Nvidia Quadro FX 5600 EFI ROM Upgrade

[zebity]

Mac'rs,

I recently purchased a Mac Pro 3.2MHZ Quad Core machine and in an attempt to save money purchased a separate Nvidia Quadro FX 5600 Graphics card on Flea-bay with the intention of installing this into my new Mac Pro.

I have now learnt that the standard PC BIOS Nvidia Quadro does not have a Mac compatible EFI ROM installed and so I now have a very expensive video card with no use.

So my objective is to flash the Nvidia Quadro FX 5600 with an EFI ROM so I can use it on my Macintosh.

This seems simple in principle:

1) Install Card Into PC
2) Boot to command prompt from Floppy or USD
3) Run Nvidia ROM flash utility (nvflash) to extract current ROM (for safety)
4) Run Nvidia ROM flash utility to load new Mac compatible EFI ROM
5) Put card into my Mac Pro and bingo.!!

There are two problems with this...
1) I do not have a PC with PCI-express bus ...
2) I need to get the ROM from a proper Mac Pro Nvidia Quadro FX 5600

I have read numerous "Hackintosh" threads on converted ROMs etc, but as I am not trying to get a 8800GT or other card to work as a Quadro FX 5600, I am not sure that these ROMs and techniques they are talking about are appropriate.

I just want to get standard Apple/Nvidia Quadro FX 5600 ROM and copy it to my currently useless Quadro FX 5600.

Has anyone here flashed a PC BIOS Quadro FX 5600 ROM to a Mac compatible EFI ROM?

Thanks in advance.

Zebity
(MacBook Pro, Mac Pro & Mini Mac)

[Chilz0r]

I have never heard of anybody flashing a PC FX 5600 to work in a Mac Pro, I have never tried though! you need to persuade somebody to provide you with the Mac EFI ROM, then once you have that it will be like playing russian roulette (well not quite) if you try to flash the card. It might work, it might not or you could have a dead Quadro on your hands.

[zebity]

Chilz0r,

the risk is relatively low compared to battling the boxing kangaroos, man eating wombats, deadly snakes and spiders that we Aussies have to contend with on our regular walk to walk each day ;) .

I am pretty confident that you can recover a dead Nvidia board as long as you have saved the earlier ROM image... so am willing to take the risk.

First problem I have come up against is that most desktop PCs do not seem to have enough space to take the Quadro board, so I might have to get a temporary motherboard to use as experimental working set.

Cheers,

Zebity
(MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, Mini Mac)

[nanofrog]

First problem I have come up against is that most desktop PCs do not seem to have enough space to take the Quadro board, so I might have to get a temporary motherboard to use as experimental working set.


You could always gut a PC you have lying around. Takes time to do it, but is still faster than waiting for an ordered part to show up. Cheaper too. :eek: :D

[zebity]

Mac'ers,

I have got a bare bones motherboard and booted it off USB.
Here is what Mac Pro NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT reports...

# nvflash --version
NVIDIA Firmware Update Utility (Version 5.67)

Adapter: GeForce 8800 GT (10DE,0611,10DE,054F) H:NRM B:01,PCI,D:00,F:00

The display may go *BLANK* on and off for up to 10 seconds during access to the EEPROM depending on your display adapter and output device.

Identifying EEPROM...
EEPROM ID (C2,10) : MX 25L1005 2.7-3.6V 1024Kx1S, page
Reading adapter firmware image...
Image Size : 126464 bytes
Version : 62.92.20.00.00
~CRC32 : BAFD7601
OEM String : NVIDIA
Vendor Name : NVIDIA Corporation
Product Name : NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT
Product Revision : Chip Rev
Device Name : GeForce 8800 GT
Board ID : 901D
Vendor ID : 10DE
Device ID : 0611
Subsystem Vendor ID : 10DE
Subsystem ID : 054F
Hierarchy ID : Normal Board
Sign-On Message : GeForce 8800 GT

#nvflash --pciblocks
NVIDIA Firmware Update Utility (Version 5.67)

Adapter: GeForce 8800 GT (10DE,0611,10DE,054F) H:NRM B:01,PCI,D:00,F:00

The display may go *BLANK* on and off for up to 10 seconds during access to the EEPROM depending on your display adapter and output device.

