14 DAY TRIAL // Along with releasing the Safari 4 Beta for Mac and Windows, Apple also posted a knowledge base document detailing several aspects regarding the new features in Safari, and how some of them require a compatible video solution to actually work.
Safari 4 is touted as “the world’s fastest and most innovative web browser for Mac and Windows PCs.” The new version of the web browser introduces the new Nitro engine, which allegedly runs JavaScript 4.2 times faster than Safari 3. New features also include Top Sites, Full History Search, Tabs on Top, and Cover Flow.
According to Apple, “if Top Sites and Cover Flow do not work in Safari 4, make sure your graphics card supports Quartz Extreme (for Mac OS X) or DirectX 9 (for Microsoft Windows).”
In Mac OS X, you can use System Profiler to see if your Mac supports Quartz Extreme. To do this, you must open System Profiler (in /Applications/Utilities), click "Graphics/Displays" in the left pane and, in the right pane, look for "Quartz Extreme: Supported" (or "Not Supported").
Notes
- If you have more than one display, each may have a different value for “Quartz Extreme.” - To take advantage of Quartz Extreme on your Mac, you need one of the following graphics cards: ATI: Any AGP-based ATI RADEON GPU, with 16 MB VRAM or better NVIDIA: NVIDIA GeForce2 MX or later, with 16 MB VRAM or better.
As a Windows user, to use Top Sites and Cover Flow in Safari 4, you will need DirectX 9, or later and a DirectX 9.0-compatible video card with 32MB of video RAM (64MB or more recommended). Apple also advises Windows users to try updating the graphics card's drivers, if they know their card should be compatible yet these features still do not work. Alternately, further compatibility information can always be found with the manufacturer of the card. Apple links to all three vendors in its Support article, available here.