So for some strange reason unbeknownst to me, my Radeon 7K PCI card decided to go nuts. I noticed it at first if I'd accidentally bonk my desk too hard, I'd lose sync on the my monitor, which'd come back, but the machine would be frozen.
** Preface and Aside, ie, What I Did to Diagnose it, If You'd Like to Read it and Perhaps Share Possible Fixes:
I didnt have another video card to test, so it was a hard determination whether it was the card or the logic board of my new-to-me B&W that was at fault. I ran two sets of pings though on a remote machine, with the card in and out, and tapping the case gently. With the card in, lockup and lost the pings tapping about; with it out, (amazingly OS X still booted right up,) no amount of tapping could shake it. Carefully tapping the card itself with the insulated plastic end of a screwdriver seems to cause more issues than tapping, say, a screw on the logic board. Also the card seems to get more "sensitive" as it heats up.
I haven't thrown the thing into my Beige to see what happens, I suppose I should just to double-check... however it seems to be the card.
I assume a chip's come slightly unsoldered or bad trace or etc, but moving it to different slots, screwing things down differently, reseating the logic board, etc didnt fix it, and it doesnt seem to be a odd grounding issue or anything of that sort from my tests. So, long story short, I'm looking for a video card, and I'd just as rather it be new after this bout of stinkiness.
** End of Preface and Aside
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So I'm thinking I will pick up a Radeon 9200 PCI. I havent had much experience with Mac hardware shops, and I'm looking for suggestions on where to get it. I could get it direct from ATi, from Macmall, etc etc... on one hand it'd be nice to get it direct, but I'd also like to pick up the company of an outfit that stands behind their sales and takes care of their customers.
That said, whatcha got? I'd like to hear of a company from you folk that you've had good experience buying new kit from.
-- Macinjosh
I have a spare.. bought it for my G3, and then the mini came out. So, now its just sitting around.
Yeah, I keep thinking I need a mini too. I need a machine though for awhile before that though.
I'm really not looking to get a non-new card, but I'd be interested in hearing what you'd take for it anyway just in case.
Looking to hear from everyone else too
Sounds like your card has a cold solder joint somewhere.
I've had lots'o' good experiences with Other World and no bad, so they are at the top of my recommendation list. Here's their item page for the R9200 PCI.
dan k
That's kinda what I had figured. I wish I had the skill to hunt it down and fix it... I probably could, but I pretty much wrote that surface mounted, etc stuff off as too dangerous to do long time ago, to keep myself from fryin' hardware.
Then again, it's already dead I guess, and it could save me some dough, y'know? Perhaps I could find someone local to take a crack at it too.
I had already considered that someone might want it that would be able to fix it, I just hadnt mentioned it yet, hehe. I'm not saying I'm really looking to do that yet (I'd really hate to give someone my problem regardless of whether they wanted it or not) but if anyone's interested, feel free to let me know that. I may or may not go that route.
Anyone else care to join in?
I second the OWC suggestion... I have had no problems with them whatsoever. Fast and courteous, with decent cust service...
my 2¢
CM
I agree with the OWC recommendation as well. I bought a G4 upgrade from them that was guaranteed to run @ 533 in my beige, 500 in a B&W, and it does neither I'm afraid with any sense of stability. They RMA'd it in a heartbeat after I told them what I had done to limit it to the upgrade specifically.
All that's stopping me is the actual sending it in, I'm a bit freaked by the "if we found out you broke it it's your deal" but I guess they have to say that should someone decide to use a ZIF for an ashtray or somethin'.
I thought perhaps if it ran @ 450 (which is what it actually is) then keeping it and losing 50MHz would be worth not having to go that route, but I dunno, sending it in, getting that amended, and getting a new video card coming along with it sounds pretty good right now.
I'm definitely considering that right now, they have a pretty decent price on the card. Maybe I'll send my proc in first and see how the service plays out on that end.
Anyone have one of those OWC 533/500 "Hi Temp" G4/450s that would care to share in their experience with it? I'm all ears if so.
(See why I want a brand new card now? Major hardware headaches lately for some oddball reason all at once, and a major vote in the favor of a Mini in general, y'know?)
Cards with heavy attached cables sometimes suffer from the tail wagging the dog, and become partially unseated from the PCI slot.
Try removing and reseating the card firmly into the PCI slot before you pronounce the card dead and gone.
"I assume a chip's come slightly unsoldered or bad trace or etc, but moving it to different slots, screwing things down differently, reseating the logic board, etc didnt fix it, and it doesnt seem to be a odd grounding issue or anything of that sort from my tests. So, long story short, I'm looking for a video card, and I'd just as rather it be new after this bout of stinkiness."
Note that I moved it around and tried different slots. I did make sure it was seated well and properly... tried both 33MHz and 66MHz slots in my B&W while I was at it. No dice, same issue.
Do you have any other problems with PCI devices in your Mac? It could be that the PCI slots are coming loose from the logic board. While rare in Macs, I have seen it happen in PC's, especially if the card isn't screwed to the chassis properly.
Cheers,
The Czar