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http://www.macnn.com/articles/02/02/01/reader:.details/

Reader: details on GPU in Power Macs?

updated 12:00 pm EST, Fri February 1, 2002

 
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Steve Bakke notes that Apple's new Power Mac G4 may actually ship with a modified Geforcce 3 MX card:

"I just thought I would send in this tidbit. I spent some time looking at Apple info pages on the new G4 boxes, since I just bought the 933 system. According to Apple's tech info on the graphics card, the graphics chip used is an Nvidia NV17. This is what they are calling a "GeForce 4 MX" card. As it turns out, the GeForce 4MX is really a modified and re-branded GeForce 3 GPU. Check out the following quote from The Inquirer: 'NV 17 will use Geforce 4 MX brand. It is interesting to see that what we used to call Geforce 3 MX - the very own NV17 becomes Geforce 4 all of a sudden.'According to Nvidia's web page (), the NV17 is actually their mobile version of the GeForce 3 line. So while this card is a huge improvement, Mac users shouldn't be fooled into thinking they got something before the PC world."


by MacNN Staff

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  1. MacNN.com Reader

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jul 2001

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    02/01, 12:27pm | report spam | Reply |

    Surely not legal?

    If this is simply a rebranded GeForce 3 then surely another law suit could be in the works if they don't point out that the Mac Edition GeForce 4 MX is not as advanced as the PC model - even while they fob us off with poor drivers and the cheapo MX edition.

    It does strike home that Apple aren't taking their Games, 3D and Video customers as seriously as they'd like us to think...

  1. MacNN.com Reader

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    02/01, 12:31pm | report spam | Reply |

    Say it as it is...

    What is the fall out from this 'fake' GF4?


    I have seen multiple threads in message boards on the web where users have bought the G4 but after realizing that the GF4 may not be a true '4', they have canceled orders to see true performance numbers (not the apple web specs but actual tests with each card in the exact same machine so as to get real world numbers), modified orders to include the R7500, while some will down grade to the 7500 and purchase the 8500 at a later date.

    It makes me laugh when companies think that no harm will come with rebranding an inferior product thinking the customers will be satisfied with the take it or leave it approach.

    A dissapointing approach by apple & nVIDIA

  1. berserkintosh

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    Joined: Jul 2003

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    02/01, 12:39pm | report spam | Reply |

    nuthin new

    from what ive seen the peecee always has bigger badder cards made by third party vendors who deck thier cards out with nvidias chips and off more bang for thier buck with features and competitive updated drives. its seems like the mac is now a great place for nvidia to unload all its slower chips that arent snapped up on the peecee side. ah well such is life. i guess well always be 2nd rate denziens in our own 1st rate world.

    oh and thx steve, im glad we get less powerfull cards than our counterpart peecee friends so we can show them how great and advanced our brand new macs are! way to push 3d creation and games on the mac!

    steve turn the reality distortion ray up higher. im seeing through those photoshop tests!

  1. The Pie Man

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    02/01, 01:27pm | report spam | Reply |

    GeForce 4 MX

    I hope people understand that the GeForce 4 MX is basically a GeForce 3 MOBILE card. What that means is that the current GF4 in the towers are actually SLOWER than the GeForce 3 they put in the older machines.

    Benchmarks are popping up all over the net showing this point.

    If you are buying a new Mac - don't pay $100 for a GF4! You are wasting your money.

    I am curious as to why Apple isn't allowing the older GeForce card as a BTO option - they have actually downgraded their top of the line card.

  1. MacNN.com Reader

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    02/01, 01:39pm | report spam | Reply |

    STOP!

    No!
    They have NEVER put the Geforce 3 in the towers. Easily because it is way to expensive!

    The thing is:
    The Geforce 3 is a good card.
    The Geforce 3 Ti 200 is not as good as the GF 3. The GF3 Ti 500 is better than the GF 3.
    The GF3 Mobile is not as good as the GF3 but better than the GF3 Ti 200.

    AND A LOT BETTER THAN THE GEFORCE 2 MX!! This is the card they have put in the last towers. This way, it is a VAST improvement! The Geforce 3 is too expensive to be put into any computer...

  1. stumpiej

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    02/01, 01:44pm | report spam | Reply |

    re: Surely not legal?

    pc users will be getting the same thing.. they'll also be getting a true geforce 4, but, at some point, so will we...

    to say again, we are not getting anything less than pc users!.. the true geforce 4 simply is not out yet!

    is it bad that nvidia is calling a mobile geforce 3 a geforce 4?.. sure.. but as long as it includes all the features on the box, it's no legal issue.. they can call it anything they want.. geforce is just a name. (and definitely no legal issue for apple)

  1. MacNN.com Reader

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    02/01, 02:12pm | report spam | Reply |

    Re: STOP!

    Ummm....I beg to differ--I have a dual-800 BTOed from apple with the GeForce 3 in it....from Apple System Profiler:
    -----------------------------------------------------
    Display card
    Card type: display
    Card name: NVDA,NVMac
    Card model: GeForce3
    Card ROM #: 1055
    Card revision: 163
    Card vendor ID: 10de
    Ethernet address:
    ------------------------------------------------------------

  1. MacNN.com Reader

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

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    02/01, 02:17pm | report spam | Reply |

    RE: Re: STOP

    I believe he means as a standard feature...

  1. Samwise

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    02/01, 02:31pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    NOT "Rebranded" GeForce

    The GeForce 4MX, codenamed NV17, is NOT just a rebrand of an existing chip. The NV17 was just announced in November of 2001, so is a new processor that just became available in quantity at the end of 2001. Nothing that I can find indicates that this has ever been referred to as a GeForce 3 family processor by nVidia; any tag calling it the "GeForce 3MX" was apparently applied by the various news and rumor sites and so should not be held against Apple or nVidia . They are perfectly within their rights to call the chip a GeForce 4.

    Before everyone hyperventilates about the name including the "mobility" reference, I suggest you download the spec sheet from nVidia and take a look at the chip's capabilities first. You can find the PDF here:

    http://www.nvidia.com/docs/lo/1356/SUPP/PO_NV17M_12.pdf

    That way you can examine the specs and performance information objectively and not get hung up on the name. Will this chip give the same performance as other upcoming versions of the GeForce 4? Probably not, no. But I can't see that anyone at either nVidia or Apple is passing the chip off as something that it's not.

  1. MacNN.com Reader

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jul 2001

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    02/01, 03:26pm | report spam | Reply |

    what ever...

    say what you want, but i don't want a mobile chip powering my high end desktop workstation

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