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Advanced Micro Devices announced Nov. 6 that it would begin offering the ATI Radeon X1900 graphics chips for older versions of Apple Computers Macintosh desktops.
AMD will begin offering the ATI Radeon for the Mac G5 Quad and the Power Mac G5 Dual, which are still powered by PowerPC processors.
In the beginning of 2006, Apple announced that it would begin using Intels processors in its PC lineup. The Mac Pro desktop line was the last of the companys PCs to be upgraded to Intel.
On Oct. 25, AMD completed its purchase of ATI for $5.4 billion. Industry observers saw the move as a way for the Sunnyvale, Calif., chip maker to strengthen its hand against rival Intel and deliver a more tightly integrated processor for its supporting chip sets.
In its announcement, AMD said the ATI Radeon will sell for $349. With the graphics card, a G5 Mac will be able to offer users 36 pixel shader processors, 256MB of video RAM and 37GB of memory bandwidth. It also offers two DVI ports that can support two, 30-inch Apple Cinema HD displays.
The new graphics chips, according to AMD, will help Mac users who use the desktops for graphic design, video editing, photo editing, as well as offer better gaming performance.
AMD has begun to take orders for the ATI Radeon X1900 G5 Mac edition through its Web site.
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