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hardware question
Hi all –
I’m thinking of making some upgrades to my G5 dual 2.0GHz and I was hoping for some advice on the best video cards. I’m running the NVidia 9650 (I think) and it really seems to be having trouble processing Timewarp effects. I do most of my work in NTSC but I’d like the option of running HD. Is it possible my problem is RAM? I have 1GB installed, and on export it doesn’t seem to run out, but it does render veeeeery slowly.
I know I’m all over the place here, but some general spec recommendations would be appreciated.
I currently use AE 7 pro.
Also I’m not rich.
Thanks
Gabe“Wise is the tongue wet of perfect thought” – Frank “Black Frances” Black
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3 Replies
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i believe your dual g5 has an agp graphics card slot, so i think the best graphics card you can get is the ati x800xt. but it won’t give you opengl 2.0 which you would need to get full opengl support in ae (which i believe include motion blur and anti-aliasing). you might double check me on the cards, but last i checked there were no opengl 2.0 cards for agp macs.
that being said, i don’t think that a graphics card will help speed things up much for you. timewarp is a processor intensive effect. spending about $150 on nucleo pro (checkout gridironsoftware.com) would probably be a bigger benefit.
and max the ram out, esspecially if you get nucleo pro.
hd…? you can work in hd with your setup. are you asking about capturing hd, or monitoring in hd?
Kevin Camp
Designer – KCPQ, KMYQ & KRCW -
Your video card probably isn’t the issue, but your lack of RAM sure might be. 1GB is barely enough for the OS and AE to be open, much less processing anything within AE or rendering out. It’s easy to underestimate how much RAM is enough, but when in doubt get as much as you can afford. You’ll almost always notice the difference.
The other problem is simply that a G5 dual-2.0 is a bit dated. I have a recent macbook (not the pro) and in speed tests it blew the dual G5 desktops away. My only point is that the Core Duo (and Core 2 Duo) chips are way more efficient and speedy.
All of that said, I know you’re on a budget. One of the best things you could do is invest in a bunch of ram – I believe 4GB is the max that line of G5 can hold. Other World Computing is a GREAT online store for mac components, I just purchased a bunch of RAM from them for less than half of what Apple charges, and so far it’s very solid. Their site will ask which mac you have and make the appropriate memory module suggestions in terms of what type, speed etc. I would recommend the OWC brand:
https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/apple/memory/
Good Luck!
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Yep. More RAM.
By the way, according to the local supplier, since the AMD takeover, ATI hasn’t shipped any upgrade graphics cards for mac in about eight months.
They’re shipping the ones *inside* the new macs quite promptly, though.
So. More RAM.
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