Dual Monitor on G4? at DVinfo.net

Vishal Gurung · July 22nd, 2005, 08:56 AM

Hi guys
Just a quick query on how to set up dual monitors on my quicksilver G4- it has two dvi outputs, one of which i understand is an apple proprietery one- are there any adapters that i can use so i wouldn't have to spend an insane amount of money to have to buy an apple monitor? thanks much :)

Boyd Ostroff · July 22nd, 2005, 11:20 AM

I think you'll find you have one ADC (Apple Display Connector) and one DVI connector on the graphics card. I'm assuming you're already using the DVI port for a monitor.

Getting an adaptor to go from ADC to DVI should be very inexpensive. I got one at my local Apple Store for about $20.... I didn't think you could get anything for that little in an Apple Store ;-) I'm sure all the mail order places will carry them as well - you can also order from the Apple online store.

One thing to bear in mind - when you plug in two monitors you'll divide your VRAM by two, so if it's only a 64MB card (for example) each screen will only have 32MB available. This may or may not be a problem in certain applications. Something like Apple Motion is very dependent on the graphics card for example, some games and other programs might be as well.

Vishal Gurung · July 23rd, 2005, 02:34 AM

Hmm thanks boyd for the quick response- that's too bad tho as being the base model, it just has 32mb of vid ram- and apple video cards are mucho expensive compared to the rest of them... shucks! know anyone who's selling 64mb vid card cheap? hehe :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boyd Ostroff

I think you'll find you have one ADC (Apple Display Connector) and one DVI connector on the graphics card. I'm assuming you're already using the DVI port for a monitor.

Getting an adaptor to go from ADC to DVI should be very inexpensive. I got one at my local Apple Store for about $20.... I didn't think you could get anything for that little in an Apple Store ;-) I'm sure all the mail order places will carry them as well - you can also order from the Apple online store.

One thing to bear in mind - when you plug in two monitors you'll divide your VRAM by two, so if it's only a 64MB card (for example) each screen will only have 32MB available. This may or may not be a problem in certain applications. Something like Apple Motion is very dependent on the graphics card for example, some games and other programs might be as well.

Boyd Ostroff · July 23rd, 2005, 06:54 AM

Well you might be able to add more VRAM to your graphics card. It also might work OK with 2 monitors as-is, depending on what you want to do with it. You could also try to find a discontinued PCI graphics card like the Radeon 7000 Mac Edition which would let you add two more screens.

Mark Sloan · July 25th, 2005, 06:23 PM

Depending on your model of G4 there are options out there if you need a better video card. I just bought the Radeon 9600 which was the most bang for the buck on my old G4 dual 800MHz.
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/accelerators/

Vishal Gurung · July 25th, 2005, 10:14 PM

Cool! thanks guys for your answers and suggestions! appreciate it tons!! i'll definitely look into purchasing these items- :)

July 22nd, 2005, 08:56 AM	#1
Vishal Gurung Major Player Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 237	Dual Monitor on G4? Hi guys Just a quick query on how to set up dual monitors on my quicksilver G4- it has two dvi outputs, one of which i understand is an apple proprietery one- are there any adapters that i can use so i wouldn't have to spend an insane amount of money to have to buy an apple monitor? thanks much :) __________________ 2ndshooter.blogspot.com

July 25th, 2005, 10:14 PM	#6
Vishal Gurung Major Player Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 237	Cool! thanks guys for your answers and suggestions! appreciate it tons!! i'll definitely look into purchasing these items- :) __________________ 2ndshooter.blogspot.com

July 22nd, 2005, 11:20 AM	#2
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	I think you'll find you have one ADC (Apple Display Connector) and one DVI connector on the graphics card. I'm assuming you're already using the DVI port for a monitor. Getting an adaptor to go from ADC to DVI should be very inexpensive. I got one at my local Apple Store for about $20.... I didn't think you could get anything for that little in an Apple Store ;-) I'm sure all the mail order places will carry them as well - you can also order from the Apple online store. One thing to bear in mind - when you plug in two monitors you'll divide your VRAM by two, so if it's only a 64MB card (for example) each screen will only have 32MB available. This may or may not be a problem in certain applications. Something like Apple Motion is very dependent on the graphics card for example, some games and other programs might be as well.

July 23rd, 2005, 06:54 AM	#4
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	Well you might be able to add more VRAM to your graphics card. It also might work OK with 2 monitors as-is, depending on what you want to do with it. You could also try to find a discontinued PCI graphics card like the Radeon 7000 Mac Edition which would let you add two more screens.

July 25th, 2005, 06:23 PM	#5
Mark Sloan Major Player Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Venice, CA Posts: 346	Depending on your model of G4 there are options out there if you need a better video card. I just bought the Radeon 9600 which was the most bang for the buck on my old G4 dual 800MHz. http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/accelerators/