Identifying EEPROM...
EEPROM ID (C2,10) : MX 25L1005 2.7-3.6V 1024Kx1S, page
Reading adapter firmware image...
Location Size Type
000000:00E5FF 58880 x86
00E600:01EDFF 67584 EFI


And FYI here is what a PC Bios Quadro FX 5600 reports...

#nvflash --version
NVIDIA Firmware Update Utility (Version 5.67)

Adapter: Quadro FX 5600 (10DE,019D,10DE,0409) H:NRM B:01,PCI,D:00,F:00

The display may go *BLANK* on and off for up to 10 seconds during access to the EEPROM depending on your display adapter and output device.

Identifying EEPROM...
EEPROM ID (1F,60) : Atmel AT25F1024 2.7-3.6V 128Kx8S, page
Reading adapter firmware image...
Image Size : 57856 bytes
Version : 60.80.13.00.01
~CRC32 : 8A16239E
OEM String : NVIDIA
Vendor Name : NVIDIA Corporation
Product Name : G80 Board - q357-00
Product Revision : Chip Rev
Device Name : Quadro FX 5600
Board ID : 500C
Vendor ID : 10DE
Device ID : 019D
Subsystem Vendor ID : 10DE
Subsystem ID : 0409
Hierarchy ID : Normal Board
Sign-On Message : NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 VGA

#nvflash --pciblocks
NVIDIA Firmware Update Utility (Version 5.67)

Adapter: Quadro FX 5600 (10DE,019D,10DE,0409) H:NRM B:01,PCI,D:00,F:00

The display may go *BLANK* on and off for up to 10 seconds during access to the EEPROM depending on your display adapter and output device.

Identifying EEPROM...
EEPROM ID (1F,60) : Atmel AT25F1024 2.7-3.6V 128Kx8S, page
Reading adapter firmware image...
Location Size Type
000000:00E1FF 57856 x86


So yes Mac ROM is larger, but it is not clear exactly what size the Quadro FX 5600 ROM is. I think the ROM size if given by: "Atmel AT25F1024 2.7-3.6V 128Kx8S" which comes to 1024K , while the Mac 8800GT is: "MX 25L1005 2.7-3.6V 1024Kx1S" which comes to 1024K as well.

So I speculate that both ROMS are the same size but have different layout..??

If there is a person in Australia who is willing to experiment with Mac Pro Quadro FX 5600 then I could extract the ROM from this and try to put it into PC Quadro.


Cheers

Zebity
(MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, Mini Mac)

[briquick]

Hi Zibity
I succesfully managed to flash a Nvidia Quadro PC card into an Apple card. In this case a Nvidia Quadro FX 4500.
First than all, you need to know about the capabilities of your own card. The most important issue is the ROM size. Apple Mac's works with an EFI ROM with an amount of code superior at the usual 64k ROM size of regular PC cards.
You can see this here:
"Reading adapter firmware image...
Image Size : 57856 bytes"
See, 57856 bytes more or less 64k bytes. Instead your GeForce 8800 GT with this:
"Reading adapter firmware image...
Image Size : 126464 bytes"
A 128k ROM, too large for most PC cards. You can deal with creating you own ROM (a slim version). Taking apart the original PC ROM chip and solding a 128k ROM chip (quite hard, but if you like to build planes models likes me, this works fine). Try to using HEX extensions in OSX works too. Well you can try hooking your monitor after the Mac boots, so you avoid EFI ROM load.
All these are daft solutions, because I know that all you want to do is to use the power of your high-end card.
I have to solder a 128K to my card because the original one was only 64k. But according your post you have an "Atmel AT25F1024 2.7-3.6V 128Kx8S" that means an 128k ROM, so you're lucky enough to put a regular Mac bios in your card.
All you have to do is to find a Mac ROM of that card.
You can see that the GeForce is using a "MX 25L1005 2.7-3.6V 1024Kx1S" or a 1024k ROM chip. But the amount of code in tha chip is 126464 bytes, only 1/8 of the chip.
I'm pretty sure you can flash your card, the major difference between the 2006-7's cards of the Mac Pro and the 2008's cards is just PCIe 2.0.
So get a ROM from an Mac Nvidia Quadro FX 5600, from a friend, internet, etc.
Then try to flash your card, doing your homework (saving your original ROM, getting the latest NVFlash).
Have luck, and remember WE DO THIS, BECAUSE WE CAN.
Ciao and greeting from Venezuela.

