Ati Flash Tool For Mac

Return to site

Ati Flash Tool For Mac

Ati Flash Tool For Mac Windows 10
Itool For Mac
Ati Flash Tool For Mac Pro
Ati Flash Utility
I'm considering Flash updating PC ATI Video AGP cards to MAC versions for use on a G4 533 DA. I currently have an old Rage 128 card from a G3 B&W in the PCI slot but want to upgrade to something better. I have a couple of PC ATI Radeon cards one's a 9000 and the othe isn't clearly marked except for Radeon and the year 2000. Joined Oct 10, 2012 Messages 46 Motherboard GA-Z77X-UP5-TH CPU i7-3770 Graphics Gigabyte R9 280X Mac Classic Mac, Mobile Phone. For AMD Radeon™ Graphics, AMD Radeon Pro Graphics, and AMD Processors with Radeon Graphics Only. For use with systems running Microsoft® Windows® 7 or 10 AND equipped with AMD Radeon™ graphics, AMD Radeon Pro graphics, or AMD processors with Radeon graphics.
These advanced steps are primarily for system administrators and others who are familiar with the command line. You don't need a bootable installer to upgrade macOS or reinstall macOS, but it can be useful when you want to install on multiple computers without downloading the installer each time.
Download macOSATI Winflash is especially designed to help users backup, re-flash or upgrade the BIOS of their computer's ATI video card. Developed by the manufacturer itself, it is the recommended method to. I'm considering Flash updating PC ATI Video AGP cards to MAC versions for use on a G4 533 DA. I currently have an old Rage 128 card from a G3 B&W in the PCI slot but want to upgrade to something better. I have a couple of PC ATI Radeon cards one's a 9000 and the othe isn't clearly marked except for Radeon and the year 2000.
Ati Flash Tool For Mac Windows 10Find the appropriate download link in the upgrade instructions for each macOS version:

macOS Catalina, macOS Mojave, ormacOS High Sierra
Installers for each of these macOS versions download directly to your Applications folder as an app named Install macOS Catalina, Install macOS Mojave, or Install macOS High Sierra. If the installer opens after downloading, quit it without continuing installation. Important: To get the correct installer, download from a Mac that is using macOS Sierra 10.12.5 or later, or El Capitan 10.11.6. Enterprise administrators, please download from Apple, not a locally hosted software-update server. 
OS X El Capitan
El Capitan downloads as a disk image. On a Mac that is compatible with El Capitan, open the disk image and run the installer within, named InstallMacOSX.pkg. It installs an app named Install OS X El Capitan into your Applications folder. You will create the bootable installer from this app, not from the disk image or .pkg installer.
Use the 'createinstallmedia' command in TerminalConnect the USB flash drive or other volume that you're using for the bootable installer. Make sure that it has at least 12GB of available storage and is formatted as Mac OS Extended.
Open Terminal, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
Type or paste one of the following commands in Terminal. These assume that the installer is still in your Applications folder, and MyVolume is the name of the USB flash drive or other volume you're using. If it has a different name, replace MyVolume in these commands with the name of your volume.
Catalina:*
Mojave:*

High Sierra:*
El Capitan:
Press Return after typing the command.
When prompted, type your administrator password and press Return again. Terminal doesn't show any characters as you type your password.
When prompted, type Y to confirm that you want to erase the volume, then press Return. Terminal shows the progress as the bootable installer is created. 
When Terminal says that it's done, the volume will have the same name as the installer you downloaded, such as Install macOS Catalina. You can now quit Terminal and eject the volume.
* If your Mac is using macOS Sierra or earlier, include the --applicationpath argument, similar to the way this argument is used in the command for El Capitan.
Itool For MacUse the bootable installerAfter creating the bootable installer, follow these steps to use it:
Plug the bootable installer into a compatible Mac.
Use Startup Manager or Startup Disk preferences to select the bootable installer as the startup disk, then start up from it. Your Mac will start up to macOS Recovery. 
Learn about selecting a startup disk, including what to do if your Mac doesn't start up from it.
Choose your language, if prompted.
A bootable installer doesn't download macOS from the Internet, but it does require the Internet to get information specific to your Mac model, such as firmware updates. If you need to connect to a Wi-Fi network, use the Wi-Fi menu in the menu bar. 
Select Install macOS (or Install OS X) from the Utilities window, then click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions.
Learn moreAti Flash Tool For Mac ProFor more information about the createinstallmedia command and the arguments that you can use with it, make sure that the macOS installer is in your Applications folder, then enter this path in Terminal:
Catalina:
Mojave:
High Sierra:
El Capitan:
Ati Flash Utility





