I am a PC user seriously considering a PowerMac. I have a couple

[retread]

of questions. The G5 uses AGP 8X Pro for graphics and serial ATA for the drive. Why do off the shelf serial ATA drives and AGP 8X cards not work in a PowerMac or do they? Is it a matter of drivers or is there some underlying hardware difference?

[Poiuyt]

1. You can put in any SATA hard drive in a G5

I just ordered a 400GB SATA drive from Hitachi. I should get it on Tuesday.

I believe that graphics cards are specific to the Mac, but I'm not sure about that. Here is some info from Apple on the latest graphics cards for the G5:

http://www.apple.com/powermac/graphics.html

BTW, I have an dual 1.8Ghz G5 with the standard card. I use this for editing video, and the graphics seem pretty fast to me. I didn't feel the need to upgrade to the fastest one. Maybe if I played a lot of 3D games.

[retread]

3. Thanks. The graphics is really a secondary consideration for me also.

My drives tend to fill up as I never throw anything away.

[emulatorloo]

2. Re graphics cards. it is a matter of Drivers and Roms on the graphicscards

ATI ships a lot of their cards w drivers for Mac OS. Here for example are the ATI mac cards listed at newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=list&catalog=48&DEPA=8

Nvidia develops mac cards, but I don't know of any Nvidia liscensee selling them.

Off the shelf drives will indeed work. The OS will take care of formatting etc.

[retread]

4. Thanks for the newegg link. I use them for pc components and

will continue unless I find they are big contributors to the repigs.

[emulatorloo]

5. I would be so depressed if they were "red" - here are some cool mac sites

Here are some cool Mac sites I think you might like --

A tech geek site:

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/

This one tracks best prices on macs - this link is for pages on G5s, but they have other pages:

http://lowendmac.com/ppc/g5deals.html

This one tracks bargains in general (storage, ram, etc), systems included - good links to refurbs sometimes:

http://dealmac.com/

Here's where I buy ram for my macs:

http://www.datamem.com/AMM.asp

[Nothing Without Hope]

6. Thanks for the helpful links!

I've been on Macs ever since there WERE Macs and fell in love right away despite the teensy screen and undersize keyboard of the early models. Now I am LOVING my new G5 desktop with the 20-inch extended screen. The monitor is flat and has the system unit built in as part of it. Gorgeous, and it performs unbelievably well.

By the way, the Safari browser is far superior to Internet Explorer in multiple ways, and I changed over only a few hourse ago. Faster, cleaner, much better user interface, very sensitlble way of dealing with cookies and popups.

[emulatorloo]

7. Try out Mozilla Firefox too --

I have run into a couple snags here or there with Safari. . .

Be sure to check out Mozilla Firefox - it is super fast!

http://www.mozilla.org/

[rocktivity]

8. I've hit a snag with Safari, too

Firefox IS great--I've starting "weaning" myself off IE, LOL!

I'd like Safari, too, but I've hit a "snag"--is there any way to reset the dpi resolution? You can switch Firefox's and IE's from 96 to 72 dpi, but I haven't figured out how to do it on Safari.

:shrug:
rocknation

[emulatorloo]

9. WOW! How do you do that in Firefox?

EOM

[rocktivity]

10. Go to Preferences under the Firefox menu

Then click on General, then Fonts & Colors, Then display resolution.

You're welcome.

:headbang:
rocknation

[emulatorloo]

11. I did not know that! THANKS Eom