Mac OS X 10.4: Requirements for Quartz Extreme and Core Image graphics

If you're wondering what the video requirements are for Quartz Extreme and
Core Image in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, find out in this informative document.

Note: Quartz Extreme and Core Image are impressive video enhancements in
Tiger that appear on fast Macs. But even if you have an older computer that
can't use Quartz Extreme or Core Image, it can still run Tiger if it meets the
system requirements. If you have a third-party video card installed, contact
the card manufacturer to determine if it is Tiger-compatible.

Quartz Extreme

Some appealing graphics effects, such as the "rotating cube" effect you see
when using Fast User Switching to switch users, are powered by Quartz
Extreme. Quartz Extreme uses OpenGL and a supported graphics card to
reduce the number of onscreen calculations being performed by the CPU. To
take advantage of Quartz Extreme, you need one of the following graphics
cards:

*Any AGP-based ATI RADEON GPU, with 16 MB VRAM or better.
*NVIDIA GeForce2 MX or later, with 16 MB VRAM or better.

Core Image

Other graphics effects and optimizations in Tiger, such as the ripple effect that
shows when you place a widget on Dashboard, are driven by Core Image.
When a programmable GPU is present, Core Image uses the graphics card for
image processing operations, freeing the CPU for other tasks. To take
advantage of Core Image, you need one of the following graphics cards:

* ATI Mobility Radeon 9700
* ATI Radeon 9550, 9650, 9600, 9600 XT, 9800 XT, X800 XT
* nVidia GeForce FX Go 5200
* nVidia GeForce FX 5200 Ultra
* nVidia GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL, 6800 GT DDL

If you have a different card, contact the manufacturer for Core Image
compatibility information.

Verifying compatibility with System Profiler

With Mac OS X 10.4, you can use System Profiler to make sure your
computer's GPU supports Quartz Extreme or Core Image.
1. Open System Profiler (it's in /Applications/Utilities, or, if started from
the Tiger install disc, open it from the Utilities menu).
2. Click "Graphics/Displays" under Contents.
3. In the right pane under "Display," look for the Quartz Extreme and Core
Image lines; next to each, you will see either "Supported" or "Not
Supported."



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