REVIEW: ATI Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition
 versus
 GeForce 6800 Ultra and Others 
Originally posted January 5th, 2005, by rob-ART morgan, mad scientist
 Updated February 24th, 2005, with X800 XT overclock results.
 Updated June 28th, 2005, with news about the Radeon X850 XT CTO option for G5 Power Macs.
On January 5th, 2005, ATI announced the Radeon X800 XT for the G5 Power Mac. To start things off, I'm sharing a table of features and specs to help you understand how all the 'high end' graphics cards for the G5 compare.
 Radeon 9800 Pro Special Mac Edition
 nVidia GeForce 6800 GT
 Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition
Memory
 256MB
 256MB
 256MB
 ADC, DVI
 DVI x 2
 ADC, DVI
Supports 30' Cinema
No
Yes
Yes
 1
 2
 1
Pixel Fillrate
 3.3GP/s
 6.4GP/s
8.0+GP/s
 8
 16
 16
Core Clock Speed
 412MHz
 400MHz
500MHz
 77
 ??
182
Effective Memory Clock Speed
 730MHz
1100MHz
1100MHz
 22GB/s
 32GB/s
 32GB/s
Transform Rate
 412MV/s
 600MV/s
?
 4
 6
 6
Aftermarket Price
$399 from ATI direct, resellers and as kit from Apple
$499 as kit from Apple
 $499 from ATI direct and resellers
(* The 9800 XT takes uses only one slot but the heatsink/fan assembly encroaches on slot 2. However, the back plate is still available for such things as the 8 port Internal-to-External SATA Port Adapter from MacGurus)
At first glance, it appears the X800 XT Mac Edition should give you equal or better performance than GeForce 6800 Ultra for an aftermarket price equal to the GeForce 6800 GT -- plus it only uses one slot. But let's look at real world performance.
The Unreal Tournament 2004 Retail build 3339 (UT2004) test was done using the latest SantaDuck Toolpak that combines botmatches and flybys in one application. We chose the Primeval Flyby at 1920x1200 at maximum quality settings to help dramatize the contribution of the graphics card in 3D gaming. The asterisk (*) next to the X800 XT stands for overclock runs with the card set to 500MHz core clock speed and 1100MHz memory clock speed using ATIccelerator II.

 However, a good Botmatch is closer to actual game play, so we ran the BridgeOfFate match at 1920x1200 and maximum quality...

Halo is very OpenGL intensive, especially when you set quailty to high and run at high resolution. We used the Halo 1.5 update which now has GPU based Lens Flare performance.

Turn on Full Scene Anti-Aliasing (FSAA) and the gap between the X800 XT and the rest of the cards grows... 
We used ATI Displays utility to override the Halo OpenGL settings with FSAA Multi 4X in the case of the ATI cards. Those of you who saw this page earlier today know that we switched from FSAA Super to Multi as we were told that Super only works at 1024x768 and below. As you can see, even with Multi, the X800 'out pulls' the GeForce 6800s.
In case you want to try our Halo scenarios, here's the settings we used:
 HW Shaders = Advanced Shaders
 Detail Objects = On, Model Reflections = On
FSAA = Off or 4X
 Lens Flare = High, Model Quality = High
 VIDEO: Resolution 1920x1200
 Refresh = 0, Framerate Throttle = No Vsync
 Specular = On, Shadows = On, Decals = On, 
 Particles = High, Texture Quality = High
 SOUND: Sound Quality = Low, Sound Variety = Low
Quake 3 Arena, though getting 'long in the tooth' is still a useful test for OpenGL (as well as dual processor) performance...

