John Kettler Posted June 14, 2000 Share Posted June 14, 2000 As previously noted elsewhere on this Forum, I'm running a Gen One iMac (233 MHz, 64 MB RAM, 2 MB VRAM on ATI Rage video card), under OS 8.6. Amazingly, the Gold Demo runs, but only at 640x480 and without transparent smoke. I checked with the Apple Tech Exchange, and was told that my only real video upgrade option was a scarce special Voodoo 2 which fit into the Mezzanine slot on early iMacs. Someone else said I could have as much as 6 MB of VRAM on my existing card. Could some of you iMac savvy types please tell me what you think my options are? I can't afford to replace the computer right now, but I'd really like better video performance than I presently have. 640x480 gives me eyestrain, leading to a headache. 800x 600 would be fine, though. That's what the Beta Demo ran at. Is there an approach no one's suggested to me so far? If I had 4 0r 6 MBs on the present video card, would that work? I'd really appreciate any help. Sincerely, John Kettler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNFAN Posted June 14, 2000 Share Posted June 14, 2000 Upgrade the VRAM to 6MB. I have Rev B iMac with 6MB of VRAM and it works fine at 800 x 600. Still doesn't go at 1024 x768 but since I can add no more VRAM I'll have to live with it. See this Apple article " iMac: Type of Memory to Order to Upgrade RAM and VRAM" for ram info. http://til.info.apple.com/techinfo.nsf/artnum/n58007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howitzer Posted June 14, 2000 Share Posted June 14, 2000 John, I, too, have an original Bondi-blue iMac, and it is still kickin'! Of course, it does have the discontinued, but still findable, Voodoo2 Mezz card. A couple of thoughts... (1) My iMac has the 6MB VRAM, but these machines can only address 4 of the 6MB. It won't help on speed for CM, and probably won't give you 800x600 either. However, it does give you millions of colors at 1024, though, and it's cheap. (2) You can still find the MicroConversions GameWizard Voodoo2 Mezzanine card out there, thought they are getting rare. I am running mine with fairly old 3DFx generic drivers, under OS9.0.4, with tons of extensions, etc. -- no problems, and great for CM; I get translucent smoke and all. But, even with this Voodoo2 card, lots of smoke like that used for covering an attack, can cause a slowdown (the card has only 8MB). Nonetheless, I would recommend getting one if you can. However, be forewarned that you need to get into the guts of the machine to install it. This link is a little dated, but you may still have luck with it... http://dealmac.com/articles/20000405/4/12640.html ...and you can always try a search of some of the mac sites... Good luck, FWIW, Steve C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hercules_00 Posted June 14, 2000 Share Posted June 14, 2000 hmmmm well I just got a new G4 so i dont have that prob but i'll look intoo it and see if i can find anything helpful for you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddyTool Posted June 14, 2000 Share Posted June 14, 2000 Should probably get a IBM :^) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howitzer Posted June 14, 2000 Share Posted June 14, 2000 Ahem...BuddyTool says: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Should probably get a IBM :^)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I say: ...only if he needs a boat anchor! Howitzer [This message has been edited by Howitzer (edited 06-14-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts