There are PCI and AGP modifications of Mac G4 video card. Actually, the Power Mac G4 with the AGP graphics slot appeared at the same time as the Power Mac G4 with the PCI graphics in September of 1999. It was a top model of the new PowerMac line. The G4 AGP video card is based on the motherboard with unified architecture and a new processor, MPC 7400, which has a much higher performance than its predecessor PPC 750.
The G4 AGP has some new improvements, such as an AirPort support, a faster access to the memory (an access clock up to 800 MHz). This computer has a DVD-ROM or RAM and a Zip in a standard configuration. There is also an AGP slot 2x 133 MHz for the Mac G4 video card and a maximal volume of RAM up to 1.5 GB.
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Then, there was a significant slowing of the line due to the fact that Motorola had some problems with new processors. Clocks of processors were decreased to 50 MHz, i.e. the G4 AGP appeared in two configurations, with 400 and 450 MHz instead of old 450 and 500 MHz clock. A new computer, Mac G5, has many advanced features, comparing to the old model. However, you can still use the Mac G4 video card efficiently, since it is compatible and portable. At the same time, new Mac has many new features. Thus, the models of the new line are provided with a DVD-ROM SuperDrive 8x and it is twice higher than the one of the older model. Although such improvement is not very significant, it will be pleasant surprises for the users, who prefer to write DVD disks. The new Mac is supplied with a 512 MB RAM and a 160 GB hard disk Serial ATA 7200 rpm. Macintosh computers have certain technological restrictions. Hence, the motherboard has cutoff points only for four modules of DIMM memory. This way a maximally possible volume of RAM is 4 GB. In general, Apple produces three different variations of 1.8 HHZ power Mac. There is one and two processor models with extension slots PCI-X. This model supports a RAM up to 8 GB and there is also Power Mac with two crystals G5, working with a 4GB memory and PCI standard. New Mac computers have the same ports as their predecessors. Chassis are made of aluminum and plastic and they have the same construction. Heat emitting systems are built the same way as before. The advanced model of PowerMac G5 includes a water cooling system for processor modules. This system is hidden from a user, even when the system block is opened. The system is a reliable protection for two crystals from overheating. Sometimes, when resources consuming applications are processing, the work of coolers is provided with a low noise. In overall, the Macintosh Power Mac G5 works rather slower than the old models. The PowerMac G5 possesses wide opportunities for connecting peripheral devices. There are ports USB 2.0 and FireWire 400, also an output for headphones and many slots at the back of the chassis - two USB 2.0, FireWire 800 and FireWire 400, Gigabit Ethernet, four audio outputs, an interface for connecting cards AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth. Here you can also find an output for an integrated modem. There are the AGP and PCI-Express slots, where you can install the Mac G4 video card or new advanced Radeon or GeForce models. The compatibility of video modes is an interesting feature of Mac computers, which makes their upgrade much easier. |