[briquick]

Hi Zibity
I succesfully managed to flash a Nvidia Quadro PC card into an Apple card. In this case a Nvidia Quadro FX 4500.
First than all, you need to know about the capabilities of your own card. The most important issue is the ROM size. Apple Mac's works with an EFI ROM with an amount of code superior at the usual 64k ROM size of regular PC cards.
You can see this here:
"Reading adapter firmware image...
Image Size : 57856 bytes"
See, 57856 bytes more or less 64k bytes. Instead your GeForce 8800 GT with this:
"Reading adapter firmware image...
Image Size : 126464 bytes"
A 128k ROM, too large for most PC cards. You can deal with creating you own ROM (a slim version). Taking apart the original PC ROM chip and solding a 128k ROM chip (quite hard, but if you like to build planes models likes me, this works fine). Try to using HEX extensions in OSX works too. Well you can try hooking your monitor after the Mac boots, so you avoid EFI ROM load.
All these are daft solutions, because I know that all you want to do is to use the power of your high-end card.
I have to solder a 128K to my card because the original one was only 64k. But according your post you have an "Atmel AT25F1024 2.7-3.6V 128Kx8S" that means an 128k ROM, so you're lucky enough to put a regular Mac bios in your card.
All you have to do is to find a Mac ROM of that card.
You can see that the GeForce is using a "MX 25L1005 2.7-3.6V 1024Kx1S" or a 1024k ROM chip. But the amount of code in tha chip is 126464 bytes, only 1/8 of the chip.
I'm pretty sure you can flash your card, the major difference between the 2006-7's cards of the Mac Pro and the 2008's cards is just PCIe 2.0.
So get a ROM from an Mac Nvidia Quadro FX 5600, from a friend, internet, etc.
Then try to flash your card, doing your homework (saving your original ROM, getting the latest NVFlash).
Have luck, and remember WE DO THIS, BECAUSE WE CAN.
Ciao and greetings from Venezuela.

[nanofrog]

The Flash on the FX 5600 is 1 MB, according to the chip ID. :)
Atmel AT25F1024 Data Sheet (http://www.atmel.com/dyn/resources/prod_documents/doc1440.pdf)

Getting a copy of the ROM, will likely be the hard part. AFAIK, it hasn't surfaced yet. :(

[ale500]

The atmel part AT25F1024 is a 1 mega *bit* serial EEPROM, and not 1 mega byte, it is stated in the first page of the datasheet you linked to.

[zebity]

Briquick & others,

thanks for update. bits, bytes whatever...

1024 K = 1024 x 1024 = 1Mbit = 1M/8 = 131,072 bytes

So I believe that the FX 5600 EEPROM is big enough for Mac code without need to solder.

Only way to confirm this is to get a ROM and try it. So where is a volunteer with a Mac Pro FX 5600...

If I can't find anyone is there any one looking to order a new Mac Pro with 8800 GT card? If they ordered with FX 5600 then I would do a swap of this for my 8800 GT and pay the CTO cost difference. Unfortunately this would only be viable for US based purchaser as price difference between the two in Australia is huge (around $4000) and so it is not viable.

Oh finally it is not clear if the FX 5600 is PCI-express 2.0 or 1.x... all the technical material I have read does not make this clear. I do not think there is anything special about the Mac FX 5600 beyond the ROM image.

Cheers from Oz,

Zebity
(MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, Mini Mac)

[zebity]

Mac'ers,

total aside.. but I run nvflash version against the Hackintosh FX 5600 ROM files and it would not read any of them, so I am not sure what they have done with these. As a check I also run the nvflash version command over the extracted Mac 8800 GT and PC FX 5600 and it reported on these exactly as per doing it against the cards in my breadboard PC.

Cheers,

Zebity
(MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, Mini Mac)

[nanofrog]

The atmel part AT25F1024 is a 1 mega *bit* serial EEPROM, and not 1 mega byte, it is stated in the first page of the datasheet you linked to.
Oops. :o
Nice catch, BTW. :) Something so simple can cause a lot of headache. :p

[zebity]

Mac'ers,

here is Mac Pro Nvidia Quadro FX 5600 nvflash output...

