2008 MacPro with ATI 5770

[nepfotos]

Yesterday I received the MacPro Graphic Card Upgrade Kit from Apple and installed the ATI 5770 in my 2008 2.8 Octo MacPro. It took only a few minutes and it was a great upgrade (especially for the price) - it works perfect, fast and so silent and speeds up Aperture.
The best upgrade since I installed a SSD as a boot drive, highly recomended.

[SpookyLars]

Thanks for sharing. I was particularly curious about noise level. Glad to hear that this card is silent :)

[ventro]

What did you have before?

I want a 5870 because it's 4X the speed of my 3870. But the 5770 is 2X, which is still pretty good...

[nepfotos]

had a ATI Radeon 2600XT before, which was not the fastest (especially using Aperture), so for me a big advantage now, didn't want to wait for the 5870 ;)

[Caviar]

Really appreciate your feedback, because I own a 2008 too and was thinking of upgrading my graphic board :)

[Einz]

I'm encountering some odd with the 5770 and HP monitor on the 2008. The monitor was running fine for a week using DVI. Until I started to use a MDP>DP cable. Twice in the past week my monitor stop getting signal from the 5770 while I was working on the Mac (not from sleep). I can leave my Mac on for days without problem and then it just happens. I'll switch to a different DP port to see if that helps or go back to DVI.

[theBigD23]

Yesterday I received the MacPro Graphic Card Upgrade Kit from Apple and installed the ATI 5770 in my 2008 2.8 Octo MacPro. It took only a few minutes and it was a great upgrade (especially for the price) - it works perfect, fast and so silent and speeds up Aperture.
The best upgrade since I installed a SSD as a boot drive, highly recomended.

Thanks for the post. Any tips while installing the card or is it straightforward?

[Mackilroy]

Thanks for the post. Any tips while installing the card or is it straightforward?
Installing a GPU is pretty straightforward – the only marginally difficult part would be plugging in the PCIe cable.

[glowrocks]

Thanks for the post. Any tips while installing the card or is it straightforward?

Well, you definitely want to avoid my experience.

The card is a very tight fit, and I somehow manage to knock a cap right off of the motherboard while installing the card!

To add insult to injury, I didn't realize I needed a pci-e power cable (and still don't know which one to order ... help anyone!??) so I don't even get to use my new card for a few days.

In particular related to the power cable, it's clear that it's a 6-pin (molex?) on the card itself. There are 2 similar (identical?) receptacles on the motherboard. I think I need a straight, 6-pin to 6-pin cable, can anyone confirm (or better, provide links?)

My old 2600XT is (apparently) working fine even w/the missing cap. I don't trust it long term, though I suspect the cap was a filtering cap for the pci bus and since I have no cards other than the video card maybe the slightly less filtered power will still work ok.

otoh, my machine could be toast by morning.


Hope this helps, the main thing is to get the power cable in advance and then be careful installing the card itself.

[theBigD23]

Well, you definitely want to avoid my experience.

The card is a very tight fit, and I somehow manage to knock a cap right off of the motherboard while installing the card!

To add insult to injury, I didn't realize I needed a pci-e power cable (and still don't know which one to order ... help anyone!??) so I don't even get to use my new card for a few days.

In particular related to the power cable, it's clear that it's a 6-pin (molex?) on the card itself. There are 2 similar (identical?) receptacles on the motherboard. I think I need a straight, 6-pin to 6-pin cable, can anyone confirm (or better, provide links?)

My old 2600XT is (apparently) working fine even w/the missing cap. I don't trust it long term, though I suspect the cap was a filtering cap for the pci bus and since I have no cards other than the video card maybe the slightly less filtered power will still work ok.

otoh, my machine could be toast by morning.


Hope this helps, the main thing is to get the power cable in advance and then be careful installing the card itself.

Thanks for the info, but everything I've read indicates that the power cable should come in the box. Did yours not have it?

[glowrocks]

Thanks for the info, but everything I've read indicates that the power cable should come in the box. Did yours not have it?

