[CUBE] GeForce 4 and fanless Radeons?

[Hal]

The GF3 was not approved for Cube use either, however a number of list 
members (myself included) have used one without incident. The GF3 can 
also be used with the Cube's original bracket or "fence". I'm sorry, 
but after listening to this over and over, i need to get my $0.02 in. 
I've run an OEM Radeon, a GF2 and a GF3 in my Cube. Here are my 
thoughts on this subject:

As far as the Radeon 7500 in a Cube, it probably works well. On paper, 
it stacks up very well, and i agree that ATi cards tend to do better 
than Nvidia cards at 2D and DVD playback. Nvidia cards, on average, 
have an edge in 3D. We've got one very enthusiastic list member 
championing the 7500 (and probably a few other, less vocal fans).  He 
also recommends installing it without the "fence" or support bracket. 
I'm not a fan of this installation, as it puts undue stress on the 
connectors on the card. Doing this puts the stress of the physical 
connection of the cable directly on the connection points on the card. 
If the card didn't need the other 2 screws in the bracket to take 
stress off the connector, it wouldn't have been designed that way. If 
Apple had intended there to be no need for this bracket, they would not 
have designed one custom for the Cube.

I'm sure this installation is working just great for some people, but I 
prefer not to take the chance on pulling he cable  and wrecking the 
card. I've seen some custom bracket mods for the Radeon 7500 and for 
the GF2MX Twinview that look great. I plan to explore them, if I decide 
to try another video card. As for noise, my low speed, reduced-voltage 
base fan is quieter than my very quiet Western Digital hard drive.

If you're going to install an upgraded video card, consider installing 
a base fan. You'll need one if you upgrade the CPU anyway. It won't 
cool the video card directly, but will provide active cooling for the 
Cube's core. You'll find that when you upgrade the video card, it'll 
generate more heat than the Rage128. This causes the entire core to act 
as a huge heatsink. The base fan will cool the core. This is a good 
thing.

I found this particularly effective while I was running a GF3 video 
card. The GF3 fan blew the hot air against the metal lining of the 
Cube. The metal lining transferred the heat to the core frame, which 
was cooled by cool air from the base fan. Overall, it worked very well. 
Yes, fans do fail. So do electronic components in general, eventually. 
Nothing lasts forever...

This ends the brief physics refresher and my thoughts on video cards. 
We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.

cheers,
-Hal

On Friday, February 14, 2003, at 11:01 PM, Thubten Kunga wrote:

> Fan Free TwinView 32MB Apple OEM ATI Radeon 7500 For Cube
>
> It may not have been shipped with any Cubes or "Apple Approved". But 
> it sure as hell fits and works 24/7 with no fan and no fence > perfectly.
>
> Yes, this card does not need a fan to drive two monitors from inside a 
> Cube. It is the only TwinView of its kind that fits in a Cube. I spent 
> about three months last year studying the various upgrade paths for 
> the Cube before coming to the conclusion that this is the best and 
> only choice for maximum delivery to two screens AND continuing to run 
> fan free. I own three Cubes. And I don't want any of them to ever 
> break. Fans make NOISE. I don't like NOISE. I don't want NOISE. Do you 
> want NOISE?
>
> Fans Fail. And when (not if) they do, the GPU burns up rendering the 
> video card DEAD. I was determined to find a solution that kept fans 
> out of my 500 MHz Cubes with 120 GB HDs inside. This is the only fan 
> free TwinView solution for the Cube.
>
> Yes, I still have a few of the these video cards for sale. I bought 
> them for resale exclusively to Cube list members when I figured out 
> that they are the fastest fanless TwinView video card that fits in a 
> Cube. It runs without a fan very well. Keeps your Cube silent. The 
> card has a VGA and an ADC port. The ADC port can be converted to VGA 
> or DVI with a $35 Dr. Bott adapter for each type of conversion. It's 
> 32MB and runs Quartz Extreme when both ports are used as well as when 
> you only use one.
>
> Are you familiar with the Macintosh Extended Desktop? It is a 
> fundamental feature of the Mac OS. Two monitors may be hooked up to 
> this card and they both play separate parts of a bigger desktop.
>
> It goes in easily with a phillips and #8 Torx screwdriver and a pair 
> of pliers in 5 minutes. You do not install this card with a fence. 
> Leaving out the fence keeps it much cooler so air can flow directly 
> into the video card's chamber between the ports and flow over the GPU 
> heat sink.
>
> Kunga
>
> On Friday, February 14, 2003, at 10:59  PM, Tom Davidson wrote:
>
>> I think the question was concerning Apple approved video cards
>> for the Cube that did not have a fan.  The Radeon 7500 has never
>> been approved by Apple for use in a Cube, fan or no fan.
>
>