Motion is our newest test of graphic cards. As you can see below, how fast you can render a project for preview depends as much on your graphics card's speed (and memory capacity) as it does on your CPU power. This was the one test where the GeForce 6800 cards beat the X800 XT...

GRAPH LEGEND
 Graphics Cards
X800 XT* = overclocked Radeon X800 XT using ATIccelerator II -- simulating X850 XT
X800 XT = ATI Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition (8X, 256MB)
 GeF68 UT = nVidia GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL (8X, 256MB)
 GeF68 GT = nVidia GeForce 6800 GT DDL (8X, 256MB)
 Rad98 XT = ATI Radeon 9800 XT OEM (8X, 256MB)
 Rad98 SE = ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Mac Special Edition (8X, 256MB)
 Rad96 XT = ATI Radeon 9600 XT OEM (8X, 128MB)
CPUs
 G5/2.5 = G5/2.5GHz MP Power Mac
CONCLUSION
I'm very impressed with the performance of the ATI Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition. It's equal to or faster than the GeForce 6800 Ultra in every test but one, yet costs $100 less and uses only one slot. Yes. It is half the length and half the thickness of the GeForce 6800 Ultra. So if you want to reclaim your PCI-X slot, better list your GeForce 6800 on eBay before everyone hears about the X800. ;-)


(In the photo above, the X800 is dwarfed by the GeForce 6800 Ultra
 in length and thickness as it sits on top of it.)