Well, OK then. Thought I had checked, but in any case, this time I found it. Thanks!!:)

[schulmaster]

Well, you definitely want to avoid my experience.

The card is a very tight fit, and I somehow manage to knock a cap right off of the motherboard while installing the card!

To add insult to injury, I didn't realize I needed a pci-e power cable (and still don't know which one to order ... help anyone!??) so I don't even get to use my new card for a few days.

In particular related to the power cable, it's clear that it's a 6-pin (molex?) on the card itself. There are 2 similar (identical?) receptacles on the motherboard. I think I need a straight, 6-pin to 6-pin cable, can anyone confirm (or better, provide links?)

My old 2600XT is (apparently) working fine even w/the missing cap. I don't trust it long term, though I suspect the cap was a filtering cap for the pci bus and since I have no cards other than the video card maybe the slightly less filtered power will still work ok.

otoh, my machine could be toast by morning.


Hope this helps, the main thing is to get the power cable in advance and then be careful installing the card itself.

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=21236

This should work. Cheers.

[glowrocks]

Well, OK then. Thought I had checked, but in any case, this time I found it. Thanks!!:)

And, the good news is, all is working.

But I will call support about that missing capacitor, it can't be good in the long run.

[glowrocks]

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=21236

This should work. Cheers.

Thanks. As it turns out I had the cable, but the link you sent may be useful to others.

[biglobotomy]

This thread is the most helpful I've found so far, but I can't find the answer to my specific question. I bought my 5770 card yesterday to replace my old one in my 2008 mac pro. I'm replacing it because I believe it's the reason my display will not wake up, despite being properly connected to my functioning mac. I was hoping to just plug and play, but as I undeestand it, I need the latest drivers from the ati website...
How can I get these drivers with no possibility of physically viewing the website?
I'm writing this on my ipod touch and getting frustrated, can someone point me in the right direction?

[Mackilroy]

Windows has generic VGA drivers which can run the card, albeit at a low resolution and without any other bells and whistles. It'll be enough to get you to AMD's site.

[MacProGlenn]

Yesterday I received the MacPro Graphic Card Upgrade Kit from Apple and installed the ATI 5770 in my 2008 2.8 Octo MacPro. It took only a few minutes and it was a great upgrade (especially for the price) - it works perfect, fast and so silent and speeds up Aperture.
The best upgrade since I installed a SSD as a boot drive, highly recomended.

nepfotos,
I just did the same install. However, I'm not seeing any benefit. My machine's specs are almost identical to yours, except I have 14GB of RAM.

Aperture 3 seems to be about the same as it was before with the 2600XT. I ran Xbench as well, and the score is about the same.

Glenn

[vogelhausdesign]

Wish I could say the same. The ATI HD 5770 has no business in a 2010 Mac Pro, it's extremely under powered and the performance is on par, or in my real world opinion, slightly slower than the HD 4870. It might speed up your UI, but put it under any kind of stress and it fails all over the place.

Glad you like yours though, it IS an improvement over a 120 or older. Just not XEON grade.

[Transporteur]

Wish I could say the same. The ATI HD 5770 has no business in a 2010 Mac Pro, it's extremely under powered and the performance is on par, or in my real world opinion, slightly slower than the HD 4870. It might speed up your UI, but put it under any kind of stress and it fails all over the place.

Glad you like yours though, it IS an improvement over a 120 or older. Just not XEON grade.

Please bear in mind that not everyone who uses a Mac Pro is working with graphics!

[scottsjack]

Wish I could say the same. The ATI HD 5770 has no business in a 2010 Mac Pro, it's extremely under powered and the performance is on par, or in my real world opinion, slightly slower than the HD 4870. It might speed up your UI, but put it under any kind of stress and it fails all over the place.

Glad you like yours though, it IS an improvement over a 120 or older. Just not XEON grade.

OMG

[MacProGlenn]

I replaced the 2600XT with a 5770 in my 2008 8-core MacPro. According to tomshardware.com's "Graphics Card Hierarchy" it's 11 steps above a 2600XT, which should be a noticeable improvement.

