Hardware :: Video Card For Mac Pro?
Dec 29, 2010
I'm going to be buying a new Mac Pro soon.
I have 2 30" Cinema Displays (the older ones with DVI plugs) and I'm looking for the right video card to go in the new box. Currently, I have one nVidia GeForce 8800Gt with 1/2 Gb RAM. Video refreshes are a little tardy.
SO: Do I go with the 1 Gb. ATI card that Apple sells as stock with the new Pro's, or is there an nVidia or other unit that will give me better performance?
I know I could use 2 of the ATIs, but if I'm gonna do that, I'd rather do the nVidia Quadro FX 4800. I just happen to prefer nVidia, but it looks like their offerings in the Mac side are limited.
I'm not doing a lot of video, but I will be virtualizing with Win7 for some medical visual applications.
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Sep 4, 2009
Ok so I have a old Mac Performa 640CD/Dos that I am trying to to get up and running again. I had a monitor for it but it fell off the couch and broke. So I thought maybe I can use an adapter with it in order to use PC VGA monitor. Well after getting the first adapter and trying it, no luck, then I tried one that had dip switches on it. Tried 640 x 480, 800 x 600, almost all the dip switch combination with no luck on getting anything on the screen. Could it be that I might have a bad video card and it needs replaced? Or is this particular model not compatible with PC VGA monitors?
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May 25, 2010
Well I got rid of the quicksilvers since they died. Power supplys gave out and took the motherboards, So I sold what was left on EBAY.
My G4 Ethernet was sold to a co-worked and he is quite happy.
And I got this off ebay today:
Dual 1.8GHz PowerPC G5Procs
2GB RAM (2 x 1GB PC3200U DDR SDRAM)
Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-117D
Samsung HD160JJ/P 160GB SATA HDD (not apple labeled, not original to this system)
(1) Power Cord
pci106b,9 PCI Ethernet Controller
Well I didnt' read the fine print and BAZINGA! I noticed that it comes without a video card.
So For video editing, watching hulu and youtube and netflix What do you guys recommend.
I do have a PCI GEforce at home with 512 megs for PC and I was wondering if I could flash it and if so, does anyone know of a good walkthrough?
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May 8, 2009
i have a powermac g4 sawtooth. it stutters on youtube videos and other videos so i was wandering whats a decent video card thats compatible with it?
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May 13, 2010
trying to watch show on cwtv.com got this message. What the heck?
Your computer's video card is unable to render the video and controls.
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Apr 28, 2010
I see here that my Mac Pro (Early 2008) is compatable with:
ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT
NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600
ATI Radeon HD 4870
It looks like in many cases there's two versions, and the mac version costs about 10x as much on ebay and in stores. Is that accurate, or is one of these models mac and pc compatable, and therefore the laws of supply and demand work in my favour?
(fyi: I just want the cheapest one, I don't do heavy GPU work)
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Aug 19, 2009
is it possible to take my old 2600 XT from my Mac Pro and stick it in a PC?
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Jun 14, 2010
I have a 2008 intel 8 core mac pro with a NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT 512MB with 2x 30 inch cinema displays.
I want to add 2 smaller displays, what is the best card to add ? Find the same Nvidia Geforce 8800GT ? Or can I buy another one ?
Do i have to buy it specially for mac or are the pc video cards off the shelve working on the mac ?
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Jan 4, 2011
So I was given a first gen Mac Pro (2.66 dual dual-core "quad") which has taken a beating cosmetically, but hardware wise it's fine, just bulging caps on the video card: GeForce 7300GT.
This is going to be my testing and OS restore server once I get it up and going, assuming I can do that for less than the cost of a Mini Server.
On GSX the system is listed as "Ver3" so I assume that means it's a later revision that has the PCI-E 2.0 slots.
I need a new video card that will work with this system. Doesn't need to be anything special, I won't be gaming with it. Cheap is always good too. Mac OS X Server's going to cost $500, so if the price goes over $1,000 total, it's probably just cheaper to get a Mini Server. I already need to get an Airport and BT card which is about $150 total.
Apple's TSPS was completely useless at helping with this one, so hoping someone out there will maybe be a bit more helpful. So far I can only really pin down the GeForce 7300GT, GeForce 8800GT, Radeon HD 2600XT and Radeon HD 4870 as being compatible. None of which are very easy to find... At a reasonable price anyway.
So, looking for video cards compatible with Mac OS X, and the first gen Mac Pro. ATI or nVidia makes no difference, preferably sub-$150. I have searched in vain for some kind of list, and wouldn't be posting here if I had any luck, but if someone has better luck with Google than me,
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Nov 6, 2010
Got 6GB RAM on 2009 2.66 Mac Pro with 4870. The upcoming 5870 is $450. 12 GB (3x4GB) is $320 and 16 GB (4x4GB) is $425, and finally 24 GB (3x8GB) is $820. Which purchase or combo of purchase is best for video edit on Final Cut Pro? BTW, any additional benefits of getting the 5870? Gaming would be better (I game a little; X-Plane & Call of Duty), but wouldn't some apps off load to the GPU to make the CPU faster, though I don't know what those apps would be. I could run 2 displays with 5870 with ease, not sure if the 4870 can handle 2 displays.
