Can't Use Cinema Display 30-inch With G5 (AGP)

Question

After making a trip to the Apple store to make sure we got what we needed, and because we needed a monitor ASAP, we brought home a 30-inch cinema display. The people at the store assured us that even though they didn't carry it, we could easily find a graphics card that would support this monitor on a G5 that has only AGP and PCI. Turns out they were wrong. After spending most of the day, between the hour drive each way to the store and lots of searching on the Internet, we finally came to the conclusion that we need to return the monitor. There are currently no available AGP or PCI cards that support the 30-inch monitor on a G5. The few that do support it are either discontinued or out of stock indefinitely, even from their manufacturers. Even Ebay only has one or two that are certain to work (as there are apparently multiple versions of the Radeon 9600 Pro). Whatever video card you get, you must be sure it specifically supports Mac, since the Mac's video card requirements are apparently not standard.
So this serves as a warning, if you have a G5 you may or may not be able to use a 30-inch monitor. It is far from a sure thing, and definitely not something you can go out and buy and then just bring home and plug in. This was also my first (attempted) purchase at an Apple store (since we buy mostly mail order), and it was very disappointing. We got bad information, a product we can't use, and now two wasted 120-mile round trips. Actually the best advice we got from the Apple store was to buy another brand of monitor. We should have listened.

Answer 1

Thanks. I saw your post just in the nick of time. I read it while I was on the phone with the Apple store discussing their restocking fee. I'll have the card tomorrow and hopefully my problem will be solved. And I was also able to cancel my order for the other monitor as it had not shipped yet.
But I still think my warning is valid. This particular card is discontinued and OWC only has a few left. And as far as I can tell, no one else has anything compatible. So in the near future, driving a 30-inch monitor with a G5 without PCI-Express will not be a sure thing, and will certainly not be a one-stop shopping experience.
Interesting side note, the Apple store was going to waive their restocking fee because they could not find a compatible card for me. When I told them I just found one, they said OK and didn't even ask what I found or where I found it.
1.25 GHz G4 DP