Tests of new G4s find graphic differences

From...

by James Galbraith

(IDG) -- Lost amid the Macworld Expo hoopla over shiny PowerBooks and OS X ship dates was the news that Nvidia's GeForce 2 MX graphics processor had been added to the Power Mac G4 configuration list. That means you can configure the new shipping G4 towers to include your choice of the Nvidia GeForce 2 MX, ATI Radeon AGP or the older ATI Rage 128 Pro graphics cards.

But how do you know which card is right for your Mac? Macworld Lab put each of the cards through rigorous graphical hurdles.

IDG.net INFOCENTER Macworld Online PCWorld.com Subscribe to free daily newsletters TechInformer Related IDG.net Stories 466MHz and 533MHz Power Mac G4s NVidia GeForces its way into Mac Top 10 graphics boards for gamers

A glance at the benchmark shows that for 3D gamers, the Radeon and GeForce cards offer comparable Quake 3 performance, leaving the older Rage 128 Pro in their dust. But the 2D numbers tell quite a different story.

While you won't notice much difference between the three cards when scrolling through Microsoft Office documents, the GeForce 2 MX lags behind both ATI cards in the PDF scroll and Commotion video throughput tests.

All three cards have both VGA and ADC connectors, although you can only use one of the connectors at a time. The GeForce and Radeon both have 32MB of video memory. NVIDIA uses SDRAM (synchronous data RAM) while the Radeon uses the newer and faster DDR-RAM (double data rate RAM). The Rage 128 Pro has 16MB of SDRAM and is standard on the 466MHz G4.

If you opt for the Rage 128 Pro in the 533MHz model, Apple will knock $100 off of the purchase price. Conversely, swapping the Rage with either the Radeon or GeForce will add $100 to your 466MHz G4 checkout total.

We tested each card in the 4X AGP slot of a 533MHz PowerMac G4with 128MB of RAM. Virtual Memory was on for the scrolling tests and low-resolution Quake 3 tests. We increased the RAM to 256MB and turned off Virtual Memory for the high-resolution Quake tests and the Commotion 3.1.1 video throughput test. The Commotion tests used a 45MB file repeating 67 frames at maximum speed. Lab testing by Macworld Lab staff.

Review: The power of the Power Macs
January 31, 2001
Apple pushes FireWire at music show
January 24, 2001
NVidia GeForces its way into Mac
January 12, 2001
Inside the G4 desktops
January 12, 2001
Cross-platform products help Windows, Mac cohabit
January 10, 2001

466MHz and 533MHz Power Mac G4s
(Macworld)
NVidia GeForces its way into Mac
(PCWorld.com)
Top 10 graphics boards for gamers
(PCWorld.com)
ATI announces Radeon graphics for notebooks
(PCWorld.com)
Power to burn: G4s shoot to 733MHz
(Macworld)
Hands on with the titanium PowerBook G4
(Macworld)
How it works: Graphics boards
(PCWorld.com)

Apple Computer

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.