XFX Radeon 6850 on macpro1,1?

[dermeister]

I just bought an XFX Radeon 6850.

I'm considering sticking it into my 2006 Mac Pro (2.66 GHz), i.e. macpro1,1.

Is there any known patching procedure to follow? Most posts seem to concern older cards (4xxx/5xxx).

Thanks

[grue]

The patching procedure would consist of installing Windows, and probably never booting back into the MacOS.

incidentally, chances are pretty good that card is going to be limited by the PCI type of the EFI32 Mac Pros.

[Cindori]

1. No 6800 drivers exist for OSX


2. No Mac firmware exists for 6850






Conclusion: Windows only

[Pressure]

1. No 6800 drivers exist for OSX


2. No Mac firmware exists for 6850






Conclusion: Windows only

On the contrary, there IS drivers for the Radeon 6800 series in the newest Snow Leopard.

Just no EFI firmware to flash our cards with.

New Device IDs present:


0x67011002 = Cayman GL XT
0x67021002 = Cayman GL XT
0x67031002 = Cayman GL XT
0x67041002 = Cayman GL PRO
0x67051002 = Cayman GL PRO
0x67061002 = Cayman GL
0x67071002 = Cayman GL LE
0x67081002 = Cayman GL
0x67091002 = Cayman GL
0x67181002 = Cayman XT
0x67191002 = Cayman Pro
0x671C1002 = Antilles PRO
0x671D1002 = Antilles XT
0x67221002 = Blackcomb LP
0x67231002
0x67261002
0x67271002
0x67281002 = Barts GL XT
0x67291002 = Barts GL PRO
0x67381002 = Radeon HD 6870
0x67391002 = Radeon HD 6850
0x67201002 = Blackcomb XT/PRO
0x67211002 = Blackcomb LP
0x67241002 = Blackcomb XP/PRO Gemini
0x67251002 = Blackcomb LP Gemini
0x67421002
0x67431002
0x67461002
0x67471002
0x67481002
0x67491002
0x67501002 = Onega
0x67581002 = Turks XT
0x67591002 = Turks Pro
0x67401002 = Whistler XT
0x67411002 = Whistler PRO/LP
0x67441002 = Whistler XT/PRO Gemini
0x67451002 = Whistler LP Gemini
0x67621002
0x67631002
0x67661002
0x67671002
0x67681002
0x67701002
0x67791002
0x67601002 = Seymour XT/PRO
0x67611002 = Seymour LP
0x67641002 = Seymour XP/PRO
0x67651002 = Seymour LP Gemini

[neckarb]

chances are pretty good that card is going to be limited by the PCI type of the EFI32 Mac Pros.

I doubt this is the case I have a 32 bit EFI and it has no real baring on anything.

[Cindori]

On the contrary, there IS drivers for the Radeon 6800 series in the newest Snow Leopard.

Just no EFI firmware to flash our cards with.

New Device IDs present:


0x67011002 = Cayman GL XT
0x67021002 = Cayman GL XT
0x67031002 = Cayman GL XT
0x67041002 = Cayman GL PRO
0x67051002 = Cayman GL PRO
0x67061002 = Cayman GL
0x67071002 = Cayman GL LE
0x67081002 = Cayman GL
0x67091002 = Cayman GL
0x67181002 = Cayman XT
0x67191002 = Cayman Pro
0x671C1002 = Antilles PRO
0x671D1002 = Antilles XT
0x67221002 = Blackcomb LP
0x67231002
0x67261002
0x67271002
0x67281002 = Barts GL XT
0x67291002 = Barts GL PRO
0x67381002 = Radeon HD 6870
0x67391002 = Radeon HD 6850
0x67201002 = Blackcomb XT/PRO
0x67211002 = Blackcomb LP
0x67241002 = Blackcomb XP/PRO Gemini
0x67251002 = Blackcomb LP Gemini
0x67421002
0x67431002
0x67461002
0x67471002
0x67481002
0x67491002
0x67501002 = Onega
0x67581002 = Turks XT
0x67591002 = Turks Pro
0x67401002 = Whistler XT
0x67411002 = Whistler PRO/LP
0x67441002 = Whistler XT/PRO Gemini
0x67451002 = Whistler LP Gemini
0x67621002
0x67631002
0x67661002
0x67671002
0x67681002
0x67701002
0x67791002
0x67601002 = Seymour XT/PRO
0x67611002 = Seymour LP
0x67641002 = Seymour XP/PRO
0x67651002 = Seymour LP Gemini


they are not working afaik

[dermeister]

Are there any equivalent cards you would recommend me buying if I return it?

