Want to upgrade Power Mac G5 video card...

[Sokko]

Hey there,

I recently bought a used Power Mac G5 (ID: PowerMac11.2, 2.0 GHz, 2 GB RAM) and am running the NVIDIA GeForce 6600 as my graphics card. I did some research and I only found these as other compatible cards:

* GeForce 6600 LE
* GeForce 7800 GT
* NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 (part number 631-0110)

Power Mac G5 (Late 2005) and Mac Pro: Graphics card compatibility between models

That and flashing video cards to make them compatible but that is over my head.

What I am primarily using this Mac for is Final Cut Pro and After Effects. Besides upgrading the RAM, I thought it may be worthwhile to also upgrade the video card too.

Would the NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 be the way to go? Is there something better and possibly cheaper?

I work with HD footage and do some 3D compositing in After Effects as well.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[harryb2448]

Either the nVidia GeForce 7800GT or the Quadro will make a marked improvement on the 6600. 7800's generally are a bit easier to find, and several dealers sell flashed cards on eBay.

 

[Tarmac_Ninja]

there is an uber hard to find ATI 1900xt variant somewhere out there for the PCIE G5's

 

[harryb2448]

The ATI Radeon X1900GT rates slightly lower than the 7800GT.

 

[Tabular]

GeForce 7800 GS AGP for 2.0 GHZ compatibility issue

Hi. I recently purchased a G5 Edition nVidia GeForce 7800GS 256MB AGP DVI-VGA Video Graphics Card from eBay to replace a malfunctioning graphics card on my dual 2.0 ghz powermac. The problem is the new card came with a four pin wire connector and instructions asking for the wire to be connected somehow. However, in my machine there is no matching plug to attach the four pin wire to. When I start up the machine with the 7800 in place and without the wire there is a high pitch beep. Is the card not compatible with my mother board? Or is there a way to install the wire that isn't obvious. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.

 

[gsahli]

That's a power cable. You can probably find a cable or adapter cable at a nearby Apple dealer.

 

[sabot]

i'm in the UK & i have a 7800GT going spare since i got the 4500fx,
you'll need to get a power cable for it though as i'm using the cable that came with the 7800 on my new card