Were there any PCI video cards from the beige Mac period that were capable of running two monitors at once? If so, what card(s) should I look for?
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Dual monitor PCI card
- Thread starter beachycove
- Start date
Yes, but the machine only has one spare slot. It's a beige G3, into which I have already popped a SCSI hard disk card and a USB card. I would like to be able to run three screens.
I gather that there was a Twin Turbo that could do monitor spanning, but my Twin Turbo is a more humble creature that only does mirroring. So were there other good options?
I gather that there was a Twin Turbo that could do monitor spanning, but my Twin Turbo is a more humble creature that only does mirroring. So were there other good options?
The Radeon 9200 is the best option you have that will work in a beige Mac and one of the easier ones to find.
The dual head version of the 7500 is harder to find, but works fine also. Most of the Mac 7500s I've seen for sale on Ebay are the single head version(1xVGA) that came with the Xserve.
I actually should check the original Radeon...I have both the PCI and AGP versions of it, but have never tried to run it dual head.
If you are running OS X, you may want to enable Quartz Extreme through terminal with the Radeon, 7500 and 9200. There are arguments against it(particularly PCI bus congestion) but doing so can really improve performance in OS X.
The dual head version of the 7500 is harder to find, but works fine also. Most of the Mac 7500s I've seen for sale on Ebay are the single head version(1xVGA) that came with the Xserve.
I actually should check the original Radeon...I have both the PCI and AGP versions of it, but have never tried to run it dual head.
If you are running OS X, you may want to enable Quartz Extreme through terminal with the Radeon, 7500 and 9200. There are arguments against it(particularly PCI bus congestion) but doing so can really improve performance in OS X.
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This is for OS9. I can't see any reason for running X on anything beige.
I do have a Voodoo 5500, and it is supposed to do the business, but right now I can't get it recognized by the drivers, let alone get it to drive a screen. Not sure if it's alive, or if there is some software conflict in the Extensions.
I will, however, have a look for a Radeon 9200. Good lead — thanks.
I do have a Voodoo 5500, and it is supposed to do the business, but right now I can't get it recognized by the drivers, let alone get it to drive a screen. Not sure if it's alive, or if there is some software conflict in the Extensions.
I will, however, have a look for a Radeon 9200. Good lead — thanks.
I have some beige boxes that would disagree with OS X not having a place, but that's a discussion for a different day 
(when you have a 1ghz Sonnet G4, it's hard to NOT run OS X on it).
With that said, if you're running 9.2.x, be sure you install the ATI extensions BEFORE you fit the 9200. Otherwise you'll get into a fun situations where the desktop will load but you can't do anything, and you can't install the extensions in safe mode. Fortunately in a beige box you can just pull the 9200 and then install them. In newer computers, you have to pull the 9200(or 9000, which has the same problem) and dig up a Rage 128 or the like to let you install the ATI drivers.
(when you have a 1ghz Sonnet G4, it's hard to NOT run OS X on it).With that said, if you're running 9.2.x, be sure you install the ATI extensions BEFORE you fit the 9200. Otherwise you'll get into a fun situations where the desktop will load but you can't do anything, and you can't install the extensions in safe mode. Fortunately in a beige box you can just pull the 9200 and then install them. In newer computers, you have to pull the 9200(or 9000, which has the same problem) and dig up a Rage 128 or the like to let you install the ATI drivers.
Mac Radeon 9200 is fun and all but it won't have support under 9.2. It'll work, but you won't have any acceleration and if you get the drivers installed it'll hang at the desktop. regardless if when they were installed, I played around with one when I got my 9600.
A better option would be the Radeon 7000 which also drives two monitors and will work under OS 8 and I believe even has some OS 7 support floating around somewhere on the internet.
A better option would be the Radeon 7000 which also drives two monitors and will work under OS 8 and I believe even has some OS 7 support floating around somewhere on the internet.
I was about to mention the Radeon 7000 myself. Just make sure you actually get the real "Mac Edition" retail box one that has all the ports present. There are stripped-down PCI Radeon 7000s in circulation that have only a single port soldered. (Presumably this will be obvious if you get to see the card first.) Said stripped-down ones were sold by Apple for use in Xserves, so they're actually fairly common.
After further tinkering, my Voodoo 5 5500 card is now confirmed working, but not as intended. The vga port is fine, but the dvi port will not drive an Apple Cinema Display, or at least, not the 23" or 20" models, either Aluminum or Acrylic (the latter via an adapter, naturally). I have no way to test the dvi output on a CRT, unfortunately, as I don't have the right converter. The closest I get to a screen from it is some garbage on the two 20" ACD units.
So it may just be that I'd need an older dvi monitor with a different stock resolution — not going there, however, as I have WAY too much junk as it is. Ho hum.
There do appear to be hacked OS9.2.2 drivers for the Radeon 9200, however, and as it is a good deal smaller than another screen....
So it may just be that I'd need an older dvi monitor with a different stock resolution — not going there, however, as I have WAY too much junk as it is. Ho hum.
There do appear to be hacked OS9.2.2 drivers for the Radeon 9200, however, and as it is a good deal smaller than another screen....
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I hate to be blunt, but you weren't doing something right.
I have a bunch of these cards, including one in my 9600 running 9.2.2. It works perfectly with full acceleration. I have used these cards extensively in both beige and B&W G3s under OS 9.2.2, and the performance is excellent and again with full acceleration.
I have an install disk that came with one of the ones I bought-I should probably upload that to the Garden.
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Okay, no argument from me on that.
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