[X4U] G5 Video Card Question

[Stroller]

On 5 Apr 2008, at 05:12, Ronald Steinke wrote:

> On 4 Apr, 2008, at 1:43 PM, Stroller wrote:
>
>> You can flash a PC's ATi 9800 Pro to a Mac firmware.
>
> I must confess my ignorance. Just exactly how is "flashing" a PC  
> card done? I have heard about this before, but never had it  
> explained to me.

There's some kind of firmware in the card, so you're just updating it  
with a hacked version.

As indicated at <http://themacelite.wikidot.com/ati-flash>, it's a  
case of finding the appropriate (command-line) utility & firmware and  
then a handful of commands at DOS prompt. I found it a little fiddly  
- there's more than one flashing program you can use, with different  
syntax; it's easy to get confused over the firmware files, take a  
backup of your original one &c - but really not too arduous at all.

The card I'm using is the 9800 Pro 128MB, first entry at <http:// 
themacelite.wikidot.com/9800-working>. Like I say, these are common  
as much & cheap as chips on fleaBay - many from different brands are  
identical, but as long as you know that you're looking at a photo of  
the actual card listed, that it's a "Pro" not an "SE" model, that  
it's 128meg &c they're quite easy to identify. I have a second which  
I have been meaning to flash as a "spare", but it's seen a fair been  
of use in my Windows box meantime.

I don't know why I overlooked the "9800 Pro 256MB - DDR2" at the time  
I needed a card for looking - it is probably less common, but perhaps  
the hacked firmware wasn't available at the time, either. If I  
thought it'd make a massive difference to Aperture I might start  
hunting for one.

Stroller.