 The X800 XT has the added advantage of being an ATI product which means it can utilize the ATI Displays utility to override the OpenGL settings in all applications to take advantage of such features as advanced Full Scene Anti-Aliasing and Anisotropic Filtering. As designated by the asterisk (*), we used ATIccelerator II to overclock the core to 500MHz and the memory to 1100MHz. There's no corresponding tool for the GeForce 6800 Ultra that I know of.
The only G5 Power User that might prefer the GeForce 6800 would be the few 'lucky dogs' with TWO 30' Cinema displays. The X800 XT comes with one dual link DVI port and one ADC port. That means it supports one 30' Cinema and a second display of your choosing (as long as it's not another 30' Cinema). The GeForce 6800 cards have two dual link DVI ports and therefore can drive two 30' Cinema displays.
ATI included an ADC port on the X800 because they believe most buyers of the X800 XT already have an ADC display they would like to use with their G5 Power Mac. However, if your second display is DVI (or even VGA), there are inexpensive adapters to convert the ADC port to drive a DVI or VGA display. (See 'Where to Buy' below)
FAN NOISE
Many of you are asking 'How noisy is the fan?' ATI has done a good job of choosing a quiet fan for the X800. I had only the clear plastic baffle on the G5/2.5 Power Mac test unit. The ambient sound was very low. At 'idle,' if I put my ear right up to the baffle and cracked it open slightly, I could barely distinguish the X800's fan from the Power Mac's multiple fans. When I ran the Halo 'highest quality' TimeDemo sequence, the CPU fans kicked up drowning out any sound coming from the graphics card fan. The same is true of the GeForce 6800 Ultra.
Note to readers running at 1280x1024: There are great gains to be had over your 'old' graphics card by upgrading to the X800, even if you aren't running at 1920x1200. We re-ran our tests at 1280x1024. Check out the X800's advantage over the stock 9600 XT:
 230% for Quake3
 142% for UT2004 Flyby
 40% for UT2004 Botmatch
 247% for Halo with FSAA = 4
We'll publish a full page comparing all the cards at 1280x1024 soon. And we'll also address the issue, 'Does having dual processers help with 3D gaming?' (Short answer: only if you are running Quake3.)
NEWS FLASH
June 28th, 2005 -- Radeon X850 XT added to Apple's CTO options for the G5 Power Mac! And GeForce 6800 Ultra dropped! The X850 XT appears to be a speed bumped X800 XT. Yet by dropping the Ultra version of the GeForce 6800 and replacing it with the GT, the Radeon X850 XT becomes the best choice for maximum OpenGL performance. (See chart below) The other good news is that the X850 XT takes up only one slot (vs the CTO GeForce 6800 GT and Ultra which take up two). And at $350, it's cheaper than buying the G5 tower with the default wimpy Radeon 9600 or 9650 and replacing it with an aftermarket $500 Radeon X800 XT. 
Only possible downside is if you have two 30' Cinemas. It only supports one 30' Cinema and one 'normal' display, while the GeForce 6800 GT and Ultra support up to two 30' Cinemas. (Don't panic when you hear that the X850 XT's second port is ADC. If you have two DVI displays, order the $29 ADC to DVI adapter from Apple. And don't confuse it with the DVI to ADC converter for $99. Click 'Displays' under 'Accessories' on Apple's online store.)
Don't be depressed if you just bought an X800 XT. You can use ATIccelerator II to tweak your X800 XT to run at 500MHz core clock and 550MHz memory clock speed just like the X850 XT, thereby making it an X850 XT. (See our charts at the top of this article.)
RELATED ARTICLES ON THE NET
Anandtech posted their review of the Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition the same day we did. The showed the GeForce 6800 Ultra faster but were running at lower resolution.
InsideMacGames posted their review of the Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition. It includes the same games we used plus others. Their results are similar to ours -- the X800 wins.
SharkeyExtreme compares the PC versions of the GeForce 6800 GT and Ultra with the Radeon 9800 XT and X800 XT running:
UT2003 and UT2004
Doom 3 and Halo
Quake3 and Wolfenstein
Doom 3 shootout with PC versions of GeForce 6800 GT, 6800 Ultra, Radeon X800, and 9800 XT. (Doom runs better on the GeForce cards because nVidia has worked closely with Doom 3 developers to optimize it for that game.)
WHERE TO BUY VARIOUS GRAPHICS CARDS FOR YOUR POWER MAC and MAC PRO
For your Mac Pro, you have the following 16X PCI Express (PCIe) options:
The GeForce 7300 GT (16X, 256MB, dual-link DVI + single-link DVI port) is the default. We recommend the Radeon X1900 XT (16X, 512MB, two dual-link DVI ports) as a CTO option. It's much faster than the GeForce 7300 GT and just as fast as the expensive Quadro FX 4500. According to Alias/Autodesk, the X1900 XT is the only graphics card without limitations when using Maya 8.5. To custom order your Mac Pro with the Radeon X1900 XT, go to the Apple Store and click on the Mac Pro graphic.
If you didn't order the Radeon X1900 XT with your Mac Pro, you can order the Radeon X1900 XT as an aftermarket kit for your Mac Pro, go to the Apple Store and click on DISPLAYS in the left margin or do a search on 'X1900.'
NOTE: Mac Pro PCIe graphics cards will not work in Power Mac G5s with PCIe slots -- and vice versa. Nor will Windows PC PCIe graphics cards work in the Mac Pro.
Graphics Card Options for the Dual-Core or Quad-Core G5 with 16X PCI Express slot:
The best option for your Dual-Core or Quad-Core G5 with PCIe slots is the ATI Radeon X1900 G5 Mac Edition released in November 2006. You can buy it directly from ATI's Online Store for $299 (with 'trade up' allowance).
It's also sold by Small Dog Electronics and Other World Computing.
The following cards only work on a G5 Power Mac with 8X AGP slot:
The 'G5 only' Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition (8X AGP, 256MB, ADC + Dual-Link DVI port) is available from ATI Online Store, Apple's Online Store, Buy.com, Other World Computing, and Small Dog Electronics. (The MSRP is $299)
Apple's Online Store is no longer selling the GeForce 6800 GT or Ultra, which had Dual-Dual-Link DVI ports (for two 30' Cinemas). 
The 'G5 only' Radeon 9800 Pro Mac Special Edition (8X AGP, 256MB, ADC + DVI port) is no longer made by ATI.
The following cards work on both the G5 Power Mac (8X AGP) and G4 Power Macs with 2X or 4X AGP:
Other World Computing has the new ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Mac (2X/4X AGP, 256MB, DVI + VGA ports) graphics card in stock for $259. ATI has it on their Online Store for $249. The SKU number is 100-435058, in case you want to make sure you are getting the right card. 
ATI Online Store, Buy.com and Other World Computing have the Radeon 9600 Pro PC and Mac Edition (4X AGP, 256MB, DVI + Dual-Link DVI port) as well. It's compatible with late model G4 Power Macs and all G5 Power Macs with AGP slots. Priced at $199 MSRP it is the lowest priced AGP graphics card with Dual-Link DVI support.
Has Bare Feats helped you? How about helping Bare Feats?
© 2005 Rob Art Morgan
 'BARE facts on Macintosh speed FEATS'
 Email , the webmaster and mad scientist