And how far-off is the hope of one day getting the 6xxx series patched?

[Cindori]

expect pc 6870 (not 50) PC-flashing/patching support by end of 2011 when new macpros come. until then, it's 5000.

[nasabaer]

there is nothing to worry about. there is absolutely no game in sight that an ati 5870 would not handle.
more and more console ports. no need anymore for high end graphics cards :(

[neckarb]

there is nothing to worry about. there is absolutely no game in sight that an ati 5870 would not handle.
more and more console ports. no need anymore for high end graphics cards :(

This is not true....

Crysis 2?

[grue]

there is nothing to worry about. there is absolutely no game in sight that an ati 5870 would not handle.
more and more console ports. no need anymore for high end graphics cards :(


Are you kidding? Either you game at low resolutions, or have really low standards for what's acceptable performance.

[Gomff]

Are you kidding? Either you game at low resolutions, or have really low standards for what's acceptable performance.

IMHO, there will always be some way of cranking settings on some game or other that will expose any GPU's limitations....But it's largely just a p*ssing contest encouraged by Nvidia and ATI these days. The law of diminishing returns is really starting to bite.

[neckarb]

IMHO, there will always be some way of cranking settings on some game or other that will expose any GPU's limitations....But it's largely just a p*ssing contest encouraged by Nvidia and ATI these days. The law of diminishing returns is really starting to bite.

Your not buying for the future then, a 5870 will not be good enough come next year.

[alphaod]

Your not buying for the future then, a 5870 will not be good enough come next year.

That depends on needs. Not everyone needs to game on their Macs.

Besides if you need a gaming machine, build your own PC is the best way to go.

[grue]

IMHO, there will always be some way of cranking settings on some game or other that will expose any GPU's limitations....But it's largely just a p*ssing contest encouraged by Nvidia and ATI these days. The law of diminishing returns is really starting to bite.

Honestly, there are already games that the 5870 can't run properly at high resolution/detail settings.

Most Mac users have much lower expectations for game performance, anecdotally speaking.

"Oh I'm getting 30fps at medium detail below my panel's native res, it's fine!"

[neckarb]

That depends on needs. Not everyone needs to game on their Macs.

Besides if you need a gaming machine, build your own PC is the best way to go.

Well yes thats true, but just because you don't need to play games, dosent justify saying that the 5870 is enough. By that logic, I could just stick with my Ati x1600 as I don't want to play games, it's clear that the post was related to games.

[Gomff]

Your not buying for the future then, a 5870 will not be good enough come next year.

Good enough for what?

And how do you know?

Do you have a crystal ball?

I don't understand this assumption that a system, a CPU or GPU will become redundant by a certain date in time.

The Xbox and PS3 have much more dated GPU technology inside and they must surely account for a much larger slice of the gaming market.....Let's not even mention the Wii.

Just because you can't crank the settings up to max on everything on a game, it doesn't then render it unplayable. But hey, if you want to keep ATI and Nvidia shares propped up then please carry on with the p*ssing contest.

If we really want to talk about better graphics performance in OS X, all it would take is some better Open GL drivers from Apple instead of the cack that we have now.

[neckarb]

Good enough for what?

And how do you know?

Do you have a crystal ball?

I don't understand this assumption that a system, a CPU or GPU will become redundant by a certain date in time.

The Xbox and PS3 have much more dated GPU technology inside and they must surely account for a much larger slice of the gaming market.....Let's not even mention the Wii.

Just because you can't crank the settings up to max on everything on a game, it doesn't then render it unplayable. But hey, if you want to keep ATI and Nvidia shares propped up then please carry on with the p*ssing contest.

If we really want to talk about better graphics performance in OS X, all it would take is some better Open GL drivers from Apple instead of the cack that we have now.

Google Crysis 2.

My 5870 Runs Crysis well. about 30FPS-60 FPS, that game came out in 2006. The sequel is out next year.

[Cindori]

crysis 2 will only have optimizations, and will run more smooth then crysis 1. afaik.

[neckarb]

crysis 2 will only have optimizations, and will run more smooth then crysis 1. afaik.

Theoretically yes, but saying that a current Gen. graphics card will be able to run it perfectly at full wack is crazy talk. It's a whole new engine.