PM G5 graphics card upgrade
Hi All I have a PM G5 Dual 2.7 8G RAM. It has a Radeon 9600 128 MB VRAM chip set ATY,RV351 I have a VIZIO 36" LCD display. I would like to know if an upgrade of the card would result in better video, I only use it to watch DVDs I do not play any games. So if I would benefit by upgrading my card what should I try to buy, cheap I hope, also if an upgrade is the thing to do then I guess I could use the 9600 in my G4 MDD dual 1.25. Or butcher it and put it in one of the Cubes??? JOHN CARMONNE Yorba Linda USA sent from my Wally 10.4.11 -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
Re: PM G5 graphics card upgrade
On Thu, Mar 11, 2010 at 6:46 PM, JOHN CARMONNE wrote: > Hi All > > I have a PM G5 Dual 2.7 8G RAM. It has a Radeon 9600 128 MB VRAM chip set > ATY,RV351 I have a VIZIO 36" LCD display. > I would like to know if an upgrade of the card would result in better > video, I only use it to watch DVDs I do not play any games. So if I would > benefit by upgrading my card what should I try to buy, cheap I hope, also if > an upgrade is the thing to do then I guess I could use the 9600 in my G4 MDD > dual 1.25. Or butcher it and put it in one of the Cubes??? > > JOHN CARMONNE > Yorba Linda USA > sent from my Wally 10.4.11 > > Since you have an AGP model, your options are somewhat limited. There are two steps up available to you, the Radeon 9800 and Radeon X800. I'm not familiar with any NVidia options; perhaps someone else can address that. Flashed PC cards are also an option; according to some the flashing process is simple, but my understanding was that it was pretty difficult. If you do buy it from someone else, make sure you can return it if it's incompatible with your system. But this is ignoring one problem with your question; what exactly is wrong with the video you're seeing on your TV? Is it blurry, are there anomalies on the screen, is it too dim, etc? Have you hooked up a dedicated DVD player up to the TV to get a sense of what the TV is capable of? The problem could also be unrelated to the video card; if you're using an analog cable, you could see a significantly inferior picture. It could also be the TV itself, or perhaps the input that you're using. Perhaps you just need to change some settings in System Preferences>Display. There are many variables to consider. So to review, it would be helpful if we knew: 1) which connector on your Radeon 9600 are you using, 2) if you are using any adapters between the computer and the TV, 3) which input on your TV you're using, 4) what kind of cable are you using and most importantly, 5) what's wrong with the picture you're looking at. Eric -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
Re: PM G5 graphics card upgrade
On Mar 11, 2010, at 9:10 PM, Eric Volker wrote: > > > On Thu, Mar 11, 2010 at 6:46 PM, JOHN CARMONNE wrote: > Hi All > > I have a PM G5 Dual 2.7 8G RAM. It has a Radeon 9600 128 MB VRAM chip set > ATY,RV351 I have a VIZIO 36" LCD display. > I would like to know if an upgrade of the card would result in better video, > I only use it to watch DVDs I do not play any games. So if I would benefit by > upgrading my card what should I try to buy, cheap I hope, also if an upgrade > is the thing to do then I guess I could use the 9600 in my G4 MDD dual 1.25. > Or butcher it and put it in one of the Cubes??? > > JOHN CARMONNE > Yorba Linda USA > sent from my Wally 10.4.11 > > > Since you have an AGP model, your options are somewhat limited. There are two > steps up available to you, the Radeon 9800 and Radeon X800. I'm not familiar > with any NVidia options; perhaps someone else can address that. Flashed PC > cards are also an option; according to some the flashing process is simple, > but my understanding was that it was pretty difficult. If you do buy it from > someone else, make sure you can return it if it's incompatible with your > system. > > But this is ignoring one problem with your question; what exactly is wrong > with the video you're seeing on your TV? Is it blurry, are there anomalies on > the screen, is it too dim, etc? Have you hooked up a dedicated DVD player up > to the TV to get a sense of what the TV is capable of? The problem could also > be unrelated to the video card; if you're using an analog cable, you could > see a significantly inferior picture. It could also be the TV itself, or > perhaps the input that you're using. Perhaps you just need to change some > settings in System Preferences>Display. There are many variables to consider. > The picture seems a little blurry. I don't like to use the TV because I like the DVD player in 10.5.8 > So to review, it would be helpful if we knew: 1) which connector on your > Radeon 9600 are you using, 2) if you are using any adapters between the > computer and the TV, 3) which input on your TV you're using, 4) what kind of > cable are you using and most importantly, 5) what's wrong with the picture > you're looking at. Im using the #1 DVI port on the card I was just wondering if a better card would give a better picture, John Carmonne Yorba Linda USA -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
Re: PM G5 graphics card upgrade
