PCIe Graphics Upgrades for the Dual Core G5
 
We all know that PCIe graphics is fast. After all, it killed off AGP. Even so, not all graphics cards are created equal. The Geforce 6600LE, or the Geforce 6600 are good processors, but they pale in comparison to other options. Keep the 6600 for multi-monitor support, but get some power for the primary card. Reasons to upgrade include better Core Image support, better OpenGL support, and as Pro applications move that way, OpenCL support. Of course, OS X Snow Leopard is out of the question, but Adobe applications and Apple Pro apps do benefit from more powerful graphics processors. It’s a short OEM list, but there are a couple that we can add. Let’s get to the list, from weakest to strongest. Geforce 6600 LE OEM Geforce 6600 OEM Geforce 7800 GT OEM or flashed WinPC Radeon X1900 G5 Edition Radeon X1950 flashed WinPC Geforce 7800 GTX 256MB flashed WinPC Nvidia Quadro FX 4500 OEM or flashed WinPC Geforce 7800 GTX 512MB flashed WinPC Flashing any card for PCIe requires a PC. For most users, the Geforce 7800 GTX is the fastest card available, but for some, the Quadro is more relevant. Read and decide: Quadro vs. GeForce GPUs The G5 PCIe slot power availability is such that only one 7800 GT or greater card is supported. For multiple displays (>2), in addition to a 7800/X19xx/Quadro card, use one or more Geforce 6600/6600LE cards to support the additional monitors. Geforce cards support screen rotation in OS X 10.5x only. The Radeon cards support screen rotation in both OS X 10.4x and 10.5x using the ATI Displays Control panel.http://www.nvidia.com/object/quadro_geforce.htmlshapeimage_1_link_0
Should I upgrade my graphics card?
or
By all means, replace the 6600.......
Monday, January 4, 2010