macOS Catalina, macOS Mojave, ormacOS High Sierra
Installers for each of these macOS versions download directly to your Applications folder as an app named Install macOS Catalina, Install macOS Mojave, or Install macOS High Sierra. If the installer opens after downloading, quit it without continuing installation. Important: To get the correct installer, download from a Mac that is using macOS Sierra 10.12.5 or later, or El Capitan 10.11.6. Enterprise administrators, please download from Apple, not a locally hosted software-update server. 
OS X El Capitan
El Capitan downloads as a disk image. On a Mac that is compatible with El Capitan, open the disk image and run the installer within, named InstallMacOSX.pkg. It installs an app named Install OS X El Capitan into your Applications folder. You will create the bootable installer from this app, not from the disk image or .pkg installer.
Use the 'createinstallmedia' command in TerminalConnect the USB flash drive or other volume that you're using for the bootable installer. Make sure that it has at least 12GB of available storage and is formatted as Mac OS Extended.
Open Terminal, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
Type or paste one of the following commands in Terminal. These assume that the installer is still in your Applications folder, and MyVolume is the name of the USB flash drive or other volume you're using. If it has a different name, replace MyVolume in these commands with the name of your volume.
Catalina:*
Mojave:*

High Sierra:*
El Capitan:
Press Return after typing the command.
When prompted, type your administrator password and press Return again. Terminal doesn't show any characters as you type your password.
When prompted, type Y to confirm that you want to erase the volume, then press Return. Terminal shows the progress as the bootable installer is created. 
When Terminal says that it's done, the volume will have the same name as the installer you downloaded, such as Install macOS Catalina. You can now quit Terminal and eject the volume.
* If your Mac is using macOS Sierra or earlier, include the --applicationpath argument, similar to the way this argument is used in the command for El Capitan.
Itool For MacUse the bootable installerAfter creating the bootable installer, follow these steps to use it:
Plug the bootable installer into a compatible Mac.
Use Startup Manager or Startup Disk preferences to select the bootable installer as the startup disk, then start up from it. Your Mac will start up to macOS Recovery. 
Learn about selecting a startup disk, including what to do if your Mac doesn't start up from it.
Choose your language, if prompted.
A bootable installer doesn't download macOS from the Internet, but it does require the Internet to get information specific to your Mac model, such as firmware updates. If you need to connect to a Wi-Fi network, use the Wi-Fi menu in the menu bar. 
Select Install macOS (or Install OS X) from the Utilities window, then click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions.
Learn moreAti Flash Tool For Mac ProFor more information about the createinstallmedia command and the arguments that you can use with it, make sure that the macOS installer is in your Applications folder, then enter this path in Terminal:
Catalina:
Mojave:
High Sierra:
El Capitan:
Ati Flash Utility