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Nov 7, 2010
I've been reading, researching, etc like crazy on flashing PC video cards for mac. Cindori's Post: The Golden Guide to Flashing Graphic Cards [URL]. This guide is GOLDEN!! And Rew's post: Step by Step: How to flash a PC 4870 1 Gig Video Card for your 2006 Mac Pro (1,1) [URL]. Have been really helpful. Only my ATI Radeon HD 2600XT stock card in my 2008 mac pro, totally fried/died out. So I have zero video card (I'm using a PC laptop now). And the tutorials on how to flash a PC cards requires plugging in both the old card (using it while dumping the ROM) and new card. I was looking into buy a Sapphire 4870 1G and I don't want to pay the $300 and plus already used flashed cards on eBay. The 4870 are cheaper compared to the 5870 at $400 plus. I was wondering if anybody got to flashing the 4870 using just the one video card on a mac pro 2008 (3.1)? I need a good video card to do 3D modeling in Maya and Mudbox. But don't want to pay double the price, or lesser choice for 'apple' approved hardware?
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Mar 7, 2008
Is it possiable to get a off-the-shelf video card for the 2008 MP? I've seen that the MP uses the same graphics card as other PC computers (i.e. PCI-E)
or, do I have to get the Apple Nvidia 8800?
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Apr 18, 2008
I'm planning on buying a mac pro. Now the question is which video card should I get.
The choices are:
- ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB GDDR3
- NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB GDDR3
I will not play games on my mac. It's gonna be a machine strictly for work, meaning Final Cut Pro, After Effects, Flash, Email, web, eventually maybe also Cinema 4D.
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Sep 13, 2008
I have a dual 2.0 PowerMac G5 without a video card. I also have an old GeForce4mx 64 MB video card lying around from a MDD. I was wondering if I could use that card in the G5, just to test for functionality of the computer. I'm wanting to avoid putting any unnecessary money into it just incase it doesn't work.
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Oct 12, 2008
Lately I've been seeing some odd things on my screen. The appear randomly and can only be removed if I change the resolution of my screen (I guess thats the closest thing to a degauss button we have these days) but it always comes back within an hour or so. There is nothing that seems to specifically trigger it either. It shows up as blue on a dark color and yellow on light colors (see the images below).I have an NVIDIA GeForce 7800GT in a 2.5 Ghz Quad PPC Powermac.
This has been going on since about the same time I updated to 10.5.5 but Im not so sure its a software glitch. A part of me is thinking that this is my video card's last gasps for air before it dies. BUT I can take a screenshot of it which makes me question the software aspect. I can only take a screenshot of it when I use the command for taking a shot of the entire screen (Command-Shift-3) and not the command for cropping your shot (Command-Shift-4).
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Apr 14, 2009
i just received my 17 inch mbp and i was wondering how do i choose what video card i want to use ?
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Apr 16, 2009
The GT 120s are killing me in a WinXP program that I use. I tried sticking in a GeForce 8800GT that I took from a windows machine. When you power on, a loud alarm goes off. Obviously, I turned it off. I was under the impression that I could use a different card. I know most pci's won't boot os x, but I thought I could use it just for Win. This alarm going off tells me otherwise. Weren't 8800 GT's available for Mac pros recently?
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Feb 15, 2012
I'm giving my son my old 2.8 dual quad care computer. We are getting ready to replace the old ATI 2600 video card with the new 5770. How do I release the old card? I removed the metal hold down in the back. It looks like there's a little clip sticking out of the socket on the left of the card. Do I have to press that to release the card. Just don't want to screw anything up. Should I pull straight up on the card from the top edge?
Info:
Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)
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Aug 7, 2009
Ok I have an original Mac Pro Tower with the Dual 2.66s, my stock video card is the NVIDIA GeForce 7300GT.
I have no complaints, I just bought 2 Dell (cough) 23" monitors (hey there were only 325 each) and the card works fine for them.
I also have an original Apple Cinema display that I have been using for years, talk about quality this display almost never get's shut off just goes into screen saver mode and I've had it since the day they introduced the displays (as a side note i payed 4500 for it LOL )
I am thinking about getting a better video card for the DELLs since they are smoking and brand new, and I would still like to have my Cinema display connected for web browsing, I'm going to build it into my coffee table and make it a "flip up" out of the table. So I will need 2 video cards anyway.
My question is, in the 0-250ish dollar range what would be the best card to get for my system? I know cards have come down a ton, but I'm not sure what will be compatible and the best choice for my Mac.
