[Musashi0008]

I'm curious to know what people are thinking between these two cards. There seems to be some confusion as which path is the best option to take. A quad G5 and the 6600 can be had in roughly 2 weeks time as opposed to 6 to 8 weeks time for the 7800. Apple's benchmarks seem to suggest that the 7800 is well beyond double the performance of the 6600, but because of the wait times, it seems many people are opting for the 6600 with the idea that they will purchase the 7800 when it becomes available. This, however brings up even more confusion as many seem to have this notion that the stand-alone 7800 card will be around the same price as it is to upgrade from the 6600, roughly $350. I personally cannot beyond my wildest dreams imagine apple selling the 7800 card by itself for less that $500 when the previous 6800 Ultra still sells for $499. Keeping in mind that the $350 upgrade price is ontop of what apple is charging for the 6600(probably around $200), I am wondering how many people are going to go this route and why? I have just ordered a Quad with the 7800, but because my ship estimate is not until Jan 10th , I am seriously considering dropping down to the 6600 and upgrading later, even though it will probably cost me an extra $150-$300 dollars in the long run. What are other people thinking in regards to this dilemna and has anyone actually heard if the 7800 will even be offered by itself in the future?

[Powerdoc]

Difficult question. My personal choice was to go with the 6600 and do not wait the 7800 GT.
I will upgrade later, perhaps one year later, in order to get a 8800 video card, read the next generation one. That way I will save some bucks, and will get one day my hands on a much better video card.

[admactanium]

well, you'll never realize the value of the 6600 card installed if you upgrade to a the 7800gt (or other card) later. who would pay $150 for a card pulled from a machine, with no box, no manual, no instructions and no warranty. and you'd likely be selling it only to windows users since no other previous generation of mac had pci-express. so most of your potential buyers would have to re-flash the card anyway. the 6600 isn't enough money for people to go through that trouble.

i figured i'd waited for a good powermac for many years (i've gone through a few powerbooks in that time). i promised myself YEARS ago that i'd buy when they got to dual 3.0's. since that never happened, the quads will just "have to do." so since i've waited for years i figure i can wait a few more weeks to get a card that will future-proof me for doing work in motion.

everyone says they'll upgrade their card later, but i doubt many people will actually do it. once you get used to your computer's speed, it is what it is. so it made sense to me to wait for the better card since i knew i wouldn't want the hassle (and lack of warranty) on a third party cards down the line.

[namachtag]

It shouldn't be difficult, do you use it to make money? student/games?.... If you make a living on it buy now, if not wait.

You can dedicate the 6600 card for a second monitor down the road. 2 is better than one! There is always going to be better... "down the line"...ha... by the time the guys get the quads with the 7800gt i'm sure the 7800ultra will be out...and the 7800gt will be $300 or ATI will one up Invidia.

[jabbajon]

6-8 weeks is Apple's best estimate. That looks like a guess to me. This estimate has not changed since they were offered on the store. I don't think they will be available for some time, hence Apple did not offer them initially. They must have some issue producing / cooling / or with noise control. So I suggest getting the quad now. How much is 1-3 months usage worth to you? I have cancelled my previous order and have ordered the 6600. My only concern is that the 7800 would really improve Aperture's performance. But if this is the case, I can upgrade. Just write off the 6600. If the situation changes in the next couple of weeks, I may cancel and reorder 7800.
Regards

[Musashi0008]

I just got off the phone with apple, and according to the representative, the 7800 will never be available as a standalone product directly through the applestore...I guess you can take that for what it is, one person's comment on the situation, but it is more and more looking like those that choose not to get the 7800 built-in might have to play the
"buy a PC 7800 and hope apple releases combatible drivers" game....personally that seems like the possibility of a lot of extra money and headaches dealing with unofficially combatible hardware.

[Jay]

I stuck with the 6600 because I really don't need it for the stuff I do and the 6600 will play games well enough for my tastes. I might eventually buy an upgrade but it will probably be at least a year, then I'll stick the 6600 in another slot for a second monitor. By then cards will make the 7800 look slow. Anyway the 6600 is still a massive improvement over the 5200 I have in my PowerBook currently.

[starcat102]

Apple still won't sale the 7800GT standalone without a new computer because they have limited supply. It is also confirmed that they actually have 7800GT cards as spare part available for the price of about $820. This is if you decide to go with a second card, put the 6600 in the 8x PCIe and the 7800GT in the 16x PCIe and connect two 30" monitors. Use the 7800GT #1 connector for the main monitor (and GPU). You will use 2 PCIe slots as if you were using the Quadro card but pay less money to connect two 30". In case you don't need the extra power of the Quadro this is a viable solution.

[starcat102]

Originally Posted by admactanium well, you'll never realize the value of the 6600 card installed if you upgrade to a the 7800gt (or other card) later. who would pay $150 for a card pulled from a machine, with no box, no manual, no instructions and no warranty. and you'd likely be selling it only to windows users since no other previous generation of mac had pci-express. so most of your potential buyers would have to re-flash the card anyway. the 6600 isn't enough money for people to go through that trouble.

Please let me know if you have a 6600 for sale as I am looking for one. It maybe "pulled" out of a system and I do not need retail packaging and documentation. If you have one for sale, please drop me a PM. Thanks.

[cfsporn]

I would get the base GPU and then use the money you saved for a very nice GPU like the BFG 7800GTX 512.

[rollercoaster375]

Originally Posted by cfsporn I would get the base GPU and then use the money you saved for a very nice GPU like the BFG 7800GTX 512.

You can't get the 7800 GTX 512 for a Mac. The firmware doesn't exist.

[cfsporn]

Originally Posted by rollercoaster375 You can't get the 7800 GTX 512 for a Mac. The firmware doesn't exist.

Oh.. Then get the GTX.

[rollercoaster375]

Originally Posted by cfsporn Oh.. Then get the GTX.

No GTX either. The only 7800 with Firmware for PPC/OS X (I don't remember the technical details) is the 7800 GT.

[Kusakun]

What a pity... Do you guys think that the new 7900 will be available as a stand alone product for both mac and pc compatibility anytime soon?

[Kit Fisto]

Given the switch to Intel, there is an even smaller market for very high end graphics cards for the G5. I think that the 7800GT is the best you will ever be able to do and it is going to be very, very expensive to purchase separately. So if you need it, wait the 6-8 weeks and buy it now.

However, my friend is a professional cameraman and film editor in New York City. He works on a dual 2.3 with a regular 6600 card and 4.5 gigs of RAM. He says he has no troubles.

[Wickers]

Wow..

I'm surprised a thread about graphics hardware has gone on this far without Luca posting in it.