#nvflash --version
NVIDIA Firmware Update Utility (Version 5.67)

Adapter: Quadro FX 5600 (10DE,019D,10DE,0409) H:NRM B:01,PCI,D:00,F:00

The display may go *BLANK* on and off for up to 10 seconds during access to the EEPROM depending on your display adapter and output device.

Identifying EEPROM...
EEPROM ID (1F,60) : Atmel AT25F1024 2.7-3.6V 128Kx8S, page
Reading adapter firmware image...
Image Size : 120832 bytes
Version : 60.80.24.00.00
~CRC32 : 3195E874
OEM String : NVIDIA
Vendor Name : NVIDIA Corporation
Product Name : NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600
Product Revision : Chip Rev
Device Name : Quadro FX 5600
Board ID : 500C
Vendor ID : 10DE
Device ID : 019D
Subsystem Vendor ID : 10DE
Subsystem ID : 0409
Hierarchy ID : Normal Board
Sign-On Message : Quadro FX 5600 VGA BIOS

#nvflash --pciblocks
NVIDIA Firmware Update Utility (Version 5.67)

Adapter: Quadro FX 5600 (10DE,019D,10DE,0409) H:NRM B:01,PCI,D:00,F:00

The display may go *BLANK* on and off for up to 10 seconds during access to the EEPROM depending on your display adapter and output device.

Identifying EEPROM...
EEPROM ID (1F,60) : Atmel AT25F1024 2.7-3.6V 128Kx8S, page
Reading adapter firmware image...
Location Size Type
000000:00CFFF 53248 x86
00D000:01D7FF 67584 EFI


so no soldering required...

Zebity
(MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, Mini Mac)

[Firefly2002]

I think if you wanted to save money it would have been more prudent to buy an Oct 2.8 rather than 3.2, since the speed is negligible and the cost is not.

Has anyone tried flashing the GeForce card the FX5600 is based on to an FX5600? I think they do a few tweaks to the core too, but if not... I mean they're almost 100% identical cards, just do a few tweaks and jack the price up sky high.........

[Umbongo]

I think if you wanted to save money it would have been more prudent to buy an Oct 2.8 rather than 3.2, since the speed is negligible and the cost is not.

Has anyone tried flashing the GeForce card the FX5600 is based on to an FX5600? I think they do a few tweaks to the core too, but if not... I mean they're almost 100% identical cards, just do a few tweaks and jack the price up sky high.........

The 7 and 8 series GeForce cards can now be soft modded to Quadro cards and people have done so. You get good performance gains with some applications, nothing with others. You aren't really turning a gaming card in to a professional card though. It seems to be more of spoofing it's identity so you can install some more optimized drivers. There are still things missing which is why you get much higher benchmark numbers with the real professional cards.

As for the identical hardware with a few tweaks and jacking up the price, well technically this is true (except perhaps the few part). Professional cards don't just have optimized driver thoughs, they have grade-a support and certification and some have differing or additional hardware. All of that needs to be paid for and in a small target market that can afford too that means high prices for everyone.

[zebity]

Firefly,

savings are a relative thing, but if I had got my mac pro as configured on Australian apple web site it would have set me back around $21,000, as it is I spent around $12,000, so that is a savings of 45%. So I am not unhappy, with savings.

Only thing I am unhappy with currently is that there appears to be problems with Apples OS X software RAID support on Fibre Channel... which I am trying to work around.

There is no doubt that Mac Pros are relatively expensive in Australia compared to US prices.

Cheers,

Zebity
(MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, Mini Mac)

[nanofrog]

zebity:

Would you be able to post the EFI file for the 5600? :)
I'm sure it would be appreciated by a few. ;)

[corbu22]

yes pleaaasee post!;) or email? corbu222@ gmail dot com

[Arbol]

Someone? Someone?

Would you be able to post the EFI file for the 5600?

Thanks

[zebity]

here is the ROM... happy flashing, let me know if you any problems, as I zipped the file on a mac and not sure if file come across ok...

[formal]

here is the ROM... happy flashing, let me know if you any problems, as I zipped the file on a mac and not sure if file come across ok...

