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Graphics card for Powerbook
I would like to upgrade the graphics card in my 17″ powerbook laptop so that I can run Motion. It is a 1 GHz PowerPC G4 and I have 1 GB of RAM.
Currently running OS 10.3.9, but could upgrade if needed.
Does anyone have any suggestions on some good cards that are available for my laptop that will run Motion well?
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7 Replies
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Bad news, sorry but you can’t upgrade the card.
Use the compatability checker from Apple to see if your existing model will run Motion
Peter
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No, my powerbook won’t work with motion right now. So, I can’t even install a different card that works with motion?
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Graphics cards in most (if not all) of Apple’s recent PowerBooks, iBooks, and portables in general, have their Graphics cards “hardwired” in. So there’s no safe, economic, or practical way to upgrade graphics cards. This is a bummer, yes, but I have heard rumors of hackers out there successfully upgrading their cards. This, of course, means that these guys have spent hours learning how to read diagnostic diagrams, soldering techniques, and a bunch of other stuff that’s impressive, but non-the-less out of the reach of most of us.
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[AimAim] “So, I can’t even install a different card that works with motion?”
I’m pretty sure you can’t upgrade the graphics capability of a Powerbook once you take delivery. It has to be done when its built.
Did you call Apple and talk to them? Or email the Apple store online?
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.comDirector, “The Rough Cut”
https://www.theroughcutmovie.comNow Posting “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network
“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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No you can’t. If you’re planning on working a lot with Motion you should bite the bullet and get one of the new Core Duo based MacBook Pros. They run circles around the older Powerbooks when it comes to the performance of the Universal versions of the FC Studio apps.
Jim Kanter,
Digital Film Institute
http://www.dfilminst.com -
How do the new Intel imacs do with Motion? Those have the ATI Radeon X1600 card. Is that a decent card and if not, could the card in the imac be switched out?
Between the imac and the macbook pro, which one would work better with Motion and Final Cut? (assuming you put as much RAM as possible in both.) -
[AimAim] “How do the new Intel imacs do with Motion?”
Very well. Easily comparable to a dual G5 with a nice ATI X800 card.
[AimAim] “Those have the ATI Radeon X1600 card. Is that a decent card and if not, could the card in the imac be switched out?”
I think you will find the 1600 to be close to an x800 or even a little faster. However, it is unlikely that you could change it.
[AimAim] “Between the imac and the macbook pro, which one would work better with Motion and Final Cut? (assuming you put as much RAM as possible in both.)”
I would go with the MBP for two main reasons. First is that it comes standard with more video ram (256 -vs- 128 in the iMac). You can upgrade the video memory in the iMac when you order it but not after it’s been assembled.
The second reason is expansion. The MBP has a single express 34 slot that you could use to expand HD space with faster alternatives. IT’s a better long term direction than f/w.
Tha MBP is a super machine. There really is very little it can’t do except for something like incorporating a Kona or BMD hd card but, even then, it would be a great editor if you use a G5 as a capture station.
-gl
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