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Jan 25, 2008
I purchased a Mac Pro and the one we ordered is with the NVidia G8800 GT option. We are going to be running 3 monitors with this but the 3rd monitor won't be as important. To save money we are considering getting the ATI 2600 XT as the 2nd video card. I read a lot on these boards and never really have found an answer as to whether these can be used together or not. I don't want to do it unless I know it works for sure since I don't want stability issues. I can imagine until the Nvidia is out likely there won't be an answer for sure.
Here is the problem. Tonight I decided to call AppleCare figuring I could get a good answer. When the guy answered I told him I am getting a Mac Pro and asked my question. Before I knew it he was explaining how the "MacBook Pro has two video cards in it already, one for the internal LCD, one for an external" I explained I have a Mac Pro coming, not a MacBook Pro. I hope I'm not wrong but I almost explained to him that the MacBook Pro only has one video card.
Then I explained it was the Mac Pro and how I want to know if I could use an NVidia G8800GT with an ATI 2600 XT and that I would be using it with 3 monitors. He said to hold on a minute and he would check into it. He came back in minutes and said he talked to several other csr's there that specialize in desktops and they told him that you can't use an ATI with a NVidia, you can only use one card type.
The next part is what shocked me, he then said how before I buy another video card to check with the manufacturer to make sure it works with a Mac Pro. I explained I'm not buying a graphics card from another manufacturer, I'm buying Apple's graphics card. Well he tried to tell me Apple DOES NOT sell video cards. I realized at this point I was not going to get any help. I never have had problems with calling Apple in the past but am shocked he talked to others who gave him this information. I also realize now that I should not take his comment seriously about them not working together. What I'm wondering, does anyone know yet if these two will work well together?
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Nov 7, 2008
Does anyone have any experience with the USB video card solution available for mac? I have seen several of them but have read much of people actually using them. I have an iMac in my office with a 22" monitor connected to it. I have another 22" monitor I can connect and would love the extra screen space. I know the best solution would a mac pro but the iMac is fairly new and does fine. I run Windows in a VM on the second monitor and there is no noticeable speed issue with anything I do (CS3 apps take longer to open on it than my MBP but once open they work perfectly).
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Feb 25, 2009
I currently have an ATI X1900 512 MB cart, PCI express 16-lane slot. I notice the other slots are 4-lane. What would be a good performing videocard ran on this slot? this card is for a 3rd display, and will be for HD video content.
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Sep 1, 2010
Does anyone know if its possible to install a video card with more than 256mb of RAM in a 2.7 dual G5? (8xAGP and PCI-e) Iv'e read lots about flashing ROM on cards but they all seem to be 256 - is there some limitation on flashing bigger/newer cards?
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Nov 6, 2010
Last month, my mac pro stopped working. I can still hear the chime but nothing loads in the scree. So i brought it to a service center and they told me it's problem with the video card and that I have to pay 500 dollars for that. I am hesitant to shell out that big amount of a cash. Been using the Mac for 3 years now. the video card is nvidia p435(says on the sticker) which i think is a 7300 gt. My question is, can I use PC video cards for this cause I find the similarity. Since it's PCI-e then it should fit and work. My only concern is if they is a special driver that needs to be installed.
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Dec 10, 2010
New to forums. Just purchased a first gen(2006) mac pro off ebay and found out it had a x1900 for a video card, I have a 8800gt in my old comp(hackintosh) but tried removing the ati card and installing 8800gt and no luck. Could anyone reccomend me a video card that would work maybe out of the box and that isnt too expensive, really wanna spend 100$-150$ max.
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Jan 29, 2008
,A friend just recently purchased a NVIDIA Video Card and went to install it in his new Mac Pro but could not find a source to hook up additional power to the card. He called Apple and they weren't able to tell him how to connect to the Mac power supply.
Does the motherboard provide the necessary power so that he doesn't need to hook up the extra power cable to the card or does he need a booster cable etc?
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Mar 22, 2008
this is kind of a dumb question. I have a Radeon 8500 in a Power Mac G4 that I'm repairing. I have a PCI Radeon 7000, and I was wondering, if I put it in too, would having two GPUs affect performance even though the monitor was only attached to the 8500?
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Aug 21, 2008
Are there any other places to get the Mac Pro ATI 2600XT video card other than the Apple online store for $129?
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Jan 7, 2009
I really want a new MBP to replace my aging G5 but I can't quite afford it yet. Maybe by the end of the year.
In the meantime, I was thinking about doing some upgrades to try and get me through the rest of the year. RAM is pretty cheap, but what about a new video card?
I have a G5 single 1.8GHz (2.25 GB of memory) with a GeForce FX 5200 AGP card. I'm mostly concerned with CS3 and video playback.
Here's my options:
ATI Radeon 9600 from Other World Computing?
A card from eBay? (I've heard good things about applemacanix)
A PC card and flash it? (Though I'd have to find a PC friend to do it, as I don't have another computer.)
Or do nothing and limp along until I get that MBP?
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Mar 24, 2009
video card would be the first place to start for better internet rendering--what's the most logical one i should install?
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