Okay, you made me pull out my old G3 desktop.

It will do millions at 1920x1080 with 6M of VRAM.

What kind of DB-15 to VGA adapter are you using to get to your monitor from the built in video?

Another question: Is there a test for VRAM? System Profiler (in 10.6.4) does show Video RAM under Graphics/Displays.

About this Mac/More Info - Opens System Profiler, go to Devices and Volumes/PCI items.

F1 says card type: display
Card name: ATY,mach64_3DU
Card model: ATY,GT-B
Vendoir ID: 1002
Device ID: 4754
ROM #: 113-XXXXX-1.1
Revision: 9a
Card (Video) Memory: 2MB

However, my monitor DOES NOT plug into that card. It plugs into the connection coming directly from the M/B. In fact, there is nowhere on that card for a standard monitor hookup-just a RA/LA/V RCA connectors for output to a TV.

That's the ATI video card/circuit, so apparently, you only have 2MB VRAM.

The mobo connection is that 2M card. Like said above, the card with the RCA jacks is an A/V I/O board, like for capturing video from a camcorder into the Mac via Premiere or something like it, it's not a video out board.

BTW with the 4M chip out mine will still do 1280x1024, but it does back it down to 256 colors. You say you have a chip in the VRAM slot? It's the chip that lays flat next to the RAGE chip. If you do it's a bad chip then as it's not showing up, you would have 6M with it in.

Also like I said, you need to be using some kind of adapter to come from the mobo video out to the VGA connector on the monitor. It may not be the right one, or not set right. Does you're video cable go straight to the mobo, or is there an adapter?

I have a 266MHz G3 Desktop in the storage, originally bought in January 99, and I always found the built-in ATI Rage so underpowered with 2megs of VRAM it wasn't even funny*. Then I put a Voodoo3 card (16MB in it), which at the time rocked and made me happy. And was much cheaper than buying more VRAM to the ATI in those days. That's what I'd suggest to Papabill. If you can find one, that is. EDIT: Oops. I forgot you run OS X 10.2 on that thing. IIRC, the Voodoo3 won't work with X, only Classic.

Getting that thing to show 1024x768 rez only gave thousands of colors, which was unacceptable. 834xsomething was the highest it gave with millions of colors, and it wasn't the adapter's fault, but the shortcoming of the built-in video card.

Well, then, what is that 4Mb chip that sits to the left of the PCI slots? It's clearly marked 4Mb

It's just a generic 25pin (Mac monitor) to 15pin (PC monitor) adapter. No name on it, nothing.

If it is in this slot, white u shaped thing, but it only shows 2M VRAM, then the chip is probably bad. But that's not why you can't get to 1280x1024. Believe me, I have the same machine in the desktop version here and with 2M it gets 1280x1024, albeit at 256 colors instead of millions. It the generic adapter you mentioned that is limiting it to 640x480. It is locked in at that res. You can get a cheap adapter that has dip switches to set it for different resolutions. Look around for a DB-15 to VGA adapter.