On Mar 11, 2010, at 6:46 PM, JOHN CARMONNE wrote: I have a PM G5 Dual 2.7 8G RAM. It has a Radeon 9600 128 MB VRAM chip set ATY,RV351 I have this same card in my dual 2.3 MHz G5. It's a fine card. I have a VIZIO 36" LCD display. I don't see any Vizio 36" products on the internet? Please use the exact model # to describe hardware. AFAIK Vizio doesn't make monitors, only HDTVs. Most HDTVs have much lower resolutions than monitors. I'm assuming you're talking about Vizio HDTV connected to this PM G5. I would like to know if an upgrade of the card would result in better video? No. The problems is with the display and not with the video card. If you attached the card to a regular monitor with high resolution you'd see a clean, crisp image. The reason you're seeing a fuzzy or blurry image is that you're using an HDTV as a monitor instead of a monitor as a monitor. I wrote a long explanation of this in a recent posting "Re: Apple 23" Cinema Display questions", but the upshot is: if you're going to be sitting in a chair directly in front of the display you'll need a MINIMUM of about 100 pixels per inch (ppi) in order to have a clean, crisp image. The easy way to figure this is to measure the width of the display in inches, and multiply by 100 to get the MINIMUM resolution in pixels. If your Vizio was a 37" (36.55" diagonal) the actual horizontal measurement would be about 32", so to use a 37" as a "monitor" you'd need a MINIMUM horizontal resolution of about 3200 pixels (32" x 100ppi). The 37" Vizio HDTV (VL370M) has a maximum horizontal resolution of 1920 pixels, which is only about 60ppi rather than the required 100ppi. I only use it to watch DVDs. DVD's only have a maximum resolution of 720x480 and will look fuzzy on a 1920x1080 HDTV. A dedicated DVD player with "HD up conversion" may help somewhat, but if you want crisp video on a 1920x1080 HDTV you'll need to start playing Blu-ray discs instead of DVDs. So if I would benefit by upgrading my card what should I try to buy, cheap I hope, also if an upgrade is the thing to do then I guess I could use the 9600 in my G4 MDD dual 1.25. Or butcher it and put it in one of the Cubes??? I don't see any immediate benefit to upgrading your video card. You really can't use an HDTV as a monitor. An HDTV is meant to be viewed from 6 feet or GREATER away. A monitor is meant to be viewed from 2 feet or LESS away. If you stand 6 feet from your HDTV with the resolution set to it's maximum 1920x1080 you'll find that it looks pretty good now, not as fuzzy as you see it from 2 feet. Still, it will NEVER be a monitor, and if you need a large monitor, you'll need to purchase a large monitor. -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
Re: PM G5 graphics card upgrade
On Mar 12, 2010, at 12:57 AM, Kris Tilford wrote: > On Mar 11, 2010, at 6:46 PM, JOHN CARMONNE wrote: > >> I have a PM G5 Dual 2.7 8G RAM. It has a Radeon 9600 128 MB VRAM chip set >> ATY,RV351 > > I have this same card in my dual 2.3 MHz G5. It's a fine card. > >> I have a VIZIO 36" LCD display. > > I don't see any Vizio 36" products on the internet? Please use the exact > model # to describe hardware. AFAIK Vizio doesn't make monitors, only HDTVs. > Most HDTVs have much lower resolutions than monitors. I'm assuming you're > talking about Vizio HDTV connected to this PM G5. > I made a mistake the monitor is a 26" VIZIO VMM26 F201LCD John Carmonne Yorba Linda USA -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
Re: PM G5 graphics card upgrade
On 3/12/10 1:57 AM, Kris Tilford wrote: I don't see any immediate benefit to upgrading your video card. You really can't use an HDTV as a monitor. An HDTV is meant to be viewed from 6 feet or GREATER away. A monitor is meant to be viewed from 2 feet or LESS away. If you stand 6 feet from your HDTV with the resolution set to it's maximum 1920x1080 you'll find that it looks pretty good now, not as fuzzy as you see it from 2 feet. Still, it will NEVER be a monitor, and if you need a large monitor, you'll need to purchase a large monitor. I simply want to take my hat off to Kris for this. Well explained. I don't have any of this hardware but I've learnt a lot. Thanks a lot, Kris. -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
Re: PM G5 graphics card upgrade
On Mar 12, 2010, at 12:03 AM, John Carmonne wrote: The picture seems a little blurry. I don't like to use the TV because I like the DVD player in 10.5.8 This is a function of the cable or the monitor, not the video card. If you're filling the DVD image to the fill the size of the screen it's going to be blurry because DVD video (unless it's upconverted, which the Apple DVD player does not do) is a lower resolution than your screen. What does the normal OS X desktop look like on this system? -- Bruce Johnson University of Arizona College of Pharmacy Information Technology Group Institutions do not have opinions, merely customs -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
Re: PM G5 graphics card upgrade
I > > What does the normal OS X desktop look like on this system? > > It's real sharp except for a somewhat bluish tint that I understand is a VIZIO trade mark. You mention the Apple DVD player is there a player I can get that's maybe better? Also I gather that the video card is more than adequate? John Carmonne Yorba Linda USA -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