REVIEW: ATI Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition
 versus
 GeForce 6800 Ultra and Others 
Originally posted January 5th, 2005, by rob-ART morgan, mad scientist
 Updated February 24th, 2005, with X800 XT overclock results.
 Updated June 28th, 2005, with news about the Radeon X850 XT CTO option for G5 Power Macs.
On January 5th, 2005, ATI announced the Radeon X800 XT for the G5 Power Mac. To start things off, I'm sharing a table of features and specs to help you understand how all the 'high end' graphics cards for the G5 compare.
 Radeon 9800 Pro Special Mac Edition
 nVidia GeForce 6800 GT
 Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition
Memory
 256MB
 256MB
 256MB
 ADC, DVI
 DVI x 2
 ADC, DVI
Supports 30' Cinema
No
Yes
Yes
 1
 2
 1
Pixel Fillrate
 3.3GP/s
 6.4GP/s
8.0+GP/s
 8
 16
 16
Core Clock Speed
 412MHz
 400MHz
500MHz
 77
 ??
182
Effective Memory Clock Speed
 730MHz
1100MHz
1100MHz
 22GB/s
 32GB/s
 32GB/s
Transform Rate
 412MV/s
 600MV/s
?
 4
 6
 6
Aftermarket Price
$399 from ATI direct, resellers and as kit from Apple
$499 as kit from Apple
 $499 from ATI direct and resellers
(* The 9800 XT takes uses only one slot but the heatsink/fan assembly encroaches on slot 2. However, the back plate is still available for such things as the 8 port Internal-to-External SATA Port Adapter from MacGurus)
At first glance, it appears the X800 XT Mac Edition should give you equal or better performance than GeForce 6800 Ultra for an aftermarket price equal to the GeForce 6800 GT -- plus it only uses one slot. But let's look at real world performance.
The Unreal Tournament 2004 Retail build 3339 (UT2004) test was done using the latest SantaDuck Toolpak that combines botmatches and flybys in one application. We chose the Primeval Flyby at 1920x1200 at maximum quality settings to help dramatize the contribution of the graphics card in 3D gaming. The asterisk (*) next to the X800 XT stands for overclock runs with the card set to 500MHz core clock speed and 1100MHz memory clock speed using ATIccelerator II.

 However, a good Botmatch is closer to actual game play, so we ran the BridgeOfFate match at 1920x1200 and maximum quality...

Halo is very OpenGL intensive, especially when you set quailty to high and run at high resolution. We used the Halo 1.5 update which now has GPU based Lens Flare performance.

Turn on Full Scene Anti-Aliasing (FSAA) and the gap between the X800 XT and the rest of the cards grows... 
We used ATI Displays utility to override the Halo OpenGL settings with FSAA Multi 4X in the case of the ATI cards. Those of you who saw this page earlier today know that we switched from FSAA Super to Multi as we were told that Super only works at 1024x768 and below. As you can see, even with Multi, the X800 'out pulls' the GeForce 6800s.
In case you want to try our Halo scenarios, here's the settings we used:
 HW Shaders = Advanced Shaders
 Detail Objects = On, Model Reflections = On
FSAA = Off or 4X
 Lens Flare = High, Model Quality = High
 VIDEO: Resolution 1920x1200
 Refresh = 0, Framerate Throttle = No Vsync
 Specular = On, Shadows = On, Decals = On, 
 Particles = High, Texture Quality = High
 SOUND: Sound Quality = Low, Sound Variety = Low
Quake 3 Arena, though getting 'long in the tooth' is still a useful test for OpenGL (as well as dual processor) performance...

Motion is our newest test of graphic cards. As you can see below, how fast you can render a project for preview depends as much on your graphics card's speed (and memory capacity) as it does on your CPU power. This was the one test where the GeForce 6800 cards beat the X800 XT...

GRAPH LEGEND
 Graphics Cards
X800 XT* = overclocked Radeon X800 XT using ATIccelerator II -- simulating X850 XT
X800 XT = ATI Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition (8X, 256MB)
 GeF68 UT = nVidia GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL (8X, 256MB)
 GeF68 GT = nVidia GeForce 6800 GT DDL (8X, 256MB)
 Rad98 XT = ATI Radeon 9800 XT OEM (8X, 256MB)
 Rad98 SE = ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Mac Special Edition (8X, 256MB)
 Rad96 XT = ATI Radeon 9600 XT OEM (8X, 128MB)
CPUs
 G5/2.5 = G5/2.5GHz MP Power Mac
CONCLUSION
I'm very impressed with the performance of the ATI Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition. It's equal to or faster than the GeForce 6800 Ultra in every test but one, yet costs $100 less and uses only one slot. Yes. It is half the length and half the thickness of the GeForce 6800 Ultra. So if you want to reclaim your PCI-X slot, better list your GeForce 6800 on eBay before everyone hears about the X800. ;-)


(In the photo above, the X800 is dwarfed by the GeForce 6800 Ultra
 in length and thickness as it sits on top of it.)

