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10.3: Possibly make older video cards functional again
Authored by: Freebasen on Nov 07, '03 01:39:17PM

For those of us with an SGI 1600sw monitor who are stuck with older video cards, there is hope without spending $600 on a multilink adapter. A new product is out that will possibly function in it's place. Check this out: http://www.ultraflexinc.com/gfx.html
They say that they are still working on compatibility testing with the mac, but seeing as how this is just a pass-through solution I don't see why it wouldn't work.



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10.3: Possibly make older video cards functional again
Authored by: seeker on Nov 07, '03 03:49:58PM

This is good news.

Here's the setup I have:
********
B&W G3, Rev. 2
OS 10.2.8 and OS 9.2.2
832MB of RAM
Newer Technology G4 533Mhz Processor Upgrade
Original Maxtor 6GB HD
Internal IBM Deskstar 40GB HD,
Internal Zip drive
External LaCie FireWire CDRW drive
SGI 1600SW flat panel
Silicon Graphics 1600SW Flat Panel Display with
ProPerformance III card
********
I just acquired the original video card that came in my G3. My plans are to pull out the G4 processor upgrade, put the G3 processor back in, install the original video card, attach another monitor and see if I can install Panther. If I can,while I am booted in Panther, I will try to run the "magic incantation" in Terminal, reinstall my ProPerformance III card and pray VERY hard that it will work. If not, then it's the $250 for the device you mentioned.

Here's hoping,
seeker



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10.3: Possibly make older video cards functional again
Authored by: Notch Johnson on Nov 08, '03 08:25:44AM

I don't see any mention of MacOS X drivers on their web site. I would also wait until confirmed Macintosh compatibility before considering this product.

A few questions come to mind on this one:
1) Why would a company invest in developing a product for LVDS monitors? As far as I know, the 1600SW was the only monitor to go this way. DVI won. LVDS lost.
2) Ultra-Flex calls it "market-leading LVDS digital interface." Wrong. LVDS died a few years ago.
3) If I were a company interested in the LVDS market, I would develop a cheaper MultiLink adapter, a product that converts DVI to LVDS, not an entire video card!
4) With this hint, the only advantage this card could offer is accelerated video. Would Quartz Extreme work?



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10.3: Possibly make older video cards functional again
Authored by: Freebasen on Nov 08, '03 05:28:36PM

In answer...
1. Evidently the creator of this technology is the same guy who headed up the multilink adapter operations at SGI. (can't confirm this). There were a lot of 1600sw sold. It makes sense to sell to nitch markets when that market includes government and medical laboratories.
2. Marketing BS.
3.That is exactly what this is. The difference is that this is an internal solution. It grabs power from the PCI bus. It needs no drivers because it is simply a pass-through solution. Signal goes in / signal goes out.
4. Accelerated video is precisely what someone buying this card would be after. It allows you to use any video card you want and then simply convert the signal for the SGI 1600. No additional drivers necessary.

The only incompatibility I can see would possibly occur in the new model G5's since they use a lower powered pci bus.



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10.3: Possibly make older video cards functional again
Authored by: Notch Johnson on Nov 11, '03 12:34:09PM

A huge difference between this new video card and the MultiLink is that the MultiLink can be used with a Quartz Extreme-supported video card.

For some reason, I am willing to bet money that this card won't support Quartz Extreme. What's the advantage of this card over existing Proformance3 cards?



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10.3: Possibly make older video cards functional again
Authored by: Freebasen on Nov 11, '03 05:30:20PM

I think you are missing the point here. This IS a multilink adapter. It's just an internal solution. Basically you sacrifice 1 pci slot to be able to run any AGP (or pci for that matter) video card you want. Of course it would support QE bacause it makes no difference to the card. You really should re-read the site.



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10.3: Possibly make older video cards functional again
Authored by: seeker on Nov 11, '03 09:12:39AM

I posted a detailed explanation of my success with an SGI 1600 monitor and a Proformance 3 card here.

I am a bit out of my depth with this solution suggested by a friend. Move the drivers from 10.2.8 (if you still have that system on your HD as I do) into Panther and replace the drivers there that won't play nicely with the Proformance card and the SGI monitor.

Is this possible? Anyone know how to do it?

TIA,
Seeker



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