Hi, so just to confirm before I mess with my £1800 PNY FX 5600, this rom should burn onto it and give me Mac & PC functionality? Your model is the PNY one, right?

Thanks for all your hard work :)))

[zebity]

It is very simple process.

1) Put card into PC
2) Boot off USB or Floppy
3) Do a check on current flash to see if it as per details above
4) Optionally extract existing flash
5) Run NVFLASH over unzip Mac ROM image, it should report as per my posting
6) The Big one!! "NVFLASH <ROMNAME>" no special flags required and hey presto Mac Pro usable FX 5600.

Make sure you check the result of initial ROM to make sure you have big enough ROM to fit EFI version. So far I have not seen an FX 5600 (PNY makes them all I gather), with anything but big ROM.
Also make sure you check the unzip from via "NVFLASH --version <romname>" just in case something went wrong on zip and upload. It will again report exactly if it was being read out of the card directly.

Happy flashing.. and don't worry it is only a few thousand pounds... and you can recover anyway by reflashing with saved ROM image.

Cheers,

Zebity
(MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, Mini Mac)

[cmhaas1972]

zebity, thanks for all your hard work on this.

I followed the process you outlined exactly. My nvflash --version and --pciblocks output matches yours exactly, yet when I put the 5600 in my Mac Pro I get no video output. Even after the flash to the mac5600.rom, I can still use the video card on my PC...should this still be the case? I assumed I would stop getting video output on the PC since the card is EFI based now. At least that is what it is reporting from nvflash. I even tried reflashing just to make sure...success reported again...but still no video output on the Mac Pro.

Has anyone else tried this with success? Any suggestions? Please help!!!

:apple: (Mac Pro, Macbook Pro)

[zebity]

cmhaas,

firstly the rom/card only works in Mac Pro (early 2008) machine.
Secondly have you added and plugged in auxiliary power cables on Mac?
You need two of these. They are available from "we love macs" (http://www.welovemacs.com/9227128.html) web site...

Let me know how you go. I am using flashed card on my mac with no problems...
Oh and the flashed card will still work in PC as it has both BIOS and EFI software.

Cheer,

Zebity.
(MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, Mini Mac)

[cmhaas1972]

cmhaas,

firstly the rom/card only works in Mac Pro (early 2008) machine.


I guess I did not understand that from the thread, opps, my bad. :eek: The Mac Pro (early 2008) models where the first with quad-core processors, correct? Mine must be an '07 model then since my processors are only dual-core. It was ordered by my work, so I am not sure of the exact purchase date.

Is there anything I can do to get this card working in a dual-core 2 CPU Mac Pro?


Secondly have you added and plugged in auxiliary power cables on Mac?
You need two of these. They are available from "we love macs" web site...


I do have 2 auxiliary power cables plugged in to the 5600.

Thanks for the help.

[zebity]

cmhaas,

sorry ... but there is no ROM for older mac pros.

Early 2008 model details:


Hardware Overview:

Model Name: Mac Pro
Model Identifier: MacPro3,1
Processor Name: Quad-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed: 3.2 GHz
Number Of Processors: 2
Total Number Of Cores: 8
L2 Cache (per processor): 12 MB
Memory: 16 GB
Bus Speed: 1.6 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MP31.006C.B05
SMC Version: 1.25f4
Serial Number: G88213E2XYL

The reason for this incompatibility to my knowledge is because Early 2008 model uses 64 bit EFI ROM and prior have 32 bit EFI ROM.

I think that there is a FX 4500 board which runs on early Intel Mac Pro.
But I do not have one of these so cannot get a ROM extract.

There is reasonable demand for Mac'ed FX 5600 on ebay, so if you purchased board especially for Mac, then you should be able to at least recoup your purchase price.

Anyhow here is "About this Mac" image for flashed FX 5600 working...

Cheers,

Zebity.
(MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, Mini Mac)

[amirulhs]

Hi zebity..

Does this means that this wont work with the latest Mac Pro model?

[nanofrog]

Hi zebity..