 The X800 XT has the added advantage of being an ATI product which means it can utilize the ATI Displays utility to override the OpenGL settings in all applications to take advantage of such features as advanced Full Scene Anti-Aliasing and Anisotropic Filtering. As designated by the asterisk (*), we used ATIccelerator II to overclock the core to 500MHz and the memory to 1100MHz. There's no corresponding tool for the GeForce 6800 Ultra that I know of.
The only G5 Power User that might prefer the GeForce 6800 would be the few 'lucky dogs' with TWO 30' Cinema displays. The X800 XT comes with one dual link DVI port and one ADC port. That means it supports one 30' Cinema and a second display of your choosing (as long as it's not another 30' Cinema). The GeForce 6800 cards have two dual link DVI ports and therefore can drive two 30' Cinema displays.
ATI included an ADC port on the X800 because they believe most buyers of the X800 XT already have an ADC display they would like to use with their G5 Power Mac. However, if your second display is DVI (or even VGA), there are inexpensive adapters to convert the ADC port to drive a DVI or VGA display. (See 'Where to Buy' below)
FAN NOISE
Many of you are asking 'How noisy is the fan?' ATI has done a good job of choosing a quiet fan for the X800. I had only the clear plastic baffle on the G5/2.5 Power Mac test unit. The ambient sound was very low. At 'idle,' if I put my ear right up to the baffle and cracked it open slightly, I could barely distinguish the X800's fan from the Power Mac's multiple fans. When I ran the Halo 'highest quality' TimeDemo sequence, the CPU fans kicked up drowning out any sound coming from the graphics card fan. The same is true of the GeForce 6800 Ultra.
Note to readers running at 1280x1024: There are great gains to be had over your 'old' graphics card by upgrading to the X800, even if you aren't running at 1920x1200. We re-ran our tests at 1280x1024. Check out the X800's advantage over the stock 9600 XT:
 230% for Quake3
 142% for UT2004 Flyby
 40% for UT2004 Botmatch
 247% for Halo with FSAA = 4
We'll publish a full page comparing all the cards at 1280x1024 soon. And we'll also address the issue, 'Does having dual processers help with 3D gaming?' (Short answer: only if you are running Quake3.)
NEWS FLASH
June 28th, 2005 -- Radeon X850 XT added to Apple's CTO options for the G5 Power Mac! And GeForce 6800 Ultra dropped! The X850 XT appears to be a speed bumped X800 XT. Yet by dropping the Ultra version of the GeForce 6800 and replacing it with the GT, the Radeon X850 XT becomes the best choice for maximum OpenGL performance. (See chart below) The other good news is that the X850 XT takes up only one slot (vs the CTO GeForce 6800 GT and Ultra which take up two). And at $350, it's cheaper than buying the G5 tower with the default wimpy Radeon 9600 or 9650 and replacing it with an aftermarket $500 Radeon X800 XT. 
Only possible downside is if you have two 30' Cinemas. It only supports one 30' Cinema and one 'normal' display, while the GeForce 6800 GT and Ultra support up to two 30' Cinemas. (Don't panic when you hear that the X850 XT's second port is ADC. If you have two DVI displays, order the $29 ADC to DVI adapter from Apple. And don't confuse it with the DVI to ADC converter for $99. Click 'Displays' under 'Accessories' on Apple's online store.)
Don't be depressed if you just bought an X800 XT. You can use ATIccelerator II to tweak your X800 XT to run at 500MHz core clock and 550MHz memory clock speed just like the X850 XT, thereby making it an X850 XT. (See our charts at the top of this article.)
RELATED ARTICLES ON THE NET
Anandtech posted their review of the Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition the same day we did. The showed the GeForce 6800 Ultra faster but were running at lower resolution.
InsideMacGames posted their review of the Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition. It includes the same games we used plus others. Their results are similar to ours -- the X800 wins.