I got it mainly because I was often using 98% of my VRAM with Aperture 3. Plus, I plan to eventually get the 27" Cinema Display and wanted real display ports vs. having to buy an expensive DVI-MDP adapter.

There's lots of anecdotes online about how the 5770 has improved performance of their machine, but I'm not seeing it, not even in benchmark testing. Perhaps the OP can comment on what's faster?

Thanks in advance for any help.
Glenn

[theBigD23]

Has anyone noticed that if you're doing something that uses some processing power, like using FTP or watching a video with Flash that Expose does also stutter when activating it?

[Draeconis]

I replaced the 2600XT with a 5770 in my 2008 8-core MacPro. According to tomshardware.com's "Graphics Card Hierarchy" it's 11 steps above a 2600XT, which should be a noticeable improvement.

I got it mainly because I was often using 98% of my VRAM with Aperture 3. Plus, I plan to eventually get the 27" Cinema Display and wanted real display ports vs. having to buy an expensive DVI-MDP adapter.

There's lots of anecdotes online about how the 5770 has improved performance of their machine, but I'm not seeing it, not even in benchmark testing. Perhaps the OP can comment on what's faster?

Thanks in advance for any help.
Glenn

I recently got an Apple 27" LED Cinema Display, it's well worth upgrading the gfx card for, best screen I've ever bought!

[sauria]

I recently got an Apple 27" LED Cinema Display, it's well worth upgrading the gfx card for, best screen I've ever bought!

Great, a better image than the Geforce card?

[sauria]

This thread is the most helpful I've found so far, but I can't find the answer to my specific question. I bought my 5770 card yesterday to replace my old one in my 2008 mac pro. I'm replacing it because I believe it's the reason my display will not wake up, despite being properly connected to my functioning mac. I was hoping to just plug and play, but as I undeestand it, I need the latest drivers from the ati website...
How can I get these drivers with no possibility of physically viewing the website?
I'm writing this on my ipod touch and getting frustrated, can someone point me in the right direction?

What was your old card model?:confused: Thanks!

[Mackilroy]

As he had a 2008 Mac Pro, he had either the HD2600 XT or an 8800 GT.

[sauria]

As he had a 2008 Mac Pro, he had either the HD2600 XT or an 8800 GT.

Thanks! I wonder if ATI > nvidia (AMD) on video image quality like it used to be?

[Yukon Joe]

I replaced the 2600XT with a 5770 in my 2008 8-core MacPro. According to tomshardware.com's "Graphics Card Hierarchy" it's 11 steps above a 2600XT, which should be a noticeable improvement.

I got it mainly because I was often using 98% of my VRAM with Aperture 3. Plus, I plan to eventually get the 27" Cinema Display and wanted real display ports vs. having to buy an expensive DVI-MDP adapter.

There's lots of anecdotes online about how the 5770 has improved performance of their machine, but I'm not seeing it, not even in benchmark testing. Perhaps the OP can comment on what's faster?

Thanks in advance for any help.
Glenn

I'm not the OP, but I did move from the 8800GT to the 5770.

I have noticed two advantages. First it seems to run a lot cooler, which means the fan rarely comes on. Under load the 8800GT was very loud.

Second it has improved FPS in any games that I play.

One poster was very negative on the 5770, saying it has no business in a Mac Pro. I strongly disagree. From what I understand performance is on par with the 4870, but running with a lower pwoer draw and lower operating temps (and a lower price). It's a very strong card. Now, it's no Quadro, but then again it's 1/10th the price of one.

[sauria]

I'm not the OP, but I did move from the 8800GT to the 5770.

I have noticed two advantages. First it seems to run a lot cooler, which means the fan rarely comes on. Under load the 8800GT was very loud.

Second it has improved FPS in any games that I play.

One poster was very negative on the 5770, saying it has no business in a Mac Pro. I strongly disagree. From what I understand performance is on par with the 4870, but running with a lower pwoer draw and lower operating temps (and a lower price). It's a very strong card. Now, it's no Quadro, but then again it's 1/10th the price of one.

Thanks, I just pooped out the 8800GT and popped in the 5770. It is very quiet. XBench score went up 10 points.