Does this means that this wont work with the latest Mac Pro model?
The details are in zebity's post. So the current Mac Pro can use a flashed 5600. :D

It's the older models that can't, as they need a 32 bit ROM. :(

[amirulhs]

Thats nice to know :D

Could some of u guys provide a step by step on how to flash the rom? Please? :p

[nanofrog]

Thats nice to know :D

Could some of u guys provide a step by step on how to flash the rom? Please? :p
Check out this post (http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=6630880&postcount=22). :D

Also, if you need more information, search "nvflash". Should be quite a bit. ;)

Good Luck! :)

[amirulhs]

Thanks Nano :)

Just curious.. If i managed to get it to work in the new Mac Pro, does it displays the apple logo when booting? Or it wont show at all?

[amirulhs]

zebity could u please provide the step by step of the command that u typed at the command prompt after booting from the floppy?
Im confused with all the 4 - 5 numbers. What to type first?

[formal]

Has anyone tried a FX 4600? ( I have one !) 768MB Ram

[nanofrog]

Thanks Nano :)

Just curious.. If i managed to get it to work in the new Mac Pro, does it displays the apple logo when booting? Or it wont show at all?
As it's the same firmware used by Apple (once flash is complete), it should behave the same as a card bought as a BTO option. :)
Has anyone tried a FX 4600? ( I have one !) 768MB Ram
I don't know if the 4600's ROM has been extracted, as searching the forum doesn't produce a file or link. :(

[noushy]

Zebity, did you finally flash your fx5600 to work on your mac pro? Do you have the apple nvidia fx5600 firmware then that I see posted earlier? If you need one copied, I can probably pull the card and do it for you as well. You are correct in that newer cards are efi 64 bit, and thus they do not work on the 667 bus mac pro machines that were efi 32 bit. Not sure why apple did this, but apple did change the chipset to the newer 5400X which supports the 1600fsb chips vs. the older 5000P which only supports 1333 or 1066. I would be more interested in someone flashing a newer 260 or 280 to work on the mac. The upgraded quadro card fx5800 is based on a 280 card, much faster, 4gb of ram, crazy and only about $300-$500 more (a new fx5600 lists around $2700, fx5800 goes for around $3000-$3400). Anyways, back to the reality of a great modern machine with 1-2 year old video cards.

Peace,
Noushy

[Arbol]

Thank you so much Zebity
Works well!

[zebity]

Arpol,

No problems, glad to be of service..

Glad you managed to follow instructions :rolleyes:

I would expect that FX 5800 will eventually make its way into Mac Pro and if so I hope it take a little bit less effort than getting FX 5600 up and running ...

With Adobe now having accelerators for Nvidia CUDA built into CS 4 we might start to get some advantages performance wise from large RAM on Quadro cards.

Cheers,

Zebity.
(MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, Mini Mac)

[RKeyes]

So, I have this Quadro FX 5600 for a PC. Works well enough, but is way beyond my needs and I could use the cash for something more appropriate, like my college tuition. I've decided to sell it and I've been looking around and notice that the Mac versions fetch a lot more than the PC versions...or so it seems. I'd like to be able to sell it as being "for MAC, PC, or LINUX", but don't know if everything will still work on the PC if I do the flash upgrade people have been talking about here. Also, unfortunately for me, I don't have any Intel CPU mac just the old powerpc G4, so I'd have to be doing the flash from a PC/Linux environment. Any ideas on this? Also, where do I get the image for MacOS I need to flash onto the card? If someone wants to mail it to me, I've set my preferences here to allow mail to be sent from other users.

[iDrunk]

I´M BUYING AT THE NVIDIA STORE AN NVIDIA QUADRO FX 5600 WITH 1.5GB, AND I HAVE A NEW * MA970LZ/A Mac Pro (Two 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon/2 GB 800MHz DDR2 FB-DIMM) BUT IN THE NVIDIA WEBPAGE THERE´S NOTHING ABOUT THE COMPATIBILITY...COULD YOU HELP ME??? :D

[zebity]

iDrunk,

sorry to say that you would be wasting your money on Quadro FX 5600 if you have a dual core Mac Pro (ie 2 cores x 2 processors = 4 Cores total).

The card will not work in this machine and there is no bios available for this card to work on older Mac Pro.

You have to have a quad core Mac Pro (4 x 2 = 8 Cores Total).

Cheers,

Zebity.
(MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, Mini Mac)

[BrandonG777]

Can anyone dump the ROM from an Nvidia FX 4500 Intel Mac for me? I have a PowerPC version I'm trying to put into a newer Intel Mac Pro.

[The Rominator]

Available for download already:

http://themacelite.wikidot.com/

[BrandonG777]

Available for download already:

http://themacelite.wikidot.com/

Thank you. I was Googling like a MOFO yesterday but couldn't come up with anything.

[iRich]

here is the ROM... happy flashing, let me know if you any problems, as I zipped the file on a mac and not sure if file come across ok...

GREEEAAAT!!!! Thank you very much zebity! Everything went fine. Works perfect! You saved me (and I assume not just for me) a lots of headache!

Thanks again!


iRich

[amirulhs]

Hi guys.. could someone help me by sharing the default apple nvidia driver?
I mean the one from the leopard installer dvd?
Thanks..

[jeffherzog]

Hi there,

I need a quadro graphics card to put in a mac pro so that it will run OS X but also boot under linux and windows. The programs I need to develop with (Autodesk Smoke and Assimilate Scratch) require high end quadro cards, so I am thinking of going with the 5600. You say that it is possible to have both BIOS and EFI flashed onto the card at the same time-- is this really possible? Do you have to begin with a PC card or a mac card or can you get to this state by starting with either one? I was looking at buying a card on ebay that said it was pulled out of a mac pro and wondering whether it would boot to linux/windows. I have an Early 2008 8 core mac pro.

cmhaas,

firstly the rom/card only works in Mac Pro (early 2008) machine.
Secondly have you added and plugged in auxiliary power cables on Mac?
You need two of these. They are available from "we love macs" (http://www.welovemacs.com/9227128.html) web site...

Let me know how you go. I am using flashed card on my mac with no problems...
Oh and the flashed card will still work in PC as it has both BIOS and EFI software.

Cheer,

Zebity.
(MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, Mini Mac)

[sinistrum]

I have a problem, please help me!

I followed the instructions in the forum and flush the fx5600 with nvflush. Everything seemed fine except when I installed the card into the mac pro it started buzzing immediately after I powered it. It's a really loud buzz. I know, I need two cables… which I connected in every way possible but the card just keeps buzzing. The buzz is supposed to be a sign of low power supply

http://www3.pny.com/QuadroPDFs/5600PowerRequirements.pdf

but I AM connecting both PCIe power supply cables. Is it buzzing because it doesn't recognize the machine? The flush didn't work properly? Any suggestions? Anyone? I can hear the mac os x starting up but obviously there is no signal on the display.

I think basically I have the same problem as this one here
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8531569

My machine IS 8 core but its not the 3.0GHz model but a 2.8GHz model. I wonder maybe if these earlier 8 core machines are not compatible, and they are 32 bit? How can I check that?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Please!!

[pastrychef]

To those who have successfully done the flash, would you please post the make and model of the cards you used? Thanks in advance.

[zebity]

pastry, please just read the posts... it provides the complete details of what both PC (Bios) and Mac (Bios/EFI) FX 5600 cards report as.

jeffherzog, sorry I cannot advise. Make sure you only have single graphics card and that both power cables are plugged in. My mac is 3.2 GHZ model, so i have no experience with 2.8 GHZ version. You need to purchase second power cable and make sure it is plugged into system board. I had to pull out the fan module to get access to connector on system board.

Others.... use PC to flash and view bios only. Check that flash reports as per my post as Bios/EFI. If so your card is the same as Apple one. It will then work on early 2008 Mac Pro. It will display standard mac logo on boot. It is compatible with bootcamp. It will continue to work an a standard PC (non-mac) as well.

Cheers and signing off this board until FX 5800 appears.

Zebity
(Mac Pro, Mini Mac, MacBook Pro)

[bigtom118]

Zebity,

Have you updated the EFI rom to the latest version?
You posted 3195. I understand that 3221 is available.

:rolleyes:

[zebity]

Sorry, but my mac is reporting 3221 ROM version (as per the "About this Mac" image above)... so the rom posted must be 3221, unless an Apple Software Update has magically updated ROM without me being aware of this, in which as any other user would also get the same update...

I think you have misread the version

Cheers,

Zebity
(now dld Mac Pro... :-( , MacBook Pro, Mini Mac)

[bigtom118]

Sorry, but my mac is reporting 3221 ROM version (as per the "About this Mac" image above)... so the rom posted must be 3221, unless an Apple Software Update has magically updated ROM without me being aware of this, in which as any other user would also get the same update...

I think you have misread the version

Cheers,

Zebity
(now dld Mac Pro... :-( , MacBook Pro, Mini Mac)
_______________________________________________________

Your post 8/23/08:

Identifying EEPROM...
EEPROM ID (1F,60) : Atmel AT25F1024 2.7-3.6V 128Kx8S, page
Reading adapter firmware image...
Image Size : 120832 bytes
Version : 60.80.24.00.00
~CRC32 : 3195E874
_______________________________________________________

[saywhat5959]

Zebity,

OMG Please help. I have been scouring the forums for days and only find bits and pieces of what i need to do.

I have a 2008 Intel Mac Pro. Which runs well with the 8800gt. I recently received a quadro fx 4500 which is brand new and came from Apple directly.

Anyway I try and install the 4500 into my Mac Pro and the screen just stays black looking for signal. I have posted all over the forums and have had soome replies from a few people but nothing that explains what i need to do to fix this.

One theory is that my mac pro is a 32bit efi and the card is 64bit efi. (which seems odd i thought it would be the other way around.)

Anyway,
Could you or anyone tell me step by step what i would need to do to a figure out what rom it is and what rom i would need.
And how to actually do this process. Please keep in mind Im not able to even see the screen when the card is installed.

So i.e. do i put the 8800gt back in the machine, install bootcamp, install windows xp? etc..

I would also need to know where to get the correct rom for this card.

Thank you so much for your time on this. I'm getting pretty desperate.

Jake:confused:

[The Rominator]

Goyt it backwards...your machine is EFI64 and card is EFI32. (If you have "Early 2008" machine.

You need to return the 4500...it is for First Gen machines only....sorry.

[saywhat5959]

Goyt it backwards...your machine is EFI64 and card is EFI32. (If you have "Early 2008" machine.

You need to return the 4500...it is for First Gen machines only....sorry.

So this can't be flashed at all?

[The Rominator]

Nothing to flash it too.

FWIW, it CAN be flashed into a G5 card if you have any PPC G5 friends needing an upgrade.

But if Apple employee told you that would work on an Early 2008 machine...they were in error and should accept return.

For the 2008 achines you need a Quadro 5600...only place to get them is a Ebay guy named "Applemecanix" or other resellers...don't think Apple offers as a separate part...ie, BTO only as I recall.

[bigtom118]

One might think that the new early 2009 Mac Pro with Nehalem cpu's & 1066mhz bus would not work with Quadro FX5600, but apparently it does work.
(See barefeats.com speed tests).
:)

[stocker]

Sorry, but my mac is reporting 3221 ROM version (as per the "About this Mac" image above)... so the rom posted must be 3221, unless an Apple Software Update has magically updated ROM without me being aware of this, in which as any other user would also get the same update...

I think you have misread the version

Cheers,

Zebity
(now dld Mac Pro... :-( , MacBook Pro, Mini Mac)

Hi Zebity,
Could you please elaborate on what I need to do to flash the rom on the 5600. I have downloaded the file you posted but I am a bit confused about the loading process. Please help.

[digitalfxartist]

Hi guys,please help... is there a special way to download the 5600 rom from zebity's link? I can not downloaded it ,the link only downloaded the "attachment.php" file..
Is the link broken?

Thanks

[rsilves]

Hi. I am working at a studio with an Octo-core Mac Pro and an (original Mac) FX 5600 card, trying to set everything for color grading (using Iridas Speedgrade).
I have noticed that the card is not taking the LUTs from the ICC profiles (loaded through SysPrefs>Displays>Color).
Can anyone confirm this? If you wish to test it on your Mac, load CalibrationAider's grayscale gradient (or any other image through a non-colorsync app, like Final Cut or Color) and try changing different profiles, the image gamma and color balance should change (here it doesn't, so any calibration applied is useless).
Does anyone know of a solution for this?

Thanks,
Rodrigo Silvestri.

[hyper1943]

Hello Zebity,

I know it's been a while. But I just read your post lately. I don't know if it's too late to ask. If you could kindly share your EFI ROM file, it'd be really appreciated.

Again, thank you very much for doing such.