Madwen (wyvern@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
) wrote:
: In article <4852cbca$1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
: ws917@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(Frank P. Eigler) wrote:
: > I've just placed an order for my first MacIntel ... did a lot of
research
: > and, especially when considering an iMac, sought out user opinion
about
: > the graphic card(s).
: Oh congratulations! I hope it's a sma****ng success for you. Please DO
: post when you get it and tell us how you like it and all.
Thanks - I'm sure it will be. As I was out tending to business, the FedEx
guy dropped by ... missed him by 10 mins!! Grrr. No matter ... to much to
do today to tend to it ... though working into the wee hours has some
appeal. lol But it should be here by noon tomorrow (California to BC ..
via Tennnessee .. WTF?)
: > The consesus is that while the nVidia cards are superior vis-a-vis
their
: > specs, the *drivers* are not mature enough at present to make the best
use
: > of them. They excel at games and apps using OpenGL, but (currently)
lag
: > behind the Radeons in Apple core/pro apps. Many hope/suspect that
Apple
: > will be updating the drivers soon, but it's a bit of a gamble.
: That's pretty much what I've read online as well. But people are much
: more timely about posting their problems than solutions so I have found
: very little since Apple issued the Nvidia firmware update (in late March
: IIRC). So I was kind of hoping that the update alleviated the problems.
: > Reading about experience's such as your daughter's was one significant
: > factor in my decision not to go for an iMac.
: I do think the iMac is a great, affordable computer--- especially if you
: like something new every few years, don't care to tinker, and are not
: worried about expandability. I almost bought one, actually, until I saw
: how utterly impossible they are for anyone but a tech to get into.
: That's when I decided to get another *easily* expandable Mac more like
: my G4 PPC.
I have a G4/500 as my main workhorse. Will likely use it for Time Machine
and an iTunes server. It's not fully thought out yet, so if folks have
some ideas ... :)
I've also sprung for another drive ... a WD 680G ... after some reading,
it seemed the consensus was that it was the boot drive of choice for now
.... WD has managed 320G per platter ... 2 platters = speedier than 3,
which is generally needed for anything over 500G. I'll use the stock 320G
for TM (?), backup boot and a media scratch disk.
: > ...I got the new (Jan 08) Mac Pro: tons of expandability, including
: > two (!) PCIe 2.0 slots. This mean you have room for a second 'pro'
: > GPU. When I read that Apple's nVidia drivers are up to snuff, then
: > I'll likely buy that card and sell of the Radeon ... or maybe keep
: > both! In your situation, you'd likely have to swap them out (I've
: > read nothing concerning PCIe 1.0 cards, but would assume they're not
: > camparable).
: You know, I was wondering about two cards too. But I suspect that the
: cards all have to be the same brand at least. Those two express slots
: are very nice, even on the base model Mac Pro. I think you can drive
: eight 30" displays with 4 ATI 2600 XTs. How great for people who do
: presentations. Apple recommends the Nvidia 8800 (512 MB) for even
: moderate gaming on the Pro, however. I'm not an "ultimate gamer" but I
: do enjoy an adventure game now and then.
I was reading more on that ... not a lot out there ... and folks were
confirming that they had to be the same make and model. I'll be getting a
second monitor in the near furture and thought it would be good to use one
primarily for Apple Core/Apps, and the other for gaming ... each driven
with a diff card. Oh well. And yes ... with 4 cards, you can drive 8
monitors.
: My husband has an ATI card in his 1.2 GHz G4 iBook and it can't even do
: a decent job on the old Nanosaur game what with stuttering, artifacts,
: and game interruptions. But I've never had such problems on my G4. It
: still has the best *game* graphics of our three computers and it's never
: choked on a movie or moderate Canvas use either. It has a Nvidia
: GeForce2 MX (and is 7+ years old now).
: > There is some debate about the ability to upgrade the GPU in a new
iMac.
: > It uses a MXM PCIe connector, so it's theoretically possible (though
: > undoubtedly voids your warranty), but would require some technical
: > expertise.
: Trust me. You don't want to break down an iMac and it would cost a
: bundle to have a tech do it--- if it's practicable that is. Given that,
: be glad you ordered a Mac Pro.
My thought as well. And even if replacement was doable, there's still the
matter that it would be limited to what is essentially a laptop component.
The MacBook Pros do seem impressive, but this Mac Pro I intend to use for
many many years.
: > Google is your friend. There is lots of info and comparison test
results
: > out there. As well, selling off your current Mac to offset the costs
of a
: > new one is always a viable option.
: Absolutely. I've spent many long hours reading up on the Pro. It's
: very exciting to see how far these models (G3, G4, G5, MP) have come in
: the last 8-10 years. For a time, it seemed as though Apple had cut back
: on the expandability of these units but now, they've improved that
: again--- and just in time for me to get one. I love how they've
: eliminated so much wiring and cable on the interior. The memory risers
: seem like a big improvement, making RAM installation a good deal easier.
: HD installation looks easier as well.
Yes. Both seem absurdly simple. My first box was a IIci. Still pretty
simple, but nothing like the Pros. Of course, I accpet that "the next big
thing" will be a nice desktop comp to breach the iMac/Mac Pro gap. It's
been too long without one, and consumer pressure is really mounting.
: Now if only I could find some people with that Nvidia 8800 in a Pro...
: to see how they are faring. Thanks for posting your helpful
: information. :)
You're welcome. Thanks for your feedback as well. I'll keep my eyes open
on that too! Well ... maybe in a couple weeks ;-)
: Madeleine
Cheers!
--
Non Illegitimi Carborundum
|