SharkeyExtreme compares the PC versions of the GeForce 6800 GT and Ultra with the Radeon 9800 XT and X800 XT running:
UT2003 and UT2004
Doom 3 and Halo
Quake3 and Wolfenstein
Doom 3 shootout with PC versions of GeForce 6800 GT, 6800 Ultra, Radeon X800, and 9800 XT. (Doom runs better on the GeForce cards because nVidia has worked closely with Doom 3 developers to optimize it for that game.)
WHERE TO BUY VARIOUS GRAPHICS CARDS FOR YOUR POWER MAC and MAC PRO
For your Mac Pro, you have the following 16X PCI Express (PCIe) options:
The GeForce 7300 GT (16X, 256MB, dual-link DVI + single-link DVI port) is the default. We recommend the Radeon X1900 XT (16X, 512MB, two dual-link DVI ports) as a CTO option. It's much faster than the GeForce 7300 GT and just as fast as the expensive Quadro FX 4500. According to Alias/Autodesk, the X1900 XT is the only graphics card without limitations when using Maya 8.5. To custom order your Mac Pro with the Radeon X1900 XT, go to the Apple Store and click on the Mac Pro graphic.
If you didn't order the Radeon X1900 XT with your Mac Pro, you can order the Radeon X1900 XT as an aftermarket kit for your Mac Pro, go to the Apple Store and click on DISPLAYS in the left margin or do a search on 'X1900.'
NOTE: Mac Pro PCIe graphics cards will not work in Power Mac G5s with PCIe slots -- and vice versa. Nor will Windows PC PCIe graphics cards work in the Mac Pro.
Graphics Card Options for the Dual-Core or Quad-Core G5 with 16X PCI Express slot:
The best option for your Dual-Core or Quad-Core G5 with PCIe slots is the ATI Radeon X1900 G5 Mac Edition released in November 2006. You can buy it directly from ATI's Online Store for $299 (with 'trade up' allowance).
It's also sold by Small Dog Electronics and Other World Computing.
The following cards only work on a G5 Power Mac with 8X AGP slot:
The 'G5 only' Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition (8X AGP, 256MB, ADC + Dual-Link DVI port) is available from ATI Online Store, Apple's Online Store, Buy.com, Other World Computing, and Small Dog Electronics. (The MSRP is $299)
Apple's Online Store is no longer selling the GeForce 6800 GT or Ultra, which had Dual-Dual-Link DVI ports (for two 30' Cinemas). 
The 'G5 only' Radeon 9800 Pro Mac Special Edition (8X AGP, 256MB, ADC + DVI port) is no longer made by ATI.
The following cards work on both the G5 Power Mac (8X AGP) and G4 Power Macs with 2X or 4X AGP:
Other World Computing has the new ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Mac (2X/4X AGP, 256MB, DVI + VGA ports) graphics card in stock for $259. ATI has it on their Online Store for $249. The SKU number is 100-435058, in case you want to make sure you are getting the right card. 
ATI Online Store, Buy.com and Other World Computing have the Radeon 9600 Pro PC and Mac Edition (4X AGP, 256MB, DVI + Dual-Link DVI port) as well. It's compatible with late model G4 Power Macs and all G5 Power Macs with AGP slots. Priced at $199 MSRP it is the lowest priced AGP graphics card with Dual-Link DVI support.
Has Bare Feats helped you? How about helping Bare Feats?
© 2005 Rob Art Morgan
 'BARE facts on Macintosh speed FEATS'
 Email , the webmaster and mad scientist

Ati Flash Tool For Mac

Download macOS

Ati Flash Tool For Mac Windows 10

Use the 'createinstallmedia' command in Terminal

Itool For Mac

Use the bootable installer

Learn more

Ati Flash Tool For Mac Pro

Ati Flash Utility

REVIEW: ATI Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition versus GeForce 6800 Ultra and Others

Use the 'createinstallmedia' command in Terminal

Itool For Mac

Use the bootable installer

Learn more

Ati Flash Tool For Mac Pro

Ati Flash Utility

REVIEW: ATI Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition versus GeForce 6800 Ultra and Others

REVIEW: ATI Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition
versus
GeForce 6800 Ultra and Others

REVIEW: ATI Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition
versus
GeForce 6800 Ultra and Others