the corner. Trying to run Photoshop on a G4/400 is a foolish move unless you enjoy waiting for the screen to re draw and like to waste time. If this is a personal for "fun" machine then maybe you are making the correct move.

I agree. I had a PowerMac with dual 1GHz processors. It wasn't up to snuff for me running Photoshop CS2. My cousin works at a print shop and their Intel Mini sounds like it barely handles all the work they do on it. The 1.83GHz Core Duo Mini is about 10x faster than a 400MHz G4.
 
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If you are sing this for home use and want 2 monitors while keeping the graphics speed of Quatrz Extrerme goewith what harryb2448 says

Buy a single AGP card that can run both monitors
 
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I have the same request, and will probably do the items sugested here...

thanks!
 
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Bob I use a flashed nVidia GeForce 6200 256MB SDRAM video card on my Gigabit Ethernet. It comes with DVI and VGA connections and is capable of running two displays, is Quartz Extreme or Core Image capable.

Purchased from HK via eBay through local388 for US$74. Has a fan installed on the card and purchased from the same seller a PCI slot fan for about $8.99 no postage. They work great and heat is not an issue.

Here is a link to Cubeowners forums on running two displays on this card.

http://www.cubeowner.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13121

Hi Harry,

Just reading through this thread I looked online for a "nVidia GeForce 6200 256MB SDRAM video card" and it appears to say it's for PC and not Mac, for example on Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000H00JO0/?tag=macforums0e4-20.

Please excuse my lack of knowledge, but just wanted to confirm that if I got this video card to replace my current video card (ATI AGP Radeon 9000 Pro video card w/64 MB ram) it would work.

I have a Dual 1.25 GHz PowerMac G4 Desktop w/1.75 GB RAM and want to connect to 2 monitors that both use VGA connectors. It sounds like with the nVidia i can use a DVI to VGA adaptor for the other monitor.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thx
Robb
 
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There's a hack for running AGP 8x cards on the G4s. It's as simple as taping and exacto knifing certain areas of the card. I avoided the hassel and splurged for a 9000 pro 256, but I heard the tape works! haha

Here's the link http://themacelite.wikidot.com/pins-3-and-11

Make sure the card is in the list before you purchase it.
 
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Me too

If you are sing this for home use and want 2 monitors while keeping the graphics speed of Quatrz Extrerme goewith what harryb2448 says

Buy a single AGP card that can run both monitors

I am looking to do the same thing. . . run 2 monitors off a PowerMac G4. Actually, one monitor and a projector. Is there anything I need to know about choosing an AGP card? Are there some that might not be compatible? Does anyone know of any particular models that might work well? I don't need it for gaming or anything fancy, but for a church - using ProPresenter for overhead stuff.

Thanks
 
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I have a G5 dual processor 2.7 desktop with a 256 ATI Radeon 9650 256mb card in it. I am running a 19" and a 17" monitor at the same time. Everything is great. I want, however, to upgrade to a bigger monitor. I would then be running a 26" and a 19" on the same card in this computer. Will I have enough video card power to do this? I use mostly music software (Digital Performer, Protools, etc.)
Thanks,
TnMike
 

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