PDA

View Full Version : Best place/price to buy new Mac Pro GeForce 8800GT upgrade?



Torley
Dec 3, 2008, 09:03 AM
Friendly greetings! I like searching for deals but I haven't been able to come up with a substantially better one than US$279 for the GeForce 8800GT upgrade in Apple's own store. It seems rare to find elsewhere — I'm on a current-gen Mac Pro, and this upgrade seems to be substantially more expensive than PC 8800GTs.

Is there a better place to buy it? I've seen odd sales on eBay with prices about US$75-100 yes, but am uncertain I want to go that route.

Also, I have a base Mac Pro config with the Radeon HD 2600 XT: would it be alright to install the 8800GT in the slot above the Radeon, or is that asking for trouble? I've read previous experiences and they seem fine, but any more experiences I can gather and learn from would be fantastic.

Thanks so much in advance!


Tallest Skil
Dec 3, 2008, 09:05 AM
You could always buy a compatible PC 8800GT for less and flash it yourself. There's a list of cards that work in the 8800GT EFI64 ROM thread.

But the Apple Store or an Authorized Reseller is the best price you'll get on the real card.
nick9191
Dec 3, 2008, 09:07 AM
ATI are making a Mac version of their 4870 card soon. I'd wait for that, it will kill the 8800GT.
Tallest Skil
Dec 3, 2008, 09:13 AM
ATI are making a Mac version of their 4870 card soon. I'd wait for that, it will kill the 8800GT.

Yeah, that was an unsubstantiated rumor that has since been shot down due to a lack of news over the past four months.
Torley
Dec 3, 2008, 11:22 AM
ATI are making a Mac version of their 4870 card soon. I'd wait for that, it will kill the 8800GT.

I was hopeful for this but haven't seen confirmation, as Tallest mentioned. :\

I'll have a closer look at the "8800GT EFI64 ROM" thread.

Thank you SO much.
nick9191
Dec 4, 2008, 02:53 PM
It has been confirmed.

http://www.macrumors.com/2008/08/25/atis-4870-hd-and-4850-hd-graphics-cards-coming-for-mac/

But no one knows when it's coming.
Tallest Skil
Dec 4, 2008, 02:56 PM
It has been confirmed.

http://www.macrumors.com/2008/08/25/atis-4870-hd-and-4850-hd-graphics-cards-coming-for-mac/

But no one knows when it's coming.

Yeah, that's the original rumor article about them. They're not coming until the next Mac